Palpatations and steroid reduction - any connection?

MSG is foul stuff! But you're right - if you don't eat food with artificial stuff in it as a rule, when you get a skin-full of them it could have some unpleasant effects. I can't do Chinese - too much risk of wheat - but I am very fond of Indian and we used to have to go to London occasionally and discovered the Travelodge at Ilford. it's usually dirt cheap, is at the top of a multi carpark so you have safe overnight parking, it's walking distance to the station - and just round the corner is a superb Indian that makes everything itself so they knew what was in it. Which, in the UK, is a very pleasant change!

Hope you don't get a recurrence - the dentist's bill might have been a risk factor?

EileenH

Doh! Of course its the MSG :yuk: I just can't cope with it. I should have thought of that. Yes, there would have been shed loads of the stuff in Sunday's buffet. Oh well, mystery solved. Just off to cook dinner, white fish with steamed veg and new potatoes followed by fresh pineapple. No palpatation material there!

Lizzie Ellen

Lizzie Ellen - depends how much you poke it. Or did you mean palpitations???????? :lol:

Hi ladies...just read about the experiences with the dreaded MSG... I am really lucky in that my local chinese take-away which I indulge my family with on occasion, does not use it at all as so many customers found they were intolerant 8). I can tell almost immediately if it is in my food as my lips start to \"tingle\"

Of course that is the problem with either take-away, or eating out....never 100% sure what is in there unless you have made it yourself :roll:

Best wishes to all, Pauline.

Hello

Yes I react to MSG also I dont eat Chinese that often but I have noticed that not so many of them seem to use it now Chines and Red wine at night used to be lethal for me and i would be buzzing as i was when first on steroids !!

best wishes Mrs G

Have to say that since I began taking steroids in December, palpitations seem to be part of my life! Seem to be on a 'high' and palpitations part of it...... difficulty relaxing etc so assume steroids doing this?

Not overly concerned about it though.....

My hubby and I find we cannot eat soy sauce these days because it keeps us awake :?

50sgirl - have you tried Tamari soy sauce? Made by a totally different process, no wheat. Always worth a try.

Buzzing-ness is part of the early stages taking pred - just imagine what it's like if you have GCA and are on 40-80mg which is not uncommon!

Eileen H..... no I haven't tried Tamari but will look for it next time I am in the supermarket.... thank you :D

Hi Lizzie and others

It's truly amazing what you learn from this site! Can someone tell me what MSG is and whether it is likely to be in Indian restaurant food? Also what other foods are likely to have it in large amounts :idea:

Two of my heart rhythm problems have occurred a few hours after an Indian meal - which I now avoid because of it :cry: - so perhaps I too am intolerant to a food additive like MSG. I don't know what I ate before the others occurred but this just might explain the long gap (up to a year) between them.

Lizzie - in answer to your comment, the only steroids I have taken are a two week course initially and one injection (for the reasons spelt out in my earlier postings). I wouldn't recommend my way, and I can't compare the severity of my PMR with others, but I have shown that it is possible to get through this without steroids - though the pain and suffering you have to endure really isn't worth it. In my case it has come down to sheer stubbornness and a refusal to give in but I wouldn't go through the last 16 months again for a £1M. My wife has been a saint to put up with me :roll:

Have a good one.

Bob

Bob - MSG is monosodium glutamate, a flavour enhancer. It is (or was) used in Chinese food, in particular, a great deal but there was a revolt some years ago and some restaurants advertised they DIDN'T use it to attract custom. I don't know about in Indian food - was it a \"home\" Indian meal from S'burys or whoever or at a restaurant? I am very fussy about Indian restaurants but a good one should be making its own food and be able to tell you if they use it in anything. If you tell them that you react to it (whether you do or not) they should be worried enough to come clean! When you read the labels on food it may admit it - it may not! But there are a lot of people who have problems with it. I'll have a look and see what other info I can find.

EileenH

MSG is monsodiumglutomate( not sure if thats the correct spelling ) I do think it is a problem in Chinese food and a friend who goes to America a lot says she has seen Restaurants there displaying on their menus that they dont use it

I am not aware of it being in Indian food perhaps it is just all the cocktail of spices they use and the ghee I always find I feel better after an Indian meal if I have all the dry dishes It seems to be all the fat in the sauces that upsets me not the spices I am sure someone will have a bit more knowledge of Indian cooking than me !!

best wishes Mrs G

After a quick Google it looks as though some of them do as its in a lot of ready made spices and food enhancers

Quite interesting how allergic some people are to it I certainly feel very hungover if I have had too much of it and palpitations as well I suppose you dont know until it is too late but can then avoid those Restaurants aftewards I certainly rember now feeling very unwell after a readymade curry and now avoid that make

Best wishes Mrs G

The official view is that MSG may cause a reaction in sensitive individuals (but there is no scientific evidence and they have done some double blinded trials) and in normal amounts it shouldn't be a problem for most people. Whatever - it is often found in stock cubes and as a result in sauces. The artificial additive has a very high percentage of the L-antiomer (shape of the molecule) whereas naturally occuring stuff tends to have some D-antiomer (the mirror image) which may have some mitigating effect.

If you want to look for it in labels it appears as E621 but anything that says flavour enhancers almost certainly has it in. If you are eating foods with E621 regularly without problems you are unlikely to be \"allergic\" to it. However, a fast heart rate is one of the claimed side-effects. On the other hand - if you have a meal with loads in it, you might react. After all, you don't use gallons of Worcester sauce normally do you! Several different dishes all with added MSG could add up, especially if they were of the \"the more the better\" class of cooks!

EileenH

Many thanks for the info Eileen & Mrs G

I wasn't aware that food chemicals could have such an effect but will certainly be more vigilant if it happens again.

Bob