Heart Flip Flopping

(Crystal Michelle) #1

Anyone deal with this? On day 44 of my journey and the last three days my heart has been doing flips on and off all day. Last week (i work in the medical field) one of my docs did an ekg and it was fine. One or two i can handle but it’s been several times a day… Should i go see a cardiologist? Or has anyone had this side effect it’s making me crazy… no dizzy or light headed but it has triggered an anxiety attack bc it’s an “off” feeling…

(Ron) #2

Have you checked your electrolytes? Sounds like there could be an imbalance going on. What are your magnesium and potassium levels? Are you staying well hydrated? Ketogenic diet requires a higher water consumption because of depleted storage retention with less glucose production.

There is quite a bit of information out there about this and those that have dealt with what your describing.
I experienced it also for a few days but was able to repress it with electrolyte adjustment.

In your situation you should have the availability and resources to solve this easily enough.
Keep us updated.

(Crystal Michelle) #3

Thank you, yes I drink so much water and try to have one big poweraide zero a day. This is a new symptom so that’s why it’s bothersome to me.

As far as supliments i hate a Daily,vit c, vit d, fish oil and the. A probiotic.

I don’t know my levels bc i haven’t had them tested this far…

(Ron) #4

I am no doctor and can only give my experience and what many others have said.
For me I had depleted my magnesium some and potassium levels during the adaptation process which is probably about where you are at . I became adapted around day 60/65. Loosing all the water that had been stored in my fat cells caused me to urinate considerably more that normal (as it does most people) and in doing so expelled more potassium.
Increase salt intake as this helps the body hold the supplements.

(Chris) #5

If the Ekg shows everything is normal, it can be generalized anxiety disorder. Anxiety can be triggered by changes in the diet. There is no real test for that, and some people have physical symptoms, some people have mental symptoms, and some have both.

(Crystal Michelle) #6

Crazy that you say that because I pee all. The. Time and it’s a lot of pee :joy::joy: I wonder if that’s what’s happening… luckily i work for a blood lab maybe i should have my levels tested…

(Lisa marie t) #7

Yup had that happen to me had heart monitor on 24 hrs n ecg.whih is almost like ekg my heart was fine just fluttered n occasionally skipped beat.
I was on 3 BP pills n went down to 1

(Crystal Michelle) #8

Oh I have anxiety, it’s hornonal for me about 7-19 days before my menstral cycle. Normally that’s more of a doom feeling racing heart rate etc… this is more of my heart just has been deciding to do cartwheels… I have considered it may be anxiety related so i am going to take one of my emergency Xanax tonight to se if that helps tomorrow

(Crystal Michelle) #9

So did you just have to learn to deal with it?

(Ron) #10

AAbsolutely! You are peeing out the potassium and magnesium.
You read around here and you will see lots of people that supplement magnesium and potassium AND salt to stabilize the electricity in the body.
I take 500mg of Mag and 300mg P daily and everything stays calm now.
You will get it figured out. :wink:

(Crystal Michelle) #11

Thank you so much for being so nice and accepting. I’m enjoying keto, this is my first “oh shit am I okay? Is this the right woe for me” moment I’ve had… so thank you

(Chris W) #12

Your salt intake should be on the order of 1-2 teaspoons a day, you should calculate your magnesium and potassium intake as well. I ate a lot of bananas before keto, and I ate a lot of potassium rich foods, I actually was getting too much for a while. As my blood was low on salt and I was releasing stored potassium it was a double whammy. Salt uptake would have prevented that to a certain extend that is an easy one to start with. Your kidneys will expel any extra so its hard to screw up. Potassium on the other hand you need to be careful it can cause heart problems on either end of the spectrum.
Another thing if you do a lot of cardio training you can have heart issues as well, I saw thread earlier today on that if I find it I will link.

(Crystal Michelle) #13

I was actually going to start back at the gym this week. But i think i need to get this under control 1st. And yes being in the medical field to much potassium is super scary… that’s why i won’t take the supliment unless i have a doc say hey you need to take this.

(Chris W) #14

Afib, that is the term I was looking for, apparently some people who do a lot of cardio rewire their heart in some fashion. Like I said I just saw it today so its a little new to me.

(Karen) #15

Also PVCs are pretty common if you are over 40. your pic looks younger though.

K

(Ron) #16

I would wait on the gym re-intro until you are fully fat adapted. Typically it can create more hardships while transitioning with no real benefits. After your adapted you energy levels will start recovering and rebuilding to the point of going way beyond what most people were used too.

(Crystal Michelle) #17

35 :slight_smile:

(Tom Seest) #18

It will be difficult to capture the “flip flopping” without using a holter monitor or some other form of 24x7 EKG monitor. I have an AliveCor Kardia which allows me to capture specific events, but even with that type of technology, these types of episodes can be difficult to capture.

Regarding lab work, you might want to get thyroid and parathyroid checks, along with serum and intracellular levels of electrolytes. Even things like Vitamin D levels can effect the heart.

Best wishes.

(Mandy) #19

Hola,

I’m only a little over a week into keto but have had some heart flips but my main reason for replying is my thoughts on anxiety. I’ve had it for years and panic attacks often. I have controlled it for years without medication but when I started keto, it came back with a terrible vengeance. It’s worse than ever but it also feels like a different experience of anxiety. Less sweaty, heart racing. More internal feelings of doom and shortness of breath, hard to swallow kinda thing. Not sure if my body is just freaking out or if I’m in my head too much, I can talk myself into a panic attack pretty easily. Sad but true. Hope you feel better!

(Karen) #20

A monitor for week showed 8000 PVCs a day around my 40s. My thyroid pill seems to help with that. Don’t know why.

K