Dh's health. Again

[Scarlett]

I just don't know what is going on with him.  He went for a check up and blood work about 2 months ago.  He has a lot of issues with his esophagus and he has been off of omeprazole since that doctor visit because his blood pressure was high (doctor upped his dose of BPM) and his kidneys showed early signs of damage. He has been struggling with the reflux and general discomfort when food doesn't want to go down.  Several times in the last several months....even before that check up....his heart rate would just jumped up.  All over the map.  Up to 275 and staying well over 100 for hours.  It happened again on Saturday.....and I am seeing a pattern of exertion....especially bending over type stuff.  Saturday he was working on cleaning off a fence line of vegetation and putting up new privacy fence.  He got really sick.  He came in...heart rate just rising.  We went to friend's for dinner...and all through dinner it was all over the map.  At home his blood pressure was 145/95.  So Sunday morning he stayed home. He was in bed when I left, but he can't stand it for long, so when I got home he was on him knees hooking up the pool suction line to clean the pool....Again after a bit of work like that his heart rate is up.  

I don't know if any of you remember this but about 6 years ago he got really sick and couldn't work for 3 months.  He was literally so sick he couldn't get out of bed.  Finally they took his gall bladder out...doctor said it was the worst diseased gall bladder he had ever seen. Dh bounced back pretty quickly and was back at work in about 1 week.  Part of the symptoms back then that he complained of were that he would wake up feeling like he had the worst hang over of his life--no alcohol involved.  Doctors seemed puzzled by this description. But once we found out it was his gall bladder it made sense to me...and to some doctors I think.  Anyway, he said this morning that feeling is back. No alcohol at all yesterday and he feels like he had a dozen beers.   He got up and went to work....the doctor will see him this afternoon at 3:30.  He has agreed if his heart rate goes up to 275 again he will go to the emergency room.

One thing about the heart rate is that I have noticed if he gets up and changes his body position it will go  back to normal immediately.  So it feels to me there is something being pressed on somewher.  And that coupled with the nausea leads me to believe it has something to do with his esophagus and his digestion.

I know this is long, and if you got through it thank you and if you have any ideas or suggestions please chime in. 

[EKS]

For the heart thing--look up supraventricular tachycardia, or SVT.  It can be triggered (and untriggered) by changes in position.  However, the jumping all over does not sound like SVT--that sounds more like atrial fibrillation.  It is important that if he has AF that he gets on blood thinners because of the risk of stroke.  Also, I know from personal experience that an episode of SVT can actually convert to AF.

Could you be more specific about feeling like he's had a dozen beers?  Headache? Nausea? Fuzzy headedness?

[Scarlett]

10 minutes ago, EKS said:

For the heart thing--look up supraventricular tachycardia, or SVT.  It can be triggered (and untriggered) by changes in position.  However, the jumping all over does not sound like SVT--that sounds more like atrial fibrillation.  It is important that if he has AF that he gets on blood thinners because of the risk of stroke.  Also, I know from personal experience that an episode of SVT can actually convert to AF.

Could you be more specific about feeling like he's had a dozen beers?  Headache? Nausea? Fuzzy headedness?

He is already on blood thinners because he has had 3 PEs.  

The hangover feeling....he says he has nausea and that he feels the nausea in his head also.  He has quite the way of describing things.. 🙂

[mumto2]

Just sending hugs and prayers, no advice.  I remember how sick he was with the gall bladder.

[Mary in VA]

Does he have sleep apnea? That can cause all sorts of problems.

[Pen]

Could he be reacting to chemicals as well as exertion?  

A friend’s husband seemed ok at cardio on just treadmill stress test because exertion alone was not causing issues— but combining exertion plus chemical exposure caused cardio (and many other including swallowing ) problems.  For your dh could be exertion plus chlorine from pool, exertion plus something involving fence line

if so a cardiology visit may not show the problem that is there

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Pen

[Scarlett]

3 minutes ago, Mary in VA said:

Does he have sleep apnea? That can cause all sorts of problems.

Not that I know of.  He hasn't had a sleep test.  

[Random]

The GI stuff sounds like a family member's description of eosinophilic esophagitis.  (or eosinophilic gastritis or eosinophilic colitis).

He's already had 3 PEs?  Is it possible he has one now?  The super high pulse, fatigue, nausea, etc are all symptoms.  Do you have a pulse ox at home?  Maybe check his O2 sats.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, Random said:

The GI stuff sounds like a family member's description of eosinophilic esophagitis.  (or eosinophilic gastritis or eosinophilic colitis).

He's already had 3 PEs?  Is it possible he has one now?  The super high pulse, fatigue, nausea, etc are all symptoms.  Do you have a pulse ox at home?  Maybe check his O2 sats.

I will google eosinophilic esophagitis.....Dh was stretched in early February, but it didn't seem to do any good.

I don't think he is having a PE.  He is on blood thinners and he also knows how they feel now.  One was in 09 after a surgery to repair his leg from a motorcycle accident.  That one was very bad and he almost died.  The second one was on a plane in 2016 , an hour into the flight.   He passed out and I was terrified he was going to die.  Third one was after his total knee replacement in 2017.  After surgery he had 10 days of lovinox injections and a week later he had a PE.  So he is on blood thinners for life now.  

[Ottakee]

I would see a cardiologist and ask for a 24 hour+ monitor.  The heart stuff sounds like when I had atrial fibrillation.

[Scarlett]

8 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I would see a cardiologist and ask for a 24 hour+ monitor.  The heart stuff sounds like when I had atrial fibrillation.

I am sure they will do a monitor.  But he was checked out COMPLETELY by a cardiologist in 2016.  My gut feeling is this is not heart related but being caused by his digestive issues...but as my friend pointed out, it doesn't matter what is causing it, it needs to stop.  

Hopefully the doctor will get right on it today.

[lmrich]

My dad, sister, and I have EoE. It was diagnoised this past year. It can be tricky. I was put on omeprazole - 4 times the normal dosage. I also had allergy testing done - turns out I am allergic to a lot! My sister is allergic to a lot of outdoor stuff so she is getting allergy shots. Mine are all food allergies so I have to avoid them. I still get episodes - so painful. See another GI doctor if needed as my family members have all heard different things with this disease. I have had episodes of rapid heartbeat that doctors think are because of the allergies.

Is your dh on blood pressure medication? 

[itsheresomewhere]

With his history, he needs to see a cardiologist yearly.  Not his primary a cardiologist for his heart checks.   Cardiology seeing him regularly might put the pieces together for him.  I wonder if he has been tested for any genetic conditions.  Some of your descriptions of his symptoms point in that direction. 

[PeterPan]

For the Afib, I think the blood thinners are *additional* not the *only* medications. My MIL developed it, like she didn't and then over the course of a year or two it was just undeniable, and they had her on a drug to control her heart rate *and* wanted the blood thinner. 

Fwiw, she was able to go into the ER during an attack and they gave her a med that stopped it IMMEDIATELY. It's not only uncomfortable but unhealthy for the heart (from what I've read, not an expert) to continue at that super fast rate. She was scared of the med and side effects, but I just pointed out she wasn't going to have an answer for the ER doc if she ended up in there again. And frankly, once she went to the ER and realized they COULD stop it so quickly, all her heroics and toughing it out mess stopped. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by PeterPan

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, lmrich said:

My dad, sister, and I have EoE. It was diagnoised this past year. It can be tricky. I was put on omeprazole - 4 times the normal dosage. I also had allergy testing done - turns out I am allergic to a lot! My sister is allergic to a lot of outdoor stuff so she is getting allergy shots. Mine are all food allergies so I have to avoid them. I still get episodes - so painful. See another GI doctor if needed as my family members have all heard different things with this disease. I have had episodes of rapid heartbeat that doctors think are because of the allergies.

Is your dh on blood pressure medication? 

Yes he is on blood pressure med.  They just upped his dose mid March when he went in for blood work.  

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, itsheresomewhere said:

With his history, he needs to see a cardiologist yearly.  Not his primary a cardiologist for his heart checks.   Cardiology seeing him regularly might put the pieces together for him.  I wonder if he has been tested for any genetic conditions.  Some of your descriptions of his symptoms point in that direction. 

His mom has heart issues.  She had a widow maker blockage that they found during a heart cath.  I think I have that terminology right.  She was in for testing and they found the blockage.  It was CRAZY blocked. They put a stent in and she is much improved but she has to really take care of herself.  She eats right, she exercises (she was always very active though anyway) and she has been going twice a week to a heart rehab program.  Learning various ways to deal with stress (her dh is late stage Alzheimer's so she has plenty of stress).

[Katy]

That sort of tachycardia is a sign of a heart attack. I'd start with the emergency room, because sometimes people "get better" and then have another while asleep and don't ever wake up.

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, Random said:

The GI stuff sounds like a family member's description of eosinophilic esophagitis.  (or eosinophilic gastritis or eosinophilic colitis).

 

Oh wow, I just now had time to read about this.  It does sound a lot like what he has.  He has been scoped probably 6 times....seems like a gastro doctor would have caught it?  The last 3 scopes were the same doctor.  😞

[Scarlett]

Oh and he also has a hiatal hernia.  

When he saw the doctor in March, doc told him he needs to lose weight.  Dh has lost 10 pounds so far. Needs to lose another 10-20 at least.  I think that will help.  

[Scarlett]

4 minutes ago, Katy said:

That sort of tachycardia is a sign of a heart attack. I'd start with the emergency room, because sometimes people "get better" and then have another while asleep and don't ever wake up.

Well, he has an appointment to day with his Primary who knows his history well.  He won't mess around.  

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, Random said:

The GI stuff sounds like a family member's description of eosinophilic esophagitis.  (or eosinophilic gastritis or eosinophilic colitis).

He's already had 3 PEs?  Is it possible he has one now?  The super high pulse, fatigue, nausea, etc are all symptoms.  Do you have a pulse ox at home?  Maybe check his O2 sats.

He printed off Mayo Clinics article on this...taking it to his doc today.

[lmrich]

Did they biosopy his esophagus? That would reveal the eosinophils. 

[Scarlett]

12 minutes ago, lmrich said:

Did they biosopy his esophagus? That would reveal the eosinophils. 

Oh yes they did.  Every time.  So it probably isn't that.  

 

[Random]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Oh yes they did.  Every time.  So it probably isn't that.  

 

Well, just to throw out another monkey wrench...unless the doc knows about EoE or is specifically looking for it, he/she won't typically take enough biopsies to know for sure.  Just FYI.  EoE is still considered rare, I think, and most docs aren't really looking for it.  EoE is a very 'patchy' disease and the doctor scoping has to be somewhat of an expert, or maybe just get lucky.

Best wishes to you and your DH.  I hope the appointment is productive and he gets better soon!

Edited April 29, 2019 by Random

[Scarlett]

So the doctor ordered a Holter monitor.  For 48 hours.  Hopefully they will call soon to schedule that.  He told dh it is definitely his heart.  Not sure the issue yet....but something heart related.  He said no kind of pressure would elevate the heart rate that high for that long.  

Apparently I won't be getting my medical license this week.  

[J-rap]

I don't know where you live, but my suggestion would be to go to a place like Mayo where they all work together as a team and put the many and varied symptoms together and try to get to the bottom of it.

But, the monitor is a good place to start.  That will sometimes show symptoms of something else, even non heart-related.

There are so many mysteries about the human body, and how one thing can affect another and another.  I hope you get some answers soon!

[PeterPan]

How frequent are the racing heart episodes? When my MIL started having them, they were less often and wouldn't have shown up with a monitor if they didn't happen during that window. But toward the end, yeah they got really frequent. 

If it happens again, I'd take him to an ER immediately so they can attach monitors and see what's going on.

[Scarlett]

6 hours ago, PeterPan said:

How frequent are the racing heart episodes? When my MIL started having them, they were less often and wouldn't have shown up with a monitor if they didn't happen during that window. But toward the end, yeah they got really frequent. 

If it happens again, I'd take him to an ER immediately so they can attach monitors and see what's going on.

Similar with dh.  They increased this weekend....two days in a row for several hours.  I tried to get him to go to the ER this weekend,  but he refused.  He did go straight to the doctor Monday. morning though...they couldn’t see him until 3:45.  He went on to work, but said he would go to the ER if it came back before his appointment.  

[Laura Corin]

6 hours ago, PeterPan said:

How frequent are the racing heart episodes? When my MIL started having them, they were less often and wouldn't have shown up with a monitor if they didn't happen during that window. But toward the end, yeah they got really frequent. 

If it happens again, I'd take him to an ER immediately so they can attach monitors and see what's going on.

When I started having episodes of my heart racing, my GP set up a standing instruction with the local hospital that any time I went in and asked, I would be immediately wired up for a trace.  It took a while to catch an episode, but in the end I got my diagnosis of SVT.  There are treatment options for SVT if it is bad.  Mine has been triggered by chemical smells (walking into the entrance of a swimming pool), light exercise (not recently, but back when I was less fit), or nothing at all (just sitting reading a book quite peacefully).

Good luck, Scarlett.

[EKS]

21 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I am sure they will do a monitor.  But he was checked out COMPLETELY by a cardiologist in 2016.  My gut feeling is this is not heart related but being caused by his digestive issues...but as my friend pointed out, it doesn't matter what is causing it, it needs to stop.  

Hopefully the doctor will get right on it today.

There is an association between GERD and AF.

[Scarlett]

26 minutes ago, EKS said:

There is an association between GERD and AF.

Hmm.  I need to know about this.  It just feels to me like it is related.  The doctor said NO!  It is your HEART.  I guess it could be the GERD exacerbating it.  I am sure the doctor wants him to take it seriously though, so he doesn't drop dead from a heart attack.   

[EKS]

6 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Hmm.  I need to know about this.  It just feels to me like it is related.  The doctor said NO!  It is your HEART.  I guess it could be the GERD exacerbating it.  I am sure the doctor wants him to take it seriously though, so he doesn't drop dead from a heart attack.   

https://academic.oup.com/europace/article/19/1/16/2952312

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, EKS said:

https://academic.oup.com/europace/article/19/1/16/2952312

Thank you.  I also found this one that I am reading through.  

http://afibbers.org/resources/gutconnection.pdf

[Scarlett]

25 minutes ago, EKS said:

https://academic.oup.com/europace/article/19/1/16/2952312

Ok, that is MOST interesting.  Solutions sound elusive though.  Which is frustrating and scary.  So I am not off base in my thinking that the two are connected.  I guess what the doctor is saying is that regardless of what is causing it, it is the heart and has to be addressed.

[PeterPan]

Fortunately, if it's afib and they catch it in the moment to diagnose it, it will be easily treatable. There's a bit of side effect with the meds because they slow down the heart, like a governor on an engine. But once you get the meds, yeah, boom, mostly gone. I think she'd have episodes where it would occur *slightly* but nothing on the level of what it was previously. The key is to get him to agree ahead of time that he will go to the ER the next time it happens.

[Catwoman]

I haven’t been online much in the past few days, so I didn’t see this thread until now.

I’m so sorry about your dh, Scarlett, and I will pray that it is nothing serious.

You must be so worried! I wish I had some info that would help you, but I don’t know enough about this stuff to even make a guess about what’s wrong. I hope the doctor can diagnose him quickly and that it’s something very minor and easy to fix.

 

[klmama]

His doctor sounds like a wise man.  If it's the heart, of course it needs to be addressed!  However, even cardiac episodes can be food-related.  I know someone with severe AFib which was much improved with medication, but he still had episodes; however, all remaining episodes stopped a few years ago when he completely eliminated sugar (cane/beet sugar and corn syrup/HF corn syrup).  He still takes the meds, just to be sure.  Interestingly, honey doesn't affect him at all.  I'm not saying your dh's problem is necessarily from what he eats, but it's interesting to note how the heart can react to foods.  Once he gets evaluated and medicated for the problem, if there are still episodes, a food diary might be helpful.

Edited April 30, 2019 by klmama