Return of the Skipped Beats

[epstns]

Johnny - I forgot - are you taking metoprolol? It can cause bloating and other abdominal distress. When we reduced my dosage, I found I had much less bloating. Still have some, but nowhere near as bad as it was.

neo - I tried Prilosec - it gave me comic-book anxiety attacks. I was as jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! When I had my valve surgery, the hospital did not stock Zantac. They gave me Nexxium. I would just as well have taken Tic-Tac. Nexxium did nothing for me. So, back to generic Zantac. A month's supply at Wal-Mart costs me about $8, so I don't bother with a prescription.

 

[johnnycake23]

Johnny - I forgot - are you taking metoprolol? It can cause bloating and other abdominal distress. When we reduced my dosage, I found I had much less bloating. Still have some, but nowhere near as bad as it was.

neo - I tried Prilosec - it gave me comic-book anxiety attacks. I was as jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! When I had my valve surgery, the hospital did not stock Zantac. They gave me Nexxium. I would just as well have taken Tic-Tac. Nexxium did nothing for me. So, back to generic Zantac. A month's supply at Wal-Mart costs me about $8, so I don't bother with a prescription.

Steve, I am NOT taking metoprolol. Just Coreg and the aforementioned Tambocor.

I did try the Kirkland brand Acid Reducer (wife said it is generic equivalent of Zantac) last night. Let's see if that does anything. I also took a Gas-X to see if that reduces bloating. But again, I still have not concluded there's a connection between bloating and palpitations. But it is worth a shot to see if there is.

 

[Agian]

You guys should look into 'Beano', if your bloating is related to meals.
http://www.beanogas.com/beano-products.html

 

[clay_from_nj]

My GP prescribed Prilosec shortly after my surgery. Now that my PVCs have almost gone, I have stopped taking it.

 

[Nupur]

If your skipped beats are not frequent enough for a 24 hour holter, you can ask for the new event monitor. It has no wires, it's just a patch and you keep it for over 2 weeks.

http://www.irhythmtech.com/zio-solution/zio-patch/

I have had skipped beats on exertion, so my cardio wanted me to wear this. I didn't do it yet, because I don't feel like "exerting" myself to induce arrhythmia to record it. I suppose if I had to shovel snow on a daily basis, they would find it very quickly, but it's 68F in the bay area ; )

My PVC's are always related to lack of sleep, stress and caffeine. I can't control any of those effectively, so I just live with it. A few months ago, I read about the benefits of CoQ10 on arrhythmia, and I started taking it. It got worse so I stopped it. You can try Magnesium perhaps.

I hope it is not Afib.

 

[johnnycake23]

Well, I have been put on a heart monitor. I need to wear it for 24 hours and if Lifewatch finds what the doc told them they should be looking for, then I can take the apparatus off and mail it back. If not, I keep it for two weeks.

There is no worry about them not finding something, because all day my heart has been bouncing all over the place. I'm sure they have some relevant information already, and it's been barely an hour. I've taken the generic Zantac and occasionally a Gas-X, but the problems are still here. So I'm not sure my answer lies there.

I wonder what the electrophysiologist told Lifewatch to look for. And what will happen once it's found. That's what's spooking me. Now all I can do is wait. I will post again after my next move. Thanks again for listening.

 

[Bina]

Good Luck with this. I have suffered for years since my surgery with PVC/PACs and SVT. If I don't heed them, they switch over to bigeminy. Really annoying.
I take Bisoprolol morning and night, and a small dose of Metoprolol in late afternoon.

 

[epstns]

John - It could be any of a lot of things, not all of which are serious. It could be as simple as a blood-electrolyte imbalance, treatable with supplements. Worst case is something in the electrical system of the heart - and even that can be helped in most cases.

I sent you an email with the name of a NMH EP I would see, along with the name of another at another hospital that I would NOT see.

Stay in touch and let us know how we can help.

 

[johnnycake23]

Just got word from doc. Need to wear holter monitor for 14 more days, or until they call me to say I can take it off, whichever comes first. Today I haven't been skipping as much but yesterday I was. Not sure what electro doc is looking for.

So, to sum up my life for the next two weeks, I continue to wear the patches of electrodes and carry the phone transponder on my person, hoping the tower gets pinged with the right signals. Besides that, life goes on as normal.

 

[epstns]

So, to sum up my life for the next two weeks, I continue to wear the patches of electrodes and carry the phone transponder on my person, hoping the tower gets pinged with the right signals. Besides that, life goes on as normal.

Easy for them to call it normal. Try to keep your cool and just endure it. Hopefully they will figure something out and not leave you hanging there with no solution in sight.

 

[neil]

hope you get them sorted, i have had the pesky things on and off since my op, cardio seems ok with them, but there are a pain in the arrus

 

[johnnycake23]

Well, it's been about two weeks since I was put on the holter monitor. The first day on it I believe it transmitted a lot of "events," as my heart was skipping beats for hours at a time. The next morning, based on the suggestions I read here by some who have suffered similar incidents, I took a generic antacid pill in the hopes that was the silver bullet I was looking for. Well, nothing happened. The next morning I tried an--as it reads on the bottle--"Acid Reducer." And...I'll be damned. My palpitations stopped!

Now, I don't know proof positive that this is the reason they stopped, but that is the only thing that I did different for the two weeks when this whole episode started. The only other possible explanation is they just stopped as mysteriously as they started. But I ain't takin' no chances. Every morning since I've take that Kirkland brand acid reducer. I'm just putting one in my morning pill box with the rest of the goodies. Electrophysiologist said I can take off monitor and see him in a month.

What's weird is I don't have stomach problems. For example, some people can't take ibuprofen because it hurts their stomach. Not me. I don't have reflux or any stomach ailments, other than it is bigger than it should be thanks to my questionable dietary choices. So that's why I'm a bit wary of proclaiming that I'm "cured." But for now it sure appears OK.

I share this in the hopes that it can help anyone else in the future who may have an event like this. I don't have to tell you they are scary and upsetting.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their stories and for the words of encouragement. If it acts up again I will post it here. But for now (KNOCK ON WOOD) it looks good.

Thanks again and all the best.

 

[epstns]

John,

I didn't think I had reflux, but I do. There are various symptoms, and you may not even realize you have it. Not everyone has the feeling of acid in their throats, etc. My main symptom was chronic hoarseness of voice. No respiratory issues at time of diagnosis, no cold, no flu, just kept losing my voice. My internist prescribed an acid reducer, and the symptom has been greatly reduced. I use generic Zantac (chemical name ranitidine), which doc says is the one acid reducer most commonly well-tolerated. I tried Prilosec, and it made me jittery and almost paranoid. When I had valve surgery, the hospital gave me Nexxium, and it did nothing for me. So, I guess I stay with the generic. At Wally-World, it costs about $8/month - less than the co-pay would be if I wanted the prescription version.

 

[Bina]

You all have convinced me to try the gut meds again. I was on Zantac post op only briefly and it helped my stomach acid....after eating I cough a lot and digest very slowly.
So, if it also helps my wacky heart rate there will be a double bonus.

Great thread, very helpful Good Luck, Johnny !

 

[johnnycake23]

Bina, glad I can help. You may want to start a thread of your own to chronicle your situation to see if it improves or not after taking the Zantac. It could be informative and helpful to others.

Good luck with it.

 

[johnnycake23]

Just wanted to give you all an update. I went to see the electro doc last week. Told him about the skipped beats coming back, and that when I started taking an acid reducer the skipped beats stopped. He told me that the holter monitor showed nothing out of the ordinary, but I started wearing it after I started taking acid reducer.

He seemed surprised--pleasantly, of course--to hear that is what made palpitations stop. He even said "I'll have to keep that in mind for any future patients like this." So maybe this will help others in his practice as well.

I get a few mild skips most mornings, but they are so weak that they barely cause me to think about them. But the acid reducer is a permanent addition to the daily pill box.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed. Special shout-out to Steve Epstein, for suggesting to take an OTC acid pill. It sure seems like it did the trick.

All the best,

John

 

[epstns]

Glad it helped, John. I've been taking mine for several years now, and intend to keep on with it.