| Patrick V ClarkeUser Since: Jun 2021Posts: 2 | Hi there all. I always swore I'd post something here if I thought it might be of use to someone somewhere. I suffered, and it is suffering, with PVCs for 2 years. Such hell. I also had digestive issues, reflux, burping etc for a couple of years. I'll give a little backstory if I may. In September 2018, I felt a little fluttering in my chest. Nothing major, came and went throughout the next few days, but did not go away. I went to see my GP, and she immediately directed me to a hospital, was admitted for tests that day. Had a thorough check, was told I was very healthy, my heart was in great condition, and I quote "you have a 0.5% chance of a heart attack". Jolly good I thought. PVCs were picked up when I hooked up to the monitor, but not a huge amount, but it strange to see them on a monitor as the blips go across the screen. So sent home with a holter monitor for 48 hrs. Follow up with consultant a few weeks later, same story - you're fine, if they increase there will be a reevaluation, and the word 'ablation' was used.
So on with life I went, but the PVCs did not go away. They began to increase. And of course the stress increases accordingly. The search for a cause begins. Stress mentioned here, there, and everywhere as a leading cause of PVCs in otherwise healthy individuals. Dr Google is available 24/7. I read so much, as most do, once they feel these beats scattered all the way through the day. I began to try so many things - meditation, supplements - magnesium, potassium, ashwaghanda, berberine, hawthorn, digestive enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, lysine, d-limonene, b-12, k2, and others that I can't remember.
My PVCs got to a stage where I had them all day, every day, and 5-10 every minute. I kept photos on my phone from heart beat apps to prove it. One photo shows 8pvcs in just 20 seconds. Real ablation territory.
I went back to my GP the following February, saying how they had increased, and she prescribed bisoprolol, a beta blocker. But I didn't take them. It just didn't feel like the way forward. No matter how completely stressed and distracted I was, putting a beta blocker in my system just didn't seem like the way forward. My wife. a nurse said to just take them. I did not. I needed to find a better solution. My research led me to believe they might do more harm than good.
Then the following June, I thought I'd cracked it. I'd seen arginine/citrulline/taurine mentioned in various places as making a difference to others. So I gave them a try. It was when I tried citrulline malate, I thought I'd found the holy grail. Took it for 5 days, 750mg three times a day, and the PVCs were gone! I couldn't believe it. I'd solved it. And I had temporarily. I went for a run on a beach on my holidays, and I felt my heart start to rush and race. Felt my pulse whizzing, checked it on my phone, and it was 180bpm. I did feel panicked, so just walked and breathed deeply and headed back to holiday base. The tachycardia lasted for 6 minutes and had resolved by the time I got back. Never forget it.
So where was I now? This new thing of tachycardia, which is very scary, was so unexpected, and I was just so annoyed, I was convinced I'd cracked the case!
Went back on the citrulline malate again - had cycled it as it seemed your system should take a break from it. And again the pvcs abated. But I knew something else was going on. And the symtoms give clues. I had a couple more episodes of tachycardia 180-90 bpm, both while running, and 6-7 minutes long. The pvcs would return, and the citrulline seemed to lose it's effect. So, as with others on here, more investigation, find out more options, more things I could try.
I came across Roemheld syndrome, a vagus nerve connection, and this seemed to fit so well with everything that was going on with me. It really was me to a tee, everything was there. And I do think this was the single thing that helped me the most. It is not recognised as a 'thing' by the medical establishment generally, but it fit for me. I had investigated the vagus nerve connection, but didn't get anywhere with it previously. I took some steps that would approach my gastro issues, even though they didn't seem as serious as the pvcs, but if they're connected...it was a new option to try. I made some significant changes - I raised the head of my bed by 10 inches, and had to finish my last meal by 7pm, giving me 4 hours before bed to digest. These changes made a big difference to my digestion, and my pvcs. I did take digestive enzymes for a few months with my last meal, just as a little insurance to stem the flow of potential acid reflux. So that seemed to be it. Sorted! Well, almost. I was still getting tachycardia during runs. Not very often, but still happening. So, I started to only run on an empty stomach, in an attempt to stop any stomach contents from escaping up my oesophagus and irritating my vagus nerve. And I haven't had pvcs or tachycardia since Oct 2020. And that is my story.
As a disclaimer, I did have myself fully checked out at a hospital and was found to have nothing structurally wrong with my heart. So please get this ruled out before you start looking for answers by yourself. It's just sensible.
One last thing I'd like to say - Keep on searching for a solution. Keep trying (safe) options that you research, and you WILL cure your pvcs. I was demented, depressed, and felt like there was someone poking at me all day, every day, every single minute. This website has other great advice from others that is valuable. So research and investigate and keep looking for your cure, please. Apologies, I do appear to have gone quite long. Good luck! Pat |