Event timeline added by: heidimairim

I went to bed early , heart seemed to have thudded a bit recently , it was noticeable that night . I put in earplugs because the people in the flat upstairs were making a noise . I could hear my heartbeat & realised I had 2 heart rhythms , the usual & 2 extra beats every 3rd , about 50:50 . I laid there for about an hour , to make sure I wasn't imagining it & it wasn't going away .

Got a couple of buses to the walk-in clinic I've used before & have great confidence in - for gastric flu & impetigo . They said they didn't have the equipment to diagnose me , so another 2 buses to the local A&E . I had a cardiac trace , 2 PVC's in the 13 seconds , my description of an extra double beat every 3rd confirmed . They gave me a copy of the heart trace to take to my GP , they had ringed the abnormal beats & written the diagnosis on it , which was very helpful . Had bloodtest ( U & E's ) & chest X-ray . They seemed to be OK .

This took 5 hours , lucky I brought a book to read ! 5am , too late to go to bed so I got a minicab home , washed & changed , ate breakfast & commuted to London . I worked 7am-3pm , at least I can still pull an all-nighter if I have to !

Made an appointment to see the GP Friday after work , we're short-staffed due to illness ( ! ) , there should be 3 of us but I was working alone Friday . I felt tired & down but have a cold .
Saw a new GP , he didn't follow the A&E suggestion of a Holzer monitor , I'm scheduled to go back to the hospital for thyroid hormone bloodtest & a urine - couldn't produce anything in A&E Monday night after 8 hours without a drink . I couldn't leave the hospital waiting room to find a drinks machine in case my name was called .
I am filling this in as how bad the PVC's are , which is thudding frequently but I can ignore it OK . So I call that 3 / 10 . I've been too frightened to do yoga or walking practice this week as I didn't know anything about heart problems , it doesn't run in my family - although I don't know much about my dad . Although he died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm but was over 80 so I don't think that counts . I'm 53 .

Thank goodness it's half term this week , I would usually have 2 evening classes after work on Tuesday & Wednesday , at least I could catch up on my sleep after having none Monday night .

Went for a lecture at the Natural History Museum drink after work , great to see my friends , didn't say anything about the PVC's . They seemed worse that night after I drank a bottle of cider .

I got really out-of-breath when I tried to run for a train this morning . I'd also felt unbelievably tired & breathless when I'd tried to dig the garden Sunday 17th Feb , the day before the diagnosis . I'd had to stop digging after about 10 minutes . I'd been puzzled but thought it was due to getting a cold .

The palpitations stopped for several days , I got very happy , thinking it was over .
They've started again , plus I have indigestion now that isn't helped by antacids - I don't get heartburn normally . The PVC's are worse when I lay down , so they interfere with my sleeping . I've had 2 days off work but no better , I feel tired & miserable .

I have had the results of U&E , full count , Thyroid function & urine - all normal .
However , as I work for UCL I have access to the colossal e-library & have found a "Letter to Editor " in the International Journal of Cardiology 2006 (134) page 124/5 by PN Ravinder et al , about Yoga Breathing reducing PVC's in 2 patients . Of course letters to editor are not peer-reviewed & represent authors view only , plus 2 patients is not a statistically-significan sample , but it wasn't considered lunatic fringe or it wouldn't have been published in such a prestigious scientific journal .
I've been doing yoga ( not very well but doing Intermediate standard ) for 20 years for IBS , which it cured &. Yoga incidentally also cured my torn ankle ligaments & kept my RSI upper back functional so I think it may help . I was too frightened to do any physical activity last week but this week there are much fewer PVC's . I'm going to go to yoga class & show my tutor the letter . Maybe she can give me breathing lessons - I do Iyengar Yoga , which concentrates on static postures - or refer me to a specialist teacher .

I had a dreadful night's sleep , as soon as I laid down the palpitations started . I got up , read quietly , went back to bed - really bad as soon as I laid down . I tried getting up again , tried sleeping upright in a chair with a heated throw I just brought - PCV's wouldn't stop . I spent 6 hours trying to get to sleep , I got 2 hours in the end . But the PCV's had stopped when I woke up .

I haven't had much trouble since then ; I've been very careful how I lay down . I lower myself very slowly to horizontal & don't move . I feel my heart thudding then it eases off . Usually I fling myself into bed then thrash around , rearranging pillows , moving the hot water bottle around , turning over different ways .

I am giving up caffeine , it was really hard as I've drunk cola & coffee for daily 50 years . I had to abandon my driving lesson Sunday morning as I couldn't think & I got agitated . I had extra alcohol Sunday lunchtime & got the only PCV's I've had all week . I was dozing in front of the TV & woke up with palpitations . Tuesday I felt so rough without caffeine I took a day annual leave - I was fed up , agitated , bored & angry by turns . But I've been OK since , I have 1 caffeine a day & no PCV's so far .

Went to my first actual arrythmia clinic . Haven't had any PVC's for several weeks . Some combination of resting , stopping doing 5:2 fasting , stopping diet drinks & cutting back caffeine to 1 a day have cured it .
So I will try reintroducing one at a time & see what happens , I especially want to continue 5:2 fasting
( = 500calories 2 days a week , eating normally 5 days a week ) because it was stopping me getting fatter , even though I was only losing half a pound a week . My cousins have dieted all their lives , they are much fatter than I am - I think diets make you fat . But now I am post-menopausal I injure myself if I exercise like I used to & the weight goes on .