Still having palpitations on beta blockers.

[dani777]

last march 2019, my arrythmia started getting a lot worse, out of nowhere. i've had bouts of palpitations since my twenties, however in the past they were very short lived and mild, and not very troubling. and also not very frequent

but last year, i started getting them every day, all day. flutters mostly. and it was like torture. docs weren't sure what was going on, so they arranged some tests, although i had to wait a while for those tests.

in the meantime, it became unbearable, and i went into my GP surgery last september and just broke down, and said i couldn't cope anymore with the constant palpitations and to please help me. so he prescribed propranolol. 40mg twice a day,

and i took it, and it did help stop the palpitations, although not entirely. it didn't wipe them out, which is what i had hoped for. it just lessened how often i got them. this drug also made me extremely tired sometimes. so tired that it would be too difficult for me to remain in a shop, i'd just be that tired. and i felt a bit drugged on that beta blocker. and i'd also get out of breath really quickly from just slight exertion like vacuuming.

so while i was in hospital for a week last december after having gone to A & E feeling off, with bad chest tightness and shortness of breath, they did a few ECGs and all were abnormal. so they admitted me. they had first suspected heart attack but that was ruled out as my bloods were negative for that enzyme. also had an angiogram, which found no blockages.

and while i was in hospital, they switched me from propranolol to metoprolol. metoprolol made me feel nauseous from the start. so i was given cyclizine to help with that. so i've been taking metoprolol twice daily since december, and the nausea had become unbearable, even with the cyclizine. i mean, i was feeling sick like 70% of the time.

so i phoned the hospital, and they told me to switch back to the propranolol. so i did this last week. only now i am back to being exhausted so much of the time, even though the nausea diminished. also, propranolol doesn't seem to work quite as well as the metoprolol in stopping the palpitations. i still get semi-regular flutters when i take propranolol. but even with the metoprolol, i would still get the odd onset of palpitations.

so i am just feeling really fed up with it all, my quality of life has gone down so much between this and my bowel disease.

i've been waiting ages to get a date for a LOOP insertion, if I even get a date. I still haven't had the results from my heart MRI, which I had nearly two months ago. i have tried to chase it up, but they told me they haven't looked at it yet. that isn't helping, either.

is there nothing else that can help to stop the palpitations entirely? or am i gonna have to put up with this forever - cos i'm not sure i can do.

[Hidden]

Metoprolol and propranolol are both similar drugs calked betablockers. Their main job is to calm and slow down the heart. They also lower the blood pressure. They dont really play a role in controlling the hearts rhythm directly. In calming the heart, they can also calm us, sometimes too much , leaving us feeling tired, short of breath when we exert. Have you seen a cardiologist or electrophysiologist( EP) thru this? As you didnt mention what kind of palpitation you have( arrhythmia). There are antiarrhythmia drugs also, but depends on what kind you have. Also ablation is available if you have an arrhythmia that ablation can help. Often lifestyle changes help our hearts settle down. Smoking, alcohol, obesity, lack of exercise, dehydration, high blood pressure, diabetes etc all add to the arrhythmia game.

[BobD Volunteer]

Palpitations just really means that you are aware of your heart. What you are aware of is the tricky bit which needs to be established. Until that time treatment is going to be difficult as what may suit one problem may actually exacerbate another.

Right now I suspect that anxiety is your greatest problem as this will of course make everything more vivid. Speak to your doctor about this subject and see what can be done to help you short term.

[thumpthump]

Hi, sorry to hear your troubles. Your story is almost identical to mine, palpitations throughout teens and 20s, then out of nowhere a major episode at 38. Unlike your situation, mine were not as persistent even at their worst and not requiring much treatment.

Not assuming to know anything about your general health or medical background but are you a suitable candidate for a catheter ablation?

This might help to take the worst away from the symptoms you describe, particularly if regular meds are not working.

I had mine done at the beginning of the year and still in recovery.

[KMRobbo]

I initialĺy was put on beta blockers, bispoprol and then Atenolol. I had very bad side effects and it was was obvious it was the drugs as was asymtomatic with the afib I was diagnosed with. My GP switched me to verapamil a calcium channel blocker as an alternative and for me that had no bad symptoms. Have another word with your medics. The cure should not be worse than than the condition!

[Bronie888 in reply to KMRobbo]

Hi KMRobbo, I’ve just been switched from Atenolol to Verapamil. The transition was hard, felt really unwell but now starting to manage a bit better. Just the irregular heartbeats are driving me crazy and giving me a fright every time it happens.

How long before you found the verapamil working for you?

[KMRobbo in reply to Bronie888]

Sorry it was almost immediately, I stopped Atenolol and i think a couple of days later went onto the verapamil. However I was paroxysmal afib and so probably did not have an attack during the transition. I was also asymptomatic in afib , except a fluttery feeling for a few seconds when starting. What the verapamil did for me was to stop me going from 75 bpm to 165 bpm in 10 seconds when I had an afib attack. My hr with verapamil did increase but gradually. What I ended up with if i remember correctly was a 120mg modified release daily and then a supply of 40mg normal release tablets. If my hr started increasing I took a 40mg in addition to the 120 . At one stage i was trying to get to take a pill in a pocket but it would not work as I believe the absorption of the verapamil was 4 hours plus so without taking the 120mg I was already in high rate afib before it did anything. Which was too late. Please note I am not medically trained, I just tell you what I did in conjunction with my GP to stop the unpleasant side effects I had with the two beta blockers I had tried.

I was on verapamil for 20 months and had approx 12 fib attacks in that period. Unfortunately my afib progressed and I went onto afib high rate 130 to 195 resting for the best part of 8 days , and was only converted to NSR by a flecainide infusion in the local hospital CCU..after that I had to take flecainide rhythm control daily with Diltiazem rate control. At that point I decided to have an ablation.

If the verapamil or the dose does not work for you in a few weeks I would discuss further with your GP.

[Polski]

Have you tried taking magnesium (not magnesium oxide, but any of the other varieties should help) You should try taking it for at least six months to get the benefit, but it may help to lessen the strength of the palpitations, and so make it all more bearable.

[ILoveGod]

I believe that metoprolol can lower ur blood pressure that is why ur feeling weaker.. been taking it for years but it failed me , until my cardio advise me or refer me to EPS electrophysiologist look for one there in ur place. There are a lot of medicine but depends if it will work for u. I guess having Afib are all about management ur Lifestyle( know ur triggers) Anxiety ( try yoga or meditation), less stress sleep early. Ablation .. im afraid of surgery. I take Amiodarone wich helped me a lot but its not advise as maintenance, slowly i lower the dose until u change it to less toxic antiarrythmic meds. Hope this help, want to share more my experience or struggle with this condition but keep on fighting and life must go on. God bless and stay safe..

[Markham]

its easier said than done but anxiety causes palpitations you sound d like me I get them all the time I'm on sotolol beta blokkas..but still get them l can't breathe at times feel I'm going to pass out feels like my heart will stop..agood tip lay on your back and raise your legs in the air or up a wall for 15 minutes that helps me as it give the heart a good boost of much needed blood..other tips is bear down like going to the toilet..but I think once you have AF it's the way our hearts work and maybe normal for us..try not to be anxious and worry to much but I do understand how you are suffering.

all the best to you.