Aa
PVCs...Suddenly Now w/ Exercise
As I am reading and trying to come to terms with these skips...I am just so annoyed with this latest change. I mean, the very day after my reassuring appt with the cardio something new has to happen to make me doubt all he had to say.
I never EVER felt skips during exercise or exertion. Now, for the past 3 days it is almost always during exertion. I just dont get it. Why the change? I have been taking a little more Beta Blocker as he prescribed...could this be why?? How do I know this isnt a significant change? He even put in his note that this usually happens with rest and not activity...so if he wrote that down, it must mean something, right???
So frustrated...but trying to deal...
I never EVER felt skips during exercise or exertion. Now, for the past 3 days it is almost always during exertion. I just dont get it. Why the change? I have been taking a little more Beta Blocker as he prescribed...could this be why?? How do I know this isnt a significant change? He even put in his note that this usually happens with rest and not activity...so if he wrote that down, it must mean something, right???
So frustrated...but trying to deal...
Ha, I could of written this myself a few years ago!! There are so many people on this journey. It does get easier to accept them as time goes by. You will have good days or months or years and bad. Just like a lot of other things I guess.
Your doc sounds terrific. If all doctors had such good personalities and could explain things so well to their patients, both they and their patients would benefit.
Your doctors sounds very nice. Mine had the same sort of demeanor and it is very helpful. I might suggest trying to take some antacids when the pvcs get really bad and see if it helps. Not sure it will but worth a try. And though magnesium isn't necessarily totally proven it does make me sleepy so if you are having a rough evening take one and it may help you in the minimum sleep without being a habit forming sleeping pill. Well hang in there, stay strong and good reading.
So…here are the basics…
I won’t say exactly what he said about the EP suggesting an ablation…because I don’t think he would want that in writing. But he did say that there is no way he sees any need for me to have one. Says there are risks and it may not even work and it just is not warranted. Yes, I started to cry. It was just such a relief.
He said that I am just one of those people who feel everything with my heart while there are people who would never feel these things.
He did say there IS something there. There are events happening with my heart, but they are not anything to be worried about. He said as long as I am not passing out or feeling dizzy when they happen – it doesn’t matter how many I have – I should try to go on with what I am doing. He said I can run (but not to because its bad for the knees lol), scuba dive or sky dive if I wanted to. I assured him I will not be doing any of those things regardless of heart symptoms
He saw no issues with any meds or vitamins I have been taking.
He said having more PACs/PVCs right before menses is very common but he didn’t know if uterine fibroids make it worse (I read that they release more estrogen). I will ask my Gyno about that and it may be the push I need to get that hysterectomy.
I asked if I could drink. He said that people who drink live longer than people who don’t. “At least, that is what I tell myself every night,” he said tongue in cheek. But he did say that it can be a trigger for some people so if it is, to simply stop.
He said everything he saw on my many tests amounts to PACs, PVCs and some possible SVTs. He said none of it is something to worry about. He said nothing showed any signs of a dangerous arrhythmias such as Afib, V-Tach or WPW.
He said I could be the most zen, buddhist-like person in the world and I would still feel these because that is just how my body is. But he did say he thinks stress and anxiety can make them worse or last longer.
I asked if there is any reason to believe that an event like the one that sent me to the ER 8 years ago may never happen again and he said sure – it may never happen again.
My potassium was low when I was in the ER that day. I asked about that being a possible reason. He wasn’t sure but he did say he likes people to have about a level 4 (mine was 3.4) but that people in good shape are typically lower. He said it would be fine to take a potassium supplement if I wanted. I asked about magnesium and he kinda shrugged it off but said, “Sure, if you wanna.”
I asked if there is anything I can do when I am having a really bad time like last night. He said I could take a little extra of my beta blocker. In fact, that was his suggestion at the end of the appointment. Right now, I take 12.5mg of metoprolol twice a day. He said to double it and see if that helps. It seems he thinks it might. When I first started this med, I was taking 100mg a day. So, I have no problems with this. It will probably make me more tired and could indeed make it harder to lose weight, but at this point I don’t care. I cannot live feeling the way I did last night.
At the very end, I asked him what he would say to his own kid and he said, “I would tell them to suck it up.” LMAO. I know it sounds like he is a hard ***, but really he isn’t. He made it clear to my mom that this is very real and I am not crazy. It is just something I have to learn to live with. And he just does it with a sense of humor, which I very much appreciate.
He did say that if he started feeling these he would be paranoid too. Then he made the comment, “Just because someone is paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out to get you.” So he is sympathetic to how this can really mess with someone. He said that he thought biofeedback was a crock of **** until he tried it one day and said it would be worth looking into. And he wants me to make sure I am seeing a therapist who knows what they are doing for my anxiety (and she does…she’s great).
He said that an ablation may likely not even help the PACs/PVCs and since those are my issues – he saw no reason to risk an invasive procedure. He said there are many steps to take before trying something like that.
So basically, he said this *****…we don’t know why it just happens to some people or why only some people feel it. He said as it is now, there is nothing he sees which needs ablation. He said we can work with meds for comfort, but he’s like to stick with beta blockers because they are very benign compared to other meds. And that I need to work on simply dealing with these. This is indeed pretty much what I was hoping to hear – aside from some miracle instant cure. I am very happy with the appointment and the doctor. Now, I just have to work on believing him and going on with my life….
As for my holter monitor results…in 46 hours I had the following (Dr. said none of this is concerning):
205,581 QRS Complexes – I have no clue what this means but much of it could be artifact (leads being disrupted, tape falling off, etc.)
91 Ventricular Beats – I believe these are the PVCs
6 Supraventricular Beats – I believe these are the PACs
Ventricular and Supraventricular Beats were all isolated. No couplets, bigemy or runs
Minimum Rate – 49
Average Rate – 73
Maximum Rate – 117 (and I was even exercising lol…clearly not very hard)
My plan of action:
Today I am picking up a book from the library which someone recommended to me called Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Claire Weekes. I ordered 3 other books: Peace from Nervous Suffering, Deadly Emotions and Power of the Subconcious Mind. All of these are suppose to help a person understand the body/mind connection. If it is true that my anxiety is making these ectopic beats worse, then I want to learn how NOT to do that. They will always be there….but I don’t want to make it worse.
I am going to ask my therapist for suggestions on a biofeedback practioner.
I am going to up my dose of beta blocker to 50 mg a day.
I am going to try meditation and relaxation exercises on a daily basis.
I am going to live my life.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me though this. This isn’t the end of the road by a long shot. I will need A LOT of help getting over and getting used to this ****. But I really appreciate the people who have helped thus far. You know who you are….
I won’t say exactly what he said about the EP suggesting an ablation…because I don’t think he would want that in writing. But he did say that there is no way he sees any need for me to have one. Says there are risks and it may not even work and it just is not warranted. Yes, I started to cry. It was just such a relief.
He said that I am just one of those people who feel everything with my heart while there are people who would never feel these things.
He did say there IS something there. There are events happening with my heart, but they are not anything to be worried about. He said as long as I am not passing out or feeling dizzy when they happen – it doesn’t matter how many I have – I should try to go on with what I am doing. He said I can run (but not to because its bad for the knees lol), scuba dive or sky dive if I wanted to. I assured him I will not be doing any of those things regardless of heart symptoms
He saw no issues with any meds or vitamins I have been taking.
He said having more PACs/PVCs right before menses is very common but he didn’t know if uterine fibroids make it worse (I read that they release more estrogen). I will ask my Gyno about that and it may be the push I need to get that hysterectomy.
I asked if I could drink. He said that people who drink live longer than people who don’t. “At least, that is what I tell myself every night,” he said tongue in cheek. But he did say that it can be a trigger for some people so if it is, to simply stop.
He said everything he saw on my many tests amounts to PACs, PVCs and some possible SVTs. He said none of it is something to worry about. He said nothing showed any signs of a dangerous arrhythmias such as Afib, V-Tach or WPW.
He said I could be the most zen, buddhist-like person in the world and I would still feel these because that is just how my body is. But he did say he thinks stress and anxiety can make them worse or last longer.
I asked if there is any reason to believe that an event like the one that sent me to the ER 8 years ago may never happen again and he said sure – it may never happen again.
My potassium was low when I was in the ER that day. I asked about that being a possible reason. He wasn’t sure but he did say he likes people to have about a level 4 (mine was 3.4) but that people in good shape are typically lower. He said it would be fine to take a potassium supplement if I wanted. I asked about magnesium and he kinda shrugged it off but said, “Sure, if you wanna.”
I asked if there is anything I can do when I am having a really bad time like last night. He said I could take a little extra of my beta blocker. In fact, that was his suggestion at the end of the appointment. Right now, I take 12.5mg of metoprolol twice a day. He said to double it and see if that helps. It seems he thinks it might. When I first started this med, I was taking 100mg a day. So, I have no problems with this. It will probably make me more tired and could indeed make it harder to lose weight, but at this point I don’t care. I cannot live feeling the way I did last night.
At the very end, I asked him what he would say to his own kid and he said, “I would tell them to suck it up.” LMAO. I know it sounds like he is a hard ***, but really he isn’t. He made it clear to my mom that this is very real and I am not crazy. It is just something I have to learn to live with. And he just does it with a sense of humor, which I very much appreciate.
He did say that if he started feeling these he would be paranoid too. Then he made the comment, “Just because someone is paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out to get you.” So he is sympathetic to how this can really mess with someone. He said that he thought biofeedback was a crock of **** until he tried it one day and said it would be worth looking into. And he wants me to make sure I am seeing a therapist who knows what they are doing for my anxiety (and she does…she’s great).
He said that an ablation may likely not even help the PACs/PVCs and since those are my issues – he saw no reason to risk an invasive procedure. He said there are many steps to take before trying something like that.
So basically, he said this *****…we don’t know why it just happens to some people or why only some people feel it. He said as it is now, there is nothing he sees which needs ablation. He said we can work with meds for comfort, but he’s like to stick with beta blockers because they are very benign compared to other meds. And that I need to work on simply dealing with these. This is indeed pretty much what I was hoping to hear – aside from some miracle instant cure. I am very happy with the appointment and the doctor. Now, I just have to work on believing him and going on with my life….
As for my holter monitor results…in 46 hours I had the following (Dr. said none of this is concerning):
205,581 QRS Complexes – I have no clue what this means but much of it could be artifact (leads being disrupted, tape falling off, etc.)
91 Ventricular Beats – I believe these are the PVCs
6 Supraventricular Beats – I believe these are the PACs
Ventricular and Supraventricular Beats were all isolated. No couplets, bigemy or runs
Minimum Rate – 49
Average Rate – 73
Maximum Rate – 117 (and I was even exercising lol…clearly not very hard)
My plan of action:
Today I am picking up a book from the library which someone recommended to me called Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Claire Weekes. I ordered 3 other books: Peace from Nervous Suffering, Deadly Emotions and Power of the Subconcious Mind. All of these are suppose to help a person understand the body/mind connection. If it is true that my anxiety is making these ectopic beats worse, then I want to learn how NOT to do that. They will always be there….but I don’t want to make it worse.
I am going to ask my therapist for suggestions on a biofeedback practioner.
I am going to up my dose of beta blocker to 50 mg a day.
I am going to try meditation and relaxation exercises on a daily basis.
I am going to live my life.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me though this. This isn’t the end of the road by a long shot. I will need A LOT of help getting over and getting used to this ****. But I really appreciate the people who have helped thus far. You know who you are….
I made an updated post. But I not see it is gone. Are we not allowed to put links in our posts maybe?? I posted a link to my blog where I had everything already written out. But now I cannot find it anywhere. I will paste it below.
So, last night was down right awful. I was having skips like never before. Every 4-10 beats for quite a while and then every few minutes for the rest of the night. This sent me into a straight up panic attack. I have not really had a full blown panic in years and let me tell ya…they sure don’t get easier with time. And this was WITH an extra klonopin. I was up until about 1am and with the help of a couple great people online, my husband and mother and some ridiculous sitcoms…I was able to finally settle down and drift off to sleep.
When I woke up, I felt a few and was pretty anxious, but I did what I had to do because my appointment was at 10:45 and I could not wait a second longer.
I picked up my records from All Saints and headed to Burlington. My mom met us as soon as we arrived and we decided she would come in with me. She laughed and made fun of my OCD organizing of my records. I had them in a binder according to date and test. Hey! I thought I was being pro-active and considerate!!
The nurse called us back right away and she couldn’t have been nicer. Their staff is quite remarkable. In fact, the woman running the department called me on my way out there to make sure I was okay and all set. I mean, clearly, they did this because they know my mom…but still. It felt good to be treated so well. And I still say that the nursing staff at the All Saints EP office is also very nice and compassionate.
The RN did her RN stuff…BP was what it always is….107/60-ish. Heart rate was 80-ish. I was calm. I always feel much better once I step foot into a doctor’s office. Always.
She brought my info out to the Dr. so he could review. A short time later he entered the room with a very friendly disposition. He has a dry sense of humor and is very straight forward. I really liked him a lot. He kept calling me young too which always helps
To be continued...
So, last night was down right awful. I was having skips like never before. Every 4-10 beats for quite a while and then every few minutes for the rest of the night. This sent me into a straight up panic attack. I have not really had a full blown panic in years and let me tell ya…they sure don’t get easier with time. And this was WITH an extra klonopin. I was up until about 1am and with the help of a couple great people online, my husband and mother and some ridiculous sitcoms…I was able to finally settle down and drift off to sleep.
When I woke up, I felt a few and was pretty anxious, but I did what I had to do because my appointment was at 10:45 and I could not wait a second longer.
I picked up my records from All Saints and headed to Burlington. My mom met us as soon as we arrived and we decided she would come in with me. She laughed and made fun of my OCD organizing of my records. I had them in a binder according to date and test. Hey! I thought I was being pro-active and considerate!!
The nurse called us back right away and she couldn’t have been nicer. Their staff is quite remarkable. In fact, the woman running the department called me on my way out there to make sure I was okay and all set. I mean, clearly, they did this because they know my mom…but still. It felt good to be treated so well. And I still say that the nursing staff at the All Saints EP office is also very nice and compassionate.
The RN did her RN stuff…BP was what it always is….107/60-ish. Heart rate was 80-ish. I was calm. I always feel much better once I step foot into a doctor’s office. Always.
She brought my info out to the Dr. so he could review. A short time later he entered the room with a very friendly disposition. He has a dry sense of humor and is very straight forward. I really liked him a lot. He kept calling me young too which always helps
To be continued...
I'm confused.
In your previous post, you said a 7-beat run of PACs / SVT and some single PACs. When did you get this Holter? Didn't your event monitor say something else?
Even if you have PVCs at rest, you can have PACs with exercise. I wouldn't be too afraid about this, but maybe you should get a stress test just in case?
Also, where is the link between PVCs during exercise and sudden death? I hope you didn't read that squash playing article from the 60s? :)
In your previous post, you said a 7-beat run of PACs / SVT and some single PACs. When did you get this Holter? Didn't your event monitor say something else?
Even if you have PVCs at rest, you can have PACs with exercise. I wouldn't be too afraid about this, but maybe you should get a stress test just in case?
Also, where is the link between PVCs during exercise and sudden death? I hope you didn't read that squash playing article from the 60s? :)
Well, the Dr. called me back himself!! Weird. But totally cool. I asked him about the new symptom of PVCs during exercise. He asked if I really get myself into a sweat and I said no. He said try that and see if it doesnt go away. He also said he still wasn't really worried, but to keep him informed.
I cant say I feel entirely better about this...especiallly after all that stupid googling this weekend. I found articles about how dangerous it is to have PVCs during exercise. Sudden death and all this crap. Ugh. But I will do my best to listen to him and I am very thrilled to have found a Doc who cares enough to even make his own phone calls!
I cant say I feel entirely better about this...especiallly after all that stupid googling this weekend. I found articles about how dangerous it is to have PVCs during exercise. Sudden death and all this crap. Ugh. But I will do my best to listen to him and I am very thrilled to have found a Doc who cares enough to even make his own phone calls!
On my 48 holter I had 91 PVCs and 7 PACs. Since then, I have been having much more. I posted an update since my original post, but it was probably too long for most to want to read.
First, you don't have PVCs (according to your previous posts)! There is a significant difference there regarding exercise.
PACs on the other hand, will happen with more adrenalin, and as you probably know, exercise is increasing adrenalin levels quite a bit. I don't know if your increased dose of beta blockers are to blame. It may be. If your sinus rate goes too low during exercise compared to your adrenalin levels, other pacemakers may be stimulated and cause extra beats. This is not uncommon.
If you think this is the cause, why don't you ask your doctor if you can change back to your original dosage and see if the problem goes away?
PACs on the other hand, will happen with more adrenalin, and as you probably know, exercise is increasing adrenalin levels quite a bit. I don't know if your increased dose of beta blockers are to blame. It may be. If your sinus rate goes too low during exercise compared to your adrenalin levels, other pacemakers may be stimulated and cause extra beats. This is not uncommon.
If you think this is the cause, why don't you ask your doctor if you can change back to your original dosage and see if the problem goes away?
How many are you getting when you exercise? Do they start as you get up to speed and then go away? It get them when I first start and then after I stop as my heart rate regulates itself. I think it has a bit to do with an unsteady beat/rate and when I am starting to pick up the pace or slow down the pace my heart rate can jump around a bit going slow and fast until it settles into a more steady pace. I think it is the fluctuations that are giving the extra beats a chance to jump in. So I wouldn't worry too much about the extra beats unless they are going absolutely crazy when you exercise, especially if it becomes ventricular tachycardia. Then there might be a problem but I am not a doctor so you may want to run this by your cardiologist just to get his input. But I do think you are fine.
Do you have any stomach issues? I have been working on resolving my stomach issue, gas and excess acid and it really does seem to help calm the pvcs down. Well anyways, try to hang in there. I know mine got worse for a bit and then got better so hopefully this will be the same for you. Take care.
Do you have any stomach issues? I have been working on resolving my stomach issue, gas and excess acid and it really does seem to help calm the pvcs down. Well anyways, try to hang in there. I know mine got worse for a bit and then got better so hopefully this will be the same for you. Take care.
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