Heart palpitations??? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

haleysmommy5402 · 02-24-2009, 09:30 AM

Anyone else seem to have problems w/ this?? Every time i start a diet this seems to happen .. i mean its something I've been dealing w/ for quite a few years I've even had all kinds of tests to see why and the only thing they could find was I have a slight mitral valve prolapse, and that i had a very healthy heart .. so why every time i start a diet do i get them worse?? The Drs didnt even have an answer for me .. could i have like low iron or potassium?? Or could it be from the splenda?? i know its healthier for me to be dieting then to be overweight but i cant stand these!! DSO keeps telling me its all in my head .. but really its not i know what im feeling .. Thanks for any advice

Thighs Be Gone · 02-24-2009, 09:36 AM

Are you on any medications?

haleysmommy5402 · 02-24-2009, 09:45 AM

nope .. not on any medications

Thighs Be Gone · 02-24-2009, 09:46 AM

vitamins or supplements? are you taking in more caffeine? --tea, coffee, diet sodas, etc

haleysmommy5402 · 02-24-2009, 10:05 AM

i do not drink any caffeinated products except for the occasional cappuccino which has never bothered me in the past .. i have not started taking a multivitamin yet just because i honestly haven't had the extra money .. but i think I'll pick some up this Friday and see if that is maybe the problem!!

Thighs Be Gone · 02-24-2009, 10:24 AM

Haley,

Would it be possible that your heart palpitations are triggered by any sort of panic state you might have occasionally? I get them from time to time too--especially when I was working outside my home.

If you truly think you have a heart condition, I would definitely pursue it with additional testing.

MandiK · 02-24-2009, 10:24 AM

One thing I have learned from working in the medical field is that if your doctor doesn't believe you, ditch them and get a new one. You know yourself better than any doctor ever will.
I think you should have a holter monitor test. The holter monitor is a vest that you wear for 24 hours and it records every heart beat you have. If you are truly having palpatations, the holter monitor will record them and let your doctor know exactly what is going on and when. You also should consider seeing a cardiologist for a full work up.

JayEll · 02-24-2009, 10:37 AM

My guess--and that's all any of us can give you--is that you are feeling anxiety related to being on a weight-loss plan. That can cause "skipped beats."

If you think it could be potassium, just eat half a banana now and then, or drink V-8 juice. Usually low potassium shows up as muscle cramps, though.

You might also see whether the symptoms come after eating any particular foods, such as chocolate or nuts.

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. I am not a doctor.

Jay

TERAPET · 02-24-2009, 11:22 AM

I have heart palpitations from anxiety. I have had a lot of the tests but it all comes down to anxiety although I am also very sensitive to caffiene and epiniphrine. I avoid epiniphrine like the plague! I also exercise and stay away from stuff that make me nervous (like news shows these days) although I can't get away from my kids problems!!

Bear · 02-24-2009, 11:33 AM

I get these all the time too, and had all the testing like wearing that thing on my chest, and an echo. They said my heart was completely healthy haha! He said some people just feel them, and others don't. I also have an irregular heartbeat which is kinda fun to listen to hehe.

But anyway, I know I almost always get them, strangely enough, when I lay in certain positions. Like when I'm falling asleep, if I get just right on my side, I'll start feeling them. It's like a huge skip. Maybe a certain way you move makes it so you feel them? Like if you're exercising more. Or maybe because you're dieting, you're just more aware of your body and how it's reacting, so you may notice them more so it feels like they happen more? I know I think about my body a lot throughout the day wondering if what I'm doing is paying off (like with yoga, I'll think I'm standing straighter hehe).

haleysmommy5402 · 02-24-2009, 11:52 AM

thanks for all the advice ... i do suffer from anxiety and panic attacks but i hate to always blame that for everything .. maybe it is because I'm concentrating more on my body .. i just had noticed them more lately .. i do get nervous about exercising (like fear im gonna die or something .. lol) so maybe that's why I'm getting them more .. thanks again

lottie63 · 02-24-2009, 11:58 AM

I used to be scared to exercise, afraid i"d drop dead from being so fat. lol. once ended up in the er getting an ekg cuz I got a panic attack on the elliptical.

so that may well be it.

WarMaiden · 02-24-2009, 12:04 PM

I have "skipped beats" fairly often and it runs in my family--both my grandfather and my father have this also, and are in great health with nothing else odd in a cardiovascular sense.

I have noticed in the past when I have started or stopped an exercise program that the skipped beats will become more prominent and frequent, but they have always tapered off over time as my body adapts. I also suspect that excellent nutrition is helpful in controlling the skipped beats--this past year when I changed my diet, I had no change at all in the beats. And when I started my exercise program a few months after that, still no change. So I think that having the nutritional support really made a difference when I changed up the exercise.

H8cake · 02-24-2009, 12:30 PM

I have this problem too. It seems to run in my family. I always thought it was low blood sugar, but I'm not sure. Thyroid problems can cause heart palpitations too. Have you had your thyroid checked? My brother went to the Dr. for heart palpitations and they said he is fine, that some people just have heart palpitations normally. I think it's important to have it checked out thoroughly though. I've noticed it is worse if I eat sugar or sweeteners or caffeine. Maybe try cutting out the sweeteners and see if that helps.

Redflame · 02-24-2009, 12:40 PM

My palpitation story...cost me about $6000 out of pocket

After a trip to the ER, 2 weeks of wearing a monitor 23 hours a day, 3 months of doctors appointments with a doctor that I could not understand a thing she said........I got no answers and gave up, they said I was not dying, they suspected thyroid problems but the blood tests say I am fine (blood tests dont show everything) still no answers.

Finally 2 years later, after still having palpitations, with headaches, weakness, and sweats a FRIEND discovered what was going on. We had just come from dinner and the kids knew by the look on my face what was going on. My son asked if I was OK, and I said I would be fine in 20 minutes or so. Th friend grabbed my wrist and took my pulse, her eyes bugged out (she is an RN) then we started to talk and she knew what it was right away. for me it is MSG. All of a sudden my body has no tolerance for it, and it effects my pulse sending it sky high, gives my heart palpitations, headache, weakness, etc. If I eat foods that may have MSG (not only oriental foods.....all products with Soy in them generally have MSG as well) I have to drink alot of water to help flush it out and keep the reactions down to a short time.