Diet advice on Pred

[Mikeysaab]

Hi- I'm down to 9mg since diagnosis last November when my rheumatologist started me on 30mg and generally managing well. However the most troubling side effect is still what I call the heart surge sensation which can be quite disconcerting. I'm wondering if it's normal or caused by something I need to manage better. Reading replies to a recent post about oats and porridge, sugar surges carbs etc got me thinking that it might be dietary. So I was looking for thoughts from others and where to get good dietary advice for PMR. Really appreciating this forum!

[jinasc]

pmr-gca-northeast.org.uk - click on All Newsletters then click on Summer Newsletter 2016 go to page 4. We found this was excellent dietary advice.

However do you mean Heartburn ie Acid Reflux if so: Suffer from Acid Reflux (Heartburn)

Extract from Tips and Tricks from patients for patients.

Juice of one lemon, divided into three, add to glass of water three times a day – acid reflux gone. If you put the lemon in the microwave for 1 minute – twice as much juice.

[Mikeysaab in reply to jinasc]

Thanks for the link for dietary advice Jinasc. No the issue isn’t reflux ( I’m on Omeprazole which deals with that) no it’s a surging of the heart sensation. Thanks for the acid reflux tip though which will be great when I come off Omiprazole.

[jinasc in reply to Mikeysaab]

Where you prescribed Onma at the same time as you were put on pred?

[Mikeysaab in reply to jinasc]

I was actually on Omiprazole before diagnosis whilst having anti inflammatories and the doc was trying to work it out. As a reflux sufferer and prone to acidity it was a relief not to have that to deal with as well so I asked if I could keep taking it while I was on Pred.

[Hidden in reply to Mikeysaab]

I have that sensation too- 6mg. I recently had ECG at hospital and holter 24 test but whilst it detected some tachycardia there was no pathology linked to it. I had mentioned having the surging beat and shortness of breath a few times to gp at higher doses but was dismissed. It was only when the nurse doing my bloods, on two occasions, said my pulse was fast. Then I got ECG. I think it's worth mentioning to Dr anyway just to check there's nothing underlying it.

[Mikeysaab in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Poopadoop. Sounds like I need to get it checked out too!

[Maisie1958 in reply to Mikeysaab]

Copied from NHS website re Omeprazole-

“If you take omeprazole for more than 3 months, the levels of magnesium in your blood may fall.

Low magnesium can make you feel tired, confused, dizzy and cause muscle twitches, shakiness and an irregular heartbeat. If you get any of these symptoms, tell your doctor.”

Think you would be best to mention any heart symptoms to your doctor though just to get checked out. Atb.

[Sojourn12 in reply to jinasc]

Thanks a lot for the link to dietary advice. I never knew the newsletters were available. Great resource.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

What do you man by the "heart surge sensation"? Do you mean palpitations? Fast heart rate? Is it long lasting?, Short? Does anything make it worse? Have you spoken to your doctor about it?

[Mikeysaab in reply to PMRpro]

Hi PMRpro

It’s as if my heart is going into overdrive but not palpitations and lasts no more than a minute. Could be the Omoprazole perhaps from Maisie1958’s comments. Plus I didn’t realise it depletes my magnesium levels. Been on that for nearly six months.

I was wondering if this is a common symptom with Pred.

Probably your advice to speak with the doctor is about right ! Thanks

[Hidden in reply to Mikeysaab]

I was on lanzaprozole for 15yrs. The only deficiency was vd3. I thought myself a very lucky person after that long on ppi. Oh and my sodium was initially slightly lower but not low enough to require treatment.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mikeysaab]

You need at least a 24-hour Holter monitor and longer if they don't catch an episode while you have it on. Pred can cause tachycardia and arrythmias but usually they improve as the dose reduces. However, the autoimmune part of PMR can also lead to problems with heart rate as it can damage the electrical cells in the heart that govern it. Don't let your GP try to fob you off with "it's the pred" - maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

[Mikeysaab in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks! Advice appreciated I will be seeing the doc.