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Hello,
I am a 54 year old man. I have been married to the same woman 30 years next week and have a daughter. I have dealt with arrhythmias since I was in my 20's. In 2002, I had a stroke caused by a blood clot from an episode of Afib. I wound up disabled and retired early. Since then, I have been on Sotalol and Coumadin. I have had episodes of PVC/PAC's many times that lasted from a few seconds to weeks and months. I went through all the usual tests and doctors and got the same result as most here. They told me nothing was "really wrong" and to just not worry about it. I have wished that every doctor who says that in a dismissive way should get it and see if it makes them nervous.
The things that I have found that help with PVC/PAC's for me are avoiding caffeine, alcohol and any stimulant medications, particularly OTC's with pseudophedrine. I also use a CPAP and that helps. Treating GERD has also helped as well as weight loss and regular exercise. I do take fish oil and have for years. I don't know that it really helps the irregular heart beats. I take it for the benefits to the arteries. Stress and blood pressure play big roles in the ectopic beats and the Afib. Anxiety can bring on the PVC/PAC's very readily and worsens Afib.
The Afib was controlled with Sotalol and Altace for the years after the stroke in 2002 until last year. I wound up in the ER twice because of episodes that woke me up in the early morning hours. Afib for me is very uncomfortable. I get a rapid heart rate of 130+ bpm and my pulse gets very irregular and I feel like I am going to pass out. Both times required cardioversion to get back into NSR. Neither I nor the physician(s) can figure out why I had the "breakout episodes". Both were while sleeping. After the last episode in early December, the Sotalol was increased. I don't like the side effects but there you have it.
To those just starting to deal with this, I can tell you that I have had it for many years and am still alive and doing fairly well. Other than the stroke, which could have been avoided if the incompetent physician I was consulting at the time had been more thorough and not told me "just don't worry about it"( the stroke could have been avoided with Coumadin), I have had a normal life and have done much of what I wanted. The many, many tests have always shown no major heart defects or evidence of CAD. Despite this, I know very well the how it feels to be home or out or on the job and have all the irregular beats and feel panic and be sure I would just drop dead soon.
I developed panic disorder and wound up taking medications and going into hospitals and seeing therapists, etc. with most of it not being much help. I was given a succession of Benzo tranquilizers such as Klonipen and Atavan, etc. and wound up addicted to them on top of the rest of it. This is a very common syndrome, unfortunately. It took me years to learn to cope with the fear and start to live again. I went form being housebound with panic attacks to going back to college and grad school and becoming a counselor myself.
I still have PVC/PAC's off and on. I have been having some bouts of them in the last couple of months. I got a really nasty cold and sinus infection last week and guess what came to visit me along with the cold symptoms? I went and got an EKG at my cardio office to make sure it wasn't Afib or something worse and it doesn't seems to be more than the usual benign stuff. It took getting angry to get out of that cycle. I got to where I would shout, "If you are going to kill me, then do it or leave me alone!!!"(when nobody was around). It hasn't yet. Most times now, I ignore it as best as I can. I will go out and ride my recumbent trike when I am having them. Frequently, it helps some. I have to tell myself that I have been sure these things would kill me many times and I am still here. My mother also suffered from arrthymias for many years and eventually tossed all the Rx. meds and did ok. I was sure she would be found dead someday but she died of cancer..Best Wishes to all...
I am a 54 year old man. I have been married to the same woman 30 years next week and have a daughter. I have dealt with arrhythmias since I was in my 20's. In 2002, I had a stroke caused by a blood clot from an episode of Afib. I wound up disabled and retired early. Since then, I have been on Sotalol and Coumadin. I have had episodes of PVC/PAC's many times that lasted from a few seconds to weeks and months. I went through all the usual tests and doctors and got the same result as most here. They told me nothing was "really wrong" and to just not worry about it. I have wished that every doctor who says that in a dismissive way should get it and see if it makes them nervous.
The things that I have found that help with PVC/PAC's for me are avoiding caffeine, alcohol and any stimulant medications, particularly OTC's with pseudophedrine. I also use a CPAP and that helps. Treating GERD has also helped as well as weight loss and regular exercise. I do take fish oil and have for years. I don't know that it really helps the irregular heart beats. I take it for the benefits to the arteries. Stress and blood pressure play big roles in the ectopic beats and the Afib. Anxiety can bring on the PVC/PAC's very readily and worsens Afib.
The Afib was controlled with Sotalol and Altace for the years after the stroke in 2002 until last year. I wound up in the ER twice because of episodes that woke me up in the early morning hours. Afib for me is very uncomfortable. I get a rapid heart rate of 130+ bpm and my pulse gets very irregular and I feel like I am going to pass out. Both times required cardioversion to get back into NSR. Neither I nor the physician(s) can figure out why I had the "breakout episodes". Both were while sleeping. After the last episode in early December, the Sotalol was increased. I don't like the side effects but there you have it.
To those just starting to deal with this, I can tell you that I have had it for many years and am still alive and doing fairly well. Other than the stroke, which could have been avoided if the incompetent physician I was consulting at the time had been more thorough and not told me "just don't worry about it"( the stroke could have been avoided with Coumadin), I have had a normal life and have done much of what I wanted. The many, many tests have always shown no major heart defects or evidence of CAD. Despite this, I know very well the how it feels to be home or out or on the job and have all the irregular beats and feel panic and be sure I would just drop dead soon.
I developed panic disorder and wound up taking medications and going into hospitals and seeing therapists, etc. with most of it not being much help. I was given a succession of Benzo tranquilizers such as Klonipen and Atavan, etc. and wound up addicted to them on top of the rest of it. This is a very common syndrome, unfortunately. It took me years to learn to cope with the fear and start to live again. I went form being housebound with panic attacks to going back to college and grad school and becoming a counselor myself.
I still have PVC/PAC's off and on. I have been having some bouts of them in the last couple of months. I got a really nasty cold and sinus infection last week and guess what came to visit me along with the cold symptoms? I went and got an EKG at my cardio office to make sure it wasn't Afib or something worse and it doesn't seems to be more than the usual benign stuff. It took getting angry to get out of that cycle. I got to where I would shout, "If you are going to kill me, then do it or leave me alone!!!"(when nobody was around). It hasn't yet. Most times now, I ignore it as best as I can. I will go out and ride my recumbent trike when I am having them. Frequently, it helps some. I have to tell myself that I have been sure these things would kill me many times and I am still here. My mother also suffered from arrthymias for many years and eventually tossed all the Rx. meds and did ok. I was sure she would be found dead someday but she died of cancer..Best Wishes to all...
Hello heart sick,
Yes, there are some decent physicians around and I have met a couple. I have had some that treated me like a frightened child. One told me years ago that he thought I was just too "intelligent" and that "intelligent people" tend to worry too much about such things??? He wanted to give me Valium. Another cardiologist told me that I was just a snivelling wimp and I needed to just be a man!!! As seems to be typical, a couple suggested I see a psychiatrist. I was not a "whiner". I am a military veteran and was a police officer and later a professional counselor and had always been very tough and independent. The attacks of the arrthymia reduced me to being a mass of anxiety and eventually led to agoriphobia. The isolation and feeling like I was the first and only person to suffer with that syndrome was even more painful.
A forum such as this is the best support many of us have. Family and friends are concerned and try to help but they don't really understand. Most physicians seem to be ignorant or just don't want to be bothered. I was in the hospital a few years ago after a bad episode of Afib that led to a TIA. The day nurse I had while there was very unsympathetic and lectured me about not being such a coward. I was outraged! So, being able to communticate with others who have been down the same road and don't judge or chastise us is invaluable. This wasn't available during most of my struggles with arrthymias and anxiety. I wish it had been!...Take Care
Yes, there are some decent physicians around and I have met a couple. I have had some that treated me like a frightened child. One told me years ago that he thought I was just too "intelligent" and that "intelligent people" tend to worry too much about such things??? He wanted to give me Valium. Another cardiologist told me that I was just a snivelling wimp and I needed to just be a man!!! As seems to be typical, a couple suggested I see a psychiatrist. I was not a "whiner". I am a military veteran and was a police officer and later a professional counselor and had always been very tough and independent. The attacks of the arrthymia reduced me to being a mass of anxiety and eventually led to agoriphobia. The isolation and feeling like I was the first and only person to suffer with that syndrome was even more painful.
A forum such as this is the best support many of us have. Family and friends are concerned and try to help but they don't really understand. Most physicians seem to be ignorant or just don't want to be bothered. I was in the hospital a few years ago after a bad episode of Afib that led to a TIA. The day nurse I had while there was very unsympathetic and lectured me about not being such a coward. I was outraged! So, being able to communticate with others who have been down the same road and don't judge or chastise us is invaluable. This wasn't available during most of my struggles with arrthymias and anxiety. I wish it had been!...Take Care
I am also in my fifties and have been married 32 years. I can reate to your experience. I was diagnosed with psvt when I was in my early 20's or so. I delt with it on my own amd stopped taking my meds because of the side effects. About 6 year ago I ended up in the er because my heart rate shot up to around 290-300 while I was a t work. they kept me in the hospital testing me for adrenal gland cancer, came back negative. THANK GOD. They did put me on lopressor though and told me that my heart was slightly enlarged because I did not treat my psvt with meds when I was first diagnosed. Dr's none of them told me the importance of meds back then. And now going to the Dr. is awful. They always treat me like iam am a hypocondriac. So almost every time I go the Dr. he tells benign pvc's dont worry...yeah right. I am with you I wish all cardiologist could feel what we feel I know the attitude with be different. Thank God for web sites like these it helps to talk to people that know how we feel, strength in numbers..God Bless you take care
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