SVTs's anyone?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Recently I have discovered I have an arrhythmia. One night last year I went to a clinic for antibiotics and was instead sent to the ER for apossible heart attack. Turned out it was nothing but had an irregular ECG and saw a cardiologist. Cardiologist had my on holten monitor, echocardiogram, and stress test and said my heart occassionally skips a beat, no worries. Then I started to get a lot of fatigue, joint pain, facial numbness and chest pressure. This prompted me to see my rheumatologist that I hadn't seen in 10 years. Once I had my son, all of Sjogren's symptoms went away. I nearly forgot I even had a disease. Well, knock, knock, it's back! My rheumatologist looked at my echocardiogram and told me to go back and get another and sent me to a new cardiologist. This cardoligist looked at my holten monitor results and said I have supraventricular tachycardia and should get my sinus nodes mapped and get an ablation. So I googled svt's and sjogren's and apparently it's not so uncommon amongst Sjogren's patients. Apparently 40-something% of svt patients have sjogren's. Is this an autonomic neuropathy? Does this mean I have to start methotrexate now? Before I commit to an ablation or black label drugs, please tell me your experience.
0 likes, 3 replies
Jalanez Guest
Posted
2 years ago I was finally correctly dx'd with SS and had already started me on Plaquenil due to various other symptoms that were running out of control so that by the time they sent me to the cardiologist and dx'd me with SVT I was not surprised because I had experienced a couple of episodes. I don't know if you have to go on methotrexate or any medication at all at this point, my cardiologist said that he was only going to monitor my heart yearly unless something changes, which it has not, and that medications from his end were not necessary. I assume your Rheumatologist would let you know by the state of your overall health. I know that one of the advantages over Sjogren's is diet and the same holds true with SVT, both have helped me in battle with both, helping to make me feel a bit better. I hope this helps. Congrats on having had a remission and hopefully on getting it back soon!
Guest Jalanez
Posted
Thank you Jalanez for your reply. I was on Plaquenil for those first ten years. Stopped when I became pregnant. Mostly was on it to prevent joint inflammation. My rheumatologist then told me if neuropathy worsens I may have to go on methotrexate.
The Svt's are hourly for me now. The mystery is, are the Svt's caused by sjogren's attacking the nerves causing an autonomic dysfunction? Along with svt's i have gastrointenstinal issues as well as an electrical like buzzing in my extremities and facial numbness. Plaquenil has never helped with the neuropathy. My rheumatologist now has told me I may need to go on methotrexate as well. This was before I was dx'd with Svt's. I see her again in a week. It's been nearly a month since the svt discovery and I am freaking out a bit because I dont want this to be an autonomic dysfunction. I'm hoping its just something I have always had separate from sjogren's and everything will be okay. We are desparately trying for one more child and methotrexate permanently squashes those dreams. But because of my history with neuropathy, I am dreading next week's appointment.
Jalanez Guest
Posted
Heather, I'm sorry that the Plaquenil didn't work for you, although sometimes the body chemistry does alter after having given birth (mine did on a few things such as allergies and menstrual cycle) so there is always a chance. I use CBD for my neuropathy issues and went completely dairy, gluten, grain, and nightshade free for stomach issues. My thoughts are with you, let us know what happens at the dr.