20th November 2004
Bananafish,
This could be nothing, or it could be a real problem. I started to have a very similar set of symptoms. At first it was just for a second or two once or twice a day. In a couple of weeks it turned into an almost 24/7 problem. I went to a cardiologist and the pausing/skipping/too hard feeling was premature atrial contractions. Basically the heart beats in two parts the top part (the atrium) pushes blood into the lower part (the ventricle) then the lower part pushed the blood through out your body. There is a timing between the two parts that can go out of wack, and the top part can push blood into the lower part too soon.
The butterfly feeling might be atrial fibrillation. Sometimes you might feel it in more your throat than your chest. When this happens and doesn't stop on its own, your heart can start pumping 30-40% less blood than normal. YOu can get light headed, and there is a risk that some of the blood can clot in the heart. If a clot happens and it gets pumped out into your brain, you can have a stroke.
Stimulants, even caffeine, can cause this. It certainly can be something else, but I would get it checked out. Even if it is atrial fibrillation, the risks are generally pretty low until you are in your 60's, but why take them if you don't have too? Just so you know, if you are young - compared to being inyour 60's- there is very little research out there about how this can affect you. YOur doctor will probably treat you like he/she treats the 60+ crowd and you may want to shop around for one that has worked with younger patients. My first two dr.s wanted to put me on lifelong heart medication that has 0% evidence that it actually works (it does reduce your sensations, but no evidence that it reduces any of the risks) and one even wanted to burn out some "spare" heart tissue with radio waves. I finally found a dr that thought that the problem was related to the provigil I was taking. I stopped taking it, and 2-3 weeks later I was 100% heart normal.
Now I take 54mg concerta a day & 10mgs ritalin immediate release 2x a day. I also take 325mg aspirin just in case (keeps blood from cloting if the atrial fibrillation comes back and I don't notice it). But I have been totally 100% heart normal since the provigil got out of my system. Hopefully it is nothing, but even if it is you might be able to switch to a different stimulant and have no problems, just do get it checked out!
This could be nothing, or it could be a real problem. I started to have a very similar set of symptoms. At first it was just for a second or two once or twice a day. In a couple of weeks it turned into an almost 24/7 problem. I went to a cardiologist and the pausing/skipping/too hard feeling was premature atrial contractions. Basically the heart beats in two parts the top part (the atrium) pushes blood into the lower part (the ventricle) then the lower part pushed the blood through out your body. There is a timing between the two parts that can go out of wack, and the top part can push blood into the lower part too soon.
The butterfly feeling might be atrial fibrillation. Sometimes you might feel it in more your throat than your chest. When this happens and doesn't stop on its own, your heart can start pumping 30-40% less blood than normal. YOu can get light headed, and there is a risk that some of the blood can clot in the heart. If a clot happens and it gets pumped out into your brain, you can have a stroke.
Stimulants, even caffeine, can cause this. It certainly can be something else, but I would get it checked out. Even if it is atrial fibrillation, the risks are generally pretty low until you are in your 60's, but why take them if you don't have too? Just so you know, if you are young - compared to being inyour 60's- there is very little research out there about how this can affect you. YOur doctor will probably treat you like he/she treats the 60+ crowd and you may want to shop around for one that has worked with younger patients. My first two dr.s wanted to put me on lifelong heart medication that has 0% evidence that it actually works (it does reduce your sensations, but no evidence that it reduces any of the risks) and one even wanted to burn out some "spare" heart tissue with radio waves. I finally found a dr that thought that the problem was related to the provigil I was taking. I stopped taking it, and 2-3 weeks later I was 100% heart normal.
Now I take 54mg concerta a day & 10mgs ritalin immediate release 2x a day. I also take 325mg aspirin just in case (keeps blood from cloting if the atrial fibrillation comes back and I don't notice it). But I have been totally 100% heart normal since the provigil got out of my system. Hopefully it is nothing, but even if it is you might be able to switch to a different stimulant and have no problems, just do get it checked out!