Aa
Home from the ER and terrified!
Hi Everyone,
I have been reading your posts and they are most helpful. I have been suffering PVC's badly for about six months now. 9000 during my last halter monitor. Today, however, I had something much different. I got nauseous, almost passed out, and felt my pulse having way too long a pause between beats. I really thought I was dying and went to the ER to get checked out. Has anyone else experienced this? All they found was that my phosphate level was pretty low. They gave me some Phos-Nak, an extra 25 mg dose of Metoprolol and sent me home. Cardiac enzymes were good they said. My most recent echo and stress test were good. My cardiologist has me on 25 mg of Metoprolol 2 x a day and wants to add 120 mg of cardizem, too. I also take Effexor XR 75 mg a day and ativan .5 mg as needed for the anxiety these things are causing me. I'm frightened all the time and it is no way to live. I have also been referred to the electrophysiologist at the end of January. I don't know what to do or how to cope. Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated...
P.S. I forgot to mention that I am also taking a baby aspirin a day, a 100 mg tablet of coq10, and 500 mg of magnesium daily as well. Good health and much peace to everyone in the new year.
I have been reading your posts and they are most helpful. I have been suffering PVC's badly for about six months now. 9000 during my last halter monitor. Today, however, I had something much different. I got nauseous, almost passed out, and felt my pulse having way too long a pause between beats. I really thought I was dying and went to the ER to get checked out. Has anyone else experienced this? All they found was that my phosphate level was pretty low. They gave me some Phos-Nak, an extra 25 mg dose of Metoprolol and sent me home. Cardiac enzymes were good they said. My most recent echo and stress test were good. My cardiologist has me on 25 mg of Metoprolol 2 x a day and wants to add 120 mg of cardizem, too. I also take Effexor XR 75 mg a day and ativan .5 mg as needed for the anxiety these things are causing me. I'm frightened all the time and it is no way to live. I have also been referred to the electrophysiologist at the end of January. I don't know what to do or how to cope. Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated...
P.S. I forgot to mention that I am also taking a baby aspirin a day, a 100 mg tablet of coq10, and 500 mg of magnesium daily as well. Good health and much peace to everyone in the new year.
I have done the tilt table test approximately seven years ago when I was having some different near syncope episodes. I had two of them and didn't pass out with either one. I have had pvc's since I was 12, but they have never been as bad as they have been for the past six months. I am new to taking meds for them as my cardio has prescribed metoprolol 25 mg twice a day and now has added cardizem 120mg as well. My pulse is down to 60 so that concerns me a little too. I will check those sites you mentioned. Thanks so much for the info. By the way, could you describe one of your syncope episodes and any clues that let you know it is approaching? Thanks again :)
I've had syncope & arrhythmia's since age 9, dr's told me nothing was wrong until age 42 when I had to see an EP. He knew what the ANS (autonomic nervous system) was and did a tilt table test and found I have Neurocardiogenic Syncope and Orthostatic Intolerance related to my heart problems.
If it's your ANS it could be NCS/OI and you have autonomic dysfunction (dysautonomia) there's a forum here http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Dysautonomia-Autonomic-Dysfunction/show/266 for DYS and has some great info. Here's another site that has great info: http://www. cccgroup. info/neurosyn. asp (take out the spaces MH sensors websites sometimes)
btw, your cardiologist may not know anything about the ANS or ANS/Heart combination so you may have to tell him and ask questions or find another dr
The DYS forum has lists of dr's who deal with this and will do the right testing for you - be cautious with the pre-syncope issues, I was told for so long mine was "nothing" I fainted driving one day - thankfully no one was hurt.
If it's your ANS it could be NCS/OI and you have autonomic dysfunction (dysautonomia) there's a forum here http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Dysautonomia-Autonomic-Dysfunction/show/266 for DYS and has some great info. Here's another site that has great info: http://www. cccgroup. info/neurosyn. asp (take out the spaces MH sensors websites sometimes)
btw, your cardiologist may not know anything about the ANS or ANS/Heart combination so you may have to tell him and ask questions or find another dr
The DYS forum has lists of dr's who deal with this and will do the right testing for you - be cautious with the pre-syncope issues, I was told for so long mine was "nothing" I fainted driving one day - thankfully no one was hurt.
Thanks so much for your input. I've had several ekg's and a stress echo in the past month. The cardiologist hasn't told me anything specific for the cause. I avoid caffeine and alcohol anyway so I'm not sure what my triggers might be. I'm more concerned about the near syncope episode I had. I think it was caused by my heart rate being so slow. I don't know what brought it on. Has anyone experienced anything like this? The pvc's were bad enough, but that was terribly frightening :(
Have you gotten all of your test results to see what's going on and make sure everything is "normal"? If so, anxiety & stressing over pvc's no matter the amount will only make your symptoms and pvc's worse.
Having said that, there may ans issues they haven't found or other things involved. Autonomic nervous system is quirky sometimes and can make you dizzy, nauseous etc. ANS regulates almost all "automatic" things that go on in our bodies; for more info just good ANS and read about it.
If all was normal in your tests, then try to find your triggers if you can. 9,000 pvc's may seem like alot, but there are some of us who have 20,000 - 50,000+ of them and deal with them. Most of th time dr's will treat 6,000 - 8,000 pvc's with meds then anything above 15% of your daily total heartbeats with ablation (rougly 15,000 pvc's in the normal heart that beats 100,000/24 hrs).
It's good to be cautious and watch for changing symptoms, just try not to fret too much over these and that will help you greatly =)
Having said that, there may ans issues they haven't found or other things involved. Autonomic nervous system is quirky sometimes and can make you dizzy, nauseous etc. ANS regulates almost all "automatic" things that go on in our bodies; for more info just good ANS and read about it.
If all was normal in your tests, then try to find your triggers if you can. 9,000 pvc's may seem like alot, but there are some of us who have 20,000 - 50,000+ of them and deal with them. Most of th time dr's will treat 6,000 - 8,000 pvc's with meds then anything above 15% of your daily total heartbeats with ablation (rougly 15,000 pvc's in the normal heart that beats 100,000/24 hrs).
It's good to be cautious and watch for changing symptoms, just try not to fret too much over these and that will help you greatly =)
Thank you for your quick reply. I do find that the Ativan seems to help. My GP, however, will only write the rx for a few at a time. He will renew it again - as long as I come in for the $160.00 office visit. Since I am on the self pay plan, it can't be the best answer. Add that to all the tests at the cardio and the financial stress is mounting too. I just want to be "normal" and not afraid to live my life. Today I thought it was ending. Oh, and I should have mentioned that I am a 44 year old female. Again, thanks for your input.
If your heart has been repeatedly checked out, it's probably actually in good shape.
Being hyper aware of your heartbeat or feeling strange bodily sensations can trigger what's called a vasovagal episode--in other words, an emotionally triggered faint. Nausea frequently accompanies fainting, as the blood pressure drops briefly as you begin to feel faint (it gets normal again when you're actually horizontal).
I don't know how long you've been taking Effexor, but if it's longer than about three weeks, it's possible that it's not the right med for you. There are lots of others in this class, and sometimes you have to try several to find the one that is most effective.
It's also quite possible that you would benefit from seeing a specialist in the treatment of anxiety. GPs and heart docs know that their patients suffer greatly from this problem, but they aren't as familiar with the best medications and techniques for dealing with anxiety as real shrinks and certain counselors are.
Just out of curiosity, do you find that taking Ativan helps?
Being hyper aware of your heartbeat or feeling strange bodily sensations can trigger what's called a vasovagal episode--in other words, an emotionally triggered faint. Nausea frequently accompanies fainting, as the blood pressure drops briefly as you begin to feel faint (it gets normal again when you're actually horizontal).
I don't know how long you've been taking Effexor, but if it's longer than about three weeks, it's possible that it's not the right med for you. There are lots of others in this class, and sometimes you have to try several to find the one that is most effective.
It's also quite possible that you would benefit from seeing a specialist in the treatment of anxiety. GPs and heart docs know that their patients suffer greatly from this problem, but they aren't as familiar with the best medications and techniques for dealing with anxiety as real shrinks and certain counselors are.
Just out of curiosity, do you find that taking Ativan helps?
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