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PVCs, Crohn's, any connection?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/11/2011 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
I've been having premature ventricular contractions for my whole life, as far as I can recall, but this weekend was the first time I have had them constantly, over a 3 day period.  Very, very annoying.  I finally called my GP on Saturday afternoon and the on-call DR asked me to go to the ER and get an EKG and have them draw blood to check my electrolytes.  The blood work was fine (except I'm slightly anemic again, drat!), so they sent me home and told me to follow up with my GP.

Which I will do.

I know PVCs are essentially harmless and I'm not feeling pain, or short of breath or anything.  It does concern me, though, that they haven't gone away yet, although they do seem less frequent.  At their peak, I'd say I was having two or three every minute while awake.  I never woke up with one.  Today it's more like four or five an hour.  I'm not particularly stressed and I'm not drinking a lot of caffeine.

So I've read that magnesium deficiency can cause this (checking electrolytes should have checked Mg?  Is Mg very detectable in blood?).  Also hyperthyroid, which I doubt is something I need to worry about seeing how I'm usually sleepy and certainly don't have trouble keeping weight on, even with Crohn's.  My Crohn's is not bad, I'm having fairly normal bowel movements, joint pain still bothers me....is it the Crohn's making this happen or some other weird and random thing?  How would I know?

Posted 4/11/2011 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
I am wondering if its related to your thyroid. I know I had them when I was hyperthyroid. Just a thought!
Posted 4/11/2011 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think I'm hyperthyroid, more likely hypO.

I just read that this can be a part of perimenopause. O Joy.
Posted 4/12/2011 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
I can relate! When I am not in remission, or if I eat something my gut absolutely hates, I will have frequent PVC's. I went through all the scans and EKG's and my cardiologist told me that it is caused from my crohn's. He said that the inflammation stimulates the Vagus nerve which causes my benign PVC's and periods of SVT. Now that I am in remission, I maybe have 2-4 PVC's per day and very few episodes of SVT but at the height of my worst episodes, I would have 2-4 PVC's per minute. When I eat something that doesnt agree with me and it passes through the "bad" section of my colon, I will feel the PVC's but as soon as the gas or stool passes that spot and moves on, it stops. If you are anemic, it can also contibute to the problem as it did with me. I would advise making an apointment with a cardiologist to rule out something serious. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the heart! Good luck and let us know how you do!
Posted 4/12/2011 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
I had the appearance of PVC's (1300 in 24 hours as recorded by a Holter Monitor) about 2 months ago. My Crohn's had come out of remission a year earlier. I also was going through a period of increased stress. I'm certain after reading some earlier posts as well as yours that they are definitely related to Crohn's, but also to stress. Perhaps the stress is increasing the flare, which increases the awareness of the PVC's. Thankfully, they are not harmful but are sure not pleasant! Luckily, min have disappeared completely (at least for now) after about 3 weeks. My bloodwork was normal by the way, no deficiencies.
Posted 4/2/2022 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
I've had PVCs for 50 years. Halter monitor confirms. Am taking a diuretic for Hypertension. Doc tells Me to take Magnesium and has prescribed Potassium supplements.
Anything that disturbs My lower GI sets them off. Halter says about 1000 a day.
Coffie, wine, and cheddar cheese also make them occur more often. Coffee of any kind.

By accident, I did a bit of research and found two things that help reduce them.
I had been taking a magnesium supplement that contained three different types of Magnesium. I figured that one should be more absorbable than the others and that I would have covered all bases.
Even at just 100mg, The lower GI and diarrhea were terrible. It then occurred to Me that one of the three types in the blend might be causing the upset so, I tried individual doses starting at 100 mg of just one type of Magnesium
The same discomfort arrived with the first two types but taking Magnesium Glycomate didn't cause any problem at all. I increased to 200mg per day and then 400 and then 800 until I got to 1.2 grams per day. No diarrhea at all.
None for six weeks. In the seventh week the flood gates opened, so to speak.
I figured that I was very very low and that I had been absorbing the Magnesium until I reached a normal range.
Diarrhea seemed to be caused by the other parts of the blend that were not absorbed.
Doing a blood test seems to not provide the information that could have saved Me all this trouble. Only a few percent of Magnesium is contained in the blood. The majority rests in muscle and bone.
The body treats Magnesium and Sodium with a priority that makes sure Your serum levels stay normal even at the cost of getting it from muscle tissue or bone. If it is below normal it is because of disease or it's because the body has taken an excess amount that is often associated with cramps, PVC's PAC, eye twitches, etc.
I am now taking 400mg a day along with my diuretic and find that the PVCs have reduced and as a bonus, no more eye twitches or migraines.
I'm not advocating anyone run right out and purchase this mineral, I'm not a doctor, just an electrical engineer.
I'm just saying that it made MY life a lot easier. I'm wishing My Doc or cardiologist figured this out earlier.
I wouldn't wish these little horrors on anyone. They make a person a physiological wreck. Everyone I feel seems to remind Me that I'm only a few heartbeats from eternity. After a while, it really does a number on you and those close to you....

Blessings,
Peter
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