Ectopics and sleep

[Finvola]

At the moment I'm having difficulty staying asleep during the night as my ectopics are playing up. Getting up and moving about stops them but the minute I lie down again, in any position, off they go. This is a new thing for me and I wondered if anyone else has come up with a coping method which is better than walking around in the freezing cold?

[BobD Volunteer]

Yes when I get clusters of ectopics I do find it hard to GET to sleep and if I have to get up for nature (regularly since my op. ) getting back to sleep is hard. Having pulsatile tinitus makes it worse as I can hear it all the time. Big Sympathies.

[Finvola in reply to BobD]

Thank you Bob. That sounds wretched - at least I have been getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep before they start - and they are loud enough without the extra misery of an amplifier in the ear. Sympathies returned.

[loobylou777 in reply to BobD]

Oh Bob I too have pulsatile tinnitus and know how sometimes it is so hard not to listen to the wretched missed beats and thumps! Earplugs funnily enough help to blur the sounds for me

[genorm]

Hi Finvola and Bob, I,too, am an ectopics being. I seem to have them for about a month, fairly constantly, but particularly when I want to relax and be still. I have no way of making them ease, unless I go to work! Then for another month I will not be aware of them. Can atrial ectopics be regarded as permanent? Is this right - they occur in an area of the heart that doesn't normally control rhythm, but are not a big issue? We just have to endure them.

[Finvola in reply to genorm]

Yes, genorm - when I read or do a crossword I feel them too. Certainly hope they aren't permanent and I think they are benign in a structurally normal heart.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Finvola]

Ectopics are a normal cardiac function I am told but not the number we sometimes have to endure. I have found that rhythm control drugs (propafanone in my case) calm them down and after a couple of weeks weaning off it and they have gone for another however long.

[Azbycx]

Hi finvola ,l was the same as you before Christmas .I got two armchairs a pushed them together and slept sitting up for a few nights .I had no ectopics in that position and when I went back to the bed I used 3 pillows so far so good , those ectopics can drive you mad ,,hope you find something that works for you and you get a decent nights sleep

[Finvola in reply to Azbycx]

Good for you - I hope they stay away! Mine are less noticeable when my head is raised - I've been trying two pillows. Had a good try last night at ignoring them and concentrating on breathing to a count of 5 in, 2 hold, 7 out slowly. Relaxing and got more sleep.

[Alan_G]

I have found that using a bolster pillow and going to sleep in a sitting (or near sitting) position has helped me enormously. When I used to go to bed and lie down, I got the feeling an AF episode or ectopic beats were likely to happen. It takes a bit of getting used to sleeping like that but it's now been a couple of years since I've had my sleep interrupted by AF or ectopic beats.

[Musetta]

Hi Finvola,

I too have spent nights walking the floor trying to get rid of troublesome ectopics and using the 5/2/7 breathing technique. Colds nights not such a problem where I live - in Oz.You have my sympathies too.

Cheers,

Musetta

[Finvola in reply to Musetta]

Hi Musetta - thanks for that.  They eventually went away and I'm troubled only by the very occasional one (for the moment).  I live in Northern Ireland and to say it is freezing is an understatement - even in April.  Right now the warmth of Oz sounds good. 

[Musetta]

Hi Finvola,

I lived in Sydney until recently - I now live on Lake Macquarie a couple of hours north of Sydney but the climate is exactly the same in both places.In summer on a hot day it can reach mid thirties (centigrade) but it's usually a pleasant mid to late twenties. Winter is pretty mild too - if it gets to nine degrees centigrade overnight, we Aussies complain about the cold! Maybe come for a holiday to Oz?     ☺

Cheers,

Musetta