My ectopic beats are truly degrading my quality of life. Would like to hear about your experiences
Posted , 9 users are following.
hello everyone
i have been suffering with ectopic beats for almost 6months now, they are honestly the worst thing i could imagine due to their unpredict ability.
My experience is as follows
- i get them around 30 times a day mainly when i am moving outside or laughing hard or when i get anxious as if it occurs when there is a spike inadrenaline or excitement of any form. they give me a sinking feeling in my stomach like when a rollercoaster drops, my heart skips a beat and it feels lik e my heart is about to stop or go erratic and thats when i feel like i am about to die.
- the ectopics can be followed by lightheadedness or my stomach feeling unease as if its moving around in my abdomen
- they tend to not happen when i am staying still or resting such as resting on a sofa
- i also noticed that i get these ectopic beats when i am changing position in bed sometimes
- tachycardia can happen from time to time where my heart rate hovers around 100-120 for a little bit, often i feel breathless or light headed when this happen.
- i sometimes wake up feeling with strong palpitation and elevated resting heart rate around 88-110 for no reason straight up from sleeping. although this doesnt happen often as my ectopic beats
- heavy meals can sometimes trigger them
i have seen a cardiologist and did a ecg monitoring and waiting for those results now. I wanted to hear from your guys, if you suffered something similar or know how to deal with it. i am only 21 and really dont know how i am supposed to cope withthis feeling as i truly feel scared all the time. it has stopped me from taking up an active lifestyle as i am scared it can trigger an erratic heart rate.
i have stopped any caffiene or fizzy drinks and reduced my sugar intakes.
people dont believe how much it has impacted my life when i tell them about and was hopingi could find some people who understand
thank you for reading
0 likes, 25 replies
charles61038 abdd
Posted
I know your anxiety from the skipped beats. I've had them on and off for several years now. Sometimes they are few and far between, then other times they are very frequent. They are very depressing to me too. They cause extreme anxiety and when they happen frequently, they seem to drain my energy. Last year my cardiologist sent me home with a holter monitor for an entire month to keep track of my heartbeats. After the month, all he told me is that they are PVC's - pre-ventrical contractions and nothing to worry about. Still I do worry about them. I worry about making plans for an upcoming event because what if on that day I have them frequently. You mention that you think heavy meals can be a trigger and I think you are right. They happen to me sometimes after a heavy meal, or a meal that has heavy spices. I even suspect foods that contain MSG may be a trigger. I ran across an article about something called gastro-cardic syndrome. Something to do with the vagus nerve and acid reflux. I've noticed sometimes when I have the frequent palpitations, if I burp several times, they seem to lessen in frequency. For the past few weeks I've been having the irregular beats quite frequently. Today I called my cardiologist and have an appointment for next week. I hope for some kind of solution... even if it means taking home the holter monitor again. I just had my annual physical - and all was good... slight elevated sugar levels, but cholesterol numbers are good. I talked to him about the irregular beats - he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong - blood pressure etc. was fine. He told me that perhaps they should do an echo cardiogram just to make sure the heart structure is good. Each time I go to the cardiologist they do an EKG and they say it looks fine. I just wish they would help with the terrible irregular beats. Check out the gastro-cardiac syndrome. Good luck to you.
abdd charles61038
Posted
i completely feel you, and totally understand what you are saying. i personally noticed that if i have too much sugar like fizzy drinks they encourage high heart rate around 90-110 as i feel like my heart has enhanced sensitvity to adrenaline etc so i cut out major sources of sugar like those fizzy drinks. i also noticed that some spices and some pizza sauces they use has caused episodes of very rapid heart rate as well (dont think it was an SVT i.e. around 120bpm)
so i stopped eating pizza because of that.
I hope your investigations go all well and that you get through them. You could ask your doctor about urine collection for serotonin levels to rule out any endocrinological cause.
i think a holter monitor and standard blood test and most importantly an echo are all needed to give reassurance that you will be fine andthat your body is doing okay.
there is a youtuber called york cardiologist i highly recommend you give him a watch as he can be a great source of reassurance
i heard that trying out magnesium citrate suppliment can beneficial (could link you to the video if you are interested) to reduce ectopics.
all the best
charles61038 abdd
Posted
Yes, I love the york cardiology doctor. I have watched several of his videos and it always helps me calm down.
On another note... I got the results of my Echo cardiogram and EKG holter montor that I wore for 2 weeks. Everything was normal. However both tests showed PVC's, but I was told again that they are benign and nothing to worry about. Except for the fact that they disrupt my life and causes me great anxiety. My cardiologist change my beta blocker from Carvetolol to Metroprolol. He said the Metroprolol had an extra ingredient that helps regular heart rhythm. I took it for 2 weeks and had to stop. It made me feel like I was going to faint most of the time. Very uncomfortable and scary. So I went back on the Carvetolol which is a blood pressure med and beta blocker. I felt much better going back to it, but I still had the PVC's everyday. I decided to see my primary care physician just to see if maybe I had a chemical imbalance or something else that could cause these things. I had a physical with him last July so all my blood work was available to him I also took the results of the Echo and EKG to show him. He gave me a paper to fill out to test for depression and anxiety. Just some questions to answer. So from that, he determined that I had mild anxiety and depression. He prescribed a low dose of Zoloft (generica form is Sertraline). He gave me 25mg. He said we could increase it or change it based on how I did with it. I've been taking it for a little over one week now... and the PVC's have nearly stopped. I have few to none. I am still getting adjusted to this med, and he did tell me that it would be a few weeks to get the full benefits. I will see him next month as a follow up. So far it has been a relief. I have even been sleeping better too. He told me that this med helped adjust the serotonin levels. So I am hopeful this will help in the long run. I'm really not one who likes to take meds, but it this works I will keep taking it. Something to consider asking about.
The_Conductor abdd
Posted
I had similar events a few years back. It was mild for years then got worse. I was put on sotalol, Amlodipine & the rest. They seemed to help the symptoms for a while, but the side effects from the medications were honestly worse & a few months later I could hardly walk without chest pains. My Doctor advised me staying on them & upping the dosages. I was even down for an ablation. Short answer, you need to look at what you eat & what is missing. It's all about the firing order in the heart & what makes those electro chemical impulses. Eg Magnesium, Potassium, sodium etc. I no longer take any of these drugs, not had a skipped beat or anything else in years, I'm at the gym 4 times a week. 57yrs & still rocking. Look into it and try to avoid these chemicals if possible.
abdd The_Conductor
Posted
keep rocking man i hope you live a long and happy life. i completely get you and thanks for the advice ill continue to search for my triggers. thanks again bud
breanna3 abdd
Posted
Did you get your results? How many pvcs did ti show ?
jade81691 abdd
Posted
Hi. I started with ectopics at the age of 18, im now 20- my 21st is in Jan which im not looking forward too due to the frequency of my ectopics at the minute ( how the hell am i supposed to celebrate when alcohol doesnt seem a good idea ) its such a rubbish age to get these- not that they are easier to deal with at any other age however cutting out alcohol im finding difficult and it is ruining my normal life. Im currently at Uni whilst working full time as a teaching assistant whilst training to be a teacher. People have said magnesium can help, i take beta blockers 1.25 however they make me feel strange dont think ill be taking them for much longer. Its just nice to speak to somebody who actually understands. Hope youre feeling better.