Aa
when is enough enough?
I am a 29 yo F with constant pvcs.they are worse at night and almost intolerable before my cycle.ive had echo, ekgs, bloodwork, worn a holter, thyroid panel, all that. normal except for the pvcs.I went on atenolol 12.5mg and cardizem 30mg. Those medicines combined were overkill, and lowered my bp and pulse to dangerous levels so, at the advice of an er physician, i stopped the atenolol. I started taking fish oil, calmagzinc, and potassium supplements. The palps lessened considerably.Then i got into a car accident where i sustained minor injuries and was put on flexeril, a muscle relaxant, for back spasms.The palps came back right then with a vengeance.SOOO bad.2 or 3 in a row every 5 or 6 beats.my pulse is hovering at 60-70 but my bp is normal.So i went to the er yet again and he said he saw pvc and quite a lot of them.He said stop the flexeril and gave me ativan.And advised i see another cardiologist.So my question is this.Should i be satisfied with all the prior test results and just deal with these things?Should i believe the doctors who tsktsk me and tell me im not going to die?Ive been fighting this for 3 years now and to make matters worse i have no insurance.It just frightens me to feel my heart being sluggish and trying to catch up with itself all day and night.I want to see my daughter grow up and stop being a basketcase in front of her.What is it going to take to finally reassure me?Or will i ever be?
thank you so much for your comments.i am definitely making changes in my life for the better.de-stressing needs to be one of them...maybe yoga or meditation.
Have you tried any lifestyle changes yet? Things like eating really well, supplementing electrolytes, reduce stress, avoid caffeine, start doing something to take care your well being like meditation, yoga, or exercise.
Getting diagnosed at an ER is probably not serving you well. The ER will stabilize you in case there is an emergency. Once the emergency is over, you should be thinking about the next step which is following up with a primary care doc and/or a specialist.
If you were diagnosed with benign PVCs, any treatment at that point is considered palliative, meaning it's just being done to help you cope with symptoms or sensations. I'm a bit surprised that your cardiologist had you one a Beta Blocker and Calcium Channel Blocker at the same time! I agree that you shouldn't go back there, that cardiologist doesn't sound experienced in treating frequent benign PVCs. Those 2 meds can sometimes increase benign PVC activity. My doc tried both of these on me, one at time. The BB didn't help, made them a bit worse. The CCB was horrendous!
I had really bad experience with fish oil, that worsened them. no doubt. I've heard this from others as-well.
Try to make 1 change at a time. Don't change a bunch of different stuff because you won't know what helps and what makes them worse.
Getting diagnosed at an ER is probably not serving you well. The ER will stabilize you in case there is an emergency. Once the emergency is over, you should be thinking about the next step which is following up with a primary care doc and/or a specialist.
If you were diagnosed with benign PVCs, any treatment at that point is considered palliative, meaning it's just being done to help you cope with symptoms or sensations. I'm a bit surprised that your cardiologist had you one a Beta Blocker and Calcium Channel Blocker at the same time! I agree that you shouldn't go back there, that cardiologist doesn't sound experienced in treating frequent benign PVCs. Those 2 meds can sometimes increase benign PVC activity. My doc tried both of these on me, one at time. The BB didn't help, made them a bit worse. The CCB was horrendous!
I had really bad experience with fish oil, that worsened them. no doubt. I've heard this from others as-well.
Try to make 1 change at a time. Don't change a bunch of different stuff because you won't know what helps and what makes them worse.
Being without insurance is extremely difficult, I've been in that spot for a few months now and the feeling is horrible. Decisions, do I bankrupt my family when I go to hospital because I know the bill would be enormous or do I endanger my health even more knowing I have something that should have been treated 2 months ago.
Any time there's a marked increase in pvc's or symptoms you should get it checked out. Constant pvc's can, but doesn't always, lead to pvc induced cardiomyopathy.
That brings me to the next question...how many pvc's were caught on your 24 hour holter or other monitor? That's an important # - if the total amount of pvc's were in the thousands say 4,000+ I would definintely find a BB that will help alleviate some of the pvc's. If your totals were that much before and they've increased, you really need to be seen again by a cardiologist & get a full workup.
I've lived with constant (day in day - 50,000+) pvc's and they're nerve wracking to say the least, but the vast majority are ok, unless you have symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, some VT's, or your pvc's are in the 15-20% range of your daily total heartbeats.
Also, keep a journal of dates, times, what you were doing or eating/drinking and see if you can find any triggers that may be worsening your symptoms.
Any time there's a marked increase in pvc's or symptoms you should get it checked out. Constant pvc's can, but doesn't always, lead to pvc induced cardiomyopathy.
That brings me to the next question...how many pvc's were caught on your 24 hour holter or other monitor? That's an important # - if the total amount of pvc's were in the thousands say 4,000+ I would definintely find a BB that will help alleviate some of the pvc's. If your totals were that much before and they've increased, you really need to be seen again by a cardiologist & get a full workup.
I've lived with constant (day in day - 50,000+) pvc's and they're nerve wracking to say the least, but the vast majority are ok, unless you have symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, some VT's, or your pvc's are in the 15-20% range of your daily total heartbeats.
Also, keep a journal of dates, times, what you were doing or eating/drinking and see if you can find any triggers that may be worsening your symptoms.
thank you so much for your advice.i plan to research cardiologists tomorrow and take my life back no matter how much it costs me...peace of mind is priceless.
I personally think what its going to take to help you out of this is simple...simplify your life and make an appt. w. a heart doc that you have researched and feel you can trust and go from there. You are not a test monkey where they want to try this or stop that or adjust this...that is no way to live and you don't have to .....the first thing is to make an appt. w. a heart doc and use him/her as your primary heart specialist, next quit running back and forth to the E.R, and seeing different docs with different opinions on different visits. The issue is that you have no difinitive answers to anything and are going crazy over it and i would too...try to step back take a deep breath and make a plan of attack here to get this dealt with...the E.R, doc is not the doc to advise you altho their intentions are wonderful they live by the rule to treat em and street em ...in other words to get you in and out as fast as possible to make room for others that are in acute situations...once you are stablized in an E.R, you are out the door after talking to the docs or discharging nurse for about 10 minutes and then you are a memory....it is just how its supposed to go..i don't blame you a bit but you need to take back control...find a great heart doc, make an appt., plan on sitting down w. them for at least 20 -30 minutes and look at what options they give you and you can bet you can take that one to the bank. I am unsure of what state you live in but all states have some sort of county aid for those without insurance and there is no such thing as pride when it comes to our heart...we toss it out the window and fight to get our lives back....good luck Colleen and don't give up...the answers and treatment is just around the corner for you...
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