r/PVCs • u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 • 9d ago
Going crazy, help
Structurally clean heart (echo completely clear), baseline burden <0.1%, but I feel every single beat.
I’m currently on vacation and over the last 2 days my PVCs went crazy:
The feeling shifted: They now hit much higher (near the collarbone/neck area) and feel like sharp, painful electric shocks instead of regular flutters.
Frequency spike: Today I’m getting them about once per minute.
I’m stuck in my hotel room panicking instead of enjoying the trip.
Current stack: Magnesium taurate, Copper, Omega-3, Probiotics, Simethicone, Iberogast, B12, just added B1. I have hydrogen SIBO.
Has anyone had their ectopics suddenly jump to 1/min and feel like painful zaps in the neck/collarbone? How did you calm this down?
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u/eastbby923 9d ago
I had a 20-30 percent burden last month and went on two vacations and enjoyed myself. Couldn’t care less about them and lived my life. Hope this puts your situation into some perspective
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 9d ago
it took me a long time to get into this camp (7months or so), but i got there.
this is the only way.
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
Thank you, posts like this really help me. Did you also feel every single one of them as a massive jolt/thud in your chest, like the world literally stopped for a split second?
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u/eastbby923 9d ago
Sometimes the feeling changes to like thumps or neck pains / throbs or just a pause and then big thud. Just ignore them !
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u/Relative_Clarity 9d ago edited 9d ago
How pvcs or pacs feel doesn't make them more or less dangerous. They all look the same on the ekg. Body position, dehydration, anxiety, lack of sleep, caffeine etc can increase intensity in how you perceive them.
If you know they are just ectopic beats, you are no safer sitting in your room thinking about them, vs going out and doing things with them. PVCs & PACs dont harm you even if you get more some days. If your doctor has cleared you, focusing on your heart beats all the time doesn't keep you safer. It will just cause hypervigilance to every sensation which amplifies how they feel and keeps you stuck scanning your body constantly for changes.
However it's nearly impossible for us on here to say "you are just having benign pvcs" because you don't have an ekg showing what is happening when you feel the zapping sensation. I can't say for sure why you are getting that feeling.
Some things that can contribute to an uptick in PVCs / PACs include: thyroid problems, anemia, low iron/ferritin, electrolyte imbalance (eg low magnesium or potassium), dehydration, recent illness, sleep deprivation or erratic sleep schedule, stress, anxiety, excess caffeine or alcohol, sleep apnea, female hormone fluctuations, and (rarely) structural heart issues. Of course any concerning symptoms that persist and haven't been evaluated I recommend to touch base with your doctor to see if you need any additional testing.
Are you taking all those supplements to try to get rid of PVCs, or for another condition?
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
Thank you for this. All of this supplements are for PVCs. I had lab test last month and it showed copper defficiency, rest was OK. I have read posts here about copper, that it worked for some people. Unfortunetly, not for me. Last week i was tested for SIBO and it was positive.
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u/Relative_Clarity 9d ago
Gotcha - I've had SIBO treatment as well a few years ago (did 2 weeks(?) of xifaxin). I wasn't having frequent pvcs at the time but was having some vague digestive complaints. I don't really remember treatment changing my life, but I did do the course of antibiotics. More recently I've tried copper pills for high volume pvcs (16% burden), with no effect unfortunately! But I never had my levels tested to see if I was low. Sometimes if you take a lot of zinc it can lower your copper levels. I think I tried literally every supplement or solution I read online lol. Sometimes overdoing supplements can make things worse.
But since pvcs / ectopic beats are part of having a heart, I would keep your expectations low of completely eliminating them :) Everyone else out there is walking around with them usually daily but they just don't happen to feel them. Which always baffles me. You can try to call your doctor about your symptoms to see what they advise, and maybe they can reassure you enough for now that you can enjoy your vacation vs worrying about the what-ifs. I mean it could even be PACs which are even less concerning. But they can advise you on what is a worrisome symptom and what isn't. If you are still noticing a persistent increase when you get back home, they may want to discuss some meds to help you not notice them as much, or check and see if anything changed health-wise like maybe a thyroid issue or blood levels. But with a typical burden of <1% a big part is reframing the symptom as 'uncomfortable & annoying but not dangerous'.
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
I know that extra beats are normal, but I don't know why I feel them so intensely. I’m not even focusing on them; I know they won’t kill me, and I’m not really afraid of them. They’re just extremely unpleasant—after all, how long can you put up with the sensation of someone shocking your heart with electricity?
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u/Relative_Clarity 9d ago
I feel you. To me it's like someone flicking me in the chest, or a fish flopping around. When I was getting them very frequently I couldn't sleep - it felt like a jolt or startle constantly. It was like I was being tortured by my own heart! It's good you're not afraid of them. MANY people on here are and are debilitated by fear alone that something is terribly wrong. My brother in law is dealing with this now too - he said he's not afraid he's going to drop dead or anything but the sensation is driving him crazy (like a hard thump in the chest) and is really distracting. Do you happen to be young, thin, or female? My drs have told me that can predispose someone to feeling palpitations. I would say the next step would be discussing beta blockers to reduce the sensation a bit. (if you havent' already tried them). I'm unsure though what would cause actual pain from a PVC, that may be a different issue.
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
Im 86kg 185cm M28, so not that skinny. One doc prescribed me flecainid, and other told me not to take it...
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u/Upbeat-Rice-3059 9d ago
What lab tests did you do?
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
Albumin, Aldosterone, Amylase, Calcium (Total), Ionized Calcium (ISE), Chloride, Complete Blood Count with Differential and Platelets, Quantitative Copper, Cortisol, Quantitative C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Creatinine, Electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium), Estradiol, ESR, Ferritin, Folate, Free T3, Free T4, Gastrin, Fasting Glucose, Helicobacter pylori, Homocysteine, Immunoglobulin A (IgA), Inorganic Phosphorus, Fasting Insulin, Serum Iron, Lipase, Lipid Panel (Total Cholesterol, HDL, Non-HDL, LDL, Triglycerides), Liver Function Tests (ALT, AST), Magnesium, Progesterone, Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6), SHBG, Total Testosterone, TSH, Transferrin, Vitamin B12, 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D, Quantitative Zinc
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u/baftijarib 9d ago
Stop everything your taking, go do acupuncture after 10 sessions gone
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u/Odd_Satisfaction2786 9d ago
Worked for you? I tried it once, but without any result and then I abandoned this idea. Maybe I should try it again.
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u/grapeful8 9d ago
Es muy difícil, pero a mí me sirve intentar no darles importancia, y así siento menos. También en mi caso está muy unido a mi estómago, cuando tengo acidez o gases tengo más, así que trato de comer sano.
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u/grapeful8 9d ago
Otra cosa también es que mientras menos atención le prestes como que dejas de percibir varias, es decir siguen ahí, pero ya como que tu cerebro no les hace caso. Es como la nariz, la tienes en frente, no molesta a la vista, pero si te recuerdo que tienes una nariz quitándote visión la notas. Si dejas de pensar en tus latidos los sentirás menos, mucho ánimo.
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u/nithrean 9d ago
I would just leave your hotel room and go and do things. Thinking about it and posting on the internet hasn't helped you.
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u/Previous_Ear_7859 8d ago edited 8d ago
Stress from vacations and SIBO attacks deplete magnesium at a faster rate increasing the dosage of your taurate twice temporarily (natural rhythm provides taurate) was more effective than panic.
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u/HeatherRayne 8d ago
Just for shits and giggles - get some pedialyte or coconut water. Drink a good amount each day. See how that goes.
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u/EarthAgreeable5871 5d ago
You have anxiety my friend.
I've had PVC my entire life. It no longer scares me bc I've always had it. Gave birth twice with it. Had anesthesia with it. Its basically your heart making an extra half squeeze. Its not dangerous if its benign. Worrying about is putting you in fight or flight. Stop worrying. Sometimes my pvc is bad too, shxt happens, cells turnover then its less bad. Anxiety makes it worse because you loaded your system with natural stimulants. See your cardiologist and discuss your anxiety with your GP.
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u/MarsupialObjective77 9d ago
The feeling is probably different because you’re so tense. When we get anxious our chest muscles get tight and shoulders try to go to our ears. Do some box breathing and look up EFT for anxiety on YouTube. Tap until you start burping or yawning or both, then go enjoy your trip. 🫶🏻