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Do Certain Foods Trigger PVC's?

Hello!

I am new to this forum and new to PVCs.  I began having them in April (5 months post partum).  I have seen 2 cardiologists and had all of the tests run--all "nomal" results.  I am a very anxious person and HATE to feel the skipped beats so I have been taking Propanolol (and I know the anxiety only makes them worse).  I would like to be "med free" so I am working on finding out my triggers.
I have cut out caffeine, alcohol, etc. and I am also trying to see if there are any foods that may trigger them.  My doctor said that sometimes peppers can cause them???  I ate something with jalepenos last night and I definitely noticed an increase.
Do you all have any other foods or food groups that you avoid?  Also, any books or web sites where I might find more information on preventing these?  I need all of the help I can get.  
Thank you so much--this web site has been so beneficial to me!  :)
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Avatar universal
This post is to audio guy AND to all that read and are willing to take time to reply.    I am a mother of a 26 year daughter who recently pulled the plug on taking a daily dose of Singulair (it was generic) after over a year.  It was used as a maintenance treatment for chronic allergies and sinus infections. Seemed to work ok, however in the 6 months there had been a couple times she rushed herself to the doctor for symptoms that no one even thought to suspect the allergy medication.  First there was numbing and tingling in her arms. Then there were muscle aches in the lower back. BUT 4 weeks ago she started having chest tightness, heart palpitations, insomnia and fearful thoughts which of course brought on extreme anxiety.  It was after 4 days of these repeated systems that she told me.  I asked about work and all the usual factors that lead most  to stress and anxiety.  WITHOUT CONSULTING HER DOCTOR she stopped taking her Singulair. This was Saturday. She insisted work and all was good.  The next day while she and I were out for what was suppose to be a relaxing Sunday afternoon, she had a severe panic attack.  She had consumed coffee an hour earlier and were now sitting
eating dinner. We each had maybe half a glass of wine. It was then that I realized something was really off as she is a happy free spirited young woman. She does have a tendency to be a little OCD at times but in manner that one would call normal and stubborn.    That day I decided to research the drug. My daughter had shared some startling findings with me. IMWAS SHOCKED TO READ EVEN ON THE GOVERNMENT WEB SITE ALL THE ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS  to this  DRUG.  ALL of the above mentioned
were there. This leads me to this posting.   It has been 3 weeks and she is still having some adverse side effects. They seem to come in waves.  

The chest tightness eased almost immediately. The fearful thoughts played out along with the anxiety for the first week. Then came insomnia. Last weekend the chest tightness returned followed with depression.  I have been helping with her diet and making sure she eats well.  She has juiced and done the Paleo diet before so eating well and cutting out sugar was just a natural response . Along with watching her diet we picked up L- Thianine (  which is basically green tea in a capsule).she took it for 3 days and then stopped. Decided to just try diet and vitamins .Also eliminated caffeine. She tried drinking her normal cups of coffee but even one gets her anxious and panic attack starts to set in. Also no chocolate. She started taking omega.  She has been taking a daily vitamin and probiotic for the past 2 years so adding on omega was easy. She works out several times a week and is good physical shape so she has tried to stay proactive in that area, but there have been days that the insomnia have barely made it possible to get through work.  I had picked up some phosphatidyl serine from our vitamin company last week and the omega and it seem to calm her mood somewhat.  Eating foods rich in amino acids help. Trying to eat balanced meals and snacking on pumpkin seeds , sunflower seeds, walnuts, apricots and cantaloupe along with some green juices are pretty much all she is eating. No junk food. Yes, and no alcohol.

Of course she wants to go out and get back to a normal life. It breaks my heart to watch.  It has been very scary.

I am hoping someone with a similar experience will reply. She is allergic to several antibiotics and we have known since she was 4 that she has sensitivities to fragrance and dyes  in soaps and environmental allergies but to date no food allergies.    

I was wondering about trying an over the counter antihistimine such as  Benydryl . She has taken it many times before without any side effects. Although she is afraid to try now .  Help..... Your thoughts would greatly be appreciated.



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Avatar universal
Dairy, sugar, corn, rice, potatoes, gluten, dehydration. Aged cheese is the worst. Breathing dust and especially mold is a huge trigger for me. Even the tinniest amount of mold hiding in the fridge will give me constant PVCs.

I also have "seb derm" and my PVC and seb derm triggers are the same, so I'm pretty convinced my PVCs are an immune/allergy response.
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Avatar universal
just curious, but do you still post DMAB? you and I are the same age I believe (57 yrs)! i read the forum from time to time just to keep sane! I've experienced tachycardia, pvc and pacs since i was 22. for years, Inderal helped me to lead a normal life (even though i stayed terrified most of the time)! and then around 2009 my body got use to the inderal (i think) and i was put on metoporal suc (50mg a day) and resumed a normal. now, at 57 i feel every beat when i'm out and about. i make frequent stops while in the mall sooo my heart will feel somewhat normal! and, forget eating while i'm out and about. if i do, i feel miserable!
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Avatar universal
That is so interesting about fruit sugar.  I have suffered from PVC's over the past year and I had identified my triggers as alcohol (a form of sugar), chocolate (caffeine and sugar), and sugar itself.  I hadn't really thought about the fact that even fruit sugar could trigger them.  

I had finally given up on being able to completely avoid the triggers and gone on beta blockers, which are helping a bit but I'm still having them continuously for the second part of the day.

I am intending to come off them when the PVC' s have stopped and just be very careful with my diet.  It's really useful to know that I need to go as far as avoiding all fruit sugar too, thanks for sharing.

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Avatar universal
I'm glad you found something that works! Unfortunately, it didn't work for me :(. I tried to cut sugar out of my diet and it helped a little at first,  but then I started getting a little lightheaded and the palpitations got worse (I think I had hypoglycemia or something and that my body simply can't function without sugar). Now I try to eat less sugar than usual, but I still get some sugar in my diet. It seems to help reduce the palpitations to some degree, but they're still there :(.
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Avatar universal
I don't know if you'll see this, but I wanted to write you in reply to your PVC post.  I've had them for almost 30 years.  The last couple of months I have days where they are much worse.  I've never had a doctor say that a narrow chest is a contributing factor.  I don't have a narrow chest but am long legged and short waisted.  Wonder if that can cause that same effect of it moving in the chest cavity.  I've never been on medicines.  Am finding lots of food items people have mentioned here may be contributing factors for me!  Glad your doc gave you a physical explanation for how PVCs work.  Many people don't understand that what they feel is not the extra (electrical)beat itself, but the next beat, which is trying to 'compensate' for the PVC putting out minimal or no blood with the electrical signal.  I'm an RN and you learn something everyday!
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