For the last few weeks I have been waking up quite suddenly between 6 and 7am from a deep sleep feeling really horrible.
The first thing I notice is that my heart is beating fast, so I try and turn over to make it stop and it doesn’t help. I feel really clammy and have a sinking feeling like just before you pass out. Within minutes I need a bowel movement, whilst I’m on the loo the symptoms get more intense. When it’s over I feel horrible for another 5 to 10 minutes and then it settles although a lot of the time it still feels like my heart has moved and taken up residence higher up in my chest.
Does anyone have any idea why this might be happening???
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Kellyjelly
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Sleep Apnea is when you stop breathing for a few seconds or sometimes for up to a minute. The lack of oxygen wakes you with the sinking feeling. It is treated by using a breathing mask at night which helps stop your airways collapsing causing the obstruction called CPAP. It takes a while to get used to but it improves your sleep quality and I for one felt so much better for it. You can ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist clinic who will provide you with a small wearable device which will track your sleep so they can see what is going on.
Thank you for explaining that. I’m having a 7 day holter monitor fitted next week so hopefully that will capture what’s happening from the heart side of things when I’m waking up feeling like this. Do you think it will be a good idea to discuss this with the EP in March rather than my gp? My gp already thinks I’m clutching at straws saying my heart and stomach issues are connected.
The online test says I’m fine but my sleep study showed issues. Most of my sleep is good (0.7 apneas per hour and normal is 6 or less) but in my REM sleep I had 48 respiratory events per hour. In REM sleep the body is virtually paralysed so you can’t act out your dreams. My deep sleep was normal and in the other non REM sleep I had some hypoapneas where there is a partial obstruction. That was 9 per hour so in the mild range of 7-15 (and I had bronchitis so that could have had an impact). I was never tired in the he day and never had naps. I’m trialling a CPAP to see if it helps with the REM sleep and AF. So far (almost 1 week in) there’s no improvement in AF, in fact Friday was one of my worst days for ages with around 7 1/2 hours in AF.
I know CPAP helps a lot of people so it’s worth asking your doctor about a sleep study (as horrid as it is).
Sounds like the last time I had flutter/fast AF prior to ablation. It was a few weeks before my pre op. Most of my episodes in recent times have been at night.
I wear a wrist watch which I can set to take my HR at anything from 5 minute to 60 minute intervals. When I'm feeling unwell or been unstable I have it set to 5 minutes and its interesting to see the spikes in the middle of the night usually in the early hours when I should be in REM sleep.
Of course I'm never sure if the AF has woke me up or I've woke up suddenly and caused the AF.
The latest occasion prior to ablation was bad, but not as bad as previous. I got up, 1am, took extra dose of Flecanide as instructed, and managed to go back to sleep (as well as using all the tricks in the book) until 7am where I took my morning pills and rested in bed. It clicked off and back to normal at 10am. Its never done that before.
Thanks for replying. That sounds like a horrible experience, fingers crossed it’s a one off!!
When I wake up my heart is fast but not in afib and I feel sure it’s the increase in heart rate that is dragging me from my slumber.
This has all coincided with my heart just speeding up to 130ish throughout the day and night for no apparent reason accompanied by constant burping and very swollen tummy. It is worse when I eat if drink anything too.
I have it too, in fact had something similar this morning and it feels dreadful. The connection between brain, gut, bowel and heart is very closely aligned and in some of us it would appear to show itself more acutely sadly. I have no idea what's what on that front science wise, perhaps Nick kelland can throw some light on it. All I can say is it's horrendous to go through. A bowel movement and af episode connection happened to me week before last. It's all very strange but I am sure you will get help to reduce this effect.
Are you on any medications currently I think you mentioned bisoprolol. Are you on any rhythm drug.
This condition is horrendous as I can testify to myself and the fear and sometimes terror adds to it. Feelings of doom seem to go hand in hand with arrhythmias, not surprising as our bodies are thrown into fight or flight mode ready to face whatever our body and brain tells us is threatening us.
As an aside while you are awaiting your consultant app you might like to look at you tube videos by dr Sanjay Gupta he is a lovely cardiologist in York who has a good take on how to handle ourselves with arrhythmias. Very informative.
Thank you so much and I’m really sorry you are experiencing this too. It is a really horrible way to wake up and always seems to happen when I feel really warm and comfy!
I take flecainide twice a day 50mg and I was started on Bisoprolol in December but it made me feel so terrible that I stopped taking it after 2 weeks. I have recently been started on omeprazole which stopped the burping for about a week, I thought it had cured it 🙄My heart was still racing occasionally but I wasn’t burping for hours but then sadly it came back.
Thanks for the recommendation about Dr Guptas videos, I have been watching them these last few months and wish he was my doctor!
I’m nervous to meet my new EP Dr Kelland because of everything that’s happened over the years. I hope he is nice.
Flecainide on its own can make your heart race. If you can't take Bisoprolol you could try Diltiazem which your GP can prescribe. It also helps with tummy symptoms so double benefit. When I wake with the 'death warmed' feeling I assume I've had AF while asleep. A lot of fluid seems to help but that's just me.
I have sometimes wondered if flecainide is controlling the afib but creating other problems for me after taking it for so long??? I hope Dr Kelland is ready for my list of questions in March! Thank you for all you our help, I feel like I’m learning so much!!
Maybe? If worked for the first week I took it but hasn’t stopped all the burping and swollen stomach since. I would like to know why this is happening though before I increase the medicine.
Your GP may say increase the dose of omeprazole for a while and if the digestive upset goes away you’ll know that was the problem. It’s generally a well tolerated med with moderate side effects.
Also worth mentioning that disordered breathing can cause you to gulp extra air that causes burping etc.
The doctor mentioned the breathing thing to me on the phone the other day! I was supposed to be seeing him tonight regarding the tummy issues but the appointment has just been cancelled. I have to call back in March for an appointment as they have nothing for this month.
Are you generally eating well? Minimising greasy food, moderate portions, avoiding spicy foods, coffee, light meals at night? If it’s a food thing you’d probably feel better in the morning and less well in the evening. Lemon juice in hot water first thing in the morning can help. Does Mylanta or gaviscon settle the burping? That would also suggest it’s a digestive thing
I eat quite healthily although I do have a sweet tooth. Strangely enough I feel much better late afternoon and early evening, the mornings and after lunch are definitely worse.
I haven’t had coffee for years, drink hot water mostly with a couple of cups of tea through the day.
Gaviscon does help, I have only taken it a few times but it did shorten the burping.
When it happens my heart beats strangely and then I get a feeling of pressure in my chest and feel like I’m suffocating, my stomach literally seems to inflate before my eyes and I feel faint and really strange and then these enormous burps start! It’s the same every single time. My heart will settle at between 90 and 130bpm and I will burp non stop for an hour or two feeling faint and then it will settle down. On a bad day this can start as soon as I open my eyes and go on for hours and hours after even a sip of water. Really horrible and very disruptive to my life because I feel so unwell when its happening.
Sorry probably should have started another thread all about the burping 🙄
If it’s a breathing thing you’ll feel light headed, tingling hands and fingers, anxious, short of breath, nauseous and maybe with burping unrelated to eating (from gulping air). Frequent yawning/sighing is a sign of disordered breathing. This requires a few weeks of focusing on belly/diaphragm breathing, breathing in to a bag or your cupped hands when you’re over-breathing/hyperventilating and learning to keep your breaths steady and slow. Avoid taking big, deep breaths! A physio or you tube can help Lani
Of course disordered breathing and reflux can occur at the same time. Just trying to point out the different symptoms so you can get some clarity. Good luck! Lani
Lani thank you so much for taking so much time trying to help me and you have really given me things to think about. I will look up the disordered breathing, the symptoms sound very similar to what happens. If I have reflux would I suffer from heartburn? I’ve never had heartburn or anything like that only this burping.
I take atenolol rather than bisoprolol, it's an older drug but I have found no side effects from it but we are all different. Lots of people find bisoprolol makes them extremely tired and fatigued. However we need to work with our EP to find the cocktail which is best for us as individuals.
Can I suggest you ask a key question of Nick kelland who incidentally is very kind and well respected by patients and staff at Sheffield teaching hospital foundation trust. The question would be should you be taking flecainide without it being accompanied by a rate control drug like bisoprolol or another beta blocker.
My EP insists I take a beta blocker each day if I am taking the drug flecainide. I assume you were started on flecainide in hospital as that's the usual route and indeed should be started while in a hospital setting initially. Did they give you Bisoprolol in tandem.
It won't be long until your app with dr kelland so hope you can dig in until you see him and get some tests, advice and a treatment plan. If it's really draining you why not try calling his secretary to ask if there is any possibility of an urgent app as you feel so ill and unsafe. You never know they may be able to accommodate you. Alternatively you could speak with one of the arrhythmia nurses and tell them how bad you feel in the interim.
This vile condition needs taming in us all. Best wishes for a good consultation and treatment plan so you can live a normal life again.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply with such good advice.
In terms of taking a beta blocker with my flecainide I don’t recall if it was administered at the same time as my flecainide IV but it wasn’t prescribed alongside it. I have been taking flecainide for over 6 years and it was only in December that the cardiologist said to start me on Bisoprolol when I was in the CCU. It really made me feel poorly so I persevered for 3 weeks (not 2, my mistake) and then stopped. I spoke to a cardiac nurse on another visit two weeks ago to a&e and she said that I have a low resting heart rate and that can make it hard to tolerate beta blockers. I will definitely talk this over with Dr Kelland and thank you for highlighting that.
In terms of seeing him sooner I have called everyday in January trying to get my initial appointment. His secretary has been wonderful and had to fight with Bassetlaw who for some reason wouldn’t release my original ecg readings and kept sending photocopies which held the appointment up for a month, not helped by the Christmas holidays. You are right, it will be here soon enough and I just need to stay positive.
What is an arrhythmia nurse, I know it might sound like the clue is in the title but I’ve never cons across before?
Hi Kellyjelly, I have learned a lot from reading your post and the replies to your post. I too have been waking up at night with a faster heart rate and I think what wakes me is that I can hear my heart pounding in my right ear. I also am aware that I was dreaming during this time. After reading about REM sleep in the replies I googled REM sleep and the explanation said during this time your heart rate does increase so I am thinking that may be what is happening to me. I would like to have a sleep study done if I can ever get some of the other issues behind me. I have a pacemaker on the right side and the leads are tight and irritating however my new EP does not recommend a pocket revision at this time. I take Flecainide as a PIP. My best to you.
That’s really interesting because I am also aware that I am dreaming when this happens. I just don’t understand why it’s started happening out of the blue and why I feel so awful and then it all calms down after I’ve been to the loo.
I would like to have a sleep study too if this keeps happening but like you I have a few other things that I need to get to the bottom of first 🙄 I hope you can get your pacemaker sorted out, that doesn’t sound very pleasant.
Thank you for your reply, it is so good that we can all learn from each other. I’ve learned so much in the past two days and feel like I finally have somewhere to go with all my questions.
I have most of this happening to me most mornings - when I mentioned this to my cardiologist he said it was quite common and is known as "early morning adrenaline rush" (you can google it).
I have just been prescribed Adizem 180mg capsules as the Bisoporol was making me feel quite rough on times (ectopics and heavy chest)
Hi. I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP device. I have Afib and have been told that sleep apnea can affect Afib. I have woken up gasping and with fast heart rate. The device helps prevent this by pushing air into my body when I stop breathing. It is definitely worth getting a sleep study. All the best.
I hadn't heard of sleep apnea until someone on this site suggested my getting up in the night 4/5 times and then checking my blood pressure which was high could indeed be SA. I had it checked and it was severe ( 68 per hour ) and I was put on a CPAP immediately and it has changed my life. I have PAF and am on Sotalol and Rivaroxaban which my cardiologist thinks I am on unnecessarily as my symptoms are caused by SA. Good luck and push if you have to with the doctor, I am 5'7" and weigh 78kg so they ignored the suggestion in the past!
The ‘normal’ way to wake up is slowly moving back up from deep sleep to lighter sleep to awake. You will almost certainly feel groggy and nauseous for 30 min or so if you wake too quickly.
Not sure if anyone else has said this to you but the sleep-digestion-voiding-racing heart symptoms sound vagal. When you say ‘why is this happening?’ I would say it’s because your vagal nerve is extra sensitive. It’s good to try and figure out what triggers/mediates your AF because then you can try to control/understand it. Mine is generally cortisol-mediated which means when I exert myself after a period of rest I’m more likely to flip in to AF. Eg walking to customs after a long plane journey. That early morning BM sounds not lovely but on the plus side, you’re starting the day with your decks cleared! Wishing you all the best Kellyjelly Lani
Thanks so much Lani, my menstrual cycle and eating seem to be my biggest triggers at the moment. I’m not really sure how I can have much impact on the hormones but I think in terms of food, carbohydrates seem to have more of an impact than most other foods so maybe that’s something that can be focused on.
I’m 46 and I think that my hormones are going a bit wonky. My afib and svt have always been provoked by my hormones and I think as I approach the final hormonal hurdle my heart doesn’t know what to make of it all 😂
As for the BM, you’re right I suppose, it is nice to get one of my morning jobs out of the way pretty sharpish 😂😂😂😂
These symptoms always happen to me when I start an AF episode which is usually in the small hours of the morning. I am woken with the doom feeling and high uneven heart rate and within minutes chest pain and needing the loo. The next hours are trying to deal with getting it back to NSR using various means and medication. I do try to accept the condition and try to relax and if i can get to sleep for even 10 minutes it will usually revert back. Good luck and try to relax😌
Thank you for that 😊 thankfully I’m not in afib when this happens just fast heart rate and sweating etc. It happened again this morning and I have to say I would much rather not wake up like that every morning 😪
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Feeling disheartened 
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Check-Up and a horrible 2 hours the night before.
