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Arrythmias at nite during sleep
A couple of weeks ago i woke up in the middle of the nite with a short run of a super irregular heartbeat and took my antenolol and it knocked it out...went back to sleep and was fine. However two days later i was totally exhausted could not even hardly walk to my car went to the E,R, they did EKG's and chest e xrays tests all came back normal doc said i was suffering from exhaustion . (For 7 months i have been working 6 day work weeks). Got back to what i felt was normal babying myself then last nite woke up again at 3:30 in the morning again w. the super irregular heartbeat, again took the meds fell back asleep and now today feel totally wiped out again. Had an ablation 3 years ago, a success, but now this. Yesterday the weather here was 107 degrees, i stayed hydrated all day, no caffeine, but slept w. two fans on me because the air cond. went on the blink. Have an appt. tomorrow w. heart doc for a check up again....ideas from forum members? I'm getting a little spooked here....why the exhaustion i double dosed the antenolol from 25 mg to 50 mg to knock out the episode..this morning B/P was 107/70 and pulse was 69....okay i am open for suggestions and hopefully positive ones because i feel like someone let the air out of my balloon today no other symtoms tho today.....
Hi Cindy
I just was browsing through articles & saw your arrythmias during sleep & I have been going through that for years myself.
Long story short here, I have had ALL the heart tests there are besides a Cat Scan, but everything for me was normal,healthy & strong they said. So WHY do I wake up with my heart racing,bending over sometimes & it takes off racing or wake up in the night gasping for air?
Bottom line is I am diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, Anxiety/Panic Disorder GERD (Gastrointestinal Esophagus Reflex Disease). & a very small Mitral Valve Prolapse that is nothing they say, but stress, dreams (happy or sad ones) can set mine off during sleep. I wake gasping for air is because I stop breathing during REM & I am not overweight,don't snore & it is due to apnea. I don't use my machine because I can't get used to it. Right now I am on my 8th week of Zoloft & Xanax at bedtime & still have some spells, so my Dr said she will up my Zoloft next visit to her. Overall I am very healthy, don't smoke,drink or do drugs & have this healthy heart & have these weird episodes. The good thing is we won't die from them, but we do need to address them because in the long run, there are consequences from just ignoring them.
I will add you to my prayer list & pray that you & I both get better fast & stay that way.
God Bless!
Roxanne
I just was browsing through articles & saw your arrythmias during sleep & I have been going through that for years myself.
Long story short here, I have had ALL the heart tests there are besides a Cat Scan, but everything for me was normal,healthy & strong they said. So WHY do I wake up with my heart racing,bending over sometimes & it takes off racing or wake up in the night gasping for air?
Bottom line is I am diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, Anxiety/Panic Disorder GERD (Gastrointestinal Esophagus Reflex Disease). & a very small Mitral Valve Prolapse that is nothing they say, but stress, dreams (happy or sad ones) can set mine off during sleep. I wake gasping for air is because I stop breathing during REM & I am not overweight,don't snore & it is due to apnea. I don't use my machine because I can't get used to it. Right now I am on my 8th week of Zoloft & Xanax at bedtime & still have some spells, so my Dr said she will up my Zoloft next visit to her. Overall I am very healthy, don't smoke,drink or do drugs & have this healthy heart & have these weird episodes. The good thing is we won't die from them, but we do need to address them because in the long run, there are consequences from just ignoring them.
I will add you to my prayer list & pray that you & I both get better fast & stay that way.
God Bless!
Roxanne
When I went into Afib my EP immediately sent me for a sleep study and I do in fact have sleep apnea. The study is not fun. You have to sleep with electrodes stuck to your head with this horrible gummy stuff. DO NOT plan on going anywhere the next morning until you have had a long shower! The put straps around your chest, hook you up to all kinds of stuff, watch you from a camera on the ceiling and then they expect you to go to sleep????? But seriously, it would be worth checking into it.
No he didn't mention it however it does make sense to me what you are saying...i think i am going to give him a call at the office today and ask about having it done....i didn't think that i ever snored when i slept however i was told recently that i snored so loud at times that the house vibrates lol.....it would make sense to me too...thanks Lisa i'll make the call in a couple of hours.......
Cindy did your doctor mention at all doing a sleep study just to be certain you dont have sleep apnea? That's one of the first things my cardio suggested when I went in and said basically the same thing as yours - sleep deprivation as well as stress etc can overload our bodies...um yeah I slept maybe 4 hours total a night for 20 years lol
I never snored and my husband snored like a mac truck but never woke up which I found funny. I only started snoring after my pvc's went off the deep end 24/7 and she didn't think I have it since I didn't snore. I was a bit surprised with my sleep study and how severe my sleep apnea was since I ranked very low on the sleepworthiness test.
glad you found some answers and take a break once in awhile =)
I never snored and my husband snored like a mac truck but never woke up which I found funny. I only started snoring after my pvc's went off the deep end 24/7 and she didn't think I have it since I didn't snore. I was a bit surprised with my sleep study and how severe my sleep apnea was since I ranked very low on the sleepworthiness test.
glad you found some answers and take a break once in awhile =)
This is why i love this community so much...no matter what any of us go thru everyone is there for each other to make all of us feel better. So from the very bottom of my heart i want to say thanks to all of you because yep you all made the difference in being there for me. So i guess now is the lesson in daily life with atrial fib...its almost funny because each of you were basically right....so....
Jerry:
You were partially right because i found out from the heart doc today that when we aren't in what is considered normal REM during sleep meaning that we aren't get a good nite of sleep that when we enter into REM is when dreams occur and altho atrial fib is electrical based our reaction he said definately does effect atrial fib which he says 70% and above experience atrial fib during sleep. Rule number one now...i have to make sure i get a full nite of sleep and try to prevent waking up in the middle of the nite because it can set it off. So you nailed it.
Chronie:
I guess that we could refer back to Jerrys comment and he said definately yes there is a corrolation between sleep apnea and atrial fib and thank goodness he doesn't think i have it however he did say that again if we don't get a full nite of sleep you can have isolated incidents of apnea and in guessing he said i could have also had a randon occurance. So you also nailed it.
KSIG:
If there was a gold star you would get this one because you almost said word for word what he said. He said that it is extremely common after bouts of atrial fib that last longer than an hour to be completely wiped out and when i upped the dose which he said was the right thing to do since i chickened out on taking the Multaq he gave to me so that when it occured and i second dosed myself to knock it out i basically relaxed my heart so much that it wiped me out. So you nailed it also.
Is_Something_Wrong:
Now this one you are going to find interesting and i know i did. Actually antenolol is used exactly to block the adrenaline pushes and irregular heart rate and it is used to kick the episode out once it begins. The rules of engagement for me are to take one immediately if i wake up again like this and wait the 30 minutes and then take the plunge and go to the Multaq...if within an hour of the Multaq if the episode doesn't subside then head to the E.R. for another round of conversion...lets hope that doesn't happen i hate it when that happens for sure.
CFS56:
I alway love reading your posts so i was happy to that posted...to make a long story short...went to the docs at 3:00 today and basically got a little talking to by my heart doc. Sounds like its time for another life adjustment. After the ablation 3 yrs. ago no issues and within that last 3 months have woken up in total atrial fib. again. A weird one tho..heart rate slow at least slow for me at 74 on an average just incredibly irregular, feeling it in my neck, chest, felt like a pony prancing outta control all over the place and as always scary as heck and making deal after deal with God LOL.....so even tho i know better he felt its me again...under wayyy too much stress in my job, for almost 7 months working 6 day work weeks, having interrupted sleep at nite, burning the candle at both ends...and yes he said most definately do this to ourselves set off atrial fib. which i thought was taken care of during the ablation but if you don't take care of your body and mind he said your heart will not take care of you....he asked me what i did for me...like recreation and fun stuff and i said....well i....but i....he said anyone with heart issues has to remember that the laughter and pleasure is just as important as any surgery any good heart doc could ever do because at that point we are treating ourselves....lesson learned...this weekend i am taking it off and going to the beach....and i told him about our community and he said kudos to all of us because that is a part of doing something for ourselves as well to be there for others....my most heartfelt thanks to you all...sorry about this book...hopefully another ablation won't be in my future....thank you s will never be enough to you all........we're all paying it forward......
Jerry:
You were partially right because i found out from the heart doc today that when we aren't in what is considered normal REM during sleep meaning that we aren't get a good nite of sleep that when we enter into REM is when dreams occur and altho atrial fib is electrical based our reaction he said definately does effect atrial fib which he says 70% and above experience atrial fib during sleep. Rule number one now...i have to make sure i get a full nite of sleep and try to prevent waking up in the middle of the nite because it can set it off. So you nailed it.
Chronie:
I guess that we could refer back to Jerrys comment and he said definately yes there is a corrolation between sleep apnea and atrial fib and thank goodness he doesn't think i have it however he did say that again if we don't get a full nite of sleep you can have isolated incidents of apnea and in guessing he said i could have also had a randon occurance. So you also nailed it.
KSIG:
If there was a gold star you would get this one because you almost said word for word what he said. He said that it is extremely common after bouts of atrial fib that last longer than an hour to be completely wiped out and when i upped the dose which he said was the right thing to do since i chickened out on taking the Multaq he gave to me so that when it occured and i second dosed myself to knock it out i basically relaxed my heart so much that it wiped me out. So you nailed it also.
Is_Something_Wrong:
Now this one you are going to find interesting and i know i did. Actually antenolol is used exactly to block the adrenaline pushes and irregular heart rate and it is used to kick the episode out once it begins. The rules of engagement for me are to take one immediately if i wake up again like this and wait the 30 minutes and then take the plunge and go to the Multaq...if within an hour of the Multaq if the episode doesn't subside then head to the E.R. for another round of conversion...lets hope that doesn't happen i hate it when that happens for sure.
CFS56:
I alway love reading your posts so i was happy to that posted...to make a long story short...went to the docs at 3:00 today and basically got a little talking to by my heart doc. Sounds like its time for another life adjustment. After the ablation 3 yrs. ago no issues and within that last 3 months have woken up in total atrial fib. again. A weird one tho..heart rate slow at least slow for me at 74 on an average just incredibly irregular, feeling it in my neck, chest, felt like a pony prancing outta control all over the place and as always scary as heck and making deal after deal with God LOL.....so even tho i know better he felt its me again...under wayyy too much stress in my job, for almost 7 months working 6 day work weeks, having interrupted sleep at nite, burning the candle at both ends...and yes he said most definately do this to ourselves set off atrial fib. which i thought was taken care of during the ablation but if you don't take care of your body and mind he said your heart will not take care of you....he asked me what i did for me...like recreation and fun stuff and i said....well i....but i....he said anyone with heart issues has to remember that the laughter and pleasure is just as important as any surgery any good heart doc could ever do because at that point we are treating ourselves....lesson learned...this weekend i am taking it off and going to the beach....and i told him about our community and he said kudos to all of us because that is a part of doing something for ourselves as well to be there for others....my most heartfelt thanks to you all...sorry about this book...hopefully another ablation won't be in my future....thank you s will never be enough to you all........we're all paying it forward......
Hi, cindy707
When you mentioned that you took an extra dose of Atenolol and then experienced exhaustion, it sounded all to familiar. In the past whenever I changed up the dosage of Atenolol by taking it as a "pill in the pocket", I suffered... but I also slept. When I would awaken, I was exhausted. Atenolol never rid me of the AFib but it slowed it down so that I would not feel it and could tolerate it. (I was also on a boatload of other meds, too) I was up to 100 mg of Atenolol as a regular daily dosage and would add 25 mg at a time to quiet the event. Some times it worked to slow down the rhythm but sometimes all I got out of the deal was exhaustion. AFib is a pesky arrhythmia.
ksig
When you mentioned that you took an extra dose of Atenolol and then experienced exhaustion, it sounded all to familiar. In the past whenever I changed up the dosage of Atenolol by taking it as a "pill in the pocket", I suffered... but I also slept. When I would awaken, I was exhausted. Atenolol never rid me of the AFib but it slowed it down so that I would not feel it and could tolerate it. (I was also on a boatload of other meds, too) I was up to 100 mg of Atenolol as a regular daily dosage and would add 25 mg at a time to quiet the event. Some times it worked to slow down the rhythm but sometimes all I got out of the deal was exhaustion. AFib is a pesky arrhythmia.
ksig
Cindy, any chance you may have sleep apnea? They've discovered that there is a correlation w/heart arrhythmias. You don't have to be the typial overweight, middle age to elderly male who snores like a truck driver. You can be young, trim and fit and may or may not snore and still have sleep apnea.
Hi Cindy!
It can really only be four things:
Multiple PACs, multiple PVCs, multifocal atrial tachycardia (sort of A-fib "light") and A-fib.
Beta blockers usually don't convert A-fib (just slow it down) so that's pretty much ruled out, if it didn't just suddenly convert, regardless of the bb. Multifocal AT would probably give a higher heart rate, and it's extremely uncommon. The answer must be PACs or PVCs :)
Ventricular arrhythmias (except PVCs) are usually very regular.
It can really only be four things:
Multiple PACs, multiple PVCs, multifocal atrial tachycardia (sort of A-fib "light") and A-fib.
Beta blockers usually don't convert A-fib (just slow it down) so that's pretty much ruled out, if it didn't just suddenly convert, regardless of the bb. Multifocal AT would probably give a higher heart rate, and it's extremely uncommon. The answer must be PACs or PVCs :)
Ventricular arrhythmias (except PVCs) are usually very regular.
Hi Jerry thanks for answering...i don't remember dreaming but mostly it wasn't so much fast as it was totally irregular. So far today so good in terms of the heart but....the deal is that i am so exausted and that is what has me a little afraid here i just wanted to reach out to see if anyone has ever felt that total drained feeling hours after an episode i don't know i did double up on the antenolol even tho it still was a low dose and then took half of a zanax to try to get myself calmed down before i went to sleep. I slept for an additional 4 hours, showered and came back to work for a few hours to get my mind off of this...i guess if i am symtom free that is the good thing but still doesn't explain the fatigue....oh well wonders of the world i guess i'll get my answers at the docs tomorrow at 3.....thanks Jerry
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi Cindy, were you having dreams before you woke up? We know that can cause a higher HR, maybe irregular HR for those of us so disposed. I assume you felt the irregular HR with out feeling for it, it was accompanied with a strong enough force to be felt by the chest.
Dreaming is the only thing I can come up with as a possible driver.
Hope you feel letter soon.
Dreaming is the only thing I can come up with as a possible driver.
Hope you feel letter soon.
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