Heart rate problems continue

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sunny
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Heart rate problems continue

Post by sunny »

Had a great Thanksgiving with lots of help from the grands; they moved furniture, hung pictures, dug up & moved our raspberry patch, hung out & talked. Very fun. Our younger daughter did all the cooking and so easy on me. The heart probs that I thought were related to low potassium have continued. I make a potassium broth I drink, also coconut water, bananas, so that's ok. But heart rate is still in 90's and if I stand to fix a meal or walk thru living room, it goes to 112.
So in talking with cardiologist, realize it's probably stopping the Coreg which is a Beta blocker I take for heart failure. I've been off it for a month.
Now I realize I can't function without it. I am taking D ribose & L carnitine ( dr. Sinatra's book) which helps heart failure patients improve function & hoped it would be enough.

My doc knows I am careful about those fillers in meds and said regular Coreg could help. She hates to think Coreg would cause or exacerbate MC. Hmmm. But I have no choice, really. I cannot function like this.
So I asked for non generic Rx for the Coreg Continued Release . Since it is released slowly over 24 hours I hoped it would be less irritating. She agreed. So I have taken it 2 days now; it is too soon to see change in rapid rate or with the MC.

I have started Calm magnesium for stress and also to help with heart . I saw a Nutritionist for ideas for my heart & kidneys & gut and taking Calm was one of the ideas. Also to put a pinch of salt in water & drink with my coconut water to help with fluid retention. I only consume 300 mg salt daily & he thought that was way too low. That is working well.

I am nervous that the CoregCR will be problematic, but I used to take the real thing for years with no diarrhea and I was symptom free for 5 years after MC diagnosis in 08.
I am using 1/2 tsp calm a day but want to increase that. Any suggestions on how fast to increase? Guess I am worried that 4 months of Cdiff have damaged my already very fragile heart. I'm under a lot of stress now as my daughter's ex is refusing to pay her enough support to pay her mortgage. We live on the property in a lovely modular home as hardship cases. (Hate that word!) and would have to move. Trying every stress management tool I know and doing fairly well.
Sunny
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nsaidcolitis
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Post by nsaidcolitis »

Hi I also suffer from heart problems(Im 25) basically my inmune system attacks the lining of the heart (this is chronic but it seems to be reducing with diet and time however if it continues like this...heart failure will be next who knows) and I know when inflammation is bad the heart rate beats out of whack like crazy and it used to increase above 100 before.

I know some people with my condition and they usually have high heart rates now I know you have heart failure(I know what it feels like as I had this in the beginning though it wasnt heart failure but had the same symptoms) but maybe there's something triggering systematic inflammation which increases heart rate.

I would try attacking this from an anti inflammatory point of view and see if it helps I know some people without inflammation diseases of the heart that respond to anti inflammatories but i dont like meds so i dont recommend. I will only recommend foods that reduce inflammation like flaxseed oil or fish oil and you might want to ask your doctor as I am not sure how safe these would be for someone with heart failure or maybe take out an agent that is causing the inflammation. Dont take meds for it, they will make it worse.
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Post by tex »

Hi Sunny,

I'm sorry to hear of those problems. You certainly don't need the additional stress — none of us do. I'm not saying that any of these possibilities have anything to do with your situation, but these issues come to mind, so I thought I would list them, in case they might be relevant:

1. Tachycardia always makes me think of a possible thyroid connection. I don't recall the status of your thyroid, but I'm wondering if you might possibly have hyperthyroidism. Or on the other hand, if you happen to have hypothyroidism, I wonder if it might be over-treated. Either scenario (too much thyroxine in circulation) can cause tachycardia problems. I have the opposite problem. I have hypothyroidism, but it's probably under-treated, because I sometimes have bradicardia (heart rate too slow).

2. Are you taking a statin? In some cases, statins can cause not only high blood pressure, but also tachycardia.

3. Are you taking coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) ? I have seen a case study or 2 where taking CoQ10 apparently led to tachycardia, because discontinuing its use, resolved the elevated heart rate problem.

4. This is kind of a long shot, but do you have the symptoms of, or have you been evaluated for positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)? POTS is a condition of dysautonomia (orthostatic intolerance), in which a change from lying prone to standing upright causes an abnormally large increase in heart rate. Research shows that with this condition, cerebral blood flow can decrease to somewhere in the 40–60 % range. Someone who has POTS tends to have a problem maintaining normal blood pressure when changing position such as moving from one chair to another, or reaching above her or his head, and as the blood pressure plummets, the heart rage escalates. Some even experience symptoms when stationary or while lying down. We have 1 or 2 other members who have this condition. The syndrome can present with mild symptoms, or they can be severe, or they can be anywhere in between those extremes. Your symptoms for example (if they were associated with POTS) would be in the mild to moderate range.

I hope you can find some solutions, and soon.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by sunny »

NSAID colitis....thanx for this. How did the docs determine your immune system is attacking the lining of your heart? I think the Cdiff triggered a relapse of my MC so that's a double whammy. How would they test me for that? It's an interesting idea to follow. Thanx again,
Sunny
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Post by sunny »

Tex, as always, Thanx!
1. Had not considered thyroid. I have Hashimotos and just switched to Armour. I am due for blood test to check levels after a month on the new brand. The heart rate probs started about a month ago. Hmmm... Perhaps you are related to Sherlock Holmes?
2.no statins...refuse to take.
3. Yes on COQ10. Taken it for very long time.. This would be easy to check. Will stop for a few days & see what happens.
4.POTS was a problem right after heart surgery when my Ejection Fraction was 10%. This feels different....like when retaining fluid and fluid around heart & filling lungs.but great guess. I am careful not to just jump up.

Thanx for brainstorming with me. I have some new ideas. Thank you!
Will post new Entero Labs results tomorrow.
Sunny
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Post by nsaidcolitis »

Blood markers usually show little or no inflammation but there can still be inflammation just like with MC only through a biopsy will they see it I never had a biopsy though too risky. Sometimes no test can show pericarditis and this was the case for me for a year in which I had no treatment except NSAIDs that I responded.

My markers never showed inflammation until a year later I think the sed rate went a bite up and my heart was very high.

I know cheese used to trigger palpitations for me. Maybe try to look for an agent that's causing inflammation (not in the heart) but general body inflammation which can increase heart rate.

Text I have a question for you if you don't mind. What does itchy pain mean? Like the pain which used to be sharp or aching has now changed to an itchy kind of pain in the colon and also had it in my chest (when pericarditis was good and has almost no symptoms). Like I wanna scratch it but of course can't scratch my colon or pericardium :wink: ...is this still inflammation or another mechanism of inflammation?

Edit: I doubt you have pericarditis or inflammation in the heart. I am just saying that for some people systematic inflammation can increase heart rate especially when they have another inflammatory disease. So maybe youve been exposed to something like a food or stress or some agent that's causing your increase in heart rate like an allergy.
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Post by Gabes-Apg »

Sunny

I had tachycardia issues 2 years ago. (resting heart rate was 120)
I found it was linked to mast cell/histamines. H2 blockers helped me alot.

if you havent read the info about mast cells/histamine, it is worth the read.
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tex
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Post by tex »

Sunny,

If you experiment with discontinuing usage of the CoQ10, it might be prudent to taper the dose (or ask a doctor), rather than stopping it cold turkey, because suddenly stopping it has the potential to intensify the symptoms of congestive heart failure.

As always, you're most welcome.

Tex
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Post by tex »

nsaidcolitis wrote:What does itchy pain mean? Like the pain which used to be sharp or aching has now changed to an itchy kind of pain in the colon and also had it in my chest (when pericarditis was good and has almost no symptoms). Like I wanna scratch it but of course can't scratch my colon or pericardium :wink: ...is this still inflammation or another mechanism of inflammation?
That's still a sign of inflammation, but it sounds like inflammation caused by a mast cell/histamine issue (rather than lymphocytic infiltration). Like the skin, and all other epithelial tissue, the intestines contain huge numbers of mast cells. You might be interested in the article at the following link. It describes how such sensations are transmitted from internal organs through certain nerve fibers:

Pruritus in certain internal diseases

High histamine foods in the diet can provoke such sensations. And certain foods promote the degranulation of mast calls (resulting in the dumping of histamine) even though they do not carry high levels of histamines themselves.

Also, IBDs tend to suppress the production of diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme. One of the functions of DAO is to purge unused (surplus) histamine from the body. Histamine that attaches to histamine receptors is taken out of circulation (as it completes an immune system connection), but unattached histamine remains in circulation. If DAO is insufficient, then histamine levels can build up to levels where chronic symptoms may be produced because of the excess histamine in circulation. Histame is used by some patients as a supplement to correct DAO insufficiency.

As you know, I'm not a doctor, so I'm just guessing, based on past experiences of members here, and my own experiences. Chronic pruritis is usually treated by type H1 antihistamines at doses up to 4 times the labeled dosage, when indicated (based on the recommendations of allergists). Pruritis associated with intestinal issues might require the use of H2 type antihistamines, though, since most of the histamine receptors in the intestines are type H2.

The most prudent plan of action is to try H1 antihistamines first (since they are generally the safest, and most likely to be effective), and if they don't work, then an H2 antihistamine might be required. In some cases, a combination of both types may be necessary in order to produce the best results. Please be aware though, that for some of us, H2 antihistamines can trigger MC symptoms.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by sunny »

Nsaid?.. Thanx for added info. I will mention that to PC doc next week. She might do a blood test for inflammation.
Gables Ryan...thanx for this. I have been reading about mast cells & histamine here, Tex's book, & some online sources. This is a real possibility. My cardio thinks it is stopping the Coreg which lowers heart rate. We discussed stopping it as it is a Beta Blocker.
Tex...Thanks for heads up about not going cold turkey on COQ10. I was taking 100 twice daily so will taper off.
Thanx again!
Sunny
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