Ectopics have taken over my life

[Norfolk_spaniel]

I feel absolutely awful. Had a successful ablation last October which I recovered from in a couple of months. In February had covid very badly and since then have been suffering from ectopics. Thought I was feeling better in June but mid July the ectopics started again. Had some good days and some bad but for the last week they have all been bad. The palpitations last for several hours and one in 5 heart beats can be missing. I am breathless, very tired, dizzy, and nauseous. When I have the ectopics, it feels like a lump in my throat. I am also getting hot flushes every hour or more. I get little proper sleep. Recent blood tests were all normal. I don't know where to turn for help. Had a same day GP appointment on Wednesday where a nurse practitioner told me it was probably a bug. Rang 111 yesterday evening and spoke to a doctor who told me that it wasn't life threatening and only to go to A&E if it got much worse. I have an appointment with my EP at the end of October and they can't offer me anything before then. I'm a 70 years old female. Can anybody else relate to my symptoms and how were you treated for them? Thanks.

[meadfoot]

Oh yes I can relate to your issues only too well. I have dreadful ectopic beats and pauses too which add to my concerns. I had a seven day monitor last week and of course not a sign of ectopics but they came back in abundance a few days after the monitor was removed, just typical. Have you tried slow deep breathing, might ease it a tad. I have cardiac app in September so lets see how we both go in the coming weeks.

Sending you cyber hugs as I know how awful ectopics can make you feel. Best wishes.

[bantam12]

I had an appt at cardiology yesterday because ectopics have been really bad last few weeks. I do have a pacemaker so they started off checking the history on that (all ok) but within 45 mins I’d had an ecg, a 3 day monitor fitted, an appt for Echo next week and appt with consultant week after so they took me seriously which is a first !

Ectopics are always played down and we’re usually told they’re normal and to go anyway and live with them but sometimes we can’t “live with them” and there can be serious issues that need treating. Have to keep plugging away at getting some help.

[Norfolk_spaniel in reply to bantam12]

Thanks. I have an "urgent" appointment with my EP which is end of October. I am seeing my GP on Monday. I am worried that there is another underlying problem behind all my symptoms. I've hardly been able to stand today because I've felt so dizzy. Hr is around 58 and BP was 105/885.

[bantam12 in reply to Norfolk_spaniel]

My pacing tech thought that possibly the multiple ectopics were preventing adequate blood flow so BP was dropping suddenly, to quick to get a reading.

October is a long time for you to wait, hopefully your GP can get you a quicker one.

Luckily I only had to wait 2 days for pacing appt and to get everything sorted but I’m surprised it’s all so quick which also makes me a bit suspicious something else is going on.

[Peakoverload]

I’ve had ectopic beats for nearly 30 years and they’ve ranged from barely noticeable to totally debilitating. For years I couldn’t get the GP to take it seriously because whenever I had an ECG, they didn’t happen. Eventually I got referred to the hospital who confirmed they were benign and was told to ‘just ignore them’. This felt like the most useless piece of advice I’d ever be given as they were impossible to ignore. Unfortunately the hospital was right. The secret was to forget about them. It’s taken me about 15 years and lots of counselling but now I don’t worry about them and as soon as I stopped worrying I started to notice them less and less. I still get them but they don’t really affect me and I can just ignore them and they very quickly go away.

[Kiwi2]

Hi, I know how you feel and trying to work out what to do next myself. I have had 2 ablations, the last one being nearly 6 years ago and successful for AF. I am a 61 year old woman. Last November I had a dizzy spell and had a 72 hour monitor fitted that showed I had 72000 ectopics. I am on 2.5mg of bisoperol which I have been told I can increase. I was also getting lots of hot flushes yesterday and dizzy spells. It is scary and not sure what to do next. I was told that it may go into AF at some time and then probably another ablation. Hope you get sorted soon and feel free to message me

[philologus]

A few years ago I was having 30,000 + ectopics a day and I was diagnosed with heart failure at level four.

Think about what this means for a minute. (This is what I did.)

Multiple extra electrical signals were telling my heart when to pump blood round my body.

My heart couldn't act on all the signals so it only reacted to some of them. This meant that my ejection fraction (the amount of blood pumped from the left ventricle) went down to 18%. (normal would be 55 -65%) and I felt very poorly. I began to realise that this was an electrical problem.

Breathing exercises helped a bit but not enough to stop the sudden "Thumps" in the middle of the night as my LV missed a few and then managed to get one right.

I tried a number of things recommended by my GP and the very helpful people on this site.

I won't list them because some might be classed as as unconventional and my post would be deleted.

The main one that helped quickly and simply came about because I realised that our bodies are electrical and anything that interferes with that will cause problems.

I did a LOT of research into this and then, when I felt confident that something so simple could be the answer to my problems I took action.

All I did was take my shoes and socks off just before I went to bed and stood on the grass in my front garden. It was wet after a shower of rain so worked even better than if it had been dry. I felt better almost immediately and, over the next twenty minutes or so, I felt better still. I had the best sleep I'd had for a very long time.

Do your own research (can't emphasise this enough) into Earthing/Grounding and then, if you agree that you have nothing to lose but ectopics, give it a try. It's free.

I now use an earthing mat in bed and a smaller one for a mouse mat on my computer and ectopics don't bother me much. I still feel them sometimes - when I had Long Covid for instance - but that's unusual. My HF is still there - but soon dropped from level four to level two and was still falling when I was discharged by my EP and Cardiologist. That was about five years ago I think. (I don't think about it much now.)

It might not work for everyone but it definitely did for me.

George

[Jalia]

Just come across your post. I've been having SV Ectopics since my 4th ablation 2 years ago. Mostly they have not been a great concern until recently. For the past couple of months or so I've found them quite incapacitating . I get them for days on end and they are making me devoid of energy in a big way. I feel mine are driven by stress.

I spoke to my GP a few days ago and I'm trying out Carvedilol ( beta blocker) and being referred back to my EP. I know that we are told that they are harmless but to what extent I'd like to know. I've had a few good days when I feel like I've been reborn but eventually come down to earth with a bang!