Having had skipped heartbeats for many years, I was finally given an implanted monitor, which I had for 2 years. It caught many examples of what I suffered with, and was diagnosed as ectopic beats. I feel every one in my chest, it's horrible. I've had Flecainide for a couple of years and that really helped a lot - used to get odd "flips" but nowhere near as bad as they used to be. Now though it all seems to be building up again. The last few days have been awful, today in particular. My heart is hammering and I'm aware of it all the time, and the missed beats are very prominent. I am feeling bloated and gassy - and I have found in the past that makes the ectopics worse, don't know why but it really does. I'm anxious and scared, which I know won't help - but the anxiety is caused by the ectopics being back, not the other way round.
My head tells me there isn't anything really wrong. I don't get dizzy, and I'm able to carry on doing things - but I just feel so rotten with it all. It seems even worse now because it had been so much better. Really feeling down, I just want to cry.
Written by
lancashirerose
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt, got the video......
I used to get 30,000 to 40,000 ectopic beats a day. (Holter monitor showed this.) Medication got it down to 20,000.
It wakes you up in the early hours of the morning when you miss a few and then get a "big thump" to make up for it and you don't get a proper sleep after that so you are tired for the rest of the day.
I was booked in to have an ablation to try to sort it out but this had to be abandoned because I have other problems that meant that I could not stay in one position for long enough.
I put up with this for a few years before I decided that the medical profession had done what they could and now it was up to me.
I spent three months glued to the monitor in front of me now and I read anything and everything I could on this subject. When I found something that sounded plausible I followed it up until I could make an informed decision about whether to try it or not.
Someone - to whom I will be forever grateful- put a post on here about some work that had been done using Iodine and I followed that up for nearly a month before deciding to try it.
Within ten days of starting taking iodine my ectopics were down to almost zero (I have an Alivecor).
After a "blue light" trip to hospital I was told that my ectopics and heart failure were probably caused by taking Tramadol for two years for arthritic pain so the result that I got by taking iodine might be peculiar to my set of circumstances - but it worked so I'm going to take iodine regularly now.
After a few months I had my regular EP appointment and they did a 24hr Holter followed by a scan because I also had heart failure.
The EP was surprised to see that I was having less than 400 ectopics a day and my HF had gone from level four to level two. After nine months it is now down to level one and I still haven't had a return of the ectopics.
I take three drops of iodine a day now as a maintenance dose.
I use nascent iodine from Harmonic Innerprizes and it costs about £25 for a 600 drop bottle so is a very cheap fix.
Please remember that my HF and ectopics had a definite cause so the results I got may be peculiar to me and may not work for everyone else.
Thank you, George - I've only just found your reply, please excuse my not answering earlier. I've never heard of taking iodine! I will look into it, thank you. I am shocked at the number of ectopics you put up with! It must have been horrendous. I'm glad you have been able to manage them. Many thanks!
Thanks for your reply, I didn't get a notification to say I'd had answers, so please forgive my not being in touch earlier. That sounds like a good idea, the magnesium. Can't hurt to try! Thank you
Hi I have recently had a implant monitor as well for the same reason ( ish ) can I ask did your monitor catch episodes even when you didn’t use the little thing you hold over your chest ?
Hi, sorry you are in this situation but I hope it helps to know you are definitely not alone! The implant monitor didn't come up with any episodes that I hadn't felt, I don't think. It definitely registered the ones I felt, and they were always the same - not significant but feeling awful to me. When I had a monitor for a week or so, it did catch one or two when I was sleeping. I'm sure though that this implant will catch anything untoward, so hope you can relax and let it get on with its job. I know it's horrible. I've had these things for over 30 years and I'm still here - but I still get times when I panic. Hearts are pretty important, after all! Feel free to contact if I can help in any way xx
Can I ask also what things did you feel , just because mine seem to be getting worse , sometimes 2 fast hard beats sometimes weird beats that feel like my heart hic uped
Hi - I seem to get what feels like skipped beats. I feel a sort of "light" heartbeat, then a big (seems big to me!) gap before a hard beat comes in. Even worse when several of them happen in a row, it seems like my heart is stumbling and misfiring. It resolves itself, but while it lasts it is terrifying. I've been noticing it more and more lately. It definitely happens more after eating. I know what you mean about the hiccup! I read someone's post and they said their doctor had told them what we feel is about as medically important as hiccups! Not easy to remember that or believe it when you're in the middle of an attack, though
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Life with Ectopics - 20 years old
Help 😞
Petrified of supposedly "benign" skipped heart beats.
Swallowing trigger for atrial arrythmia
