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Seeking advice from others
I'm new to this forum and am looking for some advice and inspiration. For the past 19 years, my husband and I have been dealing with his PVCs. They occur constantly. He's tried everything. He doesn't drink or smoke, avoids caffeine. But, sometimes they get so bad, he just can't make it through the day. No matter how many doctors have said "they're harmless", that thought remains that something this odd with your heart, can't be harmless. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how he might learn to cope or miraclously reduce their frequency or intensity?
It is wonderful to finally find a place to talk to others that suffer this same condition.
It is wonderful to finally find a place to talk to others that suffer this same condition.
I am in a similiar situation to you where the docs tell my husband that his pvc's are nothing to worry about but its been a long hard road to get him to the stage whereby he is less anxious and able to lead a mostly normal pre heart condition life. Several things have changed he spent a couple of days in hospital and was treated like a leper that he has decided he isn't going to go anywhere near hospital again. He is taking a beta blocker also omega 3, a multivitamin powder, learning to have a rest during the day and when the pvc's start really getting to him he holds his breath as long as poss and this all seems to be helping. I am reading the Claire Weeks book and that may help too.
Thank you all so much. This is the first place we have found that we can share our experiences with other patients. He has been checked by numerous cardiologists. His iron, magnesium and potassium levels are fine. He is currently on a beta blocker (2 years). He does so much to take care of himself yet they just don't go away.
We just moved to Colorado Springs and are looking into new doctors. If anyone local has a reference, it would be appreciated.
From the outside, looking on the situation, it is so easy for me to say "Relax, all the doctors say they won't hurt you." But, it is just so hard for him to believe. And the fear causing additional anxiety which just aggravates the cycle. I will definitely get the book(s) that others have recommended. But, the more reassurance he gets, I guess I'm hoping he will soon begin to believe that the PVCs are non-threatening.
We just moved to Colorado Springs and are looking into new doctors. If anyone local has a reference, it would be appreciated.
From the outside, looking on the situation, it is so easy for me to say "Relax, all the doctors say they won't hurt you." But, it is just so hard for him to believe. And the fear causing additional anxiety which just aggravates the cycle. I will definitely get the book(s) that others have recommended. But, the more reassurance he gets, I guess I'm hoping he will soon begin to believe that the PVCs are non-threatening.
Sometimes a lack of iron, magnesium or potassium can increase the frequency of PVCs. Your husband may want to get a blood test to check for any deiciencies. One of the first things that my cardiologist did was to ensure that a mineral deficiency wasn't causing my PVCs. I continually suffer from dizziness and lightheadedness with them. I'm due to have an ablation done in the next month and hopefully will be PVC Free afterwards!
It is so nice of you to look for coping mechanisms to help your husband. Unless you have pvcs, and can feel them, they are incredibly hard to describe and understand.
Like Artaud said, some people have lots of extra beats and don't even know it! For those of us who feel them, we can't even imagine not knowing about them. I used to have over 20,000 per day and definitely felt them. For the most part, I was OK with them because I had them for so long. However, when I would be sick to my stomach or anxious, they would go nuts and the cycle of panic would start. I was not afraid of the pvcs themselves, but I hated the feelings of a "spastic heart."
Has your husband's doctor mentioned a beta blocker? Many people find relief by taking a small dose of a beta blocker. Sometimes they just stifle the sensation, while other times the pvcs actually decrease in frequency.
I have not read Dr. Clair Week's books, but a lot of people on this forum have read them and have found them to be very helpful. For me, learning and educating myself have been incredibly helpful. Reading, listening, asking questions and supporting others have all helped me to understand pvcs and accept them. They're kinda like heart hiccups; you just get them and they're aggravating, but you still get them and they come and go for whatever reason, or no reason.
I was one of those people who people had trouble getting a pulse from. Forget anything mechanical, never picked up a pulse. Boy did I get the peculiar looks from nurses when they would try to get a pulse.
Please, please, please feel free to ask any questions and to visit any time for support. We're here to help : )
Like Artaud said, some people have lots of extra beats and don't even know it! For those of us who feel them, we can't even imagine not knowing about them. I used to have over 20,000 per day and definitely felt them. For the most part, I was OK with them because I had them for so long. However, when I would be sick to my stomach or anxious, they would go nuts and the cycle of panic would start. I was not afraid of the pvcs themselves, but I hated the feelings of a "spastic heart."
Has your husband's doctor mentioned a beta blocker? Many people find relief by taking a small dose of a beta blocker. Sometimes they just stifle the sensation, while other times the pvcs actually decrease in frequency.
I have not read Dr. Clair Week's books, but a lot of people on this forum have read them and have found them to be very helpful. For me, learning and educating myself have been incredibly helpful. Reading, listening, asking questions and supporting others have all helped me to understand pvcs and accept them. They're kinda like heart hiccups; you just get them and they're aggravating, but you still get them and they come and go for whatever reason, or no reason.
I was one of those people who people had trouble getting a pulse from. Forget anything mechanical, never picked up a pulse. Boy did I get the peculiar looks from nurses when they would try to get a pulse.
Please, please, please feel free to ask any questions and to visit any time for support. We're here to help : )
Hey there, glad you decided to come over. I was hoping you would take me up on the offer to come over. There are a TON of great people over here, very intelligent and caring people. We all welcome you and your husband with open arms. :)
My son gets over a thousand a day, found on routine exam (and on every exam LOL). He doesn't notice them. I have tachycardia and didn't know it except on being examined for other reasons.
It's been 19 years for you so far, and clearly it hasn't hurt him any. Check out Weeks the book. Sometimes it helps to be less focused on the self and the body.
Good luck
It's been 19 years for you so far, and clearly it hasn't hurt him any. Check out Weeks the book. Sometimes it helps to be less focused on the self and the body.
Good luck
Tell your husband to get the book by Dr. Claire Weeks "Hope and Help for Your Nerves", she explains about PVC's (of course she wants to make sure that people reading her book have been checked out by a doctor and found their PVC's harmless) , she calls them "skipped beats", it helped me tremendously.
Hi,
Knowing and writing to or speaking with other people that have them is a beginning. With so many people walking around without these problems (PVCs), we tend to feel defective, different, and wish so much to be like others.
But therein lies the rub, there are quite a few people with frequent PVCs that have no idea that they are getting them. Some people, such as myself and your husband, are keenly attuned to feelings in our bodies, and we feel every single PVC that occurs.
My wife works for my Cardiologist and she tells me about their patients experiences (no names). It seems that their office will get referrals from Family Doctors or perhaps from the result of a pre-job physical of people with very frequent PVCs. She says that some of them have so many she can't get take their pulse. She performs the EKG and gives the information to the Doctor. He reviews the information, the EKG, Symptoms, results of other tests, etc, and eventually sees the patient. He'll take their wrists to take their pulse, all the while talking with the patient. Eventually he asks the patient if they ever get any Palpitations (the Doctor can feel them occurring in the patient's wrist). Incredibly she says that they will often say no. (remember that they're getting so many she can't take their pulse). If the Doctor knows that the patients heart is structurally sound, adequate blood flow, valves, etc, and no other symptoms, he'll often not tell the patient that he/she has palpitations. If he does, he runs the risk of them needlessly worrying about them. Remember, despite the presence of the PVCs, everything is normal. There is no compelling reason to worry the patient.
But with people such as your husband and myself, we can feel them and attribute them to a defect in the functioning of the heart. This is not so if he has been medically cleared. Unfortunately, the more people worry about them, the more they tend to get them. Adrenaline tends to cause them in sensitive people, and worrying produces more adrenaline. This causes more symptoms, and more adrenaline, etc. A truly vicious cycle.
There are people on this forum that live with an astounding number of PVCs, some in excess of 10,000 per day. I'll watch to see their responses, and hopefully add more as I can.
Wish the best for your and your husband. Thankfully he has a concerned and compassionate wife.
Knowing and writing to or speaking with other people that have them is a beginning. With so many people walking around without these problems (PVCs), we tend to feel defective, different, and wish so much to be like others.
But therein lies the rub, there are quite a few people with frequent PVCs that have no idea that they are getting them. Some people, such as myself and your husband, are keenly attuned to feelings in our bodies, and we feel every single PVC that occurs.
My wife works for my Cardiologist and she tells me about their patients experiences (no names). It seems that their office will get referrals from Family Doctors or perhaps from the result of a pre-job physical of people with very frequent PVCs. She says that some of them have so many she can't get take their pulse. She performs the EKG and gives the information to the Doctor. He reviews the information, the EKG, Symptoms, results of other tests, etc, and eventually sees the patient. He'll take their wrists to take their pulse, all the while talking with the patient. Eventually he asks the patient if they ever get any Palpitations (the Doctor can feel them occurring in the patient's wrist). Incredibly she says that they will often say no. (remember that they're getting so many she can't take their pulse). If the Doctor knows that the patients heart is structurally sound, adequate blood flow, valves, etc, and no other symptoms, he'll often not tell the patient that he/she has palpitations. If he does, he runs the risk of them needlessly worrying about them. Remember, despite the presence of the PVCs, everything is normal. There is no compelling reason to worry the patient.
But with people such as your husband and myself, we can feel them and attribute them to a defect in the functioning of the heart. This is not so if he has been medically cleared. Unfortunately, the more people worry about them, the more they tend to get them. Adrenaline tends to cause them in sensitive people, and worrying produces more adrenaline. This causes more symptoms, and more adrenaline, etc. A truly vicious cycle.
There are people on this forum that live with an astounding number of PVCs, some in excess of 10,000 per day. I'll watch to see their responses, and hopefully add more as I can.
Wish the best for your and your husband. Thankfully he has a concerned and compassionate wife.
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