Lowered my skipped heartbeats, ectopics, PVCs, PACs

[PubJoe]

I'm a longtime 40-yr-old lurker with a decade having noticeable skipped beats, recently with runs of bigeminy and trigeminy lasting up to an hour after a particularly bad virus struck. Over the years I've worn 6 Holter monitors, had upwards of 40 ECGs, 3 stress tests, 3 echocardiograms, and an MRI of my heart. My grandfather died suddenly of heart failure in his 60s, as did many in my family on my mother's side, so when I was diagnosed with tachycardia (sitting I'm 90 bpm, 120-130 walking), ectopic beats, & possible POTS, I began researching my condition in an attempt to do away with them.

If you're reading this, you probably have skipped beats, which are terrifying. When they began coming in at close to a thousand a day, like mine were, it's difficult to hold a conversation with anyone, & your days is spent wondering every few minutes if you are about to die. This anxiety persists for many of us on up through the years. My cardiologist pointed out that I fall into a terrible middle territory--that I'm one of the few who notice these extra beats, & that I may have too few in count to recommend ablation, as they may not catch any skipped beats during the surgery. So I went in search of a cure.

I did not find one--not entirely--but I did find something that helped me, tremendously, after reading through studies & scientific literature. First, what didn't work for me--fish oil, magnesium, potassium, exercise, CoX10, Vitamin D, Vitamin B complex, Propranolol, Xanax. The magnesium, potassium, CoX10, & vitamins are all great to take, & I feel healthier, especially now that I exercise 4 days a week for 30 minutes, but none of them lessened my skipped beats. Fish oil actually made me skip more beats on average, & there are studies & articles like this from Harvard linking Omega 3 to a host of other problems (http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fish-oil-friend-or-foe-201307126467). Propranolol helped reduce my high heart rate, & did help reduce my number of skipped beats, but only because it helped lower my number of beats in general. When I got terrible runs, the drugs did nothing.

I went from just under a 1000 skipped beats a day in December to about 10-20 skipped beats in January by taking three things: 25 mg Propranolol, 1000 mg Taurine, & 1000/500 mg Arginine/Citrulline. I have not had a run of skipped beats since. I’ve since cut out the Arginine, because I felt pressure in my chest after using it on several occasions—most likely stress-induced.

Before the supplements arrived, I went for a walk & skipped 400 beats, & worried so much that I laid down on a sidewalk to make them stop & then walked myself over to a medical office & waited to die there. (I did not die.) The next week I went for a 6-mile walk & drank a large coffee & ate chocolate, something I never do anymore. I had a beer the next day—wild! I DID CONTINUE TO SKIP BEATS. Skipped beats are just a part of my life, & a part of yours--they will always be with you. But I found something that worked for my body to drive the beats lower, to a manageable place. But you must note, reader, that this is mere anecdotal evidence.

It was a 2006 study that prompted me to try these supplements (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16797868) (http://www.afibbers.org/conference/session49.pdf). The dosage in these studies were much higher than what I now take, as my body responds to medication profoundly. Long story short, 2 people with over 20,000 skipped beats a day had them reduced to under 20 ectopic beats per day. Please do read the above PDF in its entirety, to get a history of what Taurine & Arginine do in the body.

I’ll keep updating here to let people know how I’m doing over the months. It’s January 2017 as I write this. I had one skipped beat today. I believe I’ll have runs in the future & more skipped beats, but hopefully this regimen will keep those days to a minimum.

Best,
Joe