Palpitation help

[debbier]

Hi,

I have a 5 year history with occasional palpitations, I have had every test available,
EkG, Echo, 48 hour monitor, coronart CT scan, nuclear stress test, all normal

Two weeks ago I had palpitations all day, I went to dr and ekg showed possible atrial
flutter, I was in normal sinus rythym, my heart rate was about 88.  I was immedaitely placed on
Toprol 25mg, i stopped the palpitations within 2 hours.  I was fine for a week some break thru
palps but nothing crazy.   The past saturday started with constant palps all day the only time
they go away is at night when I relax,  I have had two more ekgs while having the palpitations and
I am in normal sinus rythym.  I was told to increase Toprol to 50mg, that did nothing at all for the palps

Yesterday I seen an EP and I am going for an EP study on 2/10 he told me to stop Toprol immediately
since it seems to be doing nothing.  He also told me the atrial flutter on the EKG that day was more of an artifact and not atrial flutter.   I am so upset by these palpitations all day and I am going crazy.

I have been reading all the forums and trying to get some help I can suggest to my dr.  I cannot stand
dealing with palps all day I have three little kids to take car of.  Can you make any suggestions to help
with the palpitations,   I have read magnesuim supplements,  do they work, My magnesuim was checked recently and it was at a normal level.   I am beyond overwhelmed and desperate for relief,

Any idea what could cause this onset?  Today I tried Zanax 25mg and its doing nothing either.

Thanks
Debbie

[yarrow]

I have had weird palps for years, often hundreds per day, so I have some idea what you are experiencing.  LIke me, you have had a lot of tests and for the most part come up healthy, which is really frustrating and frightening.  You say, "I am so upset by these palpitations all day and I am going crazy...  I am beyond overwhelmed and desperate for relief..."

Your emotions are easy to understand.  If you are not feeling faint or physically sick when you have palpitations, and are not ready to consider ablation, I will make a suggestion to you:  Although everyone has occasional palpitations, not everyone is aware of them.  Those who do feel them, I think, are more sensitive to their body's signals, and sometimes that is a hurtful thing, especially if the signals don't have a heck of a lot of medical significance.

I have found it very useful to take one of the SSRI antidepressants for a couple of months when my palpitations drive me nuts, as happens every few years.  These medications give the body's alarm system a chance to cool off and re-set itself, in my shrink's terminology.  If you have a doc you trust, you might ask him about a trial of, say, Zoloft, which is one of these SSRIs.  It can be much more effective than Xanax, for example, in calming the kind of anxiety these palps can cause.  Furthermore, I find that when I take Zoloft, after a very short period I am not only much less aware of these funny beats--but they actually become less frequent.

[Cleveland Clinic]

The treatment you need id the EP study and ablation. No medications (apart from arrhythmics which can have serious arrhythmic consequences) are likely to stop the palpitations, and you need to have the EP study and the ablation. Depending on what they find, the procedure is likely to be 90-100% successful for life. Not many other procedures have this kind of life long success. And I do not suggest taking high dose of benzodiazepines, especially in such high doses, as these can have serious health consequences, including respiratory depression and even death.

[debbier]

I also wanted to add that I avoid all triggers,  I do not use caffeine, smoke or use alchol.