Ventricular Tachycardia, raynauds, dehdration

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had had episodes of ventricular tachycardia?

Long story short, I was diagnosed with Lyme about 14 years ago (I was 15) through a spinal tap that also revealed meningitis. I had been given antibiotics through a PICC line for 21 days. Once antibiotics stopped, I broke out into a head to toe rash and had double vision. I went back to the ER and was kept in the hospital for another two weeks and given another spinal tap to relieve interoccular pressure and another course of IV antibiotics. I was slowly getting sicker, weaker, and grew more depressed. I ended up following Dr. Jones in Conneticut for about a year.

My question is this: about a year later, I started to get "palpitations." I would go to the ER, they would stop. I was told it was anxiety, blah, blah, blah. My PCP caught an episode of NSVT on an EKG. He sent me to an electrophysiologist who did an EP study. He was unable to induce the VT, so he told me I was fine. Two years later, more symptoms, more of me thinking I'm crazy and then finally I had enough.. someone referred to me to an electrophysiologist up at Cornell Presbyterian in NYC. He took me on as I had an episode of sustained v-tach during a stress test. He was amazed. My first ablation, lasted over 10 hours. He was able to start the v-tach, but I had to be wide awake through the whole thing. He thought he ablated the problem (I was told I had an accessary pathway). It came back a week later to the day. A few months later, went back in for similar procedure.. he thought he fixed it... V-tach episodes within a month. Third time, he went through my my chest rather than the femoral artery, and could knew after another 10 hour procedure he had failed. We were discussing a pacemaker, but he really wanted me to try and wait and keep taking medications (beta-blockers, blah blah) to see if the technology would advance. He had said that he found the problem, but it was so deeply imbedded in my heart, he was afraid he would induce a heart attack if he kept attempt to ablate.
Two years later, (last May) I went to HUP and so the chief of electrophysiologist there. He agreed to treat me and admitted he wasn't sure he would be able to help as my Dr. at Cornell treated me the same way he wanted to. Here's the catch - in two years time, they started to do MRI's on the heart before going in for an ablation. (This was never standard procedure before, so it was never done on me before) The MRI revealed a lesion (scar) on my heart. My Dr. was extremely surprised and had no idea how I could have gotten it. My heart structurally is supposedly very happy, my problems were always thought to be purely electrical. Anyway, my doctor was able to ablate after an 11 hour extensive procedure. He ablated at the site of the scar.
So far, no episodes of v-tach. However, I have been feeling sicker and sicker lately. I have put Lyme out of my head all these years, and know without a doubt in my heart, it's coming out of it's dormancy.

I was wondering if anyone had any heart issues similar to mine? My electrophysiology is not convinced it's from Lyme. Infact, he assured me (as did every other cardiologist/electrophysiologist) Lyme only causes heart block and I would have been bradycardic. Although no v-tach issues, my heart rate seems to accelerate out of no where, reaching about 130bpm, and I get this really weird "thudding" sensation from within my chest (I realize that sounds very strange, I just don't know how to describe it).

Has anyone had issues with drops in potassium by chance? I also am afraid my finger nails are starting to club, which doesn't seem Lyme related every time I try and do research, but I really have a feeling it is for me. I have been having pretty bad Raynaud's phenomenon. I've also been increasingly short of breath for no reason. I was just in the hospital for dehydration, which I have no clue how that even happened. I also have an elevated PT INR and Platelet count with a slight WBC elevation.

I hope someone could relate... and sorry for the ramble.. ADD.. hehe


Thank you,
Well wishes to all of you


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So were you a patient of Dr. Jones then?

Are you seeing a LLMD?

Lyme and co-infections can definitely cause heart issues and tachycardia as well as cause other conditions that cause tachycardia (such as POTS, which I have from Lyme).

Sorry for responding to this so late. I just joined the site today after reading this posting.

I was bitten by a deer tick (I'm assuming) while reading an electric meter in a field of tall grass back in the summer of 1999. I never felt the bite, and I never saw the tick. A day or two later, a rash appeared on my chest, right about where my AICD is located. Ironic, eh? I had no idea what caused the rash at the time, but about a week or two later, we had a safety meeting about Lyme disease.

In the video, the picture of what the rash looked like was in exactly the same place as my rash. The video said to report any incident immediately to Human Resources, which is what I did. The HR director was skeptical of my self diagnosis, but I insisted on making an incident report. When I went home, I called my doctor and made an appointment.

At this appointment, the doctor said that he couldn't verify Lyme disease if I wasn't exhibiting any symptoms, like the rash, so he prescribed tetracycline and that was that. I had already experienced some arrhythmias, but I just thought it might be from the stress from walking all day in 95 degree heat and 98% humidity. On my next to last day reading meters, I was having several arrhythmias and finally blacked out and dropped to my knees. I walked back to my truck, started it and turned up the A/C.

After a few minutes rest, I felt a little bit better and decided to drive back to the service center. When I told my supervisor what had happened, he told me to go sit down in the break room in the A/C until I felt well enough to finish my route. I sat there for about a half an hour before telling him that I needed to see a doctor. Rather than taking me to the hospital, he told me I could go home, so I did.

After a 45 minute drive, I got home and told my wife what had happened. She scolded me and took me to the emergency room. There, they treated me for heat exhaustion, even though I told them that I thought that there was something wrong with my heart. I wasn't having any arrhythmias while at the ER, so they just said that it was probably just heat exhaustion, and to take the next day off.

When I called in the next day to explain, I was told to bring my uniforms in. My wife drove me up to work and I dropped off my uniforms and received my check; it was Friday. Because I came to the office to get my check and drop off my uniforms, it was not considered a lost time accident, something very important to HR.

I returned to my old job back at the power plant on Monday and resumed my duties there. Over the next two years, I had several episodes of ventricle tachycardia at work, but attributed it to the heat in the plant. On a few occasions, I woke up and had dizzy spells and felt odd sensations in my chest and gut, and called off sick.

I went to the doctor several times during this two year period complaining that I thought there was something wrong with my heart, but as I couldn't reproduce an arrhythmia at will, I was told that it was probably something else like anxiety or whatever. This went on for a total of ten years until in June of 2001, i was having arrhythmias one after another, blacking out briefly then returning to a normal rhythm for a few minutes. My boss had a co-worker take me to the ER and they admitted me immediately and called in a cardiologist. The next day I had my first AICD installed and I never went back to work.

For ten years I tried to tell the doctors that I was having trouble with my heart, but no one would believe me. Even afterwards, I was at the cardiologist's office and I told him that I had been having arrhythmias again even though I was taking my medications. He told me that this was impossible. I replied that I had had a couple since I arrived at his office, but much milder than before. Again, "Impossible!" At the same time we were talking about this, a nurse was checking my device with the toroid sensor. When he said "Impossible", she said, "He's having one right now!" He turned red and stormed out of the room. "What arrogance!" I thought.

Oh well, I'm almost ready for my third AICD and I'm still kicking, so what the hell. Just thought you might like to hear my story. I hope you get a chance to read this almost three years after your posting. You are not alone!!!

Good luck!
Rick

I should mention that as far as I can tell, the Lyme disease was eradicated, though the damage was done, to my heart. As far as I know, I have not had any other issues from the initial infection. Perhaps early treatment was enough to eliminate Lyme. I have always had an effective immune system. I heal most wounds quickly as long as I keep the wound clean and protected. I'm grateful for the fact that I have not had any of the other symptoms. I hope that your condition has improved since 2013.

Take good care of yourself!
Rick