I feel for you. I am almost 47 and have had palps for 8 years. Nowadays, I only seem to get them just before my period. I still have regular periods, though thankfully, they are somewhat lighter than the periods-from-hell I had for several years.

I had a nuclear stress test, echo, holter monitor and several ekg's last December/January. Everything checked out fine, but the palps still scare me even though I know they must be hormonal. I do think magnesium has helped a lot.

I have a hiatal hernia and I've also noticed the palps seem to be worse when I over-indulge in PMS munchies. One thing which helps me a lot is to drink a cup of ginger tea as soon as I notice the start of stomach trouble. It seems to settle things down fast.

Hi!
I thought I had gotten over them after a 4 year battle, but they have been back the past 2 days and are driving me crazy! I am 57 and I thought eveything was getting better. I also have had tests done and 2 EKGs and they say I am fine. I was taking Aloe Vera when my skipped beats were happening alot, but have stopped the last 6 months. So, I guess I will restart them. I do take Mag every night before I go to bed. My last 3 nights I have woke up hot several times. How long will all of this last? Do you think it is menopause that causes it to happen? I really do. I am feeling anxious, grouchy stressed, just like I did when I had periods. HELP!

Hi cathrinet: Boy, do I hear you loud and clear! We are soulmates! I have also had these horrible things for many years. All the tests My doctor sayd, "Your heart will last for decades." I hate these palps! I have done the following; magnesium, clacium, all the "good" natural oils, Cq10, cut out caffeine, changed my diet,exercise; am now on toporal xl. What relief am I getting through al of this!NONE. There is no pattern,they just hit.

Wow, have had these as long as I can remember and get no help from the docs. After cardiac tests come back fine they just dismiss you. Guess that's cause other than being a real PITA they don't hurt you. I had one doc tell me that they asked a 90 year old man when he started getting the palps and he said he had them all his life. Seems to me menopause has definitely made them worse. I was on toprol years ago but since my blood pressure is naturally low, the toprol made it too low. Does the aloe vera really work? Think I'll give it a try, sure can't hurt!

My history over the last year is quite similar. I was also tested for perimenopause. I've seen several gastroenterologists (GIs), a cardiologist, an allergist, hospital stays, etc. After all of this time, my doctor finally ran a test for H Pylori, which, she determined, has caused many of the symptoms. People can have this for years. A bacterial infection of this sort can reek havoc on the system, and unfortunately, it is often undetected because they would rather do a more involved colonoscopy and other tests on a person (I had that too, along with MRIs, cat scans, sonograms, etc) than run the simple h pylori test.

I've written much more about the saga on my blog here:
[url]http://amyking.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/im-so-happy-i-have-h-pylori/[/url]

Good luck -- don't let them write it off as "anxiety" or just "something you have to live with". That's the easy way to "diagnose" symptoms one hasn't figured out the root cause of.

Amy

Here is a link that might be useful: H Pylori and Its Symptoms

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this forum. I was so desperate in my research of palpitations, I googled and found this forum. I have been suffering terribly with palpitations now for over a year. I had the echocardiogram, wore a monitor and had a stress test. All tests normal. I'm 62, on BP meds and to make a long story short, over the past 14 months, I've been on 4 different meds for palpitations and anxiety. ALL of them made me sick and worse off than before.

I'm on bio-identical hormone topical lotion that takes care of my hot flashes, but I'm wondering if that is now contributing to the palpitations.

I have all the symptoms I've read about above. I'm somewhat relieved, as I was SURE I was dying! I sleep well most nights, but some nights my heavy heartbeat keeps me awake. The palpitations start after I get up and go all day. I have felt so sick for so long, I gained 12 pounds since October (partly due to Zoloft and Lexapro), have dizzy spells, light headedness, can't catch my breath, and tire so easily.

I've been off Lexapro for almost 3 weeks, but withdrawal side effects may take as long as 2 months to go away.

Maybe I'm not dying afterall? Seems like I am in good company here, as I also love to garden!

I have started doing some walking to try to get in shape and although I can draw a deep breath, I still get light-headed.

I would love some input, please?
Thanks for reading my rather LONG post.

I think a dose of 50mg Zoloft gave me tons of palpitations. I came down off of it, and they improved alot. I'm not on 25mg of zoloft, and only have an occasional palp.

P.S........that sentence should read "I'm now on 25 mg of Zoloft, and only have an occasional palp."

Hi everyone! Im 49 and I certainly can relate to all of you with these darned palpitations!! Mine came on with a vengeance a couple months ago...out of the blue! Thought I was having a heart attack in the middle of the night. Got so scared...had every test under the sun. All normal. Also found out I had acid reflux on top of that which was also waking me up at night. The doc told me that the organs all sort of criss cross each other so thats why people with reflux think they are having heart issues. The hot flash and the palps at night that wake you up...yikes! I do find that if I exercise at night it really seems to help with the flashes. I've heard great things about Black Cohosh also...might try that.

Hi puddinface,
I'm discovering that some of us with GERD seem to have alot of palps when our esophagus is irritated. I've heard that the vagus nerve travels along the esophagus, and then onto the heart, and if it gets irritated in your esophagus, then it can give you palps.
These palps are such a pain in the butt, even if they are begnign!

Hi Catherinet...thanks so much for the info. I'm really starting to read alot about peri-menopause and am putting two and two together with alot of the strange feelings. It's comforting to know that Im not crazy and it's just the normal road leading to "the big M"...LOL! Interestingly enough...my sister who is 7 years older than me...breezed through menopause. Never had a hot flash...or anything at all as far as symptoms. She was completely done by age 52! Hopefully I will be as lucky as her. Have a great day!

Your sister was mighty lucky! Good luck with your journey through this puddinface! It can be a big challenge for alot of us, but we do get through it!

I love this forum. I have palps, anxiety because of the palps and suffer from gerd and sleepless nights. I heard about the vagus nerve thing, don't know if that's it but i am so tired of feeling like i'm going crazy. I've had all the heart tests, they were normal. I do have low thyroid and am anemic from time to time. Is this all menopause related? How long will it last?

ncpoet45...hi there. I know the feeling of folks looking at you like your crazy. Tried to explain that feeling to my doctor and she made me feel so stupid. She had no clue what I was talking about. I will tell you that since I started taking Nexium for reflux...that feeling has subsided. The night sweats have kicked in with a vengeance though. Dont like that. Woke up 4 times last night...sweating one minute and chilly the next...yikes! Felt like a zombie this morning..LOL! Not sure about the thyroid...sounds like it could be related. Its amazing what strange things start happening with this menopause stuff.

hi puddinface im 46 hysterectomised left with 1 ovary and am definatly perimenopausal since last sept i know trhis cos thats when the palps started out of nowhere i came on this forum and discovered that calcium and magnesium tablets every day i get the chelated type now cos they are easier on ur stomach but they have stopped the palps i take a concoction of vitamins every morning and it does help but the sweats are awful morning noon and especially night all night , try the chelated magnesium and calcium from say holland and barratt u can take up to 3 per day i only need to take 1 a day now give em a try they work for me good luck

Hi puddinface ru still coming on this forum i notice that a lot of the postings are quite old wheras u seem to be new to it like me i have found grreat relief in actually looking at other womens opinions on the varied problems related to menopause id love to actually chat on here to someone rather than feel as though every time i write something i dont get any response at all i live in england and i do not have any friends my own age who are going through what i am going through at present which can be very scarey at times i can only try talking to my partner who bless him does try to understand and listen but he is 27 works long hours and i stay home all day it seems to me that in usa women have more actual info on perimenopause than here in the uk anyway if your out there and you read this id really like it if you felt like giving me a reply ok