Hi all, happy new year.
I have been really struggling over the last 4 weeks with my ectopics, they’ve never been this bad for such a long period and I’m getting frustrated. I had my booster jab at the beginning of December and then my family came down with covid just before Christmas so I can put my symptoms down to that. Now I’m at that time of the month where my hormones are going all over the place so my heart has just not had a rest. My ectopics have been awful during the night - I have woken up at 3/4am every night for the last few weeks with really powerful and irregular beats, causing me to get all flustered and sweaty and I don’t get back to sleep for another couple hours, which makes me feel rubbish the next day because I haven’t slept long enough.
I’m currently on 3 x 50mg flecainide spread evenly throughout the day but I’m wondering whether I could take an extra one at 4am when the ectopics get most troublesome…? Haven’t been able to get hold of my cardiologist for a couple weeks so thought I’d reach out on here! Thanks.
Grim! I feel for you. This was the pattern for me when mine first started too. I can't help with the flecainide, as I declined to take it in favour of HRT. But I read your other post. We are at very different stages of life but I am totally convinced that hormonal fluctuations are ruining my life. I haven't got HRT right yet but it really has made a massive difference generally to the heaviness of my ectopics, and also their frequency. The last few days I have been set back months on my road to normalcy since getting a covid booster. So I hear you on that one too.
Thanks for your reply. Ah I see, yes I don’t like being on the arrhythmia medication and I would prefer to get my hormones under control because I am convinced it is what causes almost all of my symptoms! But at the minute I just don’t see another option and all the specialists I’ve seen have never suggested anything else to help…
Im glad to hear HRT has helped with your ectopics in general and sorry about the covid booster causing a flare up - I hate the effects of these vaccines. Wishing you all the best in your journey back to normality.
Yes at least being mid-40s it is fairly straightforward (on the scale of things) to get someone to look at your hormones. I really hope you get some relief from the ectopics. I did find that Melatonin helped me sleep through it and getting a decent amount of sleep helped reduce anxiety and just symptoms of exhaustion.... But I live in Australia and can get melatonin prescribed which isn't so easy if you're in the UK.
Also FYI I also get horrendous pins and needles in the night. It's only 11pm and my left little finger has already gone numb. That doesn't help with the sleep either...
Yes haha, not so easy when you’re 20🤦🏻♀️ Thank you. Melatonin? That’s interesting, I’ll look into that. Yeah I do find that the less sleep I have the worse my ectopics are but it’s so difficult to get out of that cycle!
Really?! That’s so strange, sounds exactly like me! Do you know the reason for your pins and needles? I’ve got an appointment with a neurologist at the end of the month to talk about mine. I also get burning hot thighs at night too, not sure if that’s linked lol. But yes this all contributes to a rubbish night sleep…