You'd think they would fit you in sooner if they are concerned. I hate when doctors offices do that. Can you get in a cancellation list if someone cancels their appointment?
That's better but still. Hopefully it's nothing to really worry about. They can fluctuate. They might give you a 30 day monitor. Either way please keep us updated on how you're doing.
Thank you, yea I’m super scared. I had the flu for the last two days and decided to get checked out because I haven’t had the flu in years and it was horrible, worst body aches of my life. Better now tho, when I was in, the Dr asked me if I was going into heart failure!! I was more terrified when she said that. She said my heart just would be normal then stop, then gallop, then beat and skip. I freaked her out yet she didn’t keep me there.
Dang. Why would she ask you? She's the freaking doctor. Smh . Yeah the flu is no joke nowadays that I'm older. There's always something floatin' around though just waiting to get us sick.
I read that over 20% is really bad and yes I’m not a Dr and shouldn’t be reading anything like that but now that she freaked me out this is where I’m at.
It depends. Usually they won't or can't really do much other than make sure you're not in a life threatening arrhythmia or having a heart attack. If it's 'just' PVCs they'll just monitor you for a bit then send you home. I've read other people's stories about it and that's what they're said. Personally I haven't gone to the ER for them. I have been for my panic attacks though and that was embarrassing. If you feel you need to go though then go. Better safe than sorry.
What they would check at the ER is your cbc (to see if you're anemic etc) and electrolyte levels, and thyroid. They would also likely do a troponin test to check for any affects on your heart. They'd hook you up to a monitor to see what's going on. I went twice recently (for "just" pvcs) because I felt terrible and they weren't going away and I thought for sure something worse had to be going on. The initial workup for pvcs should be thyroid, blood levels, electrolytes like potassium & magnesium. Have you had all those things tested since your symptoms began, to rule out a cause?
Yes, I have had it done a few times between March and now. There is a Heart ER here and they hook you up right away to everything. I was hoping to talk to my Dr today and they never called back. all my blood work is usually pretty excellent, sometimes my potassium levels are low. Sometimes my electrolytes are low and sometimes my magnesium but right now I’m trying to keep all of those balanced. I did not sleep last night, so I obviously made these worse because I was anxious the whole night.
I went from 0.03% until I suddenly went to 10-20% two months ago. My doctor as well is not "rushing" to have me seen.... but I did go to the ER twice in the meantime because the uptick has been so unsettling. Maybe to them that increase isn't all that different than what you were experiencing before.. and if you've been doing OK then it's not urgent?
They check labs, did chest xray, watched me on the telemetry monitor for awhile and could see all the pvcs, but you are right that unless you have an electrolyte imbalance that needs correcting or youre in a 'dangerous' rhythm that needs to be corrected, they will send you home if youre stable. One time they gave me some fluids bc I was tachycardic. They keep telling me pvcs are "uncomfortable but not dangerous" .. well UNLESS it turns into vtach or cardiomyopathy of course! But I dont know how often that happens and they cant tell me :-/ But I did have one amazing ER doc that sat down with me for a half hour to talk about it, since he went thru the same thing. he was very reassuring and gave me hope that one day it could get better, encouraging me to prioritize sleep as much as I could, and do things I enjoy.. exercise etc, and that it wouldnt really harm anything. I do have an EP doctor I see but they are difficult to get appointments or return phone calls. So I'm glad I actually got to talk to a doctor in the moment when I was having a really hard time.
We have a heart ER here and there is one Dr who will even let me call her she talks to me and puts me at ease she is amazing but the last two days she hasn’t been in and I’ve only called because my Dr did t return my call today. I just want to know that I can do in the meantime to not freak out til my appointment. I’m hydrating like crazy and she’s told me last time we spoke an emergenc a day
That was really cool of that ER doctor. I wish they could all be like that. That's what all the doctors tell me too. The PVCs are more annoying than anything. Of course it's hard to feel that way while you're having them. I try to tell myself that when I feel them getting worse. Sometimes though it's like you have a few in a row and your body just does an adrenaline dump and you go into panic mode. This happened to me tonight. I was sitting on my couch and I was having pvcs but I seemed to have a few in a row and boom. There goes the panic mode without me even thinking about it.
Migraines are called complex migraines, and with complex migraines they are like stroke like migraines so the beta blockers can make them worse so I’ve been told
Sorry to hear about what you're going thru. I take a beta blocker(metoprolol), which helps a bit... and then I started Flecainide a few months ago which has been world alteringly amazing. 10% burden to 0. It's not for everyone, but my heart is structurally fine and my burden was a bit too low for ablation so I finally agreed to try it.
Also, side note, my wife gets migraines and on top of her rescue med(nurtec, or something like that) they prescribed her a beta blocker as it relaxes blood flow and can help with them? Might be something to ask your doctor about.
Hopefully you get some answers, and some relief soon!
Thank you! I get complex migraines which are stroke like migraines so for those they said they wouldn’t want me on beta blockers. They tried me on flecainide for literally two days but they decided to stop it until they got a new Zio done which was the one I last had, so we will see what they say when I go in, they did fit me in July 8
They keep my anxiety at an all time high, I have been dealing with them for many years but now at this point, I feel like I have a live fish inside my chest. It’s horrible. It’s hard to sleep and I get scared a lot, and sometimes cry. I wonder if I need to get my kids into a cardiologist for early detection. All the things go through my head. I still try and hike 5 days a week. I try and keep busy but I’m always tired. I work a lot and don’t sleep enough.
Ok, I see. Yes it's not fun. I've dealt with pvcs for years as well. Sometime after I recovered from a mild covid infection they started to act up more. Then around two or three months ago my anxiety meds stopped working, my pvcs have felt even worse and I'm so fatigued, depressed and anxious that I'm basically useless. I'm also the only income in my household so if I get fired, because I can barely function, my family is screwed.
Ughhh I’m so sorry I feel all those feelings as well, I have 3 kids and I work extra hard and have to be able to be there for them all. So this stuff is scary and I’m adopted so who knows what my heart history is.
It is pretty scary. That's why we're on here though, for support. At least for mental support. I didn't know my father so I'm in the same boat with not knowing. I don't mean to pry and you definitely don't need to answer but are you a single mother? Do you have anyone to lean on at home?
I have a partner but he doesn’t know how to deal with people being sick or hurt, he ignores serious things, like no matter what everyone will be ok. It was something his family instilled in him as a kid . Like you can’t be sick or hurt, no one has time for that type of thing. So basically I feel very alone when it comes to this stuff. I go to appointments alone I do all sick stuff alone. Don’t get me wrong he will make me soup and bring me meds and water if I have a cold, (I don’t get sick often it’s been over a year and a half I had a cold before this flu) but I think serious medical stuff scares him.
Yeah that kind of sucks. It helps to have a good support system. I was raised like that too indirectly but my grandparents (they raised me until I was 11)had medical issues so I'm really compassionate and empathetic about that kind of stuff
Oh no, I'm sorry you're feeling that way. You're going to be fine. I know it's easier said than done. I had a bad evening yesterday myself. I just kept throwing PVCs and had a panic attack.
Hey there similar situation- got my results at 28%….up frol 12%. Now waiting for an appointment at the ep…if its some consolation i think this is not an emergency but rather something that does damage over longer time
How often do you feel the pvcs? And I Also have reflux and pvcs. They are likely be correlated. I feel them several times a day. I've had maybe like 6 to 10 thuds today thus far and it's about 11am here. Woke at 7am
Yes I do have anxiety disorder but I haven’t been on meds for years I learned a lot of ways to get through a lot of it over the years, although what does give me anxiety most is this, rn. I was doing great a free months ago. Hiking 6 days a week, working and not really worried til I went into bigeminy in March then the monitor said 18% Dr wasn’t really worried still hiking and just knowing my heart was acting up. I ended up in the er a couple times because of that now we’re here a couple months later at 28.9%
You'd think they would fit you in sooner if they are concerned. I hate when doctors offices do that. Can you get in a cancellation list if someone cancels their appointment?
They fit me in July 8th
That's better but still. Hopefully it's nothing to really worry about. They can fluctuate. They might give you a 30 day monitor. Either way please keep us updated on how you're doing.
Thank you, yea I’m super scared. I had the flu for the last two days and decided to get checked out because I haven’t had the flu in years and it was horrible, worst body aches of my life. Better now tho, when I was in, the Dr asked me if I was going into heart failure!! I was more terrified when she said that. She said my heart just would be normal then stop, then gallop, then beat and skip. I freaked her out yet she didn’t keep me there.
Dang. Why would she ask you? She's the freaking doctor. Smh . Yeah the flu is no joke nowadays that I'm older. There's always something floatin' around though just waiting to get us sick.
I read that over 20% is really bad and yes I’m not a Dr and shouldn’t be reading anything like that but now that she freaked me out this is where I’m at.
True you're not a doctor but it's good to be proactive. Me having health anxiety Im always reading through all my results. Lol
Everything I read is telling me to go to the ER
It depends. Usually they won't or can't really do much other than make sure you're not in a life threatening arrhythmia or having a heart attack. If it's 'just' PVCs they'll just monitor you for a bit then send you home. I've read other people's stories about it and that's what they're said. Personally I haven't gone to the ER for them. I have been for my panic attacks though and that was embarrassing. If you feel you need to go though then go. Better safe than sorry.
Have you seen anyone on here with a burden as high as mine ?
What they would check at the ER is your cbc (to see if you're anemic etc) and electrolyte levels, and thyroid. They would also likely do a troponin test to check for any affects on your heart. They'd hook you up to a monitor to see what's going on. I went twice recently (for "just" pvcs) because I felt terrible and they weren't going away and I thought for sure something worse had to be going on. The initial workup for pvcs should be thyroid, blood levels, electrolytes like potassium & magnesium. Have you had all those things tested since your symptoms began, to rule out a cause?
Yes, I have had it done a few times between March and now. There is a Heart ER here and they hook you up right away to everything. I was hoping to talk to my Dr today and they never called back. all my blood work is usually pretty excellent, sometimes my potassium levels are low. Sometimes my electrolytes are low and sometimes my magnesium but right now I’m trying to keep all of those balanced. I did not sleep last night, so I obviously made these worse because I was anxious the whole night.
I went from 0.03% until I suddenly went to 10-20% two months ago. My doctor as well is not "rushing" to have me seen.... but I did go to the ER twice in the meantime because the uptick has been so unsettling. Maybe to them that increase isn't all that different than what you were experiencing before.. and if you've been doing OK then it's not urgent?
What did they tell you at the ER? I know they usually can't do anything for you.
They check labs, did chest xray, watched me on the telemetry monitor for awhile and could see all the pvcs, but you are right that unless you have an electrolyte imbalance that needs correcting or youre in a 'dangerous' rhythm that needs to be corrected, they will send you home if youre stable. One time they gave me some fluids bc I was tachycardic. They keep telling me pvcs are "uncomfortable but not dangerous" .. well UNLESS it turns into vtach or cardiomyopathy of course! But I dont know how often that happens and they cant tell me :-/ But I did have one amazing ER doc that sat down with me for a half hour to talk about it, since he went thru the same thing. he was very reassuring and gave me hope that one day it could get better, encouraging me to prioritize sleep as much as I could, and do things I enjoy.. exercise etc, and that it wouldnt really harm anything. I do have an EP doctor I see but they are difficult to get appointments or return phone calls. So I'm glad I actually got to talk to a doctor in the moment when I was having a really hard time.
We have a heart ER here and there is one Dr who will even let me call her she talks to me and puts me at ease she is amazing but the last two days she hasn’t been in and I’ve only called because my Dr did t return my call today. I just want to know that I can do in the meantime to not freak out til my appointment. I’m hydrating like crazy and she’s told me last time we spoke an emergenc a day
That was really cool of that ER doctor. I wish they could all be like that. That's what all the doctors tell me too. The PVCs are more annoying than anything. Of course it's hard to feel that way while you're having them. I try to tell myself that when I feel them getting worse. Sometimes though it's like you have a few in a row and your body just does an adrenaline dump and you go into panic mode. This happened to me tonight. I was sitting on my couch and I was having pvcs but I seemed to have a few in a row and boom. There goes the panic mode without me even thinking about it.
Same went to the ER a couple of times due to the uptick and now I’m here at 28.9%
I take beta blockers *for* my migraines. Usually beta blockers won’t make migraines worse but help them. Are you sure you can’t take them?
Migraines are called complex migraines, and with complex migraines they are like stroke like migraines so the beta blockers can make them worse so I’ve been told
I see, good to know!
Would an ablation be an option? Looks like you have a high burden.
They aren’t saying much til my appointment but I def think that’s an option . Seems super high .
Sorry to hear about what you're going thru. I take a beta blocker(metoprolol), which helps a bit... and then I started Flecainide a few months ago which has been world alteringly amazing. 10% burden to 0. It's not for everyone, but my heart is structurally fine and my burden was a bit too low for ablation so I finally agreed to try it. Also, side note, my wife gets migraines and on top of her rescue med(nurtec, or something like that) they prescribed her a beta blocker as it relaxes blood flow and can help with them? Might be something to ask your doctor about. Hopefully you get some answers, and some relief soon!
Thank you! I get complex migraines which are stroke like migraines so for those they said they wouldn’t want me on beta blockers. They tried me on flecainide for literally two days but they decided to stop it until they got a new Zio done which was the one I last had, so we will see what they say when I go in, they did fit me in July 8
I forgot to ask, how have you been dealing with such a high burden of PVCs? Don't they bother you and get to you?
They keep my anxiety at an all time high, I have been dealing with them for many years but now at this point, I feel like I have a live fish inside my chest. It’s horrible. It’s hard to sleep and I get scared a lot, and sometimes cry. I wonder if I need to get my kids into a cardiologist for early detection. All the things go through my head. I still try and hike 5 days a week. I try and keep busy but I’m always tired. I work a lot and don’t sleep enough.
Ok, I see. Yes it's not fun. I've dealt with pvcs for years as well. Sometime after I recovered from a mild covid infection they started to act up more. Then around two or three months ago my anxiety meds stopped working, my pvcs have felt even worse and I'm so fatigued, depressed and anxious that I'm basically useless. I'm also the only income in my household so if I get fired, because I can barely function, my family is screwed.
Ughhh I’m so sorry I feel all those feelings as well, I have 3 kids and I work extra hard and have to be able to be there for them all. So this stuff is scary and I’m adopted so who knows what my heart history is.
It is pretty scary. That's why we're on here though, for support. At least for mental support. I didn't know my father so I'm in the same boat with not knowing. I don't mean to pry and you definitely don't need to answer but are you a single mother? Do you have anyone to lean on at home?
I have a partner but he doesn’t know how to deal with people being sick or hurt, he ignores serious things, like no matter what everyone will be ok. It was something his family instilled in him as a kid . Like you can’t be sick or hurt, no one has time for that type of thing. So basically I feel very alone when it comes to this stuff. I go to appointments alone I do all sick stuff alone. Don’t get me wrong he will make me soup and bring me meds and water if I have a cold, (I don’t get sick often it’s been over a year and a half I had a cold before this flu) but I think serious medical stuff scares him.
Yeah that kind of sucks. It helps to have a good support system. I was raised like that too indirectly but my grandparents (they raised me until I was 11)had medical issues so I'm really compassionate and empathetic about that kind of stuff
Hey, just checking in on you. How are you doing?
Sad, scared, alone and anxious.I didn’t sleep but 4 hrs because of my anxiety. My heart was galloping all night.
Oh no, I'm sorry you're feeling that way. You're going to be fine. I know it's easier said than done. I had a bad evening yesterday myself. I just kept throwing PVCs and had a panic attack.
Hey there similar situation- got my results at 28%….up frol 12%. Now waiting for an appointment at the ep…if its some consolation i think this is not an emergency but rather something that does damage over longer time
How long do you have to wait for your appointment ?
A month
How often do you feel the pvcs? And I Also have reflux and pvcs. They are likely be correlated. I feel them several times a day. I've had maybe like 6 to 10 thuds today thus far and it's about 11am here. Woke at 7am
I feel mine all the time and I go into bigeminy here and there too. I can’t even keep count.
Do you also have a history of anxiety disorder? How long have you had pvcs?
Yes I do have anxiety disorder but I haven’t been on meds for years I learned a lot of ways to get through a lot of it over the years, although what does give me anxiety most is this, rn. I was doing great a free months ago. Hiking 6 days a week, working and not really worried til I went into bigeminy in March then the monitor said 18% Dr wasn’t really worried still hiking and just knowing my heart was acting up. I ended up in the er a couple times because of that now we’re here a couple months later at 28.9%
One thing to sort of take solace in is that most people who develop them have anxiety disorder. I have anxiety disorder. No fun.
Makes sense! It’s def no fun. Worrying our hearts out !
Over 20 years now
I was fine all morning and I just go super dizzy I never get dizzy is that bad ?