Gabapentinoids Gabapentin causing PVCs/Heart Arrhythmia / Palpitations????

[JackARoe]

I had a gabapentin night last night and of course checked heart rate and BP. Seemed normal

The sensation only lasts like 1 second. But some times they're so intense that it takes my breath away or causes me to have panic attacks.

I did make me feel better when I realized a lot of these lines were in songs. Heart a futter, take my breath away, etc... Those thumps in the heart that happen with exhilaration and being in love.

Yes most are harmless. Most are not detected by people as most have some periodically and they ignore. It doesn't hurt so why not. Tickles at best.

Saying that however I am unsure why a doc would not help. When I went through it I brought it up at a doctor they said I have a strong heart beat. But it is totally unnerving to constantly go through them. But a doc should prescribe something for short term. Beta blockers? Maybe that was already mentioned.

Thanks for the Update Death, that helps everyone involved. And they will go away. Or at least lessen. We all have them. I forgot all about that period in my life. So since I went through that if feels good to have forgotten it. And you know what? I made them worse by worry. Magnesium did help and then I just forgot about them. I was told I had a healthy heart. The strong thumps told them that.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Yeah I'm not really sure if gabapentin was causing them, since I'm still having them every day.


It would be nice if my GP would refer me to a cardiologist, so they can at least rule out a structural problem. I'd feel a little better know it's just a conduction issue & not because I have scarring in my heart or something.


One thing that's kind of helped is reading the PVC sub reddit on Reddit. Seems like so many people are dealing with the exact same issue & some of them have thousands and thousands of PVCs a day. Thankfully I have about 50 of them in a day.

I'm still very confused by it. Cause doctors & people keep saying it's normal & everyone has them & such, but why would I have not noticed them for the first 35 years of being alive? It's not like I just woke up one day & made a conscious effort to suddenly feel them. If I was having them but not actually feeling them, then I wouldn't care as much. But when they happen, it literally takes my breath away. It's like being jump-scared randomly 50 times a day & then having a doctor tell me it's normal or I'm just crazy for caring about it.

Some days I'm able to just push through it & tell myself "i'm not gonna let fear control my life". But then other days I can't help but feel like I need to prepare for death soon.

I find that they're worse if I'm up and moving around or exerting energy in any sort of way. Although I still have some when I'm just sitting here doing nothing as well. But some mornings will start off nice like I'm not gonna have any that day, but once I go to the store or get my body moving, then they start acting up.


I've been trying electrolytes (including magnesium), coQ10, taurine, L-Arginine, L-Acetyl-Carnitine, vervain extract, propranolol (some days) and my clonazepam usage has gotten more frequent (which sucks cause I don't wanna be heavily dependent on benzos), but I can't really tell if any of it's been helping, because some days it's still bad.

 

[sludgekatana]

Premature Ventricular Contractions.

Normally your heart has 2 chambers that send electrical signals back n forth to tell each other when to beat.

But with PVCs, your heart is sending out an electrical signal from a spot it's not suppose to (usually the Purkinje fibers). This electrical signal then tells one of the chambers to beat before it's suppose to. And since that chamber isn't completely full of blood yet when it gets the signal, it has to squeeze harder to pump & then it sort of resets itself back to your normal rhythm.

This causes a sensation at the top of my stomach, right under my sternum, that feels like my heart just stopped for a second. Some times it feels like a flip-flopping sensation & other times it feels like something's being squeezed. So even though it feels like my heart is missing beats, it's technically an "extra beat".

The sensation only lasts like 1 second. But some times they're so intense that it takes my breath away or causes me to have panic attacks.

And I've been feeling these damn things anywhere from twice to fifty times a day, since February.

the more you describe this the more i think i must be experiencing something different. i feel like my heart is beating suddenly stronger and faster. my breathing feels totally unaffected by it. never a squeezing sensation or a stopping sensation. and as ive been trying to pay closer attention to it, ive realized that it genuinely never happens when standing upright. only when laying or sitting down. and it definitely never happens to me when im sober. only on some combination of stimulants and gabapentin, or just gabapentin. im switching from gabapentin to pregabalin soon so we'll see if anything changes.

is your doctor still not taking you seriously? hearing about that happen to you genuinely breaks my heart.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

the more you describe this the more i think i must be experiencing something different. i feel like my heart is beating suddenly stronger and faster. my breathing feels totally unaffected by it. never a squeezing sensation or a stopping sensation. and as ive been trying to pay closer attention to it, ive realized that it genuinely never happens when standing upright. only when laying or sitting down. and it definitely never happens to me when im sober. only on some combination of stimulants and gabapentin, or just gabapentin. im switching from gabapentin to pregabalin soon so we'll see if anything changes.

is your doctor still not taking you seriously? hearing about that happen to you genuinely breaks my heart.

Yeah you're probably thinking of something else. Cause there's no mistaking the sensation of PVCs.

My heart also did what you're talking about for about 2 years before this all kicked off.
My heart would beat so hard while laying down, that it often felt like some one was jerking off in my bed, but it was actually my heart thumping so hard that it was vibrating the bed. It could be your heart's way of telling you it's working harder though, which could turn into an arrhythmia though, so watch out for that.

Actually it can be a good sign if your heart beats that hard, cause it means it's not weakened. My heart was beating like that during 2021-2023.
And now suddenly in the past few weeks, that heavy thumping has disappeared. Which makes me a bit worried that my heart is starting to get weakened & can't thump that hard anymore (except for when I have these dumb PVCs).


Still inconclusive about gabapentin having anything to do with it, since it's been 3-4 weeks now since I quit & I'm still having PVCs every day. Although I do think gabapentin irritates it for whatever reason, since whenever I take it, I get a ton of PVCs the next day.

My psychiatrist told me to go back to my GP & demand more testing, but I have yet to pick up the phone & make that appt. Too tired & anxious every day to wanna deal with it. And in a way, I almost wish I would just drop dead anyway.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Finally made another appt with my GP today.

This is getting ridiculous. Morning started off okay but then I started having really intense, painful PVCs that were taking my breath away.


And they can't get me in until August, like jesus fucking christ.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Finally got a referral to a cardiologist.

Had bloodwork done today, along with a d-dimer test. All of it came back normal.

So the rest will be up to the cardiologist. It's possible my heart is completely healthy & I just ended up with PVCs some how. Prolly have to deal with them the rest of my life, but hopefully not.

 

[JackARoe]

Finally got a referral to a cardiologist

I really appreciate the updates DI88. It helps everyone involved who could be wondering. And also I felt good at how much this troubled me 45 years ago only to have it forgotten it. You have a strong heart and this will be a memory. Most people get episodes of this and sort of ignore it. If the strength of your heartbeat is strong then the cardiologist may just give a beta blocker. I am willing to bet you are healthy as an ox.

Magnesium and hawthorn berry tea. At the very least.

Keep us updated.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Update :


I'm starting to think it was just coincidence that my PVCs stopped during the breaks I took off gabapentin. But who really knows.

I saw a cardiologist 2 days ago. They did an EKG & the results came back saying "Abnormal R Wave progression, possible inferior infarct". Meaning heart damage from a previous heart attack. Although I'm not aware of any heart attacks that I've had, but my chest has done some crazy things over the past few years & silent heart attacks are also a thing, so who knows. The doctor claimed that the machine was just overly sensitive & that when I see it in my myChart on their site & in my health records to just ignore it. And then scheduled a stress test & echo for the end of July.

I've been even MORE anxiety ridden since then, cause I can't help but fear that maybe the EKG results were true & that's what caused my PVCs. Because a heart attack leading to heart damage would cause PVCs. But I won't know for sure until I get the stress test & echo done. So another full month of waiting & wondering.

If it's true, then I'm fucked. And I need to start preparing my will & for death probably soon. So I really hope it was just a false reading.

 

[JackARoe]

And then scheduled a stress test & echo for the end of July.

Good deal, I still think the EKG is off. I can almost feel the doctor shrug it off. But go for those tests to put your mind at ease. And I can't thank you enough for your updates. I am dealing with a wife that has several things wrong with her heart. She has von willebrand disease as well as clotting which makes no sense as von willebrand disease means blood has a harder time to clot. She has extremely low blood pressure. Sometimes 90/50 and that makes her heart pump quicker to compensate and that created the PVC as well as the needing of a heart ablation. She has sky high cholesterol from a hereditary condition as she eats oats and berries mostly. Tropanes went over 3000. One heart doc says she had a severe heart attack, the other one says no. We won't even go into the medal that is in her body from a bad car accident in 1980. Doctors told her should would not walk after 40 and she is 60 and currently staining the deck as I type. lol

So unless a doctor throws you into a hospital like they did my wife I would worry less. Go for those tests and again your updates are like gold, to me at least and I am sure people reading the post care. Matters of the heart can be depressing. I know people who got very depressed after a heart attack or heart issue. Don't discount that. Healing is on a lot of different levels than just physical. One day at at time and you are not dying.

My father was told he had a heart attack at some point in his life and did not know. But what I do know is of a heart heals itself after a heart attack it becomes much stronger. I saw some documentary on that whole concept as many people have had a heart attack they did not know about.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Good deal, I still think the EKG is off. I can almost feel the doctor shrug it off. But go for those tests to put your mind at ease. And I can't thank you enough for your updates. I am dealing with a wife that has several things wrong with her heart. She has von willebrand disease as well as clotting which makes no sense as von willebrand disease means blood has a harder time to clot. She has extremely low blood pressure. Sometimes 90/50 and that makes her heart pump quicker to compensate and that created the PVC as well as the needing of a heart ablation. She has sky high cholesterol from a hereditary condition as she eats oats and berries mostly. Tropanes went over 3000. One heart doc says she had a severe heart attack, the other one says no. We won't even go into the medal that is in her body from a bad car accident in 1980. Doctors told her should would not walk after 40 and she is 60 and currently staining the deck as I type. lol

So unless a doctor throws you into a hospital like they did my wife I would worry less. Go for those tests and again your updates are like gold, to me at least and I am sure people reading the post care. Matters of the heart can be depressing. I know people who got very depressed after a heart attack or heart issue. Don't discount that. Healing is on a lot of different levels than just physical. One day at at time and you are not dying.

My father was told he had a heart attack at some point in his life and did not know. But what I do know is of a heart heals itself after a heart attack it becomes much stronger. I saw some documentary on that whole concept as many people have had a heart attack they did not know about.

Thanks JackARoe for being here for me & reading my rambling/updates.

Your wife sounds like one hell of a strong woman. I would have mentally broken down a long time ago if I had all those issues to be honest.


I got my holter monitor tests results back today. It showed I had 22 VE ectopics & 14 SVE ectopics. So apparently I'm having PACs along with the PVCs. I did not know that. The PACs must be the more mild, softer heart-skippy type sensations & the PVCs are the big freaky ones that takes my breath away. But both burdens were <0.1%.
No AFIB, No VT & my sinus rhythm was normal. So I'm assuming that these are all good results or at least as good as they can be for some one having these issues. It also didn't show any couplets or triplets. But of course I wasn't very symptomatic during the 48hrs. I'd be curious to see the results during a bad flare up.

I''ve been pretty depressed lately, yeah. I've always been anxious & depressed but this stuff has taken it to a level I didn't know existed.


I read the other day that people with heart disease/failure have higher levels of catecholamines in their brain (adrenaline, norepinephrine, dopamine). And lately I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping at night because I feel wired & wide awake. Normally on Suboxone (or any opioid for that matter), I'm in bed by 8, 9 or 10pm. But lately I haven't been able to get to bed til like 2-3am. So that's unusual for me. I also get adrenaline rushes in my stomach/chest at night when I'm trying to relax & go to sleep. I dunno what that's all about. I'll feel an adrenaline surge come from the bottom of my stomach up into my chest & then disappear.

This might be a little TMI, but I have ALWAYS woken up with an erection (morning wood) when I get up every day. Like without fail. Which is a good thing, because it's a sign that your testosterone levels are good & your blood flow is good. But ever since these heart issues started, I never wake up with morning wood anymore.

Hopefully I'm just reading too much into all this heart disease stuff & my anxiety is causing a lot of this.

I've decided to do something useful with my fear though & turned it into a motivator to start walking 30 minutes a day. Today is day 2 of getting a 30 minute walk in outside. I can walk the entire 30 mins without stopping or really becoming out of breath. I even feel like going for longer some times. So I've been telling myself that some one with heart disease wouldn't be able to do that. lol Maybe they could though, I dunno.

Will find out more at the end of this month though & I'll post some more updates!

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

MAJOR UPDATE!

I've now been PVC free for almost 3 months.

It wasn't the gabapentin at all. It was actually the acesulfame potassium used in all the damn generic suboxone's causing my irregular heart beats.


Found this out through trial & error. In July, I was given Hikma brand generic subs & they use sucralose as a sweetener. And I noticed my PVCs disappeared for most of July. So for the hell of it, I looked at the pamphlet for the other brands I was using & it lists "irregular heartbeat (palpitations)" as a "common side effect". Yet the Hikma brand pamphlet doesn't list irregular heartbeat as a "common" side effect.

I also compared inactive ingredients & the old brand uses acesulfame potassium & the hikma brand uses sucralose.

So for the hell of it, I experimented & tried taking the old brand on the last two weekends of July & sure enough I had PVCs for the next 2-3 days after taking it.


So I told my pharmacy to give me only the Hikma brand.

My stress test & echo all came back clear too. Although they did say they saw a "defect" on the stress test imaging, but that they were pretty sure the "defect" was just an imaging artifact caused by activity in near by organs & the stomach. So it was basically a normal test. Negative for ischemia too.


So all along, it was my damn Suboxone causing it. I must've developed a sensitivity to the sweetener in it. I bitched my Suboxone doctor out for it too & she refuses to switch me to generic Subutex. I told her she was corrupt & I'm surprised she didn't kick me off the program altogether. lol

I also complained to the FDA, but I haven't read their response email cause I'm sure they don't really give a fuck anyway.


So now I'm just worried that eventually this Hikma brand will turn on me too & then I'll be left with no options for opioid maintenance. And if I hadn't of figured this out MYSELF (and I'm a high-school drop out), my doctors were prepared to tell me it was a "mystery" and even that it's "normal & everyone has this problem". Yeah sure, everyone walks around all day feeling like their being punched in the stomach up to 100x a day & just don't notice it. That's bullshit.

Total gas lighting & corruption from the US medical system. I dunno how I'm suppose to trust anything about this system anymore. I lost almost 6 months of my life to that damn heart problem & seriously thought I was gonna die. I became a shut in, didn't wanna leave my room or do anything at all. I even started writing my will & preparing for death.... All over an inactive ingredient in my medicines. Completely unacceptable.

But now that I know I'm not dying, I have a new lease on life & I'm ready to finally live it again, without feeling like I'm being punched in the stomach 100x a day!

 

[sludgekatana]

MAJOR UPDATE!

I've now been PVC free for almost 3 months.

It wasn't the gabapentin at all. It was actually the acesulfame potassium used in all the damn generic suboxone's causing my irregular heart beats.


Found this out through trial & error. In July, I was given Hikma brand generic subs & they use sucralose as a sweetener. And I noticed my PVCs disappeared for most of July. So for the hell of it, I looked at the pamphlet for the other brands I was using & it lists "irregular heartbeat (palpitations)" as a "common side effect". Yet the Hikma brand pamphlet doesn't list irregular heartbeat as a "common" side effect.

I also compared inactive ingredients & the old brand uses acesulfame potassium & the hikma brand uses sucralose.

So for the hell of it, I experimented & tried taking the old brand on the last two weekends of July & sure enough I had PVCs for the next 2-3 days after taking it.


So I told my pharmacy to give me only the Hikma brand.

My stress test & echo all came back clear too. Although they did say they saw a "defect" on the stress test imaging, but that they were pretty sure the "defect" was just an imaging artifact caused by activity in near by organs & the stomach. So it was basically a normal test. Negative for ischemia too.


So all along, it was my damn Suboxone causing it. I must've developed a sensitivity to the sweetener in it. I bitched my Suboxone doctor out for it too & she refuses to switch me to generic Subutex. I told her she was corrupt & I'm surprised she didn't kick me off the program altogether. lol

I also complained to the FDA, but I haven't read their response email cause I'm sure they don't really give a fuck anyway.


So now I'm just worried that eventually this Hikma brand will turn on me too & then I'll be left with no options for opioid maintenance. And if I hadn't of figured this out MYSELF (and I'm a high-school drop out), my doctors were prepared to tell me it was a "mystery" and even that it's "normal & everyone has this problem". Yeah sure, everyone walks around all day feeling like their being punched in the stomach up to 100x a day & just don't notice it. That's bullshit.

Total gas lighting & corruption from the US medical system. I dunno how I'm suppose to trust anything about this system anymore. I lost almost 6 months of my life to that damn heart problem & seriously thought I was gonna die. I became a shut in, didn't wanna leave my room or do anything at all. I even started writing my will & preparing for death.... All over an inactive ingredient in my medicines. Completely unacceptable.

But now that I know I'm not dying, I have a new lease on life & I'm ready to finally live it again, without feeling like I'm being punched in the stomach 100x a day!

omg congrats! that's such a fucked up saga, you nearly became yet another destroyed life at the hands of the completely broken US healthcare system

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

omg congrats! that's such a fucked up saga, you nearly became yet another destroyed life at the hands of the completely broken US healthcare system

Thank you!

There are no words to describe how angry I am at the US medical system right now.

I asked my Suboxone doctor to give me a legit reason why she can't switch me to generic subutex (which contains no artificial sweeteners) and her only excuse was "Subutex has a higher street value".... Uhh Okay, well that sucks for people buying their bupe off the streets, but wtf does that have to do with me? That tells me that even after 7 years of working with her, she still doesn't trust me, yet I've done all their piss tests & done everything she's asked me to do. So if she don't trust me, why the fuck should I trust her? She even tried to convince me that I should just live with PVCs every day since they're "benign". I couldn't believe it.


She also tried to blame weed! She was like "(insert my name here), you've been so angry & anxious lately, I think you should think about cutting back on your marijuana use cause you seem more anxious now that you have your medical card (which I've had for 2 years now)". It's like.... Uh, no bitch, I was more anxious the last 6 months cause I had an unknown heart problem bothering me every day, one that could've been prevented if she had switched me to generic subutex a long time ago.

Gotta advocate for yourself in this system. I doubt most people think about the inactive ingredients in their medicines most of the time either. So I bet none of my idiotic doctors would've given it a second thought that just maybe something in my meds was causing it.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's support through all those months. It was terrifying to think I had heart disease or something already at my age. I thought I was gonna have cardiac arrest eventually. And I just can't believe how dumb the healthcare system was.

Btw, BL never gave me a notification that you commented @sludgekatana , So I'm glad I looked at this thread today! And I appreciate your words, thank you so much!

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Some one on here messaged me months ago too & told me they had the same problem & it turned out to be the artificial sweeteners in their suboxone & they had to be switched to generic subutex.

I don't remember who it was & I can't find that msg anymore, but whoever you were, you were spot on! I didn't want to think my suboxone was causing it at the time cause it's such an important med to be, but that's exactly what it was!

Unfortunately my doctor is too corrupt to switch me to generic mono-buprenorphine.

 

[JackARoe]

Hey DI, it warmed my heart that you posted a trip report on 2C-B. Meaning you were feeling better to enjoy life a little. I did not like the distress at the beginning of the original post. Time to move on and leave this in the rear view mirror. And thanks for the update. (I am known to bug people for updates and info as it helps all topics)

Here is to more trips and feeling better. I guess this issue may be more common too, I wonder if people even feel their own PVC's? Generic suboxone, looks like it needs more attention.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Hey DI, it warmed my heart that you posted a trip report on 2C-B. Meaning you were feeling better to enjoy life a little. I did not like the distress at the beginning of the original post. Time to move on and leave this in the rear view mirror. And thanks for the update. (I am known to bug people for updates and info as it helps all topics)

Here is to more trips and feeling better. I guess this issue may be more common too, I wonder if people even feel their own PVC's? Generic suboxone, looks like it needs more attention.

Thanks man!

I totally agree. They need to put a brand of generic suboxone on the market without artificial sweeteners in it. Technically they do, but it's generic Subutex & doctors act like you're asking for Dilaudid when you ask for generic mono-buprenorphine. It's really ridiculous. These artificial sweeteners don't even need to be in there. It's adults taking suboxone, do they think we're all big babies that need our meds to be flavored in order to take them? I could go into a long rant about the FDA and all the corruption we have in the US, but I'll spare ya all that. lol

Yes I indeed have been feeling better enough to enjoy psychedelics again! 2-cb was very interesting & intense. Felt basically like a cross between MDMA & Lsd. but also kinda different at the same time. I was a little concerned about losing touch with reality (permanently) on 2-cb though, which is something I've never really had on LSD or MDMA or anything. When it hit me at about an hour & a half in, I started sort of feeling confused, like I might lose my mind. Was forgetting one minute to the next & my entire ego dissolved & I thought I was gone (mentally) for good. lol It didn't help either that right as I peaked on the 2cb, my brother texted me to let me know his wife's mom had just died. Which got me thinking about my mom passing in 2021. 2-cb is definitely not a drug you wanna be on & get news like that. lol So I had to find ways to turn my trip back into a fun time & thankfully I was successful. So I think I might still prefer LSD over 2-cb because I feel a little more in control on acid & it lasts a lot longer. But I felt privileged to have tried an obscure psychedelic!

Hope all is well with everyone here! I left BL for awhile, but I'm back to stay this time!
Cheers!

 

[Skorpio]

Glad you are feeling better, Death! Weird about the allergy, but again glad it is in the rear view mirror.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Glad you are feeling better, Death! Weird about the allergy, but again glad it is in the rear view mirror.

Thanks Skorpio! Glad to still see you around here!

Yeah it's funny cause I looked on google & the FDA claims there's never been any allergic reactions to acesulfame potassium. lol
If it's not an allergy, it's at least some kind of sensitivity I developed. I went through a similar experience with another artificial sweetener in my teens.
It was aspartame. Kept getting these extreme headaches at school every day around the same time. Went on for months, was convinced I had a brain tumor & even convinced my mom to take me to the doctors (which found nothing wrong with me). And I forget exactly how (cause it's been over 20 years ago) but I realized the aspartame in my diet mountain dew I was drinking every day at the time might be the culprit. So I quit diet mt dew & of course my headaches went away.

So I may have already have some sort of sensitivity to artificial sweeteners. And it's possible my body was trying to tell me that for years on these subs & I ignored it because subs are so important to my waking life that I didn't wanna possibly believe that they could be messing with my heart in any way.

Thankfully I seem to be doing okay with this Hikma brand subs that uses citric acid & sucralose as their sweetener.

But as you said, it's in the rear view mirror now & I can live my life again. I just hope my body doesn't start rejecting this brand with the sucralose or I'm screwed. Cause my sub doc already said she'll NEVER prescribe me generic subutex. Which is pretty fucked up. I better not ever have to go through some unplanned quick taper off my meds after all these years, merely because my doctor is a cunt.