Painful arms and shoulders

[Karendeena]

I went into afib in the early hours of Friday morning and I knew pretty much I would be in it for 30 hours plus.What was different this time was the arrythmia wasn't so severe, the heart rate remained under 100bpm often down to the 60s & 70s and although my BP was all over the place I could carry on pretty much as normal. Today, my heart rate was still all over the place and I remembered I had only had 2 cups of decaf coffee since I woke up (it was around midday), I was also not passing urine. Both of my arms were painful and I found it hard to hold them above my head to dry my hair. I was also very hot and sweaty. I quickly drank 2 small bottles of water and felt much better and my BP recovered to around 110/70.

As expected, I went out of afib at 34 hours and the discomfort and pain in my arms mostly disappeared. I did think it was lifting a heavy suitcase yesterday as I do suffer with my neck and shoulders. I am now worried I had some kind of heart attack! Had anyone else had trouble with their arms when in afib?

[DawnTX]

Before I got my pacemaker, I had constant pain, especially in my forearms. Pushing a grocery cart was painful after just a few minutes as if all the muscles head tightened up almost cramping. After my pacemaker, it went away, as did the horrible pains in my legs from my shins to my ankle And I was able to walk again. In the past month these pains have returned especially in my forearms. I have other body pain as well, but it’s definitely my forearms. For me trying to dry my hair is extremely painful because of trying to hold it up because of the pain. I am convinced it has something to do with circulation because once my heart started beating correctly, all of the pain was gone and fast. My vitals are all fine right now, although my Cardiologist wants to get my heart rate down more it’s running about 85 though I am set at 60

Just when you think you’re doing so good. I also have begun getting flutter quite a bit at times.

[Karendeena in reply to DawnTX]

Hi there, sounds just like me. I had a nasty episode of afib (mine is paroxysmal) at the end of July and I walked round a show thinking I could forget about it. I got pains in my thighs that time This morning I couldn't hold my hairdryer either but most of my pains were in my upper arms and shoulders.

I agree 💯 I think it's the lack of circulation as once my heart came back to normal around 3pm this afternoon the pains stopped.

[JOY2THEWORLD49 in reply to DawnTX]

Hi Dawn

Where my H/R dropped further after year on CCB Diltiazem controlled 88-96bpm

to 60s I felt a whole lot better with more energy.

I would say that when I exerted myself I had to STOP. The Dr said it would be the blood not getting around the body evenly.

Keeping hydrated on water is important and set my B12 higher at 700 on Solgar 1,000ug sublingual nugget a day for 3 days a week.

cheri JOY. 74. (NZ)

[BobD Volunteer]

Shows the importance of good hydration. Wait till you are thirsty and it is already too late.

[DawnTX in reply to BobD]

I am normally a big water drinker. In fact, it’s all I drink except for one cup of coffee in the morning. I’m not quite sure what’s going on right now with my body. I have very little appetite and when I do eat, it doesn’t take much before I start to feel, almost overly full and nauseous. I have lost almost 50 pounds since getting my pacemaker the end of February. A perfect example is I was at the doctor Monday and was weighed and I am 3 pounds down from that weight as of yesterday. I don’t even feel hungry. I needed to lose weight so I like that part of it but I know this is not normal. I see my EP on the sixth and see if he has any ideas. I have read loss of appetite can be part of heart failure. I’m trying to make what I do is be the best it can be for me such as proteins

Bob you have seen just about everything when it comes to the heart. Have you come across anything like mine yet? Is getting flutter etc. always going to be part of our life even with the pacemaker? I did not have anything going on for quite a while, but in the past month they do come off and on I know the only good thing is they no longer hurt my heart But they still feel lousy 🙄

[BobD Volunteer in reply to DawnTX]

Pacemaker unlikely to affect such things. I still get ectopics etc. All mine does is stop HR going too low.

[DawnTX in reply to BobD]

Bob that’s what I thought or I have come to believe is that no further damage is being done before it I had tachycardia especially the two ventricles were insane but my left atria also involved etc. it is what it is I guess hearing this from you at least I know I’m on the right track. Thank you.

[DawnTX in reply to BobD]

Yes, that was something I had not been told in the beginning. I need to tell people about that otherwise, you think something is wrong with the pacemaker. I also noticed when they were still adjusting my heart rate on it, that I was prone to them for a couple of days. The last time was the worst because it hit on the ride back home. It was so fast. The good thing is at that point I understood about them not only am I not getting further damage but there has also been improvement in my heart failure. My ejection rate is now 76% which my EP is happy about although my heart rate is still too fast according to my cardiologist. Considering this time last year, I was unable to walk, and even shuffling, gave me crushing chest pain and the inability to breathe. I am very happy with what I have. My afib is gone, but my flutter is just as much a pain in the neck as you know.

Thank you, Bob

[ETHEL103 in reply to DawnTX]

I would visit your gp with these symptoms for proper evaluation.Best wishes.

[DawnTX in reply to ETHEL103]

he has set up for me to get blood work anyway and his nurse is actually the one that picked up on the weight loss two weeks ago. Not that I was not aware because I’m thrilled about it. Lol I honestly have no appetite. It makes me wonder if the pacemaker or medication’s are affecting my metabolism not that I am really active because I am not but a year ago I couldn’t walk. I’m hoping it’s nothing important and I just got to lose the weight I have wanted to for so long. In July they thought I had kicked Covid possibly and I’ve had two bouts of whatever I had since then that felt somewhere between Covid and the flu without cold symptoms. The body can be a very unusual thing when it wants to be lol the past few days I realize I am feeling so much better. I will take it whatever it is when it comes to feeling better we all deserve that.

[Karendeena in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob, I won't be doing that again 😔

[Singwell]

Sounds really unpleasant. If you're losing weight rapidly and also not wanting to eat I think you should go to your GP and get your bloods done.

[DawnTX in reply to Singwell]

I was actually with him the other day, and we spoke about that And then I managed to walk out without having anything definite from him. I think he put the order in. I will call them Monday to find out when I can go in. I like him as a person. But he is lacking in some other things that I need paid attention to. I just found out my cardiologists wife is internal medicine and a primary I may be going to her lol my cousin is going first I am going to observe before I make changes.😹😹

I have tried to lose weight on my life and was never very successful because one of the thing is is I am insulin resistant. Losing weight like this is a dream come true except I know it’s not normal unless something has changed on the insulin and for the better. I know it’s not normal to be nauseous all the time or eighth and feel sick halfway through your meal. There are times I can just be sitting there and become violently ill without warning. I hope my body is just readjusting and it’s a good thing because I have 5 pounds more to lose and I will be to the weight I was when I was pregnant. 52 years ago lol

[Dollcollector]

I always get severe pain across my shoulders when in afib, which miraculously disappears when l go back into n.s.r.

[DawnTX in reply to Dollcollector]

that’s interesting to read usually I don’t notice pain when I am in flutter which is what I have. Supposedly my afib is gone. This pain is with me constantly more so when I use my arms which is most of the time and no matter what I do with them, they are extremely tight and painful. Thank you for your reply.

[Karendeena in reply to DawnTX]

Hi, have you had a blood test for polymyalgia? This happened to me and I was confirmed positive and had to go on steroids over 2 years ago. I know of a few people who have afib and developed polymyalgia

[DawnTX in reply to Karendeena]

No, I have not, but I will mention it to my doctor when I go for my blood work. The other thing was that I had this before prior to a very aggressive ablation. After the ablation I was worse than ever. Within days of my pacemaker/AV node being done I realized I no longer had the pain. I had had it so bad in my legs that I could not walk or stand. It is as if my arms and legs are made of some thing unyielding. It’s a horrible and strange sensation. Even now, as I lay here in bed, my arms feel as though I’ve been lifting weights for hours. They are so tight and painful.

thank you for your reply

[Karendeena in reply to DawnTX]

Ask your GP for an ESR and CRP test for inflammation. I was suffering like you and couldn't even turn over in bed, doing my hair was impossible. I went to an osteopath and she was the one who suspected polymyalgia and she was spot on my blood inflammation was through the roof. As soon as I started the steroids it went almost immediately. I am now weaning off them and hoping that I don't relapse as it's an autoimmune condition

[DawnTX in reply to Karendeena]

Thank you I will bring that up. I am seeing an orthopedic doctor in two weeks because I think I have a broken wrist. I really do not respond to pain the way I probably should as this is been about five weeks now since my 80 pound dog stepped on my hand. I did failed to mention I have spinal stenosis plus a diskissue in my back after being hit by an 18 wheeler truck several years ago. I have had ablations on both sides of my neck as well as another part of my back. The final one is tricky because the nerve is wrapped in my left hip so they cannot ablate, or I would not be able to walk. The last they mentioned was laminectomy, but then a fib came back, even uglier, and everything had to be postponed because I could not get cardiac clearance and still cannot. My EP said possibly after the first of the year with all of that going on it’s hard to tell where the pain comes from sometimes. The difference with what I have now is, it does feel more like the flu than an injury. What you described sounds a bit like fibromyalgia, which they don’t have a cure for either. I had never heard of what you mentioned but I found quite a bit of information through the mayo clinic. The good thing about where I’m living is that Houston Texas has some of the best medical in the world right here. If you go into Houston, the medical center looks like New York City with giant buildings of hospitals, name a hospital and it’s probably there. I will be going back to Houston Methodist Hospital. I have to admit the wrist pain is starting to get to me. I could go to the ER but they just put a temporary fix on you. be seeing anyway, so I just decided to wait it out. I have decided I don’t like getting older I want to stay like I am in my brain at the age of 35. Lol