I have been posting on lymenet on behalf of me wife who has been receiving Lyme treatment for some te now but with lottle to no progress. A year ago he heart started racing and to this day this remains a debilitating symptom that she has to deal with. Having read that others on here are dealing with or have dealt with this in the past I wanted to pose the question to all: what have you done or taken to rather help with symptoms / aleviate / or completely resove your racing heart? Any answer is acceptable. I'm looking to make this post a laundry list of remedies / cures of this one symptom.
Thanks in advance. R
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Have you asked her doctor what she can take? Often a beta-blocker is prescribed for that. A "remedy" that doesn't involve drugs though that might help a little is to put pressure with your fingers (not tips of fingers, but sides) against main artery in sides of neck. Obvioulsly, not hard enough to 'strangle' but just a little pressure can slow the heart rate down...my neighbor who's a retired doctor told me that and it's helped me.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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I have to avoid anything that is supposed to give me energy.
Magnesium helps me a lot. Calcium/zinc and a balance of minerals as well.
i take a beta-blocker - atenolol. it helps a lot.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
My racing heart was due to dysautnomia issues.
I take florinef for POTs and NMH.
That has helped a lot.
I hope your wife starts to feel better soon.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
I took Toprol-XL for awhile for my tachycardia (racing heart). I also had heart palpitations and that helped with that as well.
I don't need to take the Toprol anymore (knock on wood), as my Lyme and Bart treatment have seemed to help. My heart is still elevated somewhat at times, but it's nothing as bad as it used to be -- 110 or 112 beats per minute. It's been a lot lower since 6 or so months into treatment.
Posted by merrygirl (Member # 12041) on :
I take propanolol ad it helps a lot. It is a beta blocker..
Melissa
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
netslacker~ You are a wonderful supporting spouse and should be applauded for the care you give your wife.
She should be evaluated by a cardiologist to rule out any serious problems.
I do have tachycardia from time to time. My heart can spontaneously race up to 150 beats per minute. My cardiologist has given me a metoprolol to take as needed to slow it down.
What I do instead is get horizontal. That almost always slows the heart within 30 seconds of lying down. The metoprolol is a back up in case getting horizontal doesn't work.
You can also try the Valsalva manuever (google it for instructions). This works in some people to slow the heart as well.
My heart also has weird palpitations.
I have high antibody titers to both lyme, and several viruses. You might want to check your wife for viruses as well. See www.hhv-6foundation.org for further info.
Lyme and viruses can cause the heart to do weird things.
Best, Timaca
Posted by zil (Member # 12048) on :
I take atenolol a prescription med for my fast heartrate 130's. I also take florinef to keep my blood pressure up.
If her blood pressure is getting low her heartrate will speed up to try and compensate, to get that blood pumped around.
Does she get dizzy when she stands? If you have a B/P cuff check her pressure while she is sitting and then again standing and if there is a 10 to 20 point drop in the systolic(top number) she needs fluids. Florinef is the drug I take for this. It helps my body retain fluids. So does eating a bit of salt and drinking water.
Her Dr needs to evaluate this. If he has and done nothing and it's debilitating her I'd find another Dr. Continued high heart rate could lead to some serious problems.
So, on my list is atenolol and florinef. I hope she gets the help soon that gets this taken care of. Liz
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
Two things:
1) Avoid calcium. I started taking coral calcium, and my heart is racing non-stop again, so somehow calcium is involved.
2) Buy a gaussmeter/RF meter. Before I started the coral calcium, my heart would race whenever the magnetic field went up in this house, and also in the presence of a cell phone in use, cell phone tower, or high-tension power line. Now that I started the coral calcium, it just races non-stop again.
Posted by Jellybelly (Member # 7142) on :
I quit EVERYTHING that was stimulating to my nervous system. My heart used to race at 120 bpm ALL the time. Removing all forms of caffeine, things like Sudafed I was able to get it to slow to about 90 bpm.
My LLMD felt that was still to fast and eventually put me on Metropolol(spelling?) a beta blocker to slow it into the 60s. I love it! It is my new favorite drug, with Elavil for sleep now in second place.
One of the nice little side effects is that beta blockers have been known to reduce anxiety because they slow adrenaline if I remember right. It is great!
Posted by netslacker (Member # 13893) on :
hi everyone-
I didn't realize how many spelling errors I had in that post.. Oops! I use an iphone every once in a while and it can be hard to type with on such a small device.
My wife is currently taking toprol which seems to help (allows her to be functional at least) and we are seeing a cardiologist this week. But from what I've been reading on here they are likely not going to find anything wrong (haven't yet). The whole heart thing just seems to be part of treatment.
She started with the magnesium but that's not doing much.
Any other ideas?
Thanks, R
Posted by gwenb (Member # 7217) on :
I had a racing heart for a long time and had to go on beta blockers for about 6 months. Gradually as I tackled Lyme disease my racing heart issue dissipated. However, here are the things that I believe helped me the most.
1. Vitamin D - made a huge difference. 2. Magnesium 3. L-Carnitine 4. Diet - very important - stay away from all food allergies and stimulants. Food allergies, of which I had many, would trigger a racing heart every time.
Gwen
Posted by netslacker (Member # 13893) on :
More info:
w/o toprol my wife would hit 140+ bpm quite easily. On toprol she's averaging 80-120 (still not great). Our last cardiologist felt that the 80~90 was adequate and so far hasn't done much beyond the toprol and minor checkups (thus the appt. w/ new cardiologist).
We've also completely cut caffeine / antihistamines or anything stimulating. The only thing here is that if she does take any of these the rate increases pretty quickly.
This is a very debilitating symptom (as I am sure those of you that have it, already know) that's why I am searching for answers specific to it.
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
Could people post their doses of magnesium, coQ10, L-carnitine, etc?
Posted by gopats (Member # 5218) on :
I took various beta blockers for over a year and was eventually able to stop them. I've been in treatment for several years and sometimes it comes back for short stints. But the beta blockers are usually prescribed with an anti-anxiety med.
As someone said in another thread...this is a marathon so everything takes time. It is a good idea to see the cardiologist. I needed this symptom taken care of so I could concentrate on getting better...with the racing heart I was so consumed by it. It should help put your minds at ease.
Good luck with the cardiologist.
P.S. Some drugs have tachycardia as a side effect, please make sure you ask about that as well.
Posted by savebabe (Member # 9847) on :
There are many things can can cause palps besides lyme disease such as arrythmias, hypothyroidism, and anemia. Has she had a full workup?
Also, was she tested for co-infections? Since she is not getting better with lyme treatment, you may have to look for other diseases that ticks can carry.
I hope she feels better soon.
Posted by gwenb (Member # 7217) on :
I took magensium citrate to bowel tolerance - about 1000 -1500 mg daily (SISU brand).
L-Carnitine (it's been a while since I've taken it so I am trying to remember what the dosage was)about 2,000 mg daily I think. (Ultimate Nutrition - liquid formula).
Vitamin D supplementation (SISU brand - D3)was the most important thing I did (although diet, as mentioned earlier, was a close second). I supplemented at 10,000 IU daily for 6 weeks (please see previous posts - I do not recommend people supplementing at this dosage - get your levels checked first). Within 3 weeks my heart rate had stabilized - resting was about 66 bpm and during the day I was about 72 - 76 bpm.
gwen
Posted by Truthfinder (Member # 8512) on :
Keebler mentioned Hawthorn, and I agree that would be a very cheap, easy thing to try.
I would get an herbal extract (liquid) - preferably the Crataegus-oxycantha species, if available but any Hawthorn extract from a reputable company should work - and have your wife take 5 drops in a bit of water twice per day (no matter what the instructions say - they usually say to take way more than you really need). I would actually start with 2 drops and work up over the course of a week or so. Taking on an empty stomach can produce nausea in some people, so use some caution there.
A bottle shouldn't cost over about $12 and will last several months. This is a tonic that simply strengthens the heart and cardiovascular system and doesn't target any problem in particular. The beneficial effects are cumulative. Some practitioners say to take brief breaks, but others say it can be taken indefinitely.
Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :
your adrenals are stuck on try magnesium and b complex vitamis and B-12 .
Posted by lymeinhell (Member # 4622) on :
It was one of my scarier symptoms as well. I too was put on a beta blocker, but would still get those episodes where my pulse would pop into the 120's (herxing).
Have you tried IV Magnesium? Has her RBC Magnesium level been measured? My LLMD pushed and pushed and I finally did a few IV's and it made a HUGE difference in my life.
Actually, in the hour I was in the office it made a huge difference my first treatment. (pulse went from 124 and bp 145/90 to pulse 80 bp 110/70). Mind you, this was at 9 am.
I did several weekly IV's and began weekly IM magnesium shots (which I have continued for 2 yrs.)
Just my experience - hope it helps.
Posted by netslacker (Member # 13893) on :
This thread is starting to grow into a nice list of possible remedies. While we have heard of a couple of these before the vast majority are new to us. We can take some of these suggestions to our cardiologist and LLMD appts as we continue our quest for answers and resolutions.
If anyone has anything to add, please do so... As I am sure that us as well as others will find this thread usefull.
Posted by aiden424 (Member # 7633) on :
Atenolol and magnesium has helped me the most.
Kathy
Posted by amk33 (Member # 13206) on :
I agree with Timaca. Get horizontal. But for me, it has to be laying down on my left side. This always works to normalize my racing heart.
Problem is that you can't always stop, drop, and lie down on your left side. In these cases, I take either Toprol or propanolol. These take
longer to work, however. I was taking Toprol daily, but it made me even more tired. So, I now take it as needed.
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