Hi and welcome to the forum :)
Thanks for the kind words.
I take Inderal 20mg as needed (very rarely). When my pvcs were really bad, I took it everyday for many years. At one point, when the Inderal seemed to have lost its effectiveness, I tried atenolol. After just one dose, my arms and legs started trembling...scared me big time! Turned out to be a side effect, not dangerous, just freaky. Many people take it without any problems. For me, the Inderal was most effective until it kinda stopped working.
Eventually, my chronic pvcs led to a cardiomopathy requring more stringent therapy. After a couple of rounds with anti-arrythmics (flecainide and rhythmol), I decided to try an ablation. About 6 months after the second ablation, my cardiomyopathy resolved and my LV function normalized. It has been over 3 years, and so far, so good. Now, I just get "regular" pvcs like most other people.
Good luck! Hope you are able to find something that helps you to deal with the pvcs. With a normal cardiac workup, it will just be a matter of dealing with the symptoms...a pain nonetheless. There are lots of pvc-ers on this board so feel free to frequent them for suggestions, venting, sharing, etc.
Take care.
Connie
Connie, I enjoyed reading your post- you sound like a fun and positive person and I too suffer from pvc at times. I get "worked up" when i get them and it seems to make them worse. Do you take meds for yours? I was taking totrol xl 12mg but it made me depressed/ feeling.
Hi! Sorry to hear you are so frightened by the pvcs. Has your doctor reassured you that your heart is healthy? I thought it might help to kind of explain the difference between some of the beat patterns.
Bigeminy - when every other beat is a pvc
Trigeminy - when every third beat is a pvc
Quadrigeminy - when every fourth beat is pvc
Couplet - when you have two pvcs in a row; no normal beats in between
Triplet (sometimes referred to as a run or salvo) - three beats in a row; no normal beats in between
Run, NSVT, salvo - 3 or more pvcs in a row
For me, the runs feel the weirdest. It's like my heartbeat is "stuck" and won't/can't move on.
Hope you are feeling better and finding the pvcs an annoyance as opposed to a terrifying event. As long as your doctor has given you the standard workup, you can rest easy with these goofy beats.
Have a great day!
Connie
Thank you both for your comments. I have been checked out by a cardiologist and was told that I was fine and I could take a beta blocker if I thought I needed it. This was about a year and 4 months ago, so I just made another appointment. I am also seeing a therapist to help with the anxiety! I wish that I could just accept them and move on, but I feel stuck right now. Hopefully I can get some more reassurance at my next appoinment.
Thanks again!
"Hopefully I can get some more reassurance at my next appoinment."
Sometimes that enough to get over the hurdle :)
Good luck with the appointment! You're gonna be fine : )
connie
Hi It could be bigeminy or trigeminy - I get that quite often. A cardiac nurse that I know is in constant bigeminy - she says that it is considered a benign rythym in an otherwise healthy heart. Infact, both cardiac nurses get PVCs all the time and are not worried about them at all.