Jellybelly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7142
posted
Is there a way to calm the vagus nerve, herbs or anything? I already take all the mag my digestive track can handle.
Thyen is there a way to get these bugs OUT of the nervous system? I feel really good, but rapid heart rate has been a continual problem. Through researh I have come to the conclusion that it has something to do with my vagus nerve.
I'm fine in the morning but by late afternoon my heart rate starts going up and I experience a lot of what feels like twitching in my chest. It often gets worse after eating and I really notice it when I first go to bed, lieing down seems to do it. Heart pounds more rapidly and hard. It then calms down after anywhere from minutes to a half an hour.
My heart rate is one of my few lingering symptoms. Oh, I've also seemed to develop reflux which seems to further irritate my vagus nerve.
You ideas would be appreciated.
Posts: 1251 | From california | Registered: Apr 2005
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klutzo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5701
posted
Hi Jelly, If you are not allergic to quinines, you can try a very low dose of Quina. Besides killing Babs, Quinine derivatives used to be used for abnormal heart rhythms, before the new drugs were invented.
The advantage of Quina, IMO, is that it is a liquid extract, and you can take a tiny amount. Even with the respiratory depression that keeps me from taking the doses needed to kill Babs, I can tolerate one drop per day, added to the drug I take, and it makes me feel confident that I will not have a PSVT attack when I am out in public. I do not do this often though, for obvious reasons.
Quina is made by Nutramedix (makers of Samento and Cumanda). I was thinking it might help you kill two birds with one stone, ie. get rid of any Babs, and control your heart rhythm.
I take the drug Verapamil to help stop my tachcardia attacks, but I have PSVT, and am not sure such a strong drug would be advisable for plain sinus tachycardia like you are having. Have you seen a Cardiologist about this?
Klutzo
Posts: 1269 | From Clearwater, Florida, USA | Registered: May 2004
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Klutzo has a good point. Have you seen a cardiologist to rule out an arrythmia or other serious condition?
I had similar problems. In 2004 I landed in the ER almost every week. My heart rate would shoot up to 120-130s. I was dignosed with dysautonmia (imbalance of the parasympathetic/sympathetic nervous sytems). Before the diagnosis, I had a complete work up with a EKGs, cardiac enzymes, holter moniter, and echocardiograms.
The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic system. The vagus nerve slows the heart down and is also involved in proper digestion. If vagal nerve tone is low, one would feel fast heart rate, anxious, poor digestion.
I also had toxins concentrated in my vagus nerve. This was determined by energetic testing. I had a series of non-invasive neural treatments and that helped the most.
There is another product from Nutramedix that has helped me when the palpitations get severe: Amantilla Relax (Velerian Root extract).
posted
is the valerian root extract by nutramedix the same as any valerian extract you can get by another company? or is there something special about this brand of valerian? thanks and could you please tell us what these neural treatments you took that helped your vagus nerve? i have problems with this too, thanks radha radha
Posts: 392 | From New York | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Radha, Amantilla also has an energetic or homeopathic component which is in large part why it is effective. When I was quite ill, my doctor had me take a dose every hour while awake for two days, so my body would be in a healing state.
I tried valerian extracts before with no benefit.
I will try to find some good explanations of the neural therapy and post them. They brought my heart rate down from 120s-130s to 70-80s.
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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Jellybelly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7142
posted
I had a complete work up with a cardiologist about 4 years ago after they found I had a run of Ventricular tachycardia during a sleep study.
At that time my heart rate was a constant 120.
I had a stress echo and everything looked fine. I have mild MVP, and that was it. I was told to avoid all stimulants, like caffeine and sudafed, which I have done religiously. I also started taking a potassium supplement and increased my mag levels to maximum. Doing those things, I was able to drop my heart rate down to a little over 80. My LLMD said it was still a bit to high and put me on a beta blocker about 9 months ago. Really like it, helps with anxiety.
I have had some problem with thumping in my chest when lieing down at night for a couple of years. Seems to be slowly getting worse. Then about 3 months ago, I was taking ABX, doing pretty good, so I decided to do some painting of the living room. Back started really hurting, then chest started hurting and really had a lot of what seemed like twitching. I could feel the twitching in my esophogus and actually bring on a thump/twitch by yawning or stretching. My bra seems to make it worse by te end of the day??
Then I developed reflux! Never had that before.
I went to the chiro for the back and rib/chest pain, and that help hugely. I think I had also developed costochondrotis, which I never had either. Front and center of rib cage was very sore.
To add to all of this, I have scoliosis, and my curve is right dead center of where all of this stuff is happening, so I don't know what is going on. Another thing that could be added is that when chiro xrayed my back for the first time in about 15 years, my scoliosis had nearly completely straightened out. Is this recent, and could that kind of movement from a 37 degree curve cause chest wall twitching?
Sooooo, maybe the ABX stirred some stuff up. I am doing better, have been painting again and have stirred ups some more minor chest and back pain. Twitching starts up late in day and is usually accompanied by increased back pain on the opposite side. Go figure???!!!
Whenever I reach for my pulse when this twitching feeling is happening, my pulse feels normal. Sometimes a little faster, like 80, but regular. It never happens more then a couple of thumps at a time and if it is my heart, it immediately goes back to a normal rhythum before I can even check my pulse.
I have been considering going and seeing a cardiologist and a gastro doc. From what I have read vagus problems can also be related to reflux. Which happens first, I'n not sure, maybe it is one of those chicken/egg thihngs and then a viscious circle.
I am almost 50, and really getting sick of trying to figure out what the heck is happening this time, is it serious or not!!!!! Posts: 1251 | From california | Registered: Apr 2005
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I have very similiar symptoms, it is like you are telling my story.
I'm about the same age and have had the full workup at the cardiologist. They tell me that everything is always okay, yet I continue to have these disturbing symptoms.
They are very hard to ignore and downright scary. I have to pace myself as to not get too tired. Always trying to achieve that delicate balance of getting exercise but not overdoing it.
For many years, I've had crippling fatigue sleeping 16-18 hours a day. Thank goodness most of that is over, yet I still have to take beta blockers, ativan, kava kava, things that slow my heart rate down and calm.
Since I'm still new here, I didn't know that these symptoms were attributed to the vagus nerve. That gives me something to work on. I go to a chiro/acupuncturist who does muscle testing and I will have her test me on this.
I also have developed acid reflux and stomach problems. I have always had a cast iron stomach so this is very new for me. Cardiologist gave me Nexium which really works well but I take it sparingly.
Sometimes when my heart starts racing I swig Benadryl liquid which gives me kind of a sedative effect that holds me until ativan kicks in.
No other real suggestions.
Posts: 460 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2005
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
No real suggestion either but the only thing I have read so far is treatment for TBI can improve symptoms.
I think I may also have this too but am darned if I know how to proceed since my stomach is too bad to take any orals anymore . I am allergic to the injectables,
Which I have heard is a way to go if your stomach is effected by the VN.
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
Chocolate -- A Cure for Coughs?
Who hasn't attempted curing a nagging, persistent cough with one of those over-the-counter cough syrups? Chances are, they didn't help. Coughing is a medical condition that affects most people at some point in time; yet, an effective treatment to suppress it does not exist. However, researchers may have discovered a natural, tasty remedy to coughing: Chocolate. Specifically, a derivative in cocoa, theobromine, was found to be nearly a third more effective than codeine -- currently known as the "best cough medicine."
Theobromine is effective because it suppresses vagus nerve (cranial nerve) activity, which is responsible for coughing. Because persistent coughing can have a serious impact on one's overall quality of life, researchers were motivated to discover a remedy that actually suppressed it.
To do so, they examined the effect of theobromine, in a study involving 10 healthy volunteers. Each volunteer was given theobromine, a placebo or codeine at different times during the study. To determine the effectiveness of each treatment, researchers measured the levels of capsaicin (a compound used to induce coughing) in each volunteer and compared them after each treatment.
Putting Chocolate to the Test
The amount of capsaicin needed to develop a cough was a third higher with the theobromine treatment than it was with a placebo Theobromine did not produce any adverse side effects on either the cardiovascular or central nervous systems Drowsiness did not occur when taking theobromine EurekAlert November 22, 2004
You may remember -- particularly if you're a chocolate lover -- a study I posted earlier this year that found small daily doses of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate helped the blood vessels dilate better. Well, as noted in the above article, researchers have now discovered another benefit of chocolate: suppressing persistent coughing.
However, when reading about chocolate-related treatments, you must pay attention to the processing of the cocoa, for the standard manufacturing of chocolate destroys about one-quarter to one-half of its flavonoids. Some companies are now using processing methods with reduced heat and alkalization, which can preserve as much as 70 percent to 95 percent of the chocolate flavonoids.
If you do opt for chocolate, make sure you eat DARK chocolate, for it has antioxidant properties that can protect the body from damaging oxidative stress. It also is far better than milk chocolate, as adding milk cancels out the chocolate's antioxidant effects. Researchers suggested that proteins in the milk bind with the antioxidants, making them less easily absorbed by the body.
WARNING: Chocolate, even if it is dark, still contains large quantities of sugar, and eating sugar is one of the most devastating things you can do to your health. If you're sick, your immune system is working hard to combat your illness, but sugar weakens the immune system. So eating chocolate will only make it harder for your immune system to fight the illness.
Important factors to keep in mind if you want to eat chocolate:
Eat it only if you're healthy. Make sure to eat it in moderation. In that same vein, you can also enjoy the benefits chocolate provides (via flavonoids) by consuming fruits like apples and grapes and most all vegetables, including broccoli, greens and onions. Blueberries, however, are the top-rated food as far as antioxidant capacity by the USDA is concerned.
Thus, if you are interested in reaping the benefits of this fruit, you can try the delicious and convenient Wild Blueberry IQ Softgel Capsules, available on my site. The capsules are made from whole, fresh blueberries -- and contain 40mg of potent disease fighting anthocyanins per capsule -- more than any other available supplement.
Related Articles:
Is it OK to Eat Chocolate?
Ancient Cups of Cocoa
The Sweet Tooth
Want to Live Longer? Eat More Flavonoids!
Hot Cocoa Healthier Than Wine
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
ChronicCosmo- Be careful with the Benadryl It can further increase your heart heart.
JellyBelly You asked if your symptoms indicated that you had a serious conditon. I should have responded to this before recommending the Amantialla. (I am taking some as I write this) Chest pain and palpiations with reflux/nausea are always worrisome and require work up. Your symptoms may be lyme or they may be something else.
Your last work up was four years ago. Also, do you have runs of ventricular tachycardia during the day.
It would seem reasonable to talk to your cardiologist and perhaps repeat some of the tests. If all your tests are normal and the cardiologist says your cardiac funtion is normal, then you it would be reasonable to explore if your heart rate and other symptoms are due an imbalance of the parasymapthetic/sympathietic nervous systems.
In the interim, you can try some of the herbs recommended by others. The other test you may want to have is a tilt table test. The test examines if your autonomic nervous symsem responsds to changes in position/medication in a physiologically normal way. Sorry you have to go through this. I am thirty three and sick of trying to figure all this out.
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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chroniclymie
Unregistered
posted
YES THE SYMPTOMS ARE OR COULD BE SERIOUS, SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED, YES! now like others mentioned it may be nothing but collateral damage from lyme disease but you can't take any chances. lyme will definitely effect the heart and acid reflux. Next step is to have full workup at cardiologist, preferably llmd cardio or at a large teaching hospital. ekg,stress, echo,possible endoscopy if over 40, tachycardia canbe treated with many drugs, mostly beta blockers but these also cause other side effects.this is probably not a vagus nerve issue as you would have many more symptoms than these two with a vagus nerve stimulation or neuralgia. there is a good chance this may just be a panic attack in which case a mild diazapam will help and lower the symptoms of both. BUT FIRST TO THE CARDIOLOGIST!!!!!!
Jellybelly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7142
posted
As far as anyone can tell, I do NOT have the Vtach during the day. When I had the 5 beat run, it was during REM sleep, while having a hypopnea.
For that reason, no one seemed real concerned. A lot happens during dream sleep with the heart and the nervous system. My LLMD thinks it is related to the Lyme, but never the less that doesn't mean it isn't serious. The cardiologist asked if anyone in my family had ever died in their sleep.......uuuuugh Not so far.
I have had this thumping in my chest for several years, actually many, many years. One time after it was discovered that I was having Vtach, I was experiencing alot of twitching and thumping. I decided that I probably shouldn't ignore it since I hadn't yet seen a cardiologist.
I went to the ER, and they hooked me up. When I was having the thumping the EKG was showing nothing.
I have also gotten what feels like a cramp in my throat. This hasn't been recently, but the only thing that settles it down is ice water. Just like the only thing that settles down my leg cramps.
This thumping in the last few months as been particularly strong. It actually feels like when you are pregnant and the baby is moving, only it's in my chest.
I will go see a cardiologist though. It will give me some peace of mind at least.
Posts: 1251 | From california | Registered: Apr 2005
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MADDOG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18
posted
Howdy,I allways wanted to go to Vagus,but I didn't have the nerve to go either.
MADDOG
Posts: 4003 | From Ohio | Registered: Oct 2000
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