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Worse ectopic beats after laying down.

Posted , 2 users are following.

tina0830
tina0830

Does anyone experience worse pacs when they get up after laying down for a while? It seems that if I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom when I lay back down I will get runs of pacs 2-3 in a row then a normal beat then a pac then 5 normal beats and so on . It can last 5 min or 1 hour. Averages about 10-15 min. Makes me not want to get up at night. They seem to be worse first thing in the morning and when I'm sitting. I've also noticed that I seem to be getting more positional etopics lately especially with bending and with exertion. I've had echos and holters and keep getting told everything is okay. Last holter showed a few runs of couplets but my cardiologist said I stayed in normal sinus rhythm the entire time so he wasn't concerned. Not sure if the runs I feel are what he is calling couplets. Not symptomatic. I don't get dizzy or lightheaded, just get an uncomfortable/ funny feeling in my chest that goes away immediately once the pacs let up. Any advice would be helpful.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • roger1942
    roger1942 tina0830

    Posted

    Hi Tina ... Night time Ectopics can be very distressing... they can cause bodily agitation which makes sleep impossible... presumably, you have been prescribed Beta blockers of some sort and personally it has helped me by dividing my daily dose and taking a portion about an hour before bedtime.. My physician has approved the practise... Theoretically this shouldnt make any difference but it has really helped me to control ectopics at night time to an acceptable level.. Strangely enough, taking the full daily dose just before bedtime doesnt seem to work at all..Best regards and good luck
  • roger1942
    roger1942 tina0830

    Posted

    Hi Tina .. Supplementary to my previous reply ... Avoid any Caffeine (including chocolate) and alcohol within a few hours of bed and preferably none at all.. They can be slowly reintroduced when you have the problem under control. Magnesium citrate might help but I have no positive evidence that it does.. good luck
    • tina0830
      tina0830 roger1942

      Posted

      Hi Roger, thanks for the reply. I've been on beta blockers in the past and was switched to a calcium channel blocker about 8 months ago. I do take a magnesium supplement and I first I thought it was helping with decreasing my pacs but now not so much. My worst time seems to be in the morning when I first get up. It seems that lately I've had them every morning where as before it was just periodically. They can last for several hours and i seem to be having more runs of them. Don't get me wrong, I still have episodes throughout the day mainly after eating. Just curious as to why the act of standing up can trigger such intense etopics. I can lay in bed and take my pulse and not one pac until I stand up. Strange.

  • roger1942
    roger1942 tina0830

    Posted

    Hi Tina... If you are having repeatable and predictable bouts of ectopics then its worth discussing it with your physician or cardiologist... it might give him a clue to a more effective treatment..all your symptoms are very reminiscent of my early days...terrifying...Its a bit sad that modern medicine seems to know a fair bit about ectopics but doesnt have the tools to rectify it... Over time, I have evolved a regime of diet and habits that minimises the effect of ectopics and now they have little effect on my life... Its a bit ironic that the anxiety and stress caused by ectopics actually makes them worse.. a perfect circle...my next phase is to carefully examine herbal substances and see if there is anything that further reduces  heart stimulation... this has to be done very carefully...let us know how you get on ... good luck  
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