Pvcs symptoms and conditions

I think it is interesting the symptoms that you mention here. I have been on birth control pills since the age of 19. I am now 28. Over the past year I have had similar symptoms. I have been on so many different BCP's that is is hard to keep count. They don't seem to work the way they claim to. The last BCP I was on was orthotryciclen. While taking these I began to experience severe heart palpitations. So bad that they would wake me up at night. Because I wasn't sure if it was an anxiety attack or just being in my head I decided to ignore it. Four months passed by and it seemed to get increasingly worse. I had enough and decided to go to my PCP. She wasn't really much help either. Although I was tested for Mitral Valve Prolapse, which I was told affects younger women my age. There was nothing found. What I thought was interesting is I really felt that it was the birth control pills, but I couldn't find it as a side affect on the information that was provided in the box. The tech who was doing my echocardiogram began to tell me she also experienced the same feelings and found out it was her BCP. Once she confirmed what I thought was right, decided to stop taking them. After three months the symptoms began to disappear. I figured it was just the particular brand. I began to take loestrin 24. I started to feel the same symptoms again, just not as severe. I would feel my heart beat when I would like down in my back and my stomach. My heart rate would reach 90 to 100 sometimes. I know this is not normal. When I visited my gyno yesterday she told me it was impossible that it was a result of the BCP. Maybe it was just anxiety and or perhaps I should get checked out by a cardiologist. That is serious stuff when you are talking to a young person about getting there heart check out. I think if there are any other women out there who are experiencing any similar symptoms should speak up. So these doctors won't keep telling us it is all in our heads and help to take care of this problem.

I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers in 2005 - lost it in 6 weeks (on the proper diet) because of my insanely fast metabolism. Shortly after that, I was put on 25 mg of Toprol XL for PACs/PVCs. Upped that to 50 mg after I started getting migraines. Gained 55 pounds in the process, though I tore a hamstring in a couple of places and put a lot of the weight loss up to months of inactivity.

Then I started back on WW and tried to lose. Did everything just right--nothing. Added exercise and adjusted my points. Still nothing. Finally googled "toprol metabolism" and found tons of people complaining of the same types of problems.

I finally got down to 12.5 mg of Toprol and my body has adjusted to it, and in the last 2 weeks I've dropped 10 pounds. I'm debating going off it altogether, since there's nothing wrong with my blood pressure, and since lowering it clearly helps.

Note to anyone who tries this - every time I lower the dose I tend to gain a little weight (it's mostly water weight--I bloat up when I lower it for some reason) while my body adjusts, but it always comes off. So if you lower your dose (with doctor's permission, of course), don't be disheartened if you gain at first. You'll get there.

Hello all,
I'm a 45-yr old Air Force Major (Male) recently diagnosed with asymptomatic chronic Atrial Fibrillation (As in I have it and was walking around not knowing it). When I went to see the cardiologist, my B.P. was only 120 / 74 (Which, until they changed the rules, used to be normal)and he puts me on Diovan 80mg once a day plus Coumadin 5mg. Well the Diovan almost made me faint and I had numbness in both arms, plus a funky rash, kind of like chicken pox showing up on my arms and thighs.
I went online and read horror stories of Diovan so I stopped taking it immediately (I had only taken four doses and never had any horrible symptoms until after I took the meds!). Then the Dr. put me on an Event Monitor and it showed I was indeed in A-fib all the time, plus at night, my heart was racing briefly to 200 a minute while I was sound asleep. So he puts me on Toprol XL 100mg once a day.
Immediately I had trouble sleeping (Which I never had before, ever!) with crazy dreams and tossing/turning. My B.P. dropped to 88/65 and my fibrillating heart rate was 64!!! I was so mad because I actually felt better before the meds. I found this site and saw what everyone was posting and immediately took myself off the Toprol XL.
The day after stopping the Toprol I had slight chest pains (Like angina or gas bubble) but they went away on their own. I slept fine the next night.
I'm having an Electro-Cardiversion done on the 21st July to see if I can stop the A-fib and get in normal rhythm. I know the Dr. is going to be mad at me for stopping the Diovan and Toprol, but I'm sorry, I'm convinced there is a better way to beat all this (Namely exercise and eating right). Being in the service means you have to be Mr. Physical and Mental "perfect" all the time. I cannot afford to be diagnosed with depression in my line of work! Thanks to all on this website and I wish you the best.
PS. for those who think I'm being ignorant of my medication, I have a nice fat insurance policy and Power of attorney for my wife and kid in the event I keel over!!! I may be medication intolerant but at least I took care of my family.

I have been having the same problems for about two months. Heart palpitations, chest pain, left arm numbness, spouts of rapid heart beat (up to 150 beats a minute) while laying in bed. Other things that I have started putting with this is I broke out in hives several months ago, I had yeast infections every month for a year, I have had dark hair pop up on my face that was never there before. I have been to the ER many times, I have had an EKG, the whole blood work done, chest x-ray, stress test, and a holter monitor. They did catch PVCs and a few other irregular heat beats on the monitor and EKG but no one seems concerned about. I have been at my wits in and like you felt like a horrible mom and wife. Not hardly any to function. I finally thought to look up IUD and heart palpitations and BOOM....there was pages and pages of women talking about this. I am relieved in some ways but still not convinced! I just don't know if it could actually cause PVCs or other irregular heart beats but I guess it could. I hope this was the problem. I got the IUD out last Friday and I seem to feel a little better each day, although last night I did have another attack of racing heart-147 bpm. I'm 27 years old, with not family history of heart problems, I am thin, I have low resting pulse and have always had low blood pressure. I guess the IUD makes more sense than a heart problem. It's just very scary when you have two small children at home and you're afraid you might not wake up the next day! I have never been a fearful person, I am very laid back so when the docs kept throwing the anxiety and stress thing at me, it REALLY didn't make sense! I have been under way more stress several years ago than I am now and this has never happened. I have had the IUD for two years. I have researched hormone imbalance and it does add up to the same. I think it's possible for the IUD to malfunction and instead of squirting out a small amount of the hormone daily it could be giving way to much which gives us a hormone imbalance. Let me know how you are doing and if your symptoms have gotten better with time and thanks for sharing your story.

I had my Mirena for 18 months (12/07-4/3/08). My Doctor urged me to keep it in and when I finally went to get it removed, I had retained the strings and the pain when he dilated my cervix was so painful I had to get anesthesia to get it removed.

After about 6 months of the iud, I started experiencing heart palpitations and shortness of breath. And for the last few months and even two weeks post removal I am experiencing shortness of breath at rest. And tightness in my chest. It's very scary. ALSO, I only have heart palpitations mid-cycle (ovulation) and during my period. And my shortness of breath gets worse during that time also. It is painful to exercise bc I can't breathe, I actually got a bronchial inhaler from my doctor and it's helped SO much during exercise. I would be yawning and have so much extra saliva and after 50 running paces I'd have to stop to rest because my chest would be so tight and burning. I was tested for asthma and do not have asthma. That isn't to say I don't have exercise induced asthma. I never ever had problems before this Mirena.

I haven't had any hair loss or trouble sleeping that I can pinpoint either. Mostly I looked 3 months pregnant and haven't been able to drop 5 lbs. I'm ideal weight for my height and have cut out most sugar and limited carbs and nothing has changed even with exercise. I DO notice that I was soooo nasty and couldn't control my temper. I can't positively contribute that to the Mirena but I'll see as time goes on and this wears away.

I wouldn't advise the Mirena to anyone. Not with all these women and myself having the same effects. The Dr tried to tell me that it couldn't be the Mirena causing heart palpitations but I'm 28 years old and entirely healthy.

I also felt when I was ovulating that I was having contractions. My Dr kept telling me it's not supposed to help cramping but won't make it worse and I must have said 100 times that I NEVER HAD CRAMPS before in my life. My ovulation/periods were always very uneventful and painless. And the pain I had during ovulation and my period wasn't traditional cramping. It was a wave of extreme sharp shooting pain that would shoot down my thigh and I'd actually do careful, controlled breathing during that pain. The pain would be so intense I'd stop in my tracks and grip whatever was nearest to me while standing perfectly still and doing breathing exercises.

Also, I should note I have never been pregnant before and my midwife that I go to now was saying that my body could have been trying to expel the iud bc I had never had anything pass through or in my cervix before and that the pain during ovulation and period could actually have been my uterus contracting because it was trying to get the iud out!

I hope that the chest tightness and shortness of breath go away. It's very alarming.

Been on Toprol XL for 4 years. I am 64 with SVT and mitral valve prolapse. I was started at 50mg daily and got relief but when breakthrough SVT started the dose went up to 50mg in the AM and 25mg in the evening. I still have breakthroughs but can wait them out. I did notice that my SVT or palpitations seemed to be triggered with an imminent BM. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia but coincidentally....it started with severe muscle pain when I started taking Toprol XL. I wasn't told that this could be a side effect.HMMMM When my insurance was discontinued (retirement) I started taking the generic due to cost. I haven't noticed any difference between the two. I also noticed that after a SVT episode I have a increase in urination....Toprol or SVT? I also noticed that I am very aware of an increase in a feeling doom. I have had ekgs etc and my heart is in good shape otherwise.

I am a nurse of 20 years and was placed on Toprol XL for super ventricular tachycardia (SVT) over a year ago. I was place on 25 mg dose after a stress test, ekg, echocaridogram and 24 hour halter monitor. I was not feeling any better and I was having periods of weakness, profuse sweating and being clammy. The cardiologist had me wear a 30 day event monitor and it showed frequent PVCs and runs of SVT. So he increased the dose to 50 mg. I continued to have the weakness, tachycardia, PVCs, extreme weakness, poor concentration and extreme periods of sweating with becoming clammy and some chest pain. Oh and I started having severe left leg pain that I had not had since my back surgery, so I went back to my pain specialist for treatment. I became so depressed, thoughts of life not worth living, poor endurance, not able to sleep in bed due to severe leg pain and increasing bouts of tachycardia, irregular heart rate, weakness, and sweating this is while at rest or working the symptoms remained. I forgot to mention that my blood sugar was increasing during this time to the point of in danger of being a diabetic.

I decided to stop the Toprol XL after reading some of the side effects that are less common. I was able to sleep in bed for the first time in 6 months, no leg pain. I called my cardiologist and he told me my symptoms were not consistent with Toprol XL side effects or reaction and to double the dose of Toprol XL. I refused and changed cardiologist, one who listened to me.

The result is I stayed off Toprol XL, after 5 weeks it is getting out of my system. No more sweating spells, cold clammy spells, extreme weakness, I feel part of life again and ready to go back into the world not hide from it, my blood sugar is getting back to normal. I am getting my strength and endurance back but have to rest some still, oh and I am losing the 25 pounds that I gained while on Toprol.

I still have irregular heart rate and that is okay but I am on a new medication that really seems to work. Oh, and the spinal implant that I was to have has been cancelled because the leg pain is almost gone and I sleep in a bed not a chair.

Just resumed my 25mg of toporol XL after a miserable 5 day trial on lisinopril. My main symptoms are PVC's, chest tightness (chronic), lightheadedness. These seem to be somewhat helped by the medication, and I wonder about upping it to 50mg (MD fine with that), but I really don't want to be on it. Originally put on for high BP (150/90), and persistent PVCs. I need to lose about 40 pounds to get the BP back to normal, but if this toporol puts the weight on that is truelly a catch 22. Anyone find any supplements that could be helpful? Please feel free to email me. Thanks Liam

I have had episodes of arrythmia for the past 20 years. I had my second cardio conversion about 10 weeks ago. My doctor prescribed Toprol to control the arrythmia before (25mg) and after my cardio conversion (12.5mg). For the past six weeks I've been experiencing extreme discomfort in my chest from what I though was heartburn or some form of GERD. After reading these posts, I'm convinced it was caused by the Toprol. I've been taking it in the morning and strangely this was when the heartburn was the worst. Reading these posts allowed to put two and two together. Today I skipped the Toprol--and no more heartburn today. I've had no problems with the arrythmia since my cardio conversion. (I also take a low dose (50mg) of flecainide daily.)

I'm 31 and a recovered cancer patient (in remission since 2001). I've been trough it all. Surgery, chemo, radiation, BMT's, you name it. I currently suffer from three separate sleep disorders, as well as hypothyroidism. As you can imagine, I've grown to become very in tune with my body. And, having gone through everything I have over the years, and having taken all kinds of medications, I have never experienced such dissatisfaction and such a high level of negative side-effects as I have with Toprol XL.

My primary care doctor, who is also a cardiologist, put me on Toprol XL to treat an elevated heart rate -- as a result of all my past health issues, my auto-regulatory system is, as he puts is, “just messed-up now.” He started me on 50 mg a day. Immediately, I experienced trouble breathing: I woke one night and felt as though I was drowning. Over the course of about 8 months, he's lowered my dose to 12.5 mg a day. And, for a while, that seemed to be OK. But, recently, the trouble breathing has returned.

I'm at a point now where I'm afraid to go to sleep -- the moment I lie down, I find myself gasping for air. All day long, I have a constant wheezing. I can't go up a flight of stairs without needing to sit down and catch my breath -- I feel as though I'm about to faint from loss of air. I spend most of my day with a sensation of being suffocated. I cough frequently, but it gives me no relief.

I have noticed other side effects. Notable is the weight gain. I've never in my life weighed more than 145 lbs. I’m 163 now. I was blaming the weight gain on the thyroid, but I'm on a fairly high dose of that medication, and I've yet to experience any loss of weight. I'm gaining, despite only eating one meal a day. I attribute this weight to the Toprol.

Also, I have been experiencing moments of extreme anxiety -- this is very unusual for me. I also want to say that never once during all my dealings with cancer did I ever experience depression, and that right there should give you an indication of what type of person I am. Yet, now, since being on the Toprol XL, I find I lack the energy and desire to do much of anything anymore.

My doctor seems very quick to dismiss my concerns, telling me, "you need to give this medication a chance." I think 8 months of my life is enough -- I have lost all patience with this medication, and I'm just about losing it with him, as well. I didn't survive cancer and all the other complications that came with it just to have my life brought to a total standstill by a single medication. This is so infuriating.

I'm making an appointment to speak with my doctor right away. If he continues to insist I stay on Toprol XL and ignore my concerns, I will tell him I no longer feel comfortable with having him as my primary care physician. I want my life back.

Hello to you all. I have been on Toprol XL for 8-10 months. I have "palpitations" which is why I was placed on this med. Also a diagnosis of Mitral Valve Prolapse. My doctor told me that the MVP can trigger the palpitations and that Toprol is the drug of choice. It helped for a few days. I felt like a new person at first. Then the palpitations gradually started to come back. I have gained 10 lbs. I am 50 years old and assumed that my wt gain was menopause. Now I think that is NOT the answer. I am an RN and I intend to wean myself off of the Toprol after reading the messages here! Why do I need to keep taking a medicine that is causing me to get fat and is NOT controlling my symptoms? Good luck to you all.

I have only been on Toporal for about a month, 50mg/day. My B/P is now stable, but I am having intermittant chest pain that travels down my arm and into my jaw. I am a 50 yr old female in good shape. I can say that I feel some anxiety daily and that is not normal for me. I have not noticed a weight gain, yet my doctor called today to tell me my potassium levels are too high. Has anyone else experienced this from this drug?

To Guest 30618:

PVCs (premature ventricular contractions)--extra beats from the lower chambers of the heart---i won't pretend to know any more than that. :) i do know they're annoying! from all the research i've done and from my doctor's info, they're harmless in most cases--caused by anxiety, stress, HORMONES, too much caffeine, nicotine, certain allergy meds, etc.--mine kicked in around the halfway point through my cycle

i am going to be insanely upset if i have to live with this ringing in my ear from the ruptured eardrum for the rest of my life because of this pill.

i'm starting to wonder why i'm going to finish this pack out till saturday. i'd be 4 days closer to hopefully feeling better if i stopped today....

i forgot to add to my previous post, that i also suffered from irregular heartbeat which began after the first epidural injection. i had no idea it was from the kenalog, and was planning a visit to the cardiologist. the day of my nucleoplasty the ekg showed bradycardia and occasional pvcs. i don't feel the jumping around in my chest now, but i haven't had another ekg.

well it seems i've become another "casualty" to this drug. i'm to the point of feeling like i'm losing my mind. i've been on yasmin since march 2005 and side effects have been sneaking their way into my life slowly enough that it's taken me this long to attribute them to the yasmin. the first 5 or 6 months were great. since that time, i feel like i've been perpetually sick. last year, i battled bronchitis for 3-4 months. then my allergy symptoms seemed to be worse all spring/summer. i've had probably 8-9 colds since starting the yasmin, when before i had maybe 1 a year. i'm currently battling a nasty ear infection/ruptured eardrum. my eyes are constantly blurry. i've had the muscle spasm/jerks that keep me up all night. i have scoliosis (that was slight) and has now gotten much worse (which after reading all these posts, i attribute to the diuretic sucking out all things good from my body) i have absolutely no energy or desire to do any everyday chores/tasks. i drag myself out of bed, go to work, come home, sit and stare at the tv, go to bed, repeat. i've been extremely irritable and moody, which i attributed to just a distaste for my job. here lately, i cry at the drop of a hat---weep at times to just feel normal again. yesterday, the heart palpitations started. i've had these before for a couple minutes but these have lasted for 2 days. i went to the doctor today for the ear infection and she did an EKG--normal, just PVCs--which i knew that's what they were but you can't help feeling anxious about them when they make you feel like you're going to die. and thusly, the anxiousness leads to them getting worse. she gave me a month supply of lexapro to try. i don't want to. when i told her my thoughts that all of this was the yasmin (through sobs, which probably didn't help my case), she just looked at me and didn't seem too convinced. my ob-gyn seemed even less convinced when i discussed some initial concerns i had back in october. she told me there was absolutely no harm being done while on it and it would be the easiest thing to come off of if i decided to stop taking it. but after reading all of these posts, i'm just as terrified to quit taking it as a i am to keep taking it! i just want to feel alive again. and to think all of this suffering for regular periods and less cramping. my last pill is saturday. i plan for that to be my last. i hope i'm strong enough to get through it.

Hmmm...interesting that I found your posts. I too am on 100mg Topral for heart palps (PVCs) and high blood pressure. I'm hesitant to ask to come off of it because it has been keeping both under control. However, I have been having symptoms for a while now that I actually have been wondering is hypothyroidism but sure sounds a lot like what I see posted here. I sometimes get unexplained rashes (mostly on my calves); my skin is much drier than it used to be; my hair is dry and thinning; I'm VERY tired most of the time and have ENORMOUS trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. Another very big problem is that I'm gaining weight faster than I ever have. I think it's a good medicine -- but -- if these symptoms are related, I might consider something different.

Hi everyone! WOW! You all sound so familiar. I went off yasmin 9 months ago and still have heart palpitations(pvcs), especially one week prior to my period. I was on it for one year, I have had all the tests done and everything is normal. I also developed mono on top of all this! My blood pressure has been elevated and my heart rate has been up and down. It has been so depressing I have actually started seeing a psychiatrist. This is NASTY!!!!! None of my doctors have given credence to the fact all this happened after I stopped taking Yasmin and I kept telling everyone that was what the matter was. I can't wait for the medical community to figure this one out!

I have a history of arrythmias and was treated with cardiac ablation last year which relieved my tachycardia and pvcs. A few months ago I received a Kenalog injection in my shoulder for impingenent, within a week I noticed my pvcs were more frequent and I was having some mild episodes of rapid heartbeat. Thankfully this only lasted about amonth.

I have been on Advair since 2001 and it has been the miracle drug. I used to have to do nebs twice a day and was using my rescue inhaler constantly. When I would get a cold for flu I would end up in the hospital and would have to take steriods for a couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, I began having heart palpatations. I went to my internal medicine doctor and she ran many tests to exclude any underlying heart problem. All tests came back normal except for the fact that I was running PVCs. At first, the doctor didn't want me to go off the Advair. I mentioned getting off of it and taking Singulair and she was fine with it, but wanted me to consult with my pulmonoloigst. After speaking with him, he decided that we could try taking me off the Advair.

It has been a week and I feel pretty good. I have used my rescue inhaler, but not excessively and I have not had to do any breathing treatments.

There are a couple things that I have noticed the most since I have stopped Advair - my knees are not hurting going up and down stairs and I am starting to feel as if I am not so swollen. I have also gained about 20 pounds since I started taking Advair.

Hopefully everything will work out.

I would be interested to know if anyone that has gone off Advair has actually lost weight?