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Constant Palpitations - 500 a day - I'm giving up hope

I'm stuck in a hell hole, One day when I was 17 I started getting palpitations from out of nowhere and have had them now for 6 years. I get easily up to 500 a day, they are non-stop, sometimes I can have three in a row. I was on Flecainide Acetate which got rid of them but I recently was informed that this medication can have fatal side effects and immediately stopped taking them. Without medication the palpitations are so bad I can't sleep and sometimes they are so powerful and abrupt that they hurt. I don't drink coffee, no chocolate, alcohol, or anything that even remotely stimulates my heart rate. It's a really sad existence for a once energetic and athletic 23 year old.

I've tried betablockers, no effect, I've tried all these medicines that my heart specialist prescribed. I've settled on Cardizem, it doesn't get rid of them, it only makes them less powerful and abrupt enough so that I can sleep and function somewhat normally. I've been on it for two weeks but I'm already at my wits end as I still get up to 500 a day and I'm getting to the brink of my sanity as they are SO distressing. I just can't imagine a life like this, every single day having to deal with the constant stress of palpitation episodes. I need to find something that can help or I just don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not suicidal or anything like that but I'm becoming so depressed over the situation. Having so many of them a day completely wears me out in a way I can't describe, I feel like I've run a marathon and my heart feels weak and worn out because of it. It's a weird sensation but that's the best way to describe it.

If anyone has any information at all, ANYTHING, I'm so desperate for some relief.

Alex.
aj_vivian***@****
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Avatar universal
Wow after reading all these positive comments, I'm already feeling relaxed. I'm 31 mother of a 2 year old boy, a very anxiety woman. I have 20 to 30 missed beat in a minute. I notice it only when I'm not doing any work or simply when I'm relaxed. I'm going to try breathing execerise and yoga and be positive. Thank you friends for cheering me up. Good luck everyone.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I started noticing my PVCs at the age of 19. It took years for me to finally stop worrying about them after numerous doctors told me everything was normal. This past year it turns out in my case I do have an abnormal heart. My advice is to get checked out as frequently as you can (once every year or two if possible) and in knowing that you are doing everything you can, let yourself relax. Also, have you tried any kind of anti-anxiety medication? These you can just take when you are feeling really upset. Yoga, therapy, breathing exercises, faith...I think all these things can help. Good luck!
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Avatar universal
Alex my friend,  

I myself am a 26yr old prior enlisted US Marine.  and on Memerial day weekend of 2003 i was laying in my bed and my Heart was racing like crazy.  I went to the ER and Nothing was wrong. EKG was Absolutly fine.  I wasn't fine.  I lost my mind and wouldn't believe that what had happened was do to stress. I still have trouble dealing with them, but from what i have been told i have PVC's and they are Benign.  Translation of that is that i can do anything that anyone else can do and I am going to be fine.  Our hearts just beat a little different then the next guys Brother.  Please don't give up hope Alex, you'll get through it.  I never thought i would get over them but i am finaly starting to.  It takes a while.  Remember if there was something major that was going to kill you going on, the Doc's have to tell you and then do everything that they can to help fix it.  Your gonna be fine Alex.  Try to have a posative outlook and things will get a whole lot better.

Best of luck myfriend.
feel free to email me at ***@****
Kevin
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've had pvcs, off and on, for about twenty years.  One Holter test showed 4800 in a day.  Mine are unifocal and benign.  There is really nothing wrong with my heart, in spite of the number of "extra" beats I feel.

I suppose, Alex, that you also have been Holtered and evaluated, and told that your heart is OK and you just have to learn to live with these things?  Easier said than done, isn't it?

What I hear in your message is desperation and depression, and perhaps my long experience with this problem may help you.  I have found, when you have a normal heart and yet find yourself overwhelmed by your awareness of palpitations, that depression and anxiety are at work.  The importance of anxiety shows itself in the fact that those of us with palpitations are generally aware--on a rational level--that we CAN do physical stuff that people with sick hearts cannot:  We can walk, we can work out, we can go up stairs and so on.  In short, we can physically do the stuff that normal people do.  But we don't feel comfortable or "normal," even so;  we spend our time worrying.

Most of us are reluctant to acknowledge this sort of thing to ourselves, but over time, I have noticed that when I am not anxious or when I am busy, I am not aware of those funny heartbeats.  It's the simple truth.

What I have found that does work--bear with me here--is a consult with a really good psychiatrist, one who knows his chemistry.  After reviewing my physical health, my shrink tried me on several antidepressents of the SSRI type.  I am a fast responder, and after only one day--that is ONE day--on Zoloft, my pvcs were less noticeable.  After a week, I was sleeping better and wasn't aware of the pvcs any more.  And after a month--they were gone!  They may come back in fits or starts now and then, and when they start getting in the way--when I become too aware of them--I go back on zoloft for a couple of months, and my life returns to normal.

Anxiety and self-monitoring are huge enemies of those who have benign pvcs.
Helpful - 0
516040 tn?1213837018
I understand ur situation. As of now I am wearing a holter monitor for 30 days to see if anything can be caught from the weird and abnormal heart beat I have been having. It seems to me that a lot of young people get this racing heart issue and are having heart problems. I thought I was the only one at first until I joined this website. We all need to stick together and keep giving great and knowledgeable advice and suggestion. This website is really helpful good luck to you all and I hope we get better soon.
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Avatar universal
Alex,
Recently found out I have PVCs when I exercise and I found myself like you wondering how I could go from being totally healthy to feeling like I ran a marathon just from going upstairs.

My bigger question is why does everyone keep writing this off to stress? Hopefully yoga helps but there must be something else going on to cause this in normally healthy people.  This whole "stress" thing actually just stresses me out more because it seems like cover all for something more serious that they just haven't figured out.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Alexviv, I'm shure you have heard this Please hang in there My annoying little sidekicks
have been with me since 2004. I was told they where palps and/or PVC's I think it's
something else but all the tests say different... Anyway I also have good days and the
bad as well. There has been times at work that I got those thumps so hard that I have
almost fell over, couple of times I caught myself. Mine are very annoying. It starts with the all mighty THUMP followed by the intense headache, sweating, weak all over and a heart rate that use to climb as high as 160 But atenolol has helped that a whole lot
short of breath and a complete 360 mood swing oh and I can't forget the fear of dying.
And yes I have been blessed with anxiety and panic. Now I can go a day or two
without these things if I'm lucky but even the slightest one I feel my pan/ax brings on
hundreds of them, now that is sometimes. But other times they come out of the blue.
Also I have researched that people that have PVC's,SVT's,PAC's,Palp's and more
have been blessed with Panic and/or anxiety disorder and I am one of them.
A while back I started Magnezium and Omega3 and that did help somewhat not a
great deal but it was noticeable and I continued. But check first before you start
taking them just to be on the safe side. Hang in there alexviv just remember there
are other people out here like that and that is willing to talk to you about it. Drop me
a line if you want   t(dot)thurston(at)comcast(dot)net   I'll be more than happy to talk
to you when they get bad. I have found out this is not only a heart thing but can also
be an emotional ride as well, at least the people that I've talked to has told me.
Well anyway sorry for the long talking, Hope it helped and drop me a line sometime
Hope to here from you soon, Timm...




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Avatar universal
sorry my last comment sounds like' you could be sick with something' what I meant was be glad that you are not actually really sick with something serious....sorry about that
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Avatar universal
It is 3.51 on a sunday night and I am up because a heavy night of ectopics is happening, dont worry yourself too much about it, it is disconcerting I know but I think 500 a day is pretty good. It is the hand you have been dealt with and without sounding too 'uncaring' which I am not, you could be really sick with something. Stress relief in any form and a complete understanding of ectopics is what you need. You will be fine.....
Helpful - 0
187666 tn?1331173345
From your description, your "palpitations" sound like PVC's. Is that right? Have you had your heart checked to see if it's normal other that the electrical glitch? If it is, then that's very good news. At 500 or so a day, the doctors won't do much to intervene. My heart is considered fairly quiet (except for the tachy times) and I average 2-5 per minute all day. Doing the math that's a few thousand.

The biggest thing for you to deal with right now is the stress you're feeling. Stress can trigger more PVC's. I'm not a big fan of popping pills so I llike Tinu's suggestion of yoga, controlled breathing, etc. You'd be surprised at how much it helps not to mention the physical benefits from it. People have found (and may post to share their experience) that once they overcame the fear associated with PVC's, they managed to handle them better. The palpitations were less frequent and less intense. That's a big help right there.
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Avatar universal
While you continue to go as per your cardiologist's recommendation I would recommend trying YOGA, breathing exercise and MEDITATION under guidance from some good yoga instructor. It reduces stress, improves symptoms though results come at slow pace. Yoga is not known to be harmful. If it will works you may notice improvements to start in a months time.
Helpful - 0
505800 tn?1226394593
hi i have something similar called SVT i have had an ablation to stop the attacks, mine started at 26 i'm 27 now, i was on flecanide but only hated the vivid dreams had my op 4 months ago but hey bk on flecanide today as symptoms have returned. i'm suprised you have not been offered the ablation already i was put on the waiting list the day i was diagnosed but i suppose it depends on where you live. look up svt and the ablation discuss it with your doctor / cardiologist because i think it would be a good possibility for you. ps the flecanide is not that bad.
Helpful - 0
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