Hi everyone,
I know there's a lot on this topic about palps & I have been reading some of the earlier posts but I just wanted to find out if what I'm experiencing is common amongst us!
Palpitations has been one of the worst symptoms for me during peri but for the past 3-4 months they have virtually disappeared maybe getting just a few around mid-cycle & my period. I no longer felt scared of them & thought that maybe they'd 'cleared up'.

How wrong I was!

I have just missed a period & am currently on day 52 of my cycle. 2 weeks ago I had a week of the most intense hot flushes I've ever had, then I had signs of my body trying to ovulate & then the palps started.
At first it just seemed to be in the evening when I sat down after my evening meal but now I get several bouts a day lasting from afew minutes up to 3 hours.

They are mostly ectopic beats but what I'm finding difficult to cope with is the strength & frequency of these. My heart is really pounding, thumping, lurching & the pauses almost feel like a pulling sensation. I also seem to get some irregular runs thrown in but these could just be ectopics close together. They can be as often as every 3-4 beats & I'm finding them really hard to cope with. Last night I went out to a restaurant & I knew I was a little anxious about this so I wasn't surprised that I got some palps but I had to endure 2 hours of almost constant palps whilst trying to eat & talk. It was an ordeal.

I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance that some of you feel these as strongly & frequently as I am.
I can understand why I'm getting them at the moment as I know some of you have said that when you start skipping periods your symptoms worsen but they are so strong I'm finding it very hard to ignore them.
Saw my doctor the other day for something else & mentioned that I was getting them every few beats & he said that as I had tests & saw the cardiologist a couple of years ago that they are just benign palps-easy for him to say!

Anyway, if you've had a similar experience please let me know as I'm finding these really hard to cope with, it's especially disappointing after 4 months without them.
Thanks ladies!
love Sarah xx

Hi Sarah,
Boy, does your experience sound familiar. We went out to eat with our daughter and 9 month old granddaughter last night and I had those ectopic beats about every minute. I finally took a BIG Xanax when I got home and slept pretty well. I have had palps for years, a few a day, maybe a few a night, but nothing like the last few months when I started skipping periods. These are strong and frequent. I started fish oil capsules, helped some, but now I have a pain in my right upper side. Magnesium has never helped me, just keeps my bowels regular. I am so tired of these. I wish my period would come so I could get some relief. My periods are coming every other month, so now I think I must have one of my ovaries not working right. I have a history of cysts. I should go back to the doctor again, but I am so tired of all the tests that really don't show anything. I had thought things got better when your periods stop, I have learned from the other ladies that's not true in every case. Please know I feel for you, I am in the same boat. Take care, Connie

Hi Connie,
thanks for taking the time to reply, I see from some of the other posts you've been having problems with these palps, sorry you're suffering too.
I am desperate for my period to start as I think that then the palps will start to subside again, I think they're so bad this month because I've completely missed a period.
I just can't believe how forceful they are & sometimes I feel the pressure in my head, really horrible but I also have a lot of tension in my chest muscles so I guess that could accentuate them.
I think not having them for 3 months has made me feel worse about them as I thought it was 1 symptom that had gone, however, I've read that lots of women find their symptoms regularly come & go.
I'll up my mag dose & just try my hardest to accept them as hormonal & try not to add more adrenaline!
Thanks again, hope yours are better today.
love Sarah xx

MarchGirl:

Hang in there. YES, I have it too. It statred 2 years agao at age 41. Now at 43 I am over it! In fact, as it sit here writing this I am on a 30 day event heart monitor to record whats happening. I have recorded many, many skips and flutters. They drive me crazy. Supposedly if there is anything dangerous or suspicious, the DR. will call. He hasn't, so I guess its not life threatening, but it is life altering!!! I think its hormones. I am starting bio-identical hormones this week. I have had several long conversations with Pete the pharmacist ( featured on this site) and he thinks maybe it is hormonal. Its so scary when it happens and its sends an adrenaline rush through my body that takes a while to settle from. Do you get chest pressure? I get pressure right under the clavicle bone... really bad sometimes. I have no idea what this is, but its awful too. I have so many weird symptoms! I'm really sorry you are having palps. It stinks. And don't you hate it when the Dr. just says "don't worry". Can you see the Dr. dealing with this? What a joke that would be!

Hi Marchgirl,

I've had my palps daily for around 12 months now. A couple of months ago I had it particularly badly and was having an ectopic beat every other beat for around 2 weeks. The pounding feeling was awful - I could actually see my chest physically moving with the pounding! That's when I restarted the acupuncture if you remember? Well the last 6 weeks, I have had hardly any palps at all. I don't know if it's the acupuncture or just coincidence.

I know you mentioned you might try it someday - i wondered whether it might help you now?

love squiggle

Heather, I have had that chest pressure too. In fact, today hasn't been too bad for palps, but I have had the pressure in my chest and I feel like I just can't get a good deep breath. The humidty is high here today so maybe it just my asthma flairing up some. Everyday it's something else. I wish I was close to a city that had an acupuncturist, I would sure give it a try. I wonder if just a good massage would help, might try that. Take care, Connie

Hi girls,
thanks again for replying!
Heather-yes I agree, although I wouldn't wish these palps on my worst enemy it would be interesting to see if my doctor had just a little more empathy & understanding if he ever experienced these!

Squiggle-I was hoping you'd respond as I remember you saying that you had these really badly for 2 weeks some time ago. Were yours leading up to your period too? I'm trying to convince myself it's just my hormones.
When I can afford it I think I'll look in to acupuncture as I think it helps with a number of menopausal symptoms.
Glad yours have improved. When I didn't have them for 3 months it was fantastic, reduced my general anxiety considerably.

Connie-I know that muscle tension in the chest can cause that pressure feeling too. Hope you're having a better day today!

Thanks again girls!
love Sarah xx

Hi Sarah,

Oh I'm sorry it took me a while to see your post. Some days i just scan for posts that I've responded to before and forget to check for new relevant ones. Please do PM me anytime if you want to if you need to chat

Yes I just checked my peri-records - palps were from around ovulation at mid cycle until my period that horrible month of the pounding. Doc confirmed it was back to back palps every other beat The worst times of month for me are when there is any significant change in hormones - so another month they can actually get worse with my period too!

Oh I so know what you mean about the effect on the anxiety levels. I feel hugely different right now and so much more able to get on with life. When i have palps they just bring me right down and make everything so much harder to cope with. People who don't have them wonder what on earth we are making a fuss about, don't they. Oh 1000 times I have been grateful for this site to find others who are suffering just the same.

BTW Regarding the acupuncture and budgeting for it: I pay £36 for a 45 minute session.

Huge hugs and hope those horrid palps go away for you soon. I'm sure it has a lot to do with what/how we eat too. I found chewing food up and avoiding foods that repeat like tomatoes and cheese helped a bit in the past!

I am ready to throw in the towel! Yesterday the palps were pretty good, today horrible again. I don't understand how one day I can have only a few and today they are every few minutes all day. What did I do different today that caused them? I am so overloaded so fish oil capsules, Vitamin E and Magnesium trying to stop the palps that I am having terrible heartburn and stomach discomfort. I am ready to stop everything and just go to bed until this peri mess is over. Like everyone with palps has said, this has to be the worst symptom. It really gets your anxiety going if you didn't have it before. Anybody else have one good day then bad one right after it? Well, I will take my friend Xanax tonight and maybe I can sleep thru them. Hope everyone else had a better day. Connie

Makes you wonder, doesn't it. I have had palps for over two years now. They started when I was 40. I've had most of the tests, echo, stress, 30 day event monitor, several EKGs, blood panels, thyroid, FSH. All normal. Yet it still freaks me out each and every time. I am currently on a low dose of valium, like 3 mg. in the morning and 2 mg. (which they tell me is the pediatric dose) in the afternoon. But I think it has helped keep me out of the Emergency Room. I try to just say ok, my heart just rolled and skipped and thumped like some stupid fish in my chest when five minutes ago, I couldn't feel a thing but it's OK.

It's comforting to find that others experience the same thing. One Dr. tried to start me on Lexapro, but that went badly for me. I wish I was one of those who could take anything and not notice any side effects.

The last few months, I've had very light periods. I'll spot for two or three days and then have one day of heavy and then done. I used to be heavy for a week. I can't take BCP since I had a blood clot in my retina about a year and half ago. Also for the last few months, it seems I have experienced relatively few palps. One or two little ones in the days around what should be ovulation time and one or two little ones a day before my period.

This month, for the last three days, and I think I'm past ovulation, but too early for period, I've had a really good thumper each morning like clockwork right around 11:00 a.m. and after that happens, I generally get really hot and I don't know if it's just adrenaline because the thump made me panic a little or if this is just a freaking hot flash. I hate the thought that maybe I have turned hot flashes into an anxiety/panic disorder.

Cardiologist isn't much help. He says we don't do anything for flip/flop feeling, but he doesn't relate it to hormones. Also, they usually tell me that I am too young for meno and they stare blankly at you if you mention peri-menopause. If I am having tachy, he'll send my to an EP (which strikes me as overdoing it).

Yoga seems to help and I haven't been keeping up on that lately. Magnesium doesn't seem to do much, but I'm only adding 250 mg. a day. Maybe I need to do more. Oh well. That's my palp story. Hope everyone has a better day. Guess there are enough of us going through this that if it did cause larger problems they might have noticed it.

Welcome Kate,
I don't think you are too young to be starting peri. I had my first trouble with palps when I was in my late 30's. I had them off and on, not bad until about 6 years ago when I had a real bad summer. I started on Tenormin at that time and have been on it ever since. Most of the time the last 6 years I have had them a few times a day or night, some days maybe a few more. The last several months when I started to miss periods they have gotten horrible. Every few minutes or more all day long. It just has to be hormones changing. I am having some mild hot flashes which I never really had before. I had taken the pill last year for heavy periods and stopped it in Nov. Felt pretty good on the pill. I didn't know how good I had it. At 52, I feel 92 some days. I think these palps are going to drive me crazy! I have had the tests,all ok, I don't want to pay for all that again. What could change? I guess I need to learn to live with them for now, hoping some day I will be palp free! Take care, Connie

Hi everyone,

Connie-I've sent you a PM.

Kate-welcome to PS, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it! If you read over the previous posts you'll find lots of women with similar symptoms.
I think many cardiologists see a lot of people like us & I think they get a bit blase about it as they understand that it's nothing to worry about & so they think if they're not worried then we shouldn't be either but when it's your heart it doesn't really work like
that!! You could try upping your magnesium. I take 200mg 3x a day, it works for some but not everyone.
I have also had hot flushes with palps but like you I'm not sure whether the palps caused the hot flush or vice versa. You're not too young for all of this, I started with symptoms at 42 & my sister at 40. That's not at all unusual.

Squiggle-I'm really glad your palps are so much better. I plan to try the acupuncture as I really think it'll help.
I have been on an excellent palpitations site which has a cardiologist linked to it & he talks alot about the vagus nerve involvement in palpitations. I'll pm you later with the website address as it's the best site I've seen for explaining palps etc.

Hope you're all having a good day!
love Sarah xx

Thanks Sarah. I would indeed be very interested in what a cardiologist has to say about them because the cardio I saw denied any relationship between the two. He said that if anything, the vagus nerve being stimulated would lessen palps not cause them! My GP agreed that what the cardio said was indeed utter rubbish and said that he sees loads of people with palps and gastro problems and that there has to be a vagus nerve link.

Kate - welcome from me too! I am only 42 (well 43 soon). I started mega peri symptoms at 40 but my migraines started around 3 years before that.

Sarah,
I have been reading messages from the site you gave me and it is very interesting. I see how the gastro connection to palps is possible. How about times when you haven't eaten or during the night, I wonder what is causing those irregular beats? Being the total freak that I am, now I wonder if some other horrible gastrointestinal disease is causing the palps! I guess I won't be happy until I have myself dead and buried. have a good weekend. Connie

Hi Connie,
glad you found the site useful. I'm not sure but I think the vagus nerve can be affected by a number of things not just digestion. For example stress & anxiety & hormones. You could always post on there & ask him about these things.
Don't worry about having a gastro-related illness, he's just talking about normal digestive processes.
Everyone is affected differently & some people's bodies are just more sensitive to things. Remember that when we are anxious our whole nervous system is over-sensitized & reacts rapidly in an exaggerrated way, obvously the vagus nerve is part of that nervous system.
Strangely enough I had a palp-free day yesterday-the first for 2 weeks! It was so good to sit or lie down & not have them.
However, woke up this morning & wondered if I'd have another day without them & they started up-typical!!
Period still not here though, this is the longest time I've ever gone without one, am on day 58 so obviously skipped one last month.
I think this is why palps & hot flushes have been so bad.
Hope you have a better day today Connie.
love Sarah xx

Connie, Sarah,

My palps first started up after I had a bout of gastritis (inflamed stomach) but I do believe that hormones make the vagus nerve ending more sensitive. Then when food or reflux comes along, it irritates it. Interestingly I thought that guy on the website mentioned the stimulation could occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, including the bowel. Great eh? Does that include IBS, I wonder? Mele posted some great stuff about connection between palps and vagus nerve on ghere around a year ago. She used to be a heart nurse. She's not been around much recently, but she had some wonderful info if you're interested.

Sarah - it has to be your hormones doing this to you this month - too much of a coincidence!

I'm still virtually palp free at the moment but have come out in a horrid itchy allergic rash all over my body and fluey cold bugs instead, so no break from it all there. Just glad i haven't got the palps to contend with at the same time!!! I keep feeling my body getting ready for a palp at the moment and then it doesn't happen - or maybe it does but the thud is so slight at the moment that i don't notice it (LOL).

{{{{Hugs}}}} to you both - it is no fun being a palper. I am just so glad to feel I am not on my own with them

Oops I don't mean I'm glad you folks have got palps too - but it is comforting not to be alone with this!

Glad you had a good day yesterday. I did too, we will see what today holds! Squiggle, thanks for checking in with us palpers! Your wisdom on the subject is greatly appreicated. I am so sorry about your rash. I read about your breakout on the open menopause thread. After palps, hives are my next biggest peri problem. I have become allergic to so many foods, soaps and medications that never bothered me before. I am scared to eat anything new anymore for fear I will get hives or the palps! What a great way to live. Thanks again ladies for all your responses. I do feel better too knowing I'm not alone or crazy! Connie

Kates40, Yes the palps are the worst! I've posted about palps several times, because I needed reassurance. Check out my last post under Palps when Exercising ... I explain my recent visit with a new cardiologist. I really liked him and he was very understanding.(VERY unlike the last one I went to 4 years ago which sounds alot like yours!) He indeed believes there is a hormonal link with females.

And I was just reading in a recent womens magazine, forget which one (Family Circle, Woman's Day???) about menopause and it listed heart palps, anxiety, joint aches, etc. as symptoms. Halla-freaking-luya that they are starting to mention these instead of just hot flashes and vaginal dryness!!! I'm thinking that with the tail end of us vocal Baby Boomers now entering Menopause, the mainstream medical profession will finally get a clue as to what we are going through. It is so hard to suffer through this especially in todays's world. We need some relief!

Gayle

I truly believe that peri/meno has something to do with heart palps! I have been in peri for the past 4 yrs (filled with symptoms), I started skipping periods recently, and about a month ago one day it just started happening out of the blue. I had TWO solid weeks of heart palps. Then they seemed to fad away, and I believed it was just a fluke and that was that. Oh boy, now they come and go, each day is different. Today, I had barely any palps, I feel fine, yesterday I had them from the time I woke up until I went to bed.

So sisters, you are not alone, it seems like many women go through these palps, I don't know for how long or what exactly causes them. My doc feels it's part of the change. I have had some tests, and the only problem that they found was a slight MVP.

The palps are scarey, sometimes they feel like an airbubble, other times like quick flutters. When they hit me hard, I need to be alone, and just try to rest. At work, I just pray that I won't drop dead from them.

Hang in there everyone!

Juliann

Gayle - I know, I know! Shortly before I found PS, I read about perimenopause in a women's magazine too and how it can last 10-15 years and that it can have all these symptoms. At the tme I hadn't yet developed the palps but thought Oh that's strange - it sounds just like me. Forgot all about it - then two months later, I developed the palps bigtime and did a google search on all my symptoms and PS came up!!! Then I found so many others like me! How can the magazines be so much better informed than our docs? Mine only think peri exists for 2-3 years before meno!!

BAH!!! SOB!I spoke too soon. After 6 weeks with virtually no palps , the last 3 days they have been creeping back again! Will I get another 10 months of constant palps now, I wonder?

Squiggle,
Sorry to hear the palps are back. You were my hope that maybe they do go away for good. Maybe this episode will be short-lived. I had a couple of fairly good days, Now this morning the skipped beats are pretty frequent. I give up trying to guess the cause. Hope you get to feeling better. Connie

You ladies on Power-Surge has NEVER let me down. Whether I come here every week or am away for months at a time, when I come here to see if I might be dying due to either a brand new symptom or the return of a familiar one, I am always comforted by all the messages I read here. It's such therapy! Today, I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one with the flip-flop heartbeats that feel like a fish (such a good metaphor), or the chest pressure under the clavicle. I haven't had palps for about five years which resulted in a trip to the cardio for a stress test that showed everything was just peachy (thank goodness). However, the internal shaking, feelings of uneasiness, intense sweating, diarrhea, and adrenaline rushes started up last night. I really think it all started because I drank a "green" drink yesterday afternoon. I picked up a powder form of green foods at Whole Foods yesterday thinking "oh, this will be good for me". Now I think the problems that started last night were a reaction to the drink. Fortunately, I only used half a scoop rather than the recommended full scoop. The main reason I'm coming to this conclusion is that one of the things that triggered the palps a few years ago was when I took too high a dose of beta carotene (yep, the supposed safe form of Vitamin A). It was just an over-the-counter bottle of beta carotene capsules. After a couple days, it started affecting me in a big way. Another trigger for me is eating chocolate (the caffeine). The way I'm feeling now is the way I felt back then. I hate the adrenaline rushes. I love chocolate, but have given it up almost completely because I can't handle caffeine at all. I do have moments of weakness though when I'll have a mini hershey bar.

I always take 200 mg magnesium at night and 200 in the morning, and that seems to be getting me back on track to feeling better today, but I'm just so amazed at the sensitivities that I've developed in the past several years (I'm almost 48). I feel like such a wimp.

Thanks for being here when I need to know I'm not alone.