PVC's and how to control them

taxman

Hello and welcome.  If you are having lightheadedness and dizzy spells with your PVC's you should check in with your physician as you could be having runs of PVCs that are causing the sx. 

Have you ever worn the Holter Monitor to establish how frequently and what is happening when you have PVCs?

Take care and glad to have you with us.

Kitt

Post Edited (stkitt) : 4/18/2010 9:11:58 PM (GMT-6)

CPA = PVCs Your physician is right as most people have these beats and never feel them at all. It is when they cause symptoms that you need to seek medical attention.


Aren't you glad today is April 18th ?



Take care,



Kitt

Hello group!
I am a new member, but have experience in another forum.
Just a little history for our members:

I am a white male, 38 years old, married for 8 years, divorced for the last 10 years. One child, a daughter.
I felt my first PVC when I was 28 years old, during the ending of my marriage. There was a great deal of stress. :)
I was laying next to my wife at the time, no love during that time. And out of the blue, I felt my heart just stop for what seemed like forever! But, I know now, that it was just the resetting of my heart beat.
It felt like I was falling, but I was laying down trying to sleep. Wow! It was scary! Over that month, I was having a lot of PVC's leading to the divorce. They were so bad I went to the ER, because I thought it was a heart attack.
In the ER, they hooked me to the ECG, and they said it read normal. Of course I was not having them when I got to the hospital. :) I know most of us have had this happen. PVC's like to hide and make us look crazy! :)

Anyway, I have lived with PVC's for 10 years now. With age, they seem to be more frequent. I have good weeks and I have horrible weeks. But, I am still living, you know. :) So, I guess it is like they say, they are benign.

How to deal with your PVC's:

1. If you drink alcohol, stop! Mine were awful if I was drinking.
3. If you drink large amounts of caffeine, cut back or stop. Be careful for the caffeine withdrawl headache! PVC's and headaches do not mix at all, ease off the caffeine when you stop.
4. If you smoke tobacco, try to quit, or reduce your smoking. It is hard, I still smoke.
5. Avoid eating large meals, and certain foods. (This is where mine are at there worst, eating anything!) >:(
6. Use meditation and relaxation techniques. Research to find what works best for you, everyone is different. :)
7. Exercise! If the doctor says it is okay. :) I use my drum kit for Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rockbands. It is important to find an exercise you like, so you will stay with it. :)

If I am having PVC's really bad...I am one of the lucky ones. I can lay down and 9 times out of 10, they will go away.
A short nap works wonders for me as well. If that does not work, I lay on my stomach with my head propped up, pillow under my chin...with a fan blowing on me from head to toes. Using deep breathing techniques.

What really seems to have helped me the most tho, was life changes.
My weight was 280 pounds, now I an 229 pounds.
My blood pressure was, 171/111 .... now I am at 132/89
My heart rate was 90 bpm, now it is 75 bpm

My apologizes to the moderator for such a long post, but I know how crazy PVC's can make us. And I want to help as many people as I can, with as much info as I can. I will check back in to your forum and see if I have gotten any responses or questions. Feel free to ask me, I will do my best to answer and help.

Best of health to all, and remember...you are not alone.
T-Dawg

<Edit> Rule 1. No discussion of illicit drug use.

Your input and advice has been greatly appreciated here, I do hope you understand why I have had to edit this post. Thank you ~ Kitt

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 7/8/2010 8:09:53 AM (GMT-6)

hello there,

  I having been suffering from PVCs for about several months now. I was diagnosed with them about six months back. My drs. put me through blood tests, ecg and ekg and a 24 hr holter moniter and everything came back 100%. For the longest time i was thinking that maybe they were all in my head.

  I havent had them for about 3 months and just yesterday i was consumed by a storm of pvcs (sooo annoying). I have to tell myself over and over that i will be fine and that they mean nothing.

  It just fabbles me because i don't understand how they dont bother me for so long and then out of the blue they just wont leave me alone. I am glad i came across this forum knowing that im not alone and others do expeirence these.

Good Morning stressalert

Just wondering if you have seen your Dr. and if you have had a Holter monitor to verify you have PVCs ?

If you feel flip-flops, a sensation of skipped heartbeats or odd feelings in your chest, contact your doctor. You'll want to identify the source of these symptoms. Premature ventricular contractions may be the problem, but other conditions also may be to blame, including other rhythm problems, serious heart problems, anxiety, anemia or infections.

Keep us posted on what your physican has to say as we are here to support and we do care.

Kindly,

Kitt

hi im a 20 year old male, and recently ive been experiencing pvc's. they seem to occur right when i lay down to go to bed or randomly through the day, but when they do occur they are worse when i lay down. i went to the doctor when i had my second really bad one, but they said nothing was wrong. So i started doing research on the internet and i just gotta say thank you to everyone who has posted on this forum just reading and knowing im not crazy or gonna die helps me get through it. thanks everyone!

I'm going to try to post my story in a couple of places around the web. I took a great deal of comfort and guidance from reading about fellow PVC sufferers when my troubles began back in the Summer of '07, and I feel it's only fair to put something back, share my story, tell you all what beat the PVCs for me, and what (in the last month and hopefully only temporarily) has brought them back.
A gap in my work requirements in July 2007 had me sitting (mostly) around my place in LA with little to do. I had become pretty sedentary, but not fat or unhealthy and started getting, usually whilst sitting at my computer, the now extremely familiar flips and runs. Obviously at the time they weren't at all familiar, and they scared the life out of me, as they do for all sane people who go from having a normal heart to an apparently 'abnormal' one!
I spent the next few months doing what everyone does. Bits of not sleeping, bits of going to my GP, bits of cutting out alcohol and caffeine, a stress test and lots of googling. I got on CoQ10, magnesium supplements, 'Cardiorhythm' pills, berberine supplements, and other stuff (not necessarily in that order) and finally arranged a visit to the UCLA cardiac arrhythmia center.
I was given an event monitor and phoned in ample evidence of the pvcs in all their glory - single ones, long runs - all the types that affect me. As most people usually are, I was told they were asymptomatic unifocal PVCs, caused by who knows what. And as much as I really hated them, having decided they weren't going to kill me, I sort of lost interest in them.
Here's how I killed them stone dead: I got some sleep. Sleeping with my other half in the bed had me waking up at 5/6am and never getting back to sleep. Sleeping alone would allow me to sleep until 7/8am. I never thought the sleep and the PVCs would necessarily be linked, but after we moved to separate beds, they went away - a link as clear as it could be after about two years of suffering. So consider sleep people! It did it for me.
A little more about what they felt like and what they were affected by in my case. They went in fairly predictable cycles for me. I would get between 3 days and a week off from them followed by about 3 to 5 days of PVCs. Sometimes, but not always, they would last the whole day, but more often it was for an hour, maybe two, maybe five, and usually whilst I was sitting. Very often standing up from my computer would kill them stone dead, but never for very long. Caffeine did seem to make them a bit worse, and I cut it out. Raising my pulse level also killed them dead, so I would often go to the gym on a bad PVC day. They occasionally kept me from sleeping, and would flare without fail if I tried sleeping on my side. Again, a roll onto my stomach would usually kill all but the most persistent bouts, something I am deeply grateful for. I know not everyone is so lucky. Clearly with me, posture and position plays a major role. I think the various supplements mentioned above, CoQ10 etc, made them better, but it may have just been that it made me feel better to take them.
Here's how I succeeded in bringing the little ******s back:
Nexium. about 5/6 weeks ago I was suffering from a great deal of pain when swallowing, especially alcohol and fizzy drinks in the evening. A visit to the doctor got me an appointment for a barium swallow-test scan, and some free samples of the purple pill. Over the course of about a week, I took about five, but gave up when the symptoms of the GERD started to disappear. The PVCs have sprung back to life, and are still with me a month later. As far as I can make out, they are behaving and reacting to stimuli / posture the same as before, and they appear to be coming and going in the same cycles of 2 / 3 / 5 days.
I'm still clinging to an ever-decreasing hope that if I give it long enough the effects of ever having taken that wretched pill will wear off and I'll be back to the way I was before. I can't help but think that five pills should be gone after a month though. There is a separate posting on here regarding the effects of PPI (proton pump inhibitors) on PVCs - look it up.
PVC stories sometimes have happy endings, my guess is that my story is in flux, and may be for many years. I'm abroad (as I write) and will be for another couple of weeks, after which I'll be back home and back on my regimen of pills which have lain in my cupboard un-needed for many happy months now.
So there's my story: Irritated, but better off then some on here and grateful for it. Thank you to all the posters out there who share their stories and help convince the frightened googlers out there that they probably won't die because of PVCs. I'm proud to be a part of that community now, belatedly, and I shall try to keep you all updated as to how I progress in the hope that it might help someone else.
In the meantime get some sleep, and don't touch Nexium with a ten meter cattle prod!

I've been getting them for years but yet they still scare me. When they were really bad about 4 yrs ago, I realized they were the worst after eating. My Dr. had me take a Prilosec everyday for a year. They stopped in 2 days. I still get them a bit now when under stress or after eating a big meal. My Dr. found it when I wore my 5th halter monitor. So frustrating. Now I feel one or 2 and feel faint. I guess its my panic..but I am going to go back to the dr for reassurance.

rnzn

Welcome to HealingWell and for sharing your story.  Every story is helpful to read as it gives the members hope and possible ideas they may want to try.

Again,  I liked reading your success story and to know you are going to keep a food diary. 

Kindly,

Kitt

Guilty of eating sweets like chocolate? Somehow it has health benefits. There is a British study released in which discovered that ingesting chocolate could reduce the chance of cardiovascular disease. Control is also believed to be of key importance, so it doesn't suggest one can eat a whole pint of chocolate guilt-free. Article discussing related subject entitled Study finds link between chocolate and lower risk of heart disease . Believe it or not, but such a good news particularly to those who love eating it.

I thoughtI would share my story. I first was diagnosed with pcs when I was pregnant with my third child.they scared me to death, just like most everyone. I was sent to the cardiologist by my ob and they were present on the ekg. They did am eco and it happened during the echo. Doc couldnt give me meds due to pregnancy. I was relieved to find out the pvcs wouldnt hurt me or the baby and was ok with them. They just felt like butterflies. After the baby was born, they seemed to go away. They came back when I was pregnant with my last child. After he was born they came less frequently, but I still had them. Suddenly last week I woke up and felt constant flutters. Got the kids up, made breakfast. They just kept getting stronger and stronger. I sat down to eat breakfast and it felt as if a giraffe had kicked me in the chest knocking the breath out of me. Then it happened again, then again. I told my husband, got in the shower and started to get dizzy everytime they would hit. I finallu called my doc. It was Christmas weekend and I did mot eant to go to the er. She made me. In the car my neck started feeling like someone was squeezing it and the top of mu head would get tight. They took me back right away and put me on the minitor which started alarming right away. The doc said I was throwing PVCs back to back. 6 hours later, after ruling out blood clot inmy lung, thyroid problems, electrolyes, stimulants, etc. the doc said my potassium was low, set me up to see cardiologist and sent me home. My restingheart rate was 100. Honestly, I was not anxiety ridden. I continued to have PVCs the rest of the night becomming less frequent after consuming a sweet potato of all things. I have never smoked, I do not drink except occasionally. I do have a mother with the same issue that was recently diagnosed at 59, she had to have a pacemaker put in after she began passing out with no warning. I dont want a pacemaker and I dont want drugs. I am waiting to see the cardiologist (hers, whom I believe is fantastic). I plan to tell him the same thing and beg him to tell me what I can do to avoid it. Again, the fluttering or butterflies I can handle, the giraffe kicks and not breathing and being strangled while my head explodes I cannot.

mommymoment

I am sure you are feeling frightened and you have the right to be anxious over all this PVC business.  I cannot share anything from a pregnancy view as my kids are so adult now that I don't remember that I had any issues.

If you are truly worried that your Drs.' comment, "  bother/irritant " concerns you then please do seek a second opinion.  Sometimes just getting another opinion will help you decrease you worries.

I wish you a healthy pregnancy and please do know we care.

Kindly,

Kitt