persistent trigeminy

Have been in a persistent NSR ventricular trigeminy pattern for several months with BPM in the low 60's and lower. Confirmed thru office ekg's as well as my Kardia. No real side effects other than a general feeling of being "unwell" particularly during quiet times. Prescribed Eliquis 5x2 and Flecainide 75x2. At the last meeting with EP we discussed possible change from flecainide to another med possibly a beta blocker. We discussed increasing the flecainide to 100x2 knowing this or other medication changes may not work. I am aware of the need to be quite cautious with flecanide but opted to try the increase. For me, flecainide is a known entity and I have had no side effects. I weigh about 170. My life style includes minimal alcohol and virtually no caffeine. Most stress comes from shooting crappy golf scores. Have chronic insomnia so sleep has been a constant problem for decades. Eating habits ok. Wife makes great cookies. Exercise ok. Don't take any supplements. I know there have been many posts related to this and have tried to read all I could. Seems like no miracle out there but thought I would ask again for any advice. Is a cardioversion applicable or an option? Would wearing some type of monitor to obtain a pre-/post- medication increase be valuable. I do my Kardia 3x per day as well as several radial pulse checks during the day and they always show the trigeminy pattern so seems like I am in it constantly. Thanks for your patience.

On a side note...Wishing everyone a "hearty" safe and happy holiday season.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2023 12:34AM by Mark.

Hi Mark,

In the "for what it is worth" category. Last week I was chatting with an in-person (vs virtual) friend who, like me, has been an afibber for around 19 years. He used propafenone for many years on-demand. Then was switched to flecainide chronically. Currently 50 mg 2x/day along with 12.5 mg metoprolol 2x/day. This is controlling his afib very well, but he was subject to frequent runs of PVCs. Starting around last May, I suggested he take some taurine. He was taking 100 or 200 mg/day. I suggested upping it. He did, increasing his dose slowly. Before last week, we'd not chatted for a few months. Last week he said he was now taking 4 grams/day of taurine (powder?), I believe in divided doses. He said his PVCs are now gone.

Wishing you a happy holiday season as well & hope your PVCs quiet down!!

George



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2023 05:56PM by GeorgeN.

I have recently had a touch up ablation and have been experiencing PACs of about 10 per hour that's if my heart rate is below 68bpm.
I see your heart rate is low 60's, just wondering if there something in it?
Wouldn't a beta blocker lower your heart rate even lower??
There have been other posters recommending magnesium for ectopic, maybe someone could elaborate.
Also magnesium could help you with your sleep problems.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2023 02:49PM by colindo.

Quote
colindo
There have been other posters recommending magnesium for ectopic, maybe someone could elaborate.
Also magnesium could help you with your sleep problems.

I'm sure my friend I mentioned above is taking magnesium. I don't recall the dosage. I'm also sure that what changed for him was dramatically increasing taurine.

Have always had the “athletic heart” thing and always a low heart rate that sometimes dips into the 40s. I think the mention of the beta blocker got thrown in by mistake but thanks for mentioning it. My EP is definitely aware of my low BPM status. I’ll look into the Taurine. I know I have worked with Magnesium in the past but don’t exactly recall why I discontinued. I always read the magnesium related posts with interest. Thanks for the feedback.

I would like to concur with GeorgeN, and thank him for all he does for this blog.

I had an ablation three months ago and started going through occasional periods of skipped beats of some kind (My nurse says they are likely PAC's).

A woman on this blog, don't remember her name sorry, mentioned she took Cardiovascular Research's Magnesium Taurate. I had bought it before and didn't give it much of a go. This time, it definitely seemed to help my ectopic beats...like within 20 minutes or so.

After buying another brand (Double Wood Supplements), where the same dose comes in three pills instead of one making it easier for me to space out taking a single pill every few hours instead of two or three times a day with Cardiovascular Research's dose, it has definitely helped.

I can't say it's a cure-all yet because I'm still experimenting with how much to take. I'm currently averaging about 2-3 doses a day which amounts to 220/360mg of Magnesium and 3-4.5g of Taurate...if I'm reading the label correctly.

I can say without uncertainty, however, that for whatever reason this supplement lowers my blood pressure "almost" as well as my beta blocker Nebilolol which I take occasionally as needed. It works significantly better in this department than Cocoavia and Superbeets...both of which did work for me also. If I don't take anything and am not cutting down on carbs, then my systolic may run up to 130-140 which tends to trigger ectopy in me. If I take either the Superbeets or Cocoavia (the Cocoavia seems to trigger ectopy in me), then it may lower that to 120-130. The Magnesium Taurate seems to fairly consistently get me into the 105-120 range. Nebivolol normally gets me to 105-115.

JohnG

Another tip from GeorgeN that has helped me and others – stay away from calcium! For me it promotes PACs.

Ditto! And salt!

JohnG

Have chronic insomnia so sleep has been a constant problem for decades.


Fix your sleep problems and your PVCs could go away.

JohnG..

Regarding your comments and observations about Taurine,... this may be the archived report to which you refer. [afibbers.org] .... posted about 20 years ago… and I continue to use Taurine as part of my routine nutritional supplementation…using Designs for Health’s Taurine. Their tech/data sheet indicates the following benefits… along with other relevant info. If you’d like to read that, send me a PM and I’ll share.
The Product Data sheet is supported by 37 studies

Benefits*:
• Supports healthy blood pressure within the normal range
• Helps the body release excess water
• Promotes energy generation in heart muscle cells and supports a healthy heart rhythm
• Supports normal skeletal muscle function
• Supports normal glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity
• Required for bile synthesis— facilitates proper digestion of fats
• Boosts antioxidant defenses
• Supports healthy nerve function

Jackie

Quote

Regarding your comments and observations about Taurine

I'll add, for me helps with sleep.