posted
I have done two rounds of lyme treatment since being diagnosed in september of 2010 after being symptomatic for 14 months. My first course of treatment was combination oral antibiotics for 10 months for diagnosed lyme and bartonella, with the likelihood of babesia. While I was be no means cured, treatment slowly started to help. A few months after stopping the abx I noticed some heart pals and dull chest pains beginning to return. As time went by they became more frequent and intense. I decided to begin taking abx again this past March which included combination oral abx with the addition of IM Bicillin. I also received a positive blood test for babesia. I treated until August and once again stopped. Slowly but surely my heart palpitations and chest pains are beginning to return.
Some of my first initial symptoms of lyme were sudden irregular heartbeats and episodes of skipped heartbeats. They continued to become more frequent and constant so I decided to see cardiologists, all of which told me it was just anxiety, that they couldnt find anything wrong, or that I was too young (22 at the time) to have heart problems. Once I found out I had lyme and saw my LLMD I was sent to see a lyme literate cardiologist. I was told my heart was not damaged or in any danger and that it was most likely from the lyme & co infections interfering with my autonomic nervous system. My LLMD guarantees me that these heart symptoms I experience are in no way dangerous or doing damage to my heart.
While I have many other symptoms, this is one of my most bothersome. They happen out of nowhere and feel as though my heart stops for a split second and then jumpstarts back into place and I lose my breath for a second. I also sometimes get increased heart rates for no apparent reason. I can wake up in the morning and within a few seconds feel my heart starting to speed up. I also get a dull aching pain in my center/left chest.
Each time I take abx these heart symptoms disappear. A few months after stoping abx they start to return.
I last saw my LLMD in August and he suggests I begin chelation because of my high levels of metal. He prescribed DMSA for chelation along with Omnicef, Malarone, and possibly one other, I have to check.
Im beginning to think Ill be stuck with these symptoms forever. I really just want to get rid of these.
Has anyone experienced bad heart palp problems and have been able to get rid of them?
beths
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
Babesia causes heart issues for me-takes a while to treat
Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
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poppy
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I also had babesia and lyme. Heart symptoms like yours. Babesia gone. Without lyme treatment, these heart things come back for me.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
poppy, so you have successfully treated babesia and the heart symptoms are still occurring? what did you use to treat babesia and for how long? are you saying you believe its lyme related? how often do they come back?
AuntyLynn
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Are you taking any magnesium? Although it won't get to the root of the problem, it can sometimes help with tachycardia.
Posts: 1432 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jan 2012
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poppy
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There is a lot of overlap in symptoms among the various tickborne diseases, so it is possible more than one disease could do this heart thing.
But lyme is a neurological disease, and nerves make the heart go. See this piece on autonomic nervous system (like your doc suggested it might be). But I liked your typo "atomic nervous system."
I took a too low dose of malarone for 5 months. Then switched to another doc who prescribed mepron and clindamycin, which I took for a bit less than 3 months, with artemesinin thrown in at the end. And this was B. duncani, which is supposedly harder to cure. Think it would have taken less time if I had started with a bigger dose. Was prescribed a beta blocker, still taking it, but don't really need it except when lyme symptoms not under control.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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beths
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I've been at babesia for 9 months high dose, now retreating. Not always so easy to get rid of
Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
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posted
so has anyone who was frequently experiencing these problems successfully gotten rid of them? it seems like these will just continue to happen forever after a few months off of abx.
Posts: 28 | From NYC | Registered: Sep 2010
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poppy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5355
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What you are asking really is whether anyone gets rid of lyme disease. Because the symptoms are gone then.
Yes, some people become symptom free.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
It sounds exactly like what happens with my heart. After the heart stop (extra beat), my heart races. I have found that if I lay on my left side right after it happens, my heart rhythm will usually normalize, much in the same way that it happened (heart stop, then back to regular beating). I do have mild mitral valve prolapse, but, all other tests show a normal heart.
The doc now wants me to go for ablation. I think I have decided against it. BTW, magnesium supplementation, including mag lotion, does nothing to help mine. Beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, etc., don't really help, and only give me side effects. Hawthorn helps a bit.
I recently tested positive for bart, and have started on rifampin/zith. The first night I took it, my heart was going crazy, flip-flopping, extra beating, etc. This is the first time in 12 yrs of off and on treatment, that I can actually notice a difference in my symptoms. My head feels clearer, and my mood is so much better, like maybe I was depressed, and didn't know it. The heart thing seems to have been better...fingers crossed. Maybe it is the bart that is screwing with the nervous system..
Posts: 418 | From NJ | Registered: Sep 2007
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posted
I have been having the same issues with palpitations for a few years now! It's my worse symptom and my nervous system has basically been messed up!
What has helped me the most has been Cholestyramine! This basically is attaching to all the neruotoxins and taking it out of my body. I have noticed a considerable improvement in the nervous system. I also take a very small amount of Paxil and that calms things down as well. I couldn't do Beta Blockers, since my blood pressure was already low.
The funny thing is antibiotics never took away my symptoms of palpitations. Now we're focused on Candida so maybe the anti-fungals will be the answer.
Posts: 247 | From Ca | Registered: Feb 2007
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