Palpatations and steroid reduction - any connection?

Hi lizzie Ellen

Yes I have had minor palpitations while I have been reducing but they have been minor I still find them a bit frightenning I have also had night sweats ( my menopause is long forgotten !!) which I can only put down to the steroids or steroids reduction

The only thing is yet another visit to the Dr !! One of my friends husbands has been having palpitations ( he is Mr Fitness !!) and they are doing major investigations on his heart after checking everything else to try and find out what it is and at the moment they are baffled

I find I am a bit more succeptible to various things when I eat out now spices various red wines almost as i was when I was going through the menopause Are steroids anti aging !! ( I wish ) but thats the only thing that is different with me is taking steroids

Best wishes Mrs G

Im going out today Hooray !! I have shut myself off with my germs so the excitement will probably bring on palpitations !!

Hi Lizzie Ellen

Strangely, I seemed to have experienced sudden palpitations when I had to UP the dose! I do have a heart murmur and irregular heartbeat so perhaps that is why I have experienced slightly the opposite to you :? .

Like Mrs G , I also found that wines and too many spices had an effect and I completely cut out coffee (apart from an occasional decaf cappucino when I'm out to dinner) as coffee proved to be a definite palpitation inducer for me. With regard to the spices, I do, however, still have turmeric because of its anti inflammatory properties.

You don't mention that you have experienced this since Sunday but I agree with Mrs G that perhaps a check with the Dr would at least put your mind at rest. Great to read that you are doing so very well with your reduction programme - keep it up.

MrsO

Hi all,

I had palpitations for most of the 5 years I had PMR prior to diagnosis and they almost disappeared once I started steroids. Except for a few occasions which I eventually linked to taking non-enteric coated tablets! Someone else said they had similar problems - sort of head-rush feeling and the racing heart making you feel really quite strange. In my case they happened at a time I was combining tablets to make intermediate doses, went away when I went onto a dose that was a multiple of 2.5mg and came back on days I used the white tablets - bizarre!

I had ECGs done on a few occasions when I asked my GP about them and nothing was found - of course they are never at the time of the heart signs as you have to wait for an appointment. In the end he said the only thing to do if I was really concerned was to call 999 when they happened! I was horrified at the thought of bothering them and this may sound a strange idea but it IS the quickest way of getting an ECG done! Heart symptoms are a Cat A call so you will get a response within minutes (providing all the ambos aren't occupied with drunks who've hit their heads :roll: ) and they will almost certainly do an ECG as it is part of the protocoll, a 3-lead is usual but they also carry 12-lead machines so can do a \"proper\" one. If there is anything of concern they will then take you to A&E and it will be followed up immediately. There are a load of reasons for what we call palpitations, some benign and some not, and they are certainly frightening when they happen especially if they last as long as yours did, Lizzie Ellen. In your position, I think I might have done what my GP suggested. Your big check up last year won't have identified some of the acute onset causes and hearts are funny things - there's only one of them! And I don't think any paramedic would feel they'd been called out for no reason if you'd really had palpitations for that long (we do have one in the family!).

hope you have no more,

EileenH

And idiot that I am I forgot to say that if you ever faint, have chest pain or are short of breath when you have an attack of palpitations, don't mess about but call 999 straight away! Just in case - better one call too many than one too few and DON'T wate time going to the GP as they'll just have to call an ambo as they don't usually have an ECG machine. I'm sure you know the typical and traditionally emphasised heart attack symptoms but they rarely appear as in the text books and tight sensations in the chest and throat, pain across the shoulders and just feeling apprehensive are all things to take seriously!

Eileen

Three months ago I went to see my GP armed with a list of symptoms. They included muscle weakness, palpitations, mini panics and/ or anxiety. He said all these could be attributed to steroids and try taking them at night. This seemed to work for me tho' he doesn't know why.

When do most of you take your steroids? Morning with breakfast and is that the best time ( pharmacist when I picked up the first ever prescription in December told me to take them then)

How do you all find taking the Calcium tablets? Am finding it difficult to find a time two hours after a meal because about that time I am ready for a piece of fruit and am having to forgo it to chew the tablet! ( twice a day)

I did try to leave the second one until the evening but found I had an uncomfortable tight stomach all night and presumed it was due to the calcium?

Fiftiesgirl - why are you looking for a time 2 hours away from a meal to take your calcium tablets? Calcium carbonate is best taken together with food and the vit D part of the tablets especially is better taken with some fat to transport it into the cells from the gut. You need to leave 2 or 3 hours between taking your steroids and taking the calcium as calcium interferes with the absorption of the steroids so you effectively get a lower dose. I take my steroids for breakfat, one calcium tablet for lunch and the other after dinner at night. Maybe I'm strange but I actually like my calcium tablets - I just regard them as a sweetie! :lol: After all, there's calcium in milk and yogs that noone ever seems to have a problem with.

Steroids are best taken as a single dose in the morning with food - for most people at least. This best mimics the natural production of cortisol and helps avoid being kept awake at night because of the steroids. That said, there are a few people who split the dose (10mg in the morning and the rest at night) which helps with any leftover morning stiffness problems or take the dose at night like BettyE does for other reasons.

If you go to the pmr gca northeast support site (MrsK will have given the link somewhere recently I'm sure) you will find an article on taking steroids, what they are and what they do - written by a patient in normal language and checked for accuracy by doctors so it is reliable. There are other articles there that you may find helpful as well.

cheers, EileenH

Hello

i was told to take my steroids at breakfast time and I always have to eat with mine

A Pharmacist told me to leave at least 3 hours after my steroids so I either take mine at lunch or evening depending when I am in

Best wishes Mrs G

Hi Lizzie

Sorry to hear about you palpitations but to try and put your mind at ease they can occur, and often do, in otherwise healthy people. There may be a link to your steroid reduction but there again there may not.

I woke up on the morning of my youngest daughters wedding nearly 4 years ago now with my heart rhythm all over the place and it frightened me to death because I thought I was having a heart attack. Since then it has happened about 6 times and lasted up to 36 hours before suddenly going back to normal as though a switch has been pressed. I went to A&E on the second occasion and was admitted as soon as a nurse felt my pulse. I have had lots of test and been told my heart is strong, fit and healthy. The cause seems to be that my body can't cope with stress anymore and it is this that triggers an attack so I try my best to keep my stress levels down.

Anyway, nice to talk to you all again. I am now 16 months into my PMR and fingers crossed am definitely on the road to a full recovery. I started road running again at Xmas and can now do 2 miles with no ill effects. My arms are improving much slower than my legs and I am still having to take 400mg Ibuprufen at night to get some sleep but otherwise things are definitely on the way up.

Here's to a speedy recovery for us all

Bob

Hello Eileen H........... I follow the instructions on the pack for the calcium tablets.... Calceos they are called....... they say to take two hours AFTER food ....... can I ignore this instruction and take them after a meal?

It would certainly make life much easier if I could!

Hi fifties girl - you are right enough about the manufacturers of Calceos claiming they should be taken 2 hours away from food \"to ensure optimal absorption\" (found that online from someone who had asked them!). Without contacting Calceos I can't comment on their stance - however, the general rule is that calcium carbonate forms are absorbed better with some fat around (i.e. Calceos and their friends) whilst calcium citrate is better taken separate from meals. I can't see any problem and all the other versions are \"take at mealtimes\" sort of instructions. I take calcichew with lunch and dinner - and have taken two other sorts which did not say anything about leaving 2 hour gaps. For goodness sake - if you were on alendronic acid and a couple of other medications there wouldn't be enough hours in the day to do the leaving 2 hours for your calcium too - obviously an instruction thought of by someone who has no concept of the number of medications some elderly people are on! Some medications it really makes a massive difference whether it is before, during or after meals - I really don't think that is the case for calcium supplements.

FACT I've just found: oxalic acid (found in spinach and rhubarb) and phytic acid in whole cereals interfere with calcium absorption (they turn it into insoluble lumps in the gut!). Obviously they think you are eating whole meal pizza with spinach on it followed by rhubarb and custard!

So, either ignore it or ask the doc to change you to calcichews or another calcium supplement if yuo are worried about it. And keep up the other calcium - milk and yogs. And ask your doc if they have checked your vit D level as if that is low all the calcium in the world won't do much and the amount in the chewable tabs isn't enough (see MrsK's posts). Making life easier is a primary consideration in improving compliance - the company needs lessons!

cheers, EileenH

Oh Dear

I have just had a bout of laughter re the Rhubarb and Custard which I love.

But I want to share the following with you.

Many Moons ago (well over 20 years) my Mother had both PMR and I have now discovered GCA. (At least I just got one half of it - GCA).

Mam was 76 when she was diagnosed with both and needless to say things in the medical field were slightly different, except for the steroids.

Well, Mam also had other problems and this meant lots of tablets. Confusion reigned till the Older District nurse was assigned.

\"Don't worry about the times, divide them into two, take one half in the morning and the other half at night. As long as they are in your system for 24 hours they must be doing some good.\"

I leave you all pondering. Stress is not helpful and if you are stressing about tablet times, maybe it ain't helping.

This is mrs K with her pragmatic, naughty side coming out. Get back in their girl and behave yourself.

Hello Fifties girl

I would just ask your pharmacist about your calicium tablets I always took my calcium at breakfast ( so I didnt forget ) until a pharmacist told me not to but I have always had calcichew

My husband takes statins and lots of people are told to take these at night but my husbands Dr doesent believe this is necessary and my husband takes them in the morning ( so he doesent forget ) !! and he has had perfect blood pressure and cholestral for a least 5 years now ( its a family history problem )

I have always found the Alecdronic Acid more of a pest and am going to ask my Dr if I can stop as I am on 3.5 of pred now

best wishes

Mrs G

Thanks to the Mrs' G, O and K, Betty, Eileen and Bob for all the advice and good to see that Bob the Builder is doing so well. If my memory serves me right Bob you're not on Prednisolone but have injections every so often. I've been having a think about these palpatations and I'm wondering if it was food additives. (Have you noticed there's not a single '5 a day' fruit or veg emoticon!!) We try to eat as much as possible food without any additives, but on Sunday afternoon we went to a friends 'at home' and as she is very ill she relied almost entirely on shop bought buffet food. It was about 2 hours later that the palpatations almost knocked me off my feet - I'm pretty sure that was the problem although it didn't dawn on me at the time. Its less than a year since I was at the hospital all wired up and on a treadmill so I'm pretty sure there's no problem there, but I will go to the Doctor's if I get them again quite so violently. Just been to the dentist, 2 hours in the chair to replace 2 crowns - the only thing that hurt was the cost!! Keep well everyone.

Lizzie Ellen :D

Hi Lizzie Ellen

You may seem to have very cleverly hit on the problem re your palpitations as the son of a friend had a really bad turn recently, including palpitations, after eating a Chinese meal and the culprit turned out to be Monosodium Glutamate. I know there are other possibilities but wondered if you may have eaten anything with MSG in it on Sunday.

Snap! I've also just come back from the dentist (I seem to live there these days). One of my new crowns started being affected by cold water recently and the dentist just put a filling all around the bottom of it! As another crown has fractured and is causing pain, I've sought a second opinion today and the new man said the crown should have been replaced as the filling will break down anyway! He is referring me to a colleague who he said has just completed post graduate degree in crowns etc adding that she was actually his dentist! So I'm facing yet more crowns, all a result of the long-term steroids! :cry: Like you, the cost hurts :roll: .

Keep well....and avoid those additives!

MrsO