How do you deal with your tachy,

[mom4cem]

After going through a bad bout of tachy and trying to switch to toprol xl, I went back to atenelol. For a good week my heartrate was in the 70's resting and maybe the 80-90's getting up. Now today, my hr was 80's when I got up and proceed to do what it wanted. Standing and moving went to 130-140's. Sitting it sat at about 110 for a long time. At one point it went to 140 sitting and then started to go back down. (I took a 12.5mg after this started)guess it finally started to kick in. I have been taking 12.5 of the atenelol in the a.m.

Does anyone's chest get tight while they are tachy? You stay tachy all day or how long do you stay tachy? How do you deal with this, do you still go out and try to do normal activities? I get the chillls and shakes with it so it is hard to go out with this. My readings show sinus tachy, and I have even tried certain manuvers to slow it but I guess because it is not a certain SVT it does not work.

I HATE this, I HATE this, I HATE this! You think you may finally have gotten an edge on this business and it kicks you right back in the teeth to the floor.

[bamagirl]

I get tachy in spells. I may be fine for a month and then WHAM! I get an adrenaline surge and I will be tachy for days or weeks all day long. I pretty much stay in the house when I am tachy because I have tried to ignore it and go out and I will nearly pass out and the grocery store or get too dizzy when I am driving. I used to take toprol and atenolol but all it did was make my bp lower than it already is, so I don't take any meds now. I hate this too, trust me. I get chills, diarrhea, nausea and all that other great stuff along with my tachy as well. Try to rest on your tachy days and remember a good day is on it's way. I hope you feel better soon!!

bamagirl

[calypso]

I also get occasional chest pain when I get tachy ... I try to tough it out and ignore it. I often will keep doing whatever it is that I'm doing, even go for a walk. I just don't let it get to me anymore. The only time I worry or don't push myself is when I get dizzy or extremely short of breath. Then I lie down, because for me that often stops the tachy spell. But this hasn't happened for at least seven months or so.

My tachy spells can be ongoing when I am sick with a virus or something; my heart rate is much higher all the time then, like in the 110s or 120s. If it's just an "attack," those last 2-15 min. but my rate is very high --like 150s. Again, those attacks are rare for me. Some days, for no good reason, my beta blocker doesn't work as well as it usually does, and my heart rate while standing is in the 120 range. Or 130s with light activity. I again ignore it, generally.

Amy

[Guest Finrussak]

I get chest pain when tachy BUT its very bad only on beta blockers. Seems MY body "fights" the BBs...and altho the drugs temporarily bring the pulse down, the blood pressure SHOOTS up and vessels spasm into sever chest pain ( several times prompting serial EKGs...showing ischemia which is less blood to heart muscle...and confirmed by a nuclear treadmill tests)After about an hour or 2 (far too short for the drug to be gone as I am a slow clearer of all meds)the heart rate goes even higher than it started!!!! Calcium channels also do this as do alpha blockers but not to the extent as the BB's. May I suggest you ask your Dr IF your body isnt any longer tolerating the BBs??

as far as what to ignore its best to ask your Drs. At my age and previous history I am told how much pain, how high the pulse and BP etc before I MUST go to ER...or at least reduce activity. Without a Dr ok it is plain foolish to ignore your body's signals!!!

as for coping while doing " AIR-obics", I find that relaxation breathing exercises really help. And also anything recommended for anxiety as it tends to calm the adrenergic swings. It helps best when done regularly even if not in episode...like biofeedback. Practice several times per day for awhile then taper off, until once per day. When in episode, do whichever has made you the most comfortable,,,and your body will have learned to respond. NO its not simply mind over matter but you can learn to lessen it or in really bad episodes how to flow with it.

personally I hate the passing out woozlies I get and when my HR is over 135 the retching.....Ive gotten used to the tachy. ( doubt Ill ever get used to the cardiac pauses-DEAD STOPS- though) My tachy episodes tho usually 3-10 minutes, can be as long as an hour at full speed ( so far maximum at 190's), and repeat all day, come in bunches , or be a single one. FOR ME, when my other chronic illnesses are in control, the episodes are less freuqent and much less severe.

Ask your doctor which activities you should continue...for some people, some things are NOT good...like depending on your medical status, history, general health, etc- to ignore the tachy and take a brisk walk may NOT be in your heart's best interest!!! Many on this site lately are quite young and therefore MAY have less risk factors,,,less time with any of the possible comorbidants, less exposure of their bodies to the effects, and may even be generally stronger than those in the 45 plus category. Plus they may be less debilitated!

Every situation is therefore different. and requires medical assessment. Plus its comforting to have parameters. Like if you know youre ok unless your HR is over a certain number/ for less than a certain time limit, you may be more able to bear with it

There are conflicting thoughts on which if any BB's, AB's even ACE and ARB's are appropriate for various types of tachy/ dysauto ...sharing with your doctor may prompt another med choice.

Hang in, hopefully it will pass quickly.

[baby_boy]

Sometimes my tachy is 110 resting, ive clocked 130. Today i have a bad stomach, and got diahreea (cant spell it) and my resting HR is 92BPM.

Chest pain and tightness gets me when i have tachy, although i dont get that much pain with tachy, only on bad spells.

[Poohbear]

Sorry you are having such a rough time with the tachycardia.

Have you talked to your Dr about switching to a med that is shorter acting? I've had similar problems to what you are describing and I tend to do better with shorter acting meds. It does two beneficial things for me #1 because they are short acting, I have more control over when and how often I take them. If I'm having a bad tachy day I can take a little more than normal but the effect will only last a few hours so I can decide if I need a higher dose again the next time I need to take it (whereas the long acting you take the dose, it effects you all day, may drop your bp too low and you feel lousy from that). #2 If I feel bad after taking a short acting med it least it clears my body much faster.

I've since learned that with dysautonomias many Dr's agree that the shorter acting meds is the way to go and also in small doses.

Just a thought in case you haven't tried this approach yet.

Hope you feel better soon!

[dizzygirl]

hi am sorry that you are having such a hard time with tachy.. i can relate...

Um I get tachy no matter what i am doing..my typically resting rate these days runns between 115-128.. on rare occasion my hr is less then 100 and in the high 80' nd 90's.. and the nurse will tell me that WOW your hr is high.. and for me (on my own tolerance level) that is slow...or slower i should say..

Uh lets see.. where was I going ...Oh yes.. i do get chest pain while i am really tachy.. and after I have been tachy..not much relives this... sometimes if i take an extra 80 mg of propranolol it will help with the feelings and things that come along with tachy spells..

oh and when I am tachy I lay down for a while.. and I will lay down in a very dark quiet room... alittle on the cool side.. and i find that laying on my right side sometime helps witht he pressure in the head and chest...

my tachy last any where from an instant tachy jump.. or to a few minutes toa few hours to a few day at atime... and it happens ALLL the time.. I never really seem to get a break from it...

oh and during tachy spells.. (variieying from time to time) i get nausea.. chills..flushed.. or hot or cold..freezing feet.. headaches..pressure in the head and eyes..

as for activities.. it will depend on the level and intensity of the tachy that i am having.. it it is mild I will try to do small burst of things.. sit or lay down and try again...

most of the time its is really out of hand and I dont even bother w/ activities that are requiring me to stand ot sit up...I will do small things like listen to a CD that I really like.. or crochet.. as that relaxes me.. and i enjoy it , and can typically crochet with out looking at the needle.. so i can have my eyes closed or something weird like that...

ok..mom4cem i really hope that you can get some help and relief from your tachy...

hang in there!!

hugs to ya

dizz

[d4g7]

I'm sorry you're going through this,

I also get tachy almost daily, and a very tight feeling in my chest - like there is a tight strap around it - I think that is more of a panic thing from the tachy, although I occasionally feel sharp stabbing pains inside my chest.

Some simple cures that I find sometimes work, are :

To lay on a bed with your head down and your legs up.

To pack your mouth with ice.

To massage your corotid artery.

They don't work all the time, but the ice one seems to work reasonably well for me.

It may be worth a try.

Good luck with it all...

[Mrs. Glass]

I just lie down, not being treated for tachy as of yet. I dont think my docs know how to treat me. It is so frustrating. Mine has gone up into the 140's also. I record my b/p and pulse twice a day,and sometimes more. As per my cardios request, have been doing this for months now, and he has not looked at it once. How is he going to know what is going on at home if he doesnt take the time to even open up my book. Frustrating ! I hope you can find out what works for you. If it works let me know because I will try anything at this point to get some relief. Happy Thanksgiving. Vanessa

After going through a bad bout of tachy and trying to switch to toprol xl, I went back to atenelol. For a good week my heartrate was in the 70's resting and maybe the 80-90's getting up. Now today, my hr was 80's when I got up and proceed to do what it wanted. Standing and moving went to 130-140's. Sitting it sat at about 110 for a long time. At one point it went to 140 sitting and then started to go back down. (I took a 12.5mg after this started)guess it finally started to kick in. I have been taking 12.5 of the atenelol in the a.m.

Does anyone's chest get tight while they are tachy? You stay tachy all day or how long do you stay tachy? How do you deal with this, do you still go out and try to do normal activities? I get the chillls and shakes with it so it is hard to go out with this. My readings show sinus tachy, and I have even tried certain manuvers to slow it but I guess because it is not a certain SVT it does not work.

I HATE this, I HATE this, I HATE this! You think you may finally have gotten an edge on this business and it kicks you right back in the teeth to the floor.

[Jacquie802]

Hi, I have a few different arrhythmia's going on. I am on TOprol but it doesnt work too well but they cant increase the dose because of my low bp. When i dont take the Toprol I get very sick so I guess it's somewhat doing its job! When my heartrate jumps to the 190's I literally splash very very ice cold water on my face. If its the sinus tach that works, however with some of the other heart rhythms I have it doesnt do a thing. i have noticed that my worse symptoms of tachy seem to happen right when I wake up in the am. I dont knwo if it is because of my bp being so low in the am, but that is when I really feel like i am not going to make it. Now the first thing I do in the am is have 2 large glasses of cold water, not the most "comforting" thing to do in the am but it really does help, so I deal with it!

[mariancollins]

hello there, although I cannot give you any particular advice, please accept my heartfelt support and good wishes to get you through this latest challenge. regards marian