Heart palpitations finally got the better of me


#21

Just for information purposes that you may consider.

If I get palpitations I do this:

  1. Dose with magnesium citrate 300mg every hour until gut tolerance is reached (laxative effect)
  2. To swallow the tablets I mix a half bullion stock cube in a mug (300mL) of bone broth. I add extra pink salt to taste.
  3. If available, have an Epsom salts warm bath. If not a hot shower seems to help.
  4. I do yoga breathing. Just basic stuff of long breath in - hold - longer breath out - hold and repeat (It’s very relaxing). Occasionally I will cough as as symptom of the palpitations. But a cough can act as a minor heart defibrillation for some people.
  5. After 2 hours, I will add in another magnesium form. I use magnesium aspartate, as that was the form the emergency doctors used at the local hospital.
  6. Between 6 - 8 hours of persistent AF I will take a 10mg dose of a beta-blocker called propranolol.
    That usually sorts it out.
    Otherwise I drive in to the ER and say I have chest pains… then it’s on to the hospital roller coaster.

The cardiologist and my primary care doc wanted me on the beta-blockers all the time like a preventative. But I said no. I did not like the side effects that came with the blood pressure drop.

I reckon that with a slow baseline heart rate (mine is about 60) that slowing it more with a beta-blocker then sets up the whole ectopic beats scenario again. I don’t want to fight my heart with drugs. Beta-blockers would be a concern with your already low resting heart rate. They are useful when in atrial fibrillation, but not a long term medication, in my opinion in this context.


(Toni) #22

Thank you again. Tonight I’ve been reading up on oxalates, I think I’m overdosing on those big time. I’m considering a quasi carnivore diet but need to research it more. It goes against almost every thing I believe to be “healthy”, lol.


(Ethan) #23

Some say that it’s best to taper off the oxalates than go cold turkey because of the flood of released stored oxalates


(Edith) #24

I went through a phase where my resting heart rate was climbing into the upper 60s. Mine is usually in the upper 50s. I tried potassium citrate but it irritated my stomach. What I do now, is I create a salt mix of four parts salt to one part No Salt (potassium chloride) and I use that mix for my salt supplementation. My resting pulse went back down to its normal rate. Like @FrankoBear mentioned, if your pulse is already that low, potassium may not be an issue.

The low energy is because your muscles need to transition from sugar burning to fat burning. That takes time and it is a transition, not a switch. Your muscles and energy will gradually improve. It’s not like a switch where your body suddenly says, “I am now a fat burner!” I was 51 when I started keto. It was about 8 weeks until I started noticing an improvement in my energy.

Are you drinking that much because you are thirsty? You could be depleting yourself of electrolytes from flushing them out with too much water.

What @EZB said is true. If you do think oxalates could be a problem, you will need to taper your intake. You mentioned following a vegan diet. You may have a lot of oxalate stored up so maybe do some research into oxalate dumping. This topic has also been discussed in various threads on the forum. There is a Facebook group called Trying Low Oxalate which has a wealth of information. It is very science driven and led by an oxalate researcher with nutritionists as moderators.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #25

If you are eating a low-carb ketogenic diet, you are no longer plagued by chronic elevated insulin levels. This means that insulin is no longer blocking the receptors in the hypothalamus that recognise leptin. Leptin is the hormone secreted by the fat cells to signal the brain that we have enough energy stored (as fat) to be able to stop eating for a while. When the brain receives this signal, it secretes other hormones that stop us from feeling hungry. The result is that on a ketogenic diet you can afford to eat until your hunger is satisfied. Don’t eat by the clock, simply wait until you are hungry, then eat. Eat until you are no longer hungry, then don’t eat again until you are hungry again. This is a lot easier than trying to starve ourselves.

At first, relying on your hunger and satiation signals, you may end up eating quite a bit. This is not a problem, because your body probably needs the extra food. Then suddenly, you will find yourself not wanting food. For me, this happened in the middle of a meal, and it felt really weird, because I was used to filling up my plate and not stopping until the plate was empty (and possibly not even then). Over time, that lack of hunger has become really strong. It’s not like eating in the old days, when my stomach would be full to literally the point of bursting, and I would still be ravenous. These days, it feels as though my stomach has plenty of room for more food, but I don’t want any more; I am satisfied. And all because I’m not eating carbohydrate. Who knew?


(Edith) #26

I’ve mentioned this before, but I believe it’s because your body now has all the nourishment it needs.

I don’t get a “taste” for anything any more. I enjoy my food when I eat it, but there is no longer that thought, “I could really go for a _____.”


(Toni) #27

thanks, I know I need to change my mindset after a whole life of trying not to eat too much. I need to trust that my own body can learn and teach me, I will follow our advice. I am seriously looking into the carnivore diet, I feel it will help me transition better. I’m kind of an all or nothing gal.


(Toni) #28

thank you. I’ve just made up my salt mix for the day, I think following as you say a fixed amount and throughout the day I will be able to keep better track, than just downing some every now and again when I feel like it.
I was using nusalt but then bought some pot citrate which is what gave me the more severe palpitations, so I’ll go back to the nusalt.
I’m seriously considering the carnivore diet, I figure if I start on it and continue to eat all the oxalate rich food that’s still in my fridge I will get about a 2 week transition. Not sure what to do with all the greens growing in my vegetable patch or the buckets full of mulberries on my mulberry tree!


#29

Feed them to chickens who will convert them to eggs.


(Edith) #30

The berries may be a good oxalate food to eat to keep any dumping symptoms from being too strong, if you have dumping symptoms.


(Titus) #31

I was having heart arythmia immediately after taking MCT oil, at about 2, 3 hours later. When I stopped the MCT the hear issues went away