I have been dealing with SVT arrythmmias since my lyme diagnosis in 2002. However before that I did have PVCS, PACS and panic attacks.
I have largely recovered with orals and Biciliin LA and have only minor symptoms that pop up seasonally now, but SVT is something that is still bothering me.
For me it seems to be vagal related - swallowing food, leaning over, certain foods, even peeing can cause me to go into SVT. This past year I've needed adenosine once to convert and other times I blow into a syringe and it usually stops. Still extremely scary!
Has anyone cured their SVT with Lyme treatment or is this a permanent consequence of Lyme? I saw my LLMD last week, who is recommending treatment again, but have very few other symptoms - mainly GI, insomnia, minor twitching at times and incontinence.
Really looking for help, so would love to hear from Lymies with SVT that were cured with treatment or have found some other solution to treat this. I am a 53 yr old male and currently take a baby does to Atenolol which I'd love to get off if possible as my heart rate is already low while resting. I know alll about ablations, but think that's a last resort. Thank you!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
York Cardiology web site page on magnesium -
Posted by Myco (Member # 9536) on :
Thanks, Keebler!
I have been taking 400mg x 2 of Kal Magnesium Glycinate and digestive enzymes with food which has helped to some extent but still dealing with the vagal triggered SVT when I bend over, urinate or swallow (happens a few times a month). Would like to avoid ablation if possible.
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
Myco - are you under the care of a LL Cardiologist?
What state are you in? There is a LL Cardiologist in CT, but she only sees local patients not out-of-state ones.
Posted by Myco (Member # 9536) on :
I am under the care of a cardiologist in Los Angeles, CA but she is not LL. She has done an extensive work up and has not found anything g but SVT with no other evidence of heart disease (normal echo, ECG, sfress test etc).
My LLMD has an in house cardiologist but he is very expensive and out of my network - I can't afford to see him.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Hi - sending you a PM
Posted by lightfoot (Member # 2536) on :
Hi Myco!
Heavy metals can do this!! I have both A-fib and SVT. I have been chelating mercury and lead for the last 18 months.
The SVT has pretty much subsided, however, I still have A-fib (irregular heart beat). I am not finished with chelation yet.
I tried several drugs but gave up on them completely due to side effects. I'm also not keen on an ablation.
PS...I have chronic Lyme/+ which was undiagnosed for 40 years...finally dx 20 years ago. The heart stuff came on in 2012. My Lyme treatment has been extensive.
Posted by oceangirlSA (Member # 40873) on :
Hi Myco
Its been a while since I have been on this forum but I saw your post and wanted to share my experience.
I had an SVT caused by a tick bite in 2005. Fortunately I had a cardiologist who was lyme literate. At the time I did not have a lyme diagnosis but was very sick and when I went to see him for the SVT, he diagnosed me with Lyme and referred me to a LLMD.
Unfortunately this cardiologist passed away, but he told me that Lyme can cause any electrical conduction problems in the heart, not just heart block.
I completely got rid of my SVT with antibiotic therapy and it has never come back. It was actually one of my easier symptoms to get rid of. I hope this is helpful to you!
Posted by klutzo (Member # 5701) on :
Hi, Just saw this and want to put in my perspective. I had severe PSVT attacks lasting 1 1/2 hrs. each with dysautonomia symptoms and gastric dumping for over 12 yrs. before being correctly diagnosed.
It also took me 17 yrs to get dixd with Lyme. I was dxd with MS, then FIbro for that time.
My cardiologist said I have the most frequent and severe PSVTs he's ever seen by far, and that they are far too serious for me to be taken off medication long enough to have the ablation, so it is out.
I was on Inderal for 7 yrs. and that worked pretty well, but then it just stopped working. I've been on slow release Verapamil ever since and it has saved my life. It can be scary to get the dose right and pulse can go too low.
Once you get the sweet spot, imo, the med is better than PSVT, unless you only have one or two a year, like someone I know who has had more than one ablation just so she can run for exercise instead of walking!
They tell me my hugely swollen ankles may be partly due to the drug, but are mostly due to lousy vein valves. If I had the choice, I would have had the ablation long ago.
PSVT has severely limited my life, since it is set off by the slightest thing, so I must avoid loud noises, crowds, heavy traffic and so on....
Btw, I take 1 gram of Mg threonate and about 400 mgs. Mg citrate daily, in divided doses. It has not helped.
I hope you can get complete resolution of your symptoms and not have to make a choice between bad and worse like I did.
Posted by Myco (Member # 9536) on :
Thanks to both of the patients who posted above. Very helpful!
I am pretty much symptom free but still get occasional SVT and some twitching. Perhaps I need to retreat?
Posted by MidvalleyMike (Member # 52078) on :
I know the thread is a few days old but I just wanted to share with you something a Renoun Heart expert told me , if you can feel the skipped beats and tacky cardia it isn't a reason to worry the or is tons of meds and time to fix those issues if u do get a bad run of them. The only ones that hurt you are the ones u can't feel. That eased my mind so much. I was trapped in a vicious cycle of tacky to anxiety and anxiety to tacky that I just could not break. Once given that info knock on wood I've been good for years. Take a calcium channel blocker and haven't had any more issues. A lot of mine was in my mind it would flutter I would panic and it would shoot thru the roof. Hope that helps in some way. Take care and best of luck.
Posted by Myco (Member # 9536) on :