The weirdest remedy for palpitations.

[steviecat]

Yep. Beer - fizzy beer. Didn't mention it to the cardio when he gave me the all-clear - and no answer as to why I've been suffering palps for six months - but, beer stops them. Go figure! My thyroid numbers are great, mins and vits, pretty good, but palps are my best friend still. Beer stops them - bet you've got some theories... Vagal nerve? Who knows. Maybe it's just a 'man thing'...

[Clutter]

Steviecat,

Does that mean you're a beer monster purely to prevent palpitations?

[humanbean]

One suggestion... It would be interesting to know whether the fizz has something to do with the effect. Buy some sparkling water or soda which is nothing but water and carbon dioxide, and nothing else.

If it works then you'll have learned something.

If it doesn't work you'll have learned something.

****

Something else you could try, if it is appropriate ...

Low magnesium can cause twitching and spasm of muscles, and the heart is a muscle too, so might be affected. Unfortunately there is not a reliable test for magnesium levels, so most people just try it and see what happens. People need healthy kidneys to excrete excess magnesium, so it is often not recommended for people with poor kidney function. But it is also true that people need adequate magnesium for good kidney function. Moral of this tale - Do your own research.

Low potassium can do the same - cause twitching and spasm. There is a blood test for potassium. If anyone supplements potassium they should do so with caution. It could cause heart problems all by itself if levels are too high. Again - do your own research!

[helvella Administrator in reply to humanbean]

The anaesthetics cart in an operating theatre will have a bottle of carbon dioxide.

There are numerous uses of carbon dioxide in modern anesthesia. It is used :

• To increase depth of anaesthesia with volatile anaesthetic agents by stimulating respiration.-

• To increase cerebral blood flow during carotid artery surgery.

• To produce hyperventilation during blind nasal intubation.

• To stimulate the respiration after artificial hyperventilation.

• It may be of help in production of hypothermia due to vasodilatation.

• To avoid hypocarbia during cardiopulmonary bypass.

The other uses of carbon dioxide include the following :

• In production of pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopy.

• In cryoprobes.

• In the production of Laser light for surgical procedures.

anesthesiageneral.com/uses-...

[misswinky34]

I'm willing to try anything. Hate palps with a passion ☹️

[steviecat]

OK. Thanks, folks. Yep, I've wondered if it's the 'fizz' - next plan is to try some fizzy water. But that still doesn't explain the effect... Magnesium - I have some liquid, will try and see if that helps. Potassium good, by all accounts. And, Clutter, trying to be good...

[Serendipitious in reply to steviecat]

Let us know how you go with the fizzy water 😁

[steviecat]

Whoa! Helvella, lots of information that may explain matters. Or may not... Nonetheless, somewhere it there the answer may lie...

[steviecat]

Will do, Seren

[Serendipitious in reply to steviecat]

Quick question for steviecat or humanbean or anybody for that matter, by palpitations do you mean that you can feel your heart pounding in your chest? It happens erratically. I've noticed this in the last week or so in the evenings. Especially when I am ready for bed. I've been taking Metavive iii for the last 3 weeks although I have also been using Swansons Holy Basil and now Seriphos.

The thing is that when I check my pulse using an phone app my pulse is around 70. So I'm a bit baffled.

[humanbean in reply to Serendipitious]

The dictionary definition of palpitations is

a noticeably rapid, strong, or irregular heartbeat due to agitation, exertion, or illness.

My experience of having palpitations is usually a feeling that my heart is beating with a lot more force than usual. Sometimes it will also feel irregular, but not always. Sometimes my heart rate feels fast when it isn't, and sometimes it will feel fast and actually be fast.

Having palpitations makes sleeping impossible for me.

[Serendipitious in reply to humanbean]

Yes I thought as much. Today has been the worst day so far. It's really frightening if you're not used to it. I think my pulse is only a bit quicker than usual but the feeling is a lot worse. Thanks.

[samaja in reply to Serendipitious]

This kind of strong sensation of your heartbeat is actually one of the symptoms of Hashi's. I think I read about it in Dr P's book or somewhere else. I also get it occasionally when I am more hypo than usual.

[humanbean]

Perhaps I should explain that I don't drink, so that explains my answer.

farm9.staticflickr.com/8150...

[steviecat]

Human - no worries - I'd already wondered about the fizzy water thing. Must get around to buying some today

[steviecat]

Is that a picture of you?

[humanbean in reply to steviecat]

It's a picture of Miss Lemon, Hercule Poirot's po-faced secretary from the TV series. I was jokingly suggesting that perhaps I shared some of her attributes.

[Stefcon]

It's better than taking drugs. How many pints before it stops? I love real ale so it's win win for me.

[steviecat]

Stef. A couple of small bottles seems to do it for me, however, I usually end up dragging it out to four... However, it might just be the fizz, in which case real ale, being rather fizz-less, might not do it. Or, it could just be that alcohol masks the symptoms in some way. If it's a Vagal nerve thing, it could be that fizz releases gas that is building up in the tum and putting pressure on the nerve. It's a mystery...

[Hidden]

Might be OK if you can drink the stuff, but not for everybody.

An alternative could be root beer (non-alcoholic). At Asda it's £1.65 for 6x cans and it tastes pretty good as well. Just bought a load there yesterday and I certainly don't get any palpitations these days.

[steviecat]

That's it then. Beer or root beer cures palpitations! Blimey, and it was so simple...

[BootsOn]

That's where I went wrong then, when I had palpitations I never tried drinking fizzy beer...! I tried wine, but that made the palpitations worse.

[steviecat]

What did fix it, Boots..?

[BootsOn in reply to steviecat]

Hydrocortisone, under Dr P's guidance and supervision. My palps were due to low cortisol.

[steviecat]

Hi, Seren. My palpitations are on and off all day long. Ectopic beats. If I take my pulse I often have: beat, beat, beat, beat, pause, big beat, beat, beat, beat, pause, big beat, beat etc. Fabulous! I love it..... not.

[BootsOn in reply to steviecat]

That's exactly what I had. If I remember correctly, during the pause the chamber fills with a little extra blood, so the heart muscle contracts with more force to compensate and that is when you feel it. So unpleasant.