Autonomic nervous system and heart

I had palpitations way back in 1997 after losing weight. I went to a cardiologist and was checked out. Told I had mitral valve regurge and that no treatment was needed. The palps went away pretty quickly.

Fast forward to 2009, when I had the onset of my Lyme symptoms. I had a pulse at rest in the same range as yours. I could feel my heart skipping beats. I also had trouble breathing and swallowing and unexplained heat in my chest, face, and back (all probably autonomic dysfunction).

Saw a different cardiologist that time. Had EKG, echocardiogram, and a blood test for bacteria. The only thing they found was the mitral valve regurge. Doc said the cardio symptoms were secondary to whatever was going on in my body.

I continued to have “spells” of the heart symptoms that came and went for years. This was all before I knew I had Lyme or had ever heard of bartonella.

You’re extremely lucky to have a cardiologist who even knows what autonomic nervous system dysfunction is. I don’t think any of my doctors have even heard of such a thing.

I agree with Cignet. It could be bartonella flaring. What are you doing for bart?

BTW, when I would feel the skipping. It would pick up after the skip with beats closer together. I would have spells, like I said. I could be in the checkout line at Walmart, and all of a sudden I would feel tired and want to sit down. I would feel my pulse on my neck and feel it skip. Then I would sigh, “it’s doing it again.” The spells would last days, weeks, or as time went on, months. Then it would suddenly disappear for a season.

I have had some of the autonomic nervous system issues from not being able to breathe correctly to the higher HR. It probably runs from the 80s up to near 100 normally but can really spike if I get stressed during worsened symptoms. Don't know if mine is Babs or Bart or both but do think Babs is an issue and hope to hit that harder soon.

Treatment does help my symptoms, so I'm quite sure it's the infections causing it.

I had some racing heart months after covid and then heart palps related to a thiamine b1 deficiency, both times i was able to feel reduced symptoms when i consumed electrolytes - just curious if you've noriced anything

Doors12

Hi, WV Mike. Heart stuff is so freaky, right? It feels impossible to relax when you know your heart is misbehaving.

For what it's worth, my cardiologist said that almost all new patients to her practice since the pandemic started have been arrhythmias caused by stress. If you are under unusual amounts of stress this past year, then know that that alone could be the cause of your heart issues, microbes or no microbes. Maybe that resonates with you and maybe not, but I found it interesting.

I have had periods with a resting heart rate in the nineties or above, and scary-high POTS (like 155 just from sitting up), and premature ventricular contractions. The PVCs involve an extra beat followed by a pause, and the next beat after the pause can be uncomfortable, and they definitely are easier to feel when I am very full, and happen more often when I am stressed or depleted. It's all so exhausting. I also get costochondritis in several different spots on all sides of my ribcage, which sometimes makes me worry I'm experiencing heart-related pain. I find a portable ECG device (mine is an Emay I got from Amazon for $70) provides peace of mind that nothing more harmful is going on.

I also have Bartonella bacilliformis and have not been hanging out with sand flies from the Peruvian highlands. Like so many other infections, methinks the standard narrative about that infection is lacking in completeness. (It also has a very high fatality rate, officially.) I tested positive through DNA Connexions, which is how everyone I know with Bartonella bacilliformis was diagnosed.

How are you feeling on the beta blocker? I took propranalol briefly, which made me far too sleepy. I tried butterbur - an herbal beta blocker - and just felt too stoned. There's a chance some people would enjoy how I felt on that one.

Increasing salt significantly and getting proper hydration (not too much or too little) helped me, as did the work I did on my nervous system. MCAS treatment (low-histamine diet, quercetin, curcumin) and DNRS limbic system retraining made a giant difference in all of my neurological symptoms, including those that were heart related. When I slacked off those treatments last spring and got really stressed, I developed the PVCs, and found that a month of DNRS and daily yoga was enough to turn me around. Others feel that antimicrobial treatment alone is sufficient to fix their neurological issues, but that was not the case for me. I hope you find something that gives your nervous system a break so it can heal!

Some think that Babesia is one to really effect the ANS.

"Babesia, or Babesia-like organisms (BABLO) primarily affect the brain and autonomic nervous system."

https://conniestrasheim.org/blog/2017/3/6/a-deep-look-at-the-symptoms-of-six-major-lyme-related-infections

Saraeli, It was DNA connections test I believe. Pvc is what made me go to cardiologist. It's an attention getter. I'm not any more stressed out now than I have been the last four years. The pandemic hasn't really changed much for me. I haven't started the beta blocker yet, waiting to feel a little better before adding something new. Last night was rough and my wife said I was doing the biting in my sleep. Kept waking up feeling like I was stopping breathing. Joints and neck are killing me. Headaches. I was able to get out a bit today. The snow is melting off so i checked on my bees and cleaned the chicken coop. Only lasted a few hours before started to feel bad and super tired. Head is pounding and ears ringing extra loud but it's progress.
Metoprolol is what my dr prescribed. I'll probably start it in a few days hopefully. Glad to hear it helped you Jaypoppa. I hope it does the same for me.

Thanks for the link Christianwithlyme. What is the best babesia med? I don't have the air hunger but always have neck pain and pressure like headaches. Feels like my head is a balloon about to pop.

2017 is when I had test too WBF. I hope you are doing well or as well as possible anyway.

Oh, Mike, I’m so sorry. Those are awful symptoms. “ Kept waking up feeling like I was stopping breathing.” That’s the worst! I had that, too.

Make sure you don’t have a hidden leak or hidden mold anywhere.

That's my concern girlie. Just another wasted visit and money. This is so frustrating.

WV Mike, Malarone or Mepron combined with another drug like Azithromycin, Biaxin, Minocycline, etc. are often used.

Here are some suggestions:

https://www.treatlyme.net/guide/kills-babesia-a-brief-guide

I've been having some slight jerking at times, minor shortness of breath, really bad cognitive function and other head symptoms (tightness, etc.) I have a really tight neck, tingling, numbness, higher HR, etc.

Really thinking Babesia is a factor for me but combined with other infections as well. Hard to sort it all out. Planning to hit Babs harder soon so looking forward to seeing what happens with that.