Hi everyone, I have a funny old heart, most of the time it behaves itself, and I hardly notice it is there.
A few years ago, while 'under the doctor' I was given antibiotics erythromycin long term for my 'acne' which turns out wasn't acne but lactose allergy I first complained of an odd flutter in my chest after a year of these antibiotics, not realising it could be caused by them., ( the tablets were also using lactose as a binder) After being referred to a cardiologist for many months, who never actually witnessed the 'flutters' but just had a chat for ten minutes and charged BUPA and myself the same as my monthly mortgage payment every three months. I asked to go back to NHS care, next visit I asked if the tablets could cause the flutters, The new Cardiologist said not, his trainee said yes the erythromycin will cause heart probs after long term use. I was then discharged and told I was fine. The flutters continued, along with what I can only describe as a BANGING at quite a rate. While cycling at a steady 130bpm sometimes and only sometimes my HR goes up to 190bpm for 20 seconds with the BANGING feeling. The other week I had an episode lying down in bed (doing nothing) that lasted around two minutes where my heart was jumping out of my chest at twice the normal rhythm a real BANG BANG BANG during which I gasped for air a few times.
I visited the doctors and just had an ECG which I am getting the results for along with a few blood tests on Wednesday the 19th.
My Father died from heart problems and all his cousins have pacemakers, so I am concerned.
The Doctor I saw last week said it was normal for the heart to jump about a bit and not to worry, I find it very difficult to believe any Doctors due to many wrongs over the years, So my question still is when is an arrhythmia a problem?
You don't say if you are still using the same meds, this could give you an indication, if you aren't then lactose could still be the problem. A few minor thumps and breathlessness, was the beginning of my episodes it was maybe 6 months later that it got stronger and lasted longer, say for about 15 mins that I knew there was a problem, now its anything from half an hour to 3 hours. I made my first call for an ambulance when I had feinted it was then discovered that I had a urine infection, never had one before, but apparently this can create havoc with your body. I have been checked over by an EP and now under a cardiologist, and my heart is in excellent condition, its just the peripheral of the heart that's a problem. I have no other family member who has heart conditions. I still think you are the best judge of your own body and if you think there is something wrong along with your family background, I would suggest writing down your short episodes just the date and time, and getting your GP to take you seriously. Others may respond to give you the correct procedure to follow if you think you need to. Good luck
Thanks for the reply, I do not take any meds now and I stopped the erythromycin once I found out it may have been the cause of the flutters. It wasn't for a few years that I stopped lactose altogether, more as an experiment to put an end to my continued bloating and jointpain (hence the name) That was when I noticed my'acne' healing, and when ever I ate any milk products I would have at least one nasty acne type lesion. You would be surprised how milk has infiltrated into most foodstuffs produced these days.
I have also been meatfree for a year as most meat sold in shops are washed in an antibacterial to give a longer shelf life which is made from milk, I forget the name. Meat was giving me the same symptoms as milk, bloating jointpain, fatigue, to name a few.
I gave up gluten on christmas day just gone, as I was still getting bloated after cereals and I had read that coeliac disease may be the cause of being lactose intolerant. Since then I have not had any bloating though I have had two 'spots' which I can put down to probable lactose.
I may well be lacking in calcium iron and many other things, The blood tests will I hope show these up along with a decrease in my HDL and an increase in my LDL which a year ago were 6.2 and 0.9
Thanks for the reply again, keep in touch.
Hi ,, can I ask what happened with the urine infection, did it get cleared up and did you get better from the heart palps etc? x
Hi jill100 this happened some time ago, and I did attend hospital for this episode, not sure what they gave me all up but the urine infection seemed to have cleared up when I got home I think I had some antibiotics from memory, and no it didn't stop the arrhythmia but the later episodes were not so dramatic.