Hello everyone.. I am new here.. I am 32 years old and deal with PVC's on a daily basis. I had my first AFIB attack last February and was put on Toprol after I converted back and I was great up until a couple months ago where I started having PVC's on a daily basis.. it always seems to come 2 weeks before I start my period. I will have them and then after my period I wont have them for about a week.. I understand all your frusterations, but I have learned to cop with them now.. but some days are harder than others..

It's nice to know others are out there to talk to

Hi and welcome. There are a lot of kind women here who can help you.

Just curious about your medication. My daughter had a 10 pound tumor removed from her pancreas in November. After the surgery she was having PVC's and rapid pulse. They put her on Lopressor but have just changed it to Toprol. Have you had any side effects with it and does it make you feel better? She doesn't like to take medicine but the Dr. has told her to take it at least 4 weeks before she stops it.

Thanks and again, welcome.
bb

I have never heard of having to be on Toprol 4 weeks before stopping. I will say this, I have been on Toprol for almost a year now and it took about 2 weeks to get use to the side effects. The side effects are, Tiredness, weak, slow heart rate, heavy chest feeling and loss of appetite. After the 2 weeks of being on it, I no longer felt any of those side effects. I am on Toprol Xl 50mg.. back in October my DR put me up to 100mg and that totally screwed me up.. I was depressed, anxiety and just not myself at all, so he put me back down to 50mg right away and I was fine again. I do know that if you are on Toprol for more than a month you have to wean yourself off it.. but I never heard of HAVING to be on the meds for 4 weeks before going off it. The toprol does work good, but like I said it takes a couple weeks for your body to adjust to it. I hope this helps

Thanks Shutterspeed!

I think he was just telling my daughter that because she stopped taking the Lopressor without telling him. He said "Dr. Sara (my daughter) should not be stopping her medicine without telling him!! He was actually reprimanding her and telling her to give it 4 weeks.
She has had those symptoms you mention and also cold hand and feet. But it is good to know that the symptoms will go away with time.

Take care....

Hi,
I am 43 and I have been experiencing PVC's since I was in my late 20's. Up until my 43th year, I had them only once in a great while and only one at a time. Beginning of last year, I had a bout of them so scary that I went to the ER. I was 4 months pregnant at the time. I miscarried about a week later and they subsided quite a bit and then pretty much stopped. Then in October I began having SVT (a heart rate in the 200's). I had a cardiac procedure in November to help it. It did help it, but a month later, I started having lots of PVC's every day. They scare me to death no matter how much I try to talk myself out of it. The doctor and the PA saw that they are harmless, but when you have them it does not feel that way!

I don't know much about Toprol specifically, but I do know that sometimes the drugs used to treat your arrhythmia can also cause arrhythmias (your PVC's perhaps). I took atenolol when I first was diagnosed with the SVT and it seemed okay the first week or two and then it was awful. I, too, had terrible anxiety, depression and a very low blood pressure. As awful as the SVT was, I refused to take anything after that. I still have a prescription for Verapamil in my purse that I have yet to fill. Of course, I am not liked very much at my doctor's office.

What I get from this whole PVC thing is that the doctors don't know alot about it. They do not really know what causes it or even how to fix it. The medications they give are just a shot in the dark. Peoples arrhythmias seem to go away on their own lots of times and no one knows why.

I am trying some natural stuff: flaxseed oil, magnesium and potassium, but so far I have seen no results. It has been a couple of weeks. I have read great things about all those things, but nothing for me yet.

You are not alone. I wish I could say that I had a trick to dealing with them, but so far I haven't figured one out. I know some people are just extremely easy going and deal with it by not letting it bother them, but that is not me. Mine take my breath away, so I am not going to be able to ignore that! Have hope, though, because sometimes they do just go away. I've read of people going off their meds and having no more. Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Well I think that DR's do know all about PVC's, but they can't do much to take them away. Beta Blockers DO work for PVC's, but it's all about finding the right ones to help take them away, or at least decrease them. My Cardiologist is very nice, he helps me alot through these, and in the process of trying to find the right med for me.. I am willing to do what I can to work with him on that. PVC's USE to scare the crap out of me, but I have gotten so use to them that it's like 2nd nature now. I have boughts where they come alot and I may get really aggravated, but it's something I have come to deal with. . some days are good, some days are bad. Mine take my breath away too.. I hate them, but if there is nothing I can do about it, it's better to learn to live with it, because anxiety over them cause them to happen more.. I notice I have them less now.

I hope yours get better Lisa..

I think that doctors know what PVC's are, but they don't know what causes them. I am glad that you have been able to get rid of your with beta blockers. Even my doctor said that beta blockers can also cause arrhythmias even though they are used to treat them. Also, there are side effects with beta blockers and calcium channel blockers. You are blessed if you have not experienced any. There is also the issue of withdrawing from them. You must do it slowly. You are lucky that you have had such a positive experience with your cardiologist. Where I live, the cardiologists are booked for at least two months ahead and they do not have alot of time. PVC's are the least of the problems they see. Also, they all seem to have a different opinion on when to treat PVC's. Since they tell me it is a benign arrhythmia, I am not willing to risk the side effects. I do hate them more than I can describe though. Forgive my cynicism. I am an RN, so I know too much about doctors and drugs to be trusting. Lisa

My name is Skeptic and I'm new to any kind of forum, but I feel that I need honest information that will help deal with the leap from Toprol (100mg daily) to no Toprol. Since my heat attack and 4 way bypass in November '03, my experience on the Toprol drug has been much the same as you all have expressed: PVC's that are distracting and annoying and make me anxious at times; increased neuropothy in my feet and now starting in my hands; water retention in my legs; very decreased libido; shortness of breath with moderate exertion which can sometimes whipe me out the next day; and more fatigue than I've ever had. I am also a diabetic. I need to know the proper reduction of daily Toprol over a one month period, which has been the time period suggested. (Cold turkey, from what I've read, can be dangerous if not fatal.) Also what do I do if the heart rate gets too high during some period of exertion? Do I take a little Toptol (25mg to slow it down) or do I rest until it returns to my normal?

I wish I could offer some good advice, but it would be dangerous to try to do so. I have been on Toprol 25mg. for three years now. My cardiologist put me on it for the palpatations. I was also being treated for Mitral Valve Prolapse which was diagnosed many years ago. I used to take Lanoxin but the palpatations got so bad it wasn't helping as much as it used to. I liked the Lanoxin, because it kept me skinny. I also have the same side effects you are experiencing from Toprol. I had my cardiac stress test this morning and only lasted nine minutes on the treadmill. Two years ago I could do twelve. The cardiologist also told me this morning that I don't have Mitral Valve Prolapse. It was a different doctor who works in the Cardiac Imaging Lab, not my regular cardiologist. Go figure. What do you mean by "neuropathy" in your hands and feet?

So do you find that you feel better on the medication? I am almost 54, have mitral valve prolapse as well and just had a cardiac workup in the fall. I was on a holter monitor and it showed numerous episodes of where my heart rate will shoot up to 120 for a few minutes and then back to normal. He mentioned beta blockers but I really am afraid of meds. I have dealt with it all these years however since menopause set it I must admit it is worse. I woke up this morning with it just beating so fast and of course I get scared and that only makes it worse.

You just see all this stuff on the news, newspapers, magazine articles, etc. about how now that we are menopausal our changes of heart attack greatly increase. I think I had a false sense of security when I was on HRT but have been off that for 2 years and so of course.....one more worry to add to the many I already have.

Hello, I too suffer from palps (pvc's I guess, I had a 24 hour monitor on but the doc never said i had pvc's)but from what I have been reading about them I'm sure that is what it is.I have had them for 2 months now and let me tell you, I know just how frightning they are. If i only have a couple then I'm fine, but when I get them constantly I start to panic a little. I try hard not to, but it is hard.I only seem to get then while laying in bed at night ready to go to sleep.I do get some during the day but that is rare. I have no idea why I get them at that time I think maybe because i think about it happening and of course it always does.I have started to keep a journal and it seems to be worse certain times of the month. I just got over my period and they started again. while I was having it though, no palps or if I did I didn't notice. I have tried different things, but nothing seems to help to much. I have had the monitor, and Ekg. the ER doc, my pcp, and the doc who looked at thr read out from the monitor all say nothing to worry about, easy for them to say. I just wish I knew what was causing my heart to skip like it does.I think maybe that would be a little comfort.The docs say it is not my heart but something eles that is causing it.I'm sure that if it was something serious, it would have been picked up.I tried to tell myself that.maybe one day they will go away just as quick as they came.I hate to go to bed at night anymore because of this.I'am fine all day so if there was somthing serious I guess I would have this problem all the time not just at 11 at night. I hope everyone is doing ok with this problem,I think just talking about it with other people that go thru it helps. Take Care.
Kathy

Kathy- Have you tried taking 1 or 2 500mg tablets of Magnesium??

Heart Palps are probably the most troubling symptom. If it makes you feel better, I haven't had a period since December, and I haven't had a heart palpation since then either. So, I think it does get better.

You can read more about Magnesium here:

http://www.power-surge.com/recommend.htm

Pvc's can be scary, but aside from annoyance, I know of no one who has had a medical problem becuse of them. I have started on my Toprol reduction. I've decreased 25% (i.e. going from 100 mgm per day to 75) and will do this for one week. Then take off another 25% for the next week. It's a one month program. Symptoms: about 2:00 PM I start a few pvc's, get a little tired and don't want to do much. By supper time I feel fine again. I will tell you that I've thought about this for a long time, asked a lot of questions from various Doctors (who back off - not their expertise, you see) and get no info. I do know that in 2004, 97,000 people died from wrong diagnoses and wrong perscriptions. I am supplementing my diet with Hawthorne, Nattkinose, CoQ 10, - they are for the heart and extra Vit C and D. I am working with a homeopathic person - I know nothing about medicine so I need guidance outside of myself. I only know that I don't want my liver or kidneys attacked by the pharmaceutical active ingredients. When they get hit, it's too late. Besides my Doctors did not give me all the specifics as to why I was a candidate for Toprol. They also had me on Plavis and Zocor and I could not tolerate either, so I cold turkeyed them in December 2004. Feel much better. Neuropothy is the dying of nerves in the extremeties in the small blood vessels. I can reverse the neuropoty. Diabetics are prone to neuropothy and Toprol accelerates it (hand and feet go numb by degrees until the extreme and you can't feel. Many diabetics lose limbs because of it.

I have tried the mag, but 250 twice a day. At first I thought it was helping but then the palps came back when I was ovulating, they subsided for about a week and then about 5 days before my period they started up again, the day I got my period, they subsided again, maybe only a couple a day. The day my period stopped, they came back again.Just when I think I have it figured out as to when I get them, it changes. I had them bad again last night, about a half hour after I lay down, it lasted about an hour to an hour and a half (when I finally went to sleep), I woke up this morning and had the skips again. I never had them when I woke up so of course I started to get scared and that just makes them worse. that was about 3 hours ago and I'm fine now. I'am 35 years old, no caffine, cut back on my smoking to only 10-13 cigs a day. I thought maybe this was hormonal, still might be for all I know. Like I said, have been to the doctor 2 months ago. I would go back just for reassuance, but have no med insurance. paid alot for the tests I had done. I do try really hard not to focus on them, but when you get them alot it is hard not to, I try reading, watching tv, getting up and just walking around helps a little, but I don't want to be up walking all night.This is causing alot of stress for me, and I know stress brings them on ( what a cycle). I think I may have to call the doc and see if maybe he could give me some med for it, but from what I have been reading, It takes awhile to find the right ones and the right dose, also the fact that some of the meds make the palps worse.So I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.I really hate the fact that I might have to just deal with this, but maybe after a while it will not bother me so much (one can only hope). I'm glad I can come here and tell my frustrations with them, because my husband and friends don't understand. they tell me If i was checked out by doc, no need to worry.like I tell them, It is easy for you to say, you don't experience it so you have no idea what it is like. Thanks to all for taking the time to read. I hope that someone has the same experience as I do, and can give some more info on how to cope.

Kathy