I am supposed to be starting Sotolol on Saturday and in the meantime am dealing with my usual irregularity. Question: is it very common for the compensatory pause (less than 2 seconds) or blocked PAC to cause very temporary dizziness?

A 2-second pause shouldn't cause dizziness unless it's after every beat.

It s commonly after every beat.

I take meclizine for vertigo, but it also helps with other forms of dizziness and some medication side effects. Not always perfect, but it has helped me when my PACs last for days. Give it a read, you can get it over the counter to try it. My prescription with insurance is about $1 for 60 tablets. Not sure, it will help, but it does give me some relief. My doctor prescribed when I was taking Metoprolol because the side effect were really bad for me.

[www.drugs.com]

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kliving
I take meclizine for vertigo, but it also helps with other forms of dizziness and some medication side effects. Not always perfect, but it has helped me when my PACs last for days. Give it a read, you can get it over the counter to try it. My prescription with insurance is about $1 for 60 tablets. Not sure, it will help, but it does give me some relief. My doctor prescribed when I was taking Metoprolol because the side effect were really bad for me.

[www.drugs.com]

That's really interesting! I took Meclizine for one of my pregnancies. It was fantastic. I never thought about that! Thanks!

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MeganMN
It s commonly after every beat.

Then your heart rate must be around 30-35 bpm, which could definitely cause dizziness.

I know when mine get into a good run, each double beat gets seen a single beat and I can get ~35bpm on my pulse ox or my watch. When I run an ECG, it shows my pulse much closer to 75-80bpm. It really is a grab bag on how I'm going to feel.

To clarify, Carey, I get atrial bigeminy with blocked, non conducted beat after each PAC. So it looks like this...... So the rate is not that slow. It just makes me feel dizzy and off balance because it happens every other beat. I guess I am just searching for some sort of validation. I get self conscious and wonder if I am making mountains out of molehills because it ISNT Afib, which many of you deal with, but I still feel terrible and want to feel better. Sometimes I just worry that the EPs won't take me seriously because it is 'benign'....

Megan, you're not making mountains out of molehills and nobody's going to tell you that's benign. No matter what your heart rate is if you say you feel dizzy I believe you and that's never a benign symptom. Dizziness leads to falls and falls have life-altering effects. You just need to be careful and stay safe until you can get this dealt with.

Thanks Carey and Kliving. I think that sometimes I doubt myself because of working in the ER. I get jaded and self conscious about things...thanks for all the support.

Megan keep fighting the good fight. I think the majority here have been through some phase like you are in. It is alright to question yourself but follow the facts and how you feel. This will lead to an acceptable place for you to be in. Currently, I am taking a bit of a break and letting things play out a bit. But I have already started making plans to continue on when I am ready.

I found my PACs after my first ablation to be less bothersome than the AF that eventually took hold at the five month mark. But, that didn't mean they were NOT bothersome...they were. And knowing they were happening was pretty much as bad for my mood and general well-being as having AF for two years previously. So, if I could add my own encouragement to you, Megan, the way you feel is fully yours, and you have the right to express its impacts on you, and to seek solace or ideas anywhere you think you'll get it. I wish you success.