Hi, my story is quite long but i'll try make an abbreviated version:
In Feb 2014 i woke up one morning (after a very late night of work stress) with very frequent PVCS. I've had two seperate 1-week episodes of very frequent non-stop PVCS a year or so previously; both times in parallel to a viral chest infection and disappearing as the infection cleared up. I figured this episode was bought on by the late night+stress and would clear up in a day or two. It didnt!
Basically the very frequent PVCS hasn't stopped since February and has in fact increased from around 10k, to 15k to now 24k a day - broken down per hour, its 1000 an hour, regardless if i'm awake, sleeping, whatever. In general they are more frequent at rest and disappear with exertion, but ive noticed that any time the heart rate levels out (even during excercise) they start to come back.
AT first i was really sick - with some undiagnosed chronic illness. But now, 10 months later i'm apparently healthy, yet the PVCS continue to increase.
The start of all this in February, was preceded by 3 weeks of bad stomach pains. Long story short; over a period of about 4 months of atrocious, convulsive PVCS, excessive fatigue and confusion, manic insomnia (waking every 1-2 hours during the night with racing thoughts), it was discovered that my Thyroid was under-functioning, which turned out to be from iodine, iron and vitamin d deficiences, which turned out to be from a gut parasite infection with Blastocystis. Eradicating the Blasto and treating the deficiences returned my Thyroid and other levels to normal. They've been stable for the last 6 months or so and i feel pretty much 'normal'.
All the doctors treating me thought that the heart palptiations would soon clear up as i had continued to have good health.
This hasnt happened. What has happened is that the quality of the palpitations has changed dramatically; when i had the mineral deficiences and hypothyroid they used to be violent and terrifying spasms; both my heart and also my abdomen convulsing and very symptomatic (dizzy, breathless). But now they are more like small blips in the flow of my regular heartbeat and dont sem to have any impact on me and for the last 5 months or so, i've had no anxiety related to the PVCS, they just are.
However, i still suffer from fatigue. Not crushing, world-melting fatigue like before, but i do not notice that i have an intolerance to excercise - for the last 6 months or so i ONLY walk and do light stretching, relaxation yoga etc. If i jog at all, or do anything more strenuous i really suffer with fatigue which makes the PVCs worse and a tired anxiousness - as well as more frequent waking in the night. It's like i need to keep my adrenaline/stress at almost zero, because as soon as i hype up in any way - even doing enjoyable activities - going out with friends more often - it's way too much for me.
The million dollar question for me right now is; are the heart palpitations causing this tiredness and activity intolerance? Or are both the tiredness and heart palpitations the symptoms of something else - like Adrenal issues, overactive sympathetic nervous system etc? - Or could the PVCs actually be driving adrenal/nervouse system problems themselves - as they seem to trigger little surges of adrenaline at times?
What do you guys think?
I need to decide if i go ahead with an ablation in the next month or so. My gut feeling is that this will only be treating the symptom and that the fatigue etc will remain. In which case it would be way better to not risk an ablation and adding damage to my current 'benign' condition.
Or am i being stupid and after i have the ablation, i will realise just how much these things were dragging me down physically??
I've had echos, holter montiors and most recently an MRI of the heart. Nothing abnormal found. I've been following the lifestyle recomendations for adrenal fatigue all year; which stops it from getting worse; but doesnt seem to help it get better. My Potassium level is fine - consistently middle of normal range, my Magnesium levels are consistently on the very lowest end of normal (around .70 to .80 ) despite supplementing with Magnesium Taurate all year (ca. 350mg daily - about to try bumping that up to 500mg for the next month). During the MRI (where i was in quadrigimeny) the injected me with Adenosine which dialled my PVCS up to a level i'd never thought possible - just constant explosive out of control convulsions and also triggered the stomach convulsions i had at the start of the year.
This made me think that adrenaline is a major factor for me.. Day-to-day i have a very simple, non-stressful existence at the moment. I am not working and dont need to for the next couple of months. I eat really well, walk half an hour outside in a massive park every day. Sleep early, wake when i want. I'm not consciously stressed in any way i can notice, yet perhaps the chronic illness over the last year or so has put my body in a chronic stress state; kind of stuck in a loop, which keeps getting fed by these PVCs?
Oh - and i'm 35 years old, female and no other medical conditions.
Sorry - this is super long!