need non horse tips

[Abejita]

I went to the Dr today as I have been having some pretty frequent heart palpatitions for about three weeks.We figure its mainly stress and my stress level has probabaly increased about three fold over the past week..anyway did an EKG and it showed something the Doc called P.A.C.
and I am on Toprol for now and hopefully if in six weeks I have no more episodes we will start weaning me off it..if it doesnt work in the first week I have to wear a heart monitor for a few days....long story short..I have to give up caffine completely for the time being and I know most of the places it 'hides' -coffee, soda ,tea, chocolate (shoot me NOW) Are there any foods it exists in that I would not really suspect ?

[stella]

Just so you know - NOTHING I've ever experienced is more painful than caffeine withdrawal....talk about stress level! Now THAT headache must've been like a migraine, and NOTHING but some coffee/caffeine will get rid of it, I have never experienced such pain before or since....
I've had palpations during stress some years back(like, especially bad when getting separated from hubby)but I didnt take meds...I did reduce the caffeine, too, though.
In fact, when I stopped smoking, I finally realized it was to counteract the caffeine, and so I now never fix "straight" coffee, mix with decaf....and that helped alot, both to stop smoking and to stop palp during stress.

I cant help you as far as knowing what else might have caffeine while on meds, but if you DO start having withdrawal symptoms from the caffeine- which are worse the second & third day, you should know what to expect. I didnt realize what it was, nor how bad it would be......I couldnt drive or anything...and it took me a bit to figure out what it was, being it takes a couple days to "hit" you...I have no idea how long it lasts, I'll be a smallish caffeine addict forever I guess. (proud I'm stopped smoking for 2 1/2 years after 36 years of smoking, though)

[Lynn]

This list might help. I have an allergy to caffeine so I have to watch it.

http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm

[reuben T]

Chocolate has theobromine in it, not caffene, but i think the effects are simular and therefore catagorized together.
caffene has always given me cramps if i get more than a small amount, so I stay away from it. I never felt any boost from it. I also know that the energy boost most people feel from caffene is unnatural, and is actually detrimetal. It robs the body of life energy gradually.

[Abejita]

well I am hoping it wont be too bad as I dont think I drink that much..I dont drink straight coffee ..once or twice a week I will have a hot chocolate with a spoon of instant coffee in it as a dessert..and I drink maybe 2-3 cups of tea a day on average..some days less.. and Pepsi maybe twice a month..and I have been working on curbing the chocolate just for weight purposes ..I will sorely miss my once or twice a month small Dairy Queen Carmel MooLatte .. :( (ok have you all figured out that my main source of pleasure is centered on my taste buds??LOL)

Oh Thanks Lynn That is helpful!

[Jane Hurl]

Whoa now, Stella! Don't go scaring the bejabbers out of Abejita!

When I was in my 20's I drank easily fifteen cups of coffee a day -- often a lot more than that. Then one day I read something and decided that caffeine wasn't in my best interest, so I quit. Cold turkey. No problems. No head aches. Nada. Started again some years later. Don't remember why, other than it's a lot easier to come by than decaff when you're out and about. Anyway, drank it 'til I hit menopause. Ha! You DON'T want to do caffeine then! So I quit again, and haven't had any since.

So with luck, Abejita won't suffer any more than I did. Good luck!

[Pam M]

Here's a tip...if you stop drinking caffeine make sure you drink lots of ice water. Lots! It really seems to lessen the withdrawal effects. When I want to lose weight I quite drinking coke. Instead I have ice water first thing in the morning - before breakfast - and keep drinking it all day. It helps a lot. I used to get headaches and jitters before I started with the water.

[CarolU]

Sheri...I am scared to death for you!!! I sure hope the treatment works and you are soon back in the 'good health' saddle! I would imagine any stimulant is not good..not just caffine, I'd stay away from all soft drinks, decongestants, diet drugs, etc. Check with your Dr. first before taking anything!

Stick with natural foods and avoid any processed foods with preservatives or chemicals.

Better safe then sorry.

Gosh, I hope you get a good treatment regime and recover! You're one of my favorite people and are way TOO YOUNG to have bad health problems!

:hug to you!!!! :(

[Abejita]

Oh Carol I am not scared..PO'ed that I have to take a drug..and cant have CHOCOLATE..(my sister suggested carob..I told her that is for DOGS ;-) )but not scared LOL But thanks for the concern and that favorite people remark..means alot!The Dr says this doesnt mean I am going to have a heart attack or anything .Everyone has these misbeats a couple times a week and dont notice it..mine is just a couple times an hour..and if we dont try to calm it down it COULD damage or strain my heart in time..I dont feel sick and all last week we were cutting and splitting wood (heavy logs) and this week moving /shoveling snow and I didnt feel any pain or anything..I think I will be around for at least another 37 years.. :D unless I get taken out by a horse first..lol

[Moniece Dickerson]

This feeling you feel when your heart does it,does it feel almost like a flutter?I get that feeling sometimes but not often like you are and yes it does seem to happen more when i am really stressed out.But i'm bad...I still drink coffee and lots of it.After reading what you are going through though I think i'll reduce my coffee intake durring very stressful times.Sweetie I hope you get better real quick and you don't have to go through all of that.And besides,just as Carol is,i'm pretty fond of you myself!Your friend,Moniece

[Kerry W]

One thing for women to consider, is the affect hormones have on heart rates...irregularities. Here's something that I remember seeing on Oprah a while back:
http://www.oprah.com/health/omag/health_omag_200208_menopause.jhtml

[GeorgeGuns]

Its not just "caffiene" its a group of chemical called xanthines. Caffiene is one, and the one in chocolate is another. There are quite a few 'kinds' of caffiene. I can't drink Folgers coffee, it really messes my whole heart up, but Maxwell House I can drink all day - and do. It did get out of hand though a while back with palpitations, and a high heart rate (yes stress too) so I switched to tea. That particular type of caffiene did't do much to keep me awake, but I didn't get the usual headache, and my heart quit jumpin.

Now ya don't have to go off chocolate forever, lol. Just be careful after this is resolved. You are better off with darker chocolates, and just don't eat the whole pound all at once!

[motorgypsy]

Interesting article Kerry. I too went through a period where I had heart rythym irregularities and the cause was never diagnosed. My mother also had the pounding in the middle of the night.

Now back to caffeine. Caffeine has a bad rep when the truth is like most things - good and bad. First of all it's not linked to heart disease, birth defects, fibrocystic breast disease or high blood pressure in the doses humans ingest in food and drink. (We're not talking about deliberate overconsumption or 30 cups of coffee here)

Good things caffeine does.

It can kill a migraine really quickly in many people - excedrin migraine has been approved to carry the label and it's just caffeine and something like tylenol

It seems to prevent Parkinson's disease

It actually improves mental function when used in low to moderate amounts

It is not linked to any serious health problems when ingested in low to moderate amounts (remember drinking too much water can kill you)

http://www.ific.org/publications/brochures/caffeinebroch.cfm

Now some bad things

If you ingest too much like ten cups of coffee or less in sensitive people
it makes you VERY short tempered

ingested at night it will interfere with sleep in many people

if you ingest a lot and then stop you are very prone to headache so it's better to taper off rather than go cold turkey

In conclusion

If I were having this problem I'd cut out the white stuff (sugar, rice, refined flour, etc. with a high glycemic index), get straight to my obgyn and get my estrogen levels checked because wow will hormones mess with your heart, cut back little by little on the caffeine if I've been drinking it daily. If I only used it once a week I would just go cold turkey. If I smoked and couldn't quit I'd get myself a patch and go to a licensed hypnotherapist and stop. Nicotine is much harder on you heart and has much greater effects on circulation than caffeine. I'd also regulate my physical activity so I didn't do a lot of heavy work and then almost nothing - I'd do a lot of walking, as much as I could fit in and start an exercise program. I'd also look into meditation and yoga. The mind can help a lot with this kind of problem.

CAFFEINE IS NOT THE BAD GUY that some people make it out to be. It's very beneficial in low amounts unless you have some kind of allergy or other problem that it exacerbates

[PasoJoy]

I've had those palpitations for over 30 years...sometimes I can go a couple months and not have any, then have them every hour for days...I notice certain things can make them worse..stress, or being overly tired, or hormones...I have had EKG'S and no Dr. has ever said anything about my heart not being 'right'....but they drive ME crazy...sometimes I will have a 'flutter' that lasts a couple seconds, and that scares the crap out of me...like lub, lub, lub lub lub lub lub....dub. Weird. I cut out drinking 'full strength' coffee, do the half decaf stuff, and what I really noticed was that if I take OMEGA-3 supplements I don't get them hardly at all... :?:

[Mellifluous]

I don't know if this will help you, but I will share anyway.

I have tachycardia and when I get too much caffiene or get stressed my hearbeat will skyrocket. I find that when this happens, the best thing I can do is meditate. I have been working on heart rhythm meditation to help slow my heart and it does work. This might also work for palpitations. Another way to slow down your heart is to gag yourself. I know, nasty - but it works pretty darn well.

[jodiTowne]

Don't worry too much about this. Palpitations are not usually harmful unless they cause lightheadedness or chest pressure/tightness. PAC's and PVC's (premature atrial and ventricular contractions) are themselves harmless but the right sequence of beats could cause a more serious rhythm if you are predisposed. Toprol may not be necessary so hopefully you can come off of it. If palps continue I wouldn't hesitate to have a holter monitor done to see the source and therefore be treated appropriately. Avoid the previous things mentioned but I don't believe alcohol was mentioned which can be a big trigger of palps. Keep us informed!!

[motorgypsy]

I forgot to mention that both Kyle and I have had the 24 hour monitor for arythmia and in both instances the condition were considered benign. We've pretty much "gotten over them" and have very few incidences now.

[Edurne]

Thanks for posting on this stuff guys..... I am assuming that this is also Nerea's latest diagnosis. Non lifethreatening, but she can't take medication because it is contraindicted by her other meds. She is thinking about whether she should have an "operation" to correct the problem..... but because of the MG any anethesia is difficult. Once again, thanks for letting this ole mom know that it is quite common.

[motorgypsy]

It's really annoying. We both would get them in the morning most typically - especially after heavy exercise in high heat the day before so if she works in the heat she needs to be sure to stay hydrated and put enough salt on her food if she doesn't have high bloodpressure.

She should also get in the habit of coughing hard at regular intervals when she has en episode of the arythmia because the coughing will stop it usually.

Coughing will also stop tachycardia - the really dangerous rapid heart beat. Kyle got heat exhaustion once last summer while riding and had a really bad episode of tacycardia where he almost fainted but he had the presence of mind to cough hard several time and his heart rythym returned to normal very quickly and he was able to get to shade and pour cold water over his head and shirt to cool off.

[Edurne]

Actually rapid heart beat is what she has had ..... while she was sleeping :shock: I think that she said that they told her to take a cold shower. She is a smart and strong minded woman..... as she says she has been dealt a double whammy.......plus an emotional, latin mother.