intro - long!

• by Poupon
• 2010-09-18 02:09:46
• Conditions, Meds & Tests
• 1350 views
• 1 comments

Hi All,

I do not yet have a pacemaker - it's in the discussion stages, but two family members already have had them, so it's pretty likely I will too. Meanwhile, I am VERY confused about my condition, because one doctor becomes extremely alarmed by my ekg's and the next just shrugs and offers medications that A) never help, and B) make me too groggy to function. I've gone back and forth for years giving doctors these reactions and NO help. They tell me they don't know the cause and besides I'm not their "bread and butter" (exact words). None - not one - has suggested testing for a mineral deficiency. Recent Googling on my own has made me suspect this is at the heart. I then hunted down a doctor who understands nutrition and who uses Spectracell labs (no easy task!) and asked if she thinks this is indicated, and she very much thought so. Meanwhile, my condition has deteriorated to the point where I have trouble taking care of even minor household chores, I'm short of breath even at rest ( lying down is the worst, making sleep difficult).

Background: I'm 57, female, never overweight until forced inactivity a couple years ago. My lab work shows some inflammation but otherwise - ~perfect~. My BP was 148/90 this week - the highest it's ever been. It's never been over 120/86 before and 100/68 is typical. I have a 45 year + history of arrhythmia symptoms but no diagnosis until 1999. Environmental allergens (molds, inks rubber) are a major trigger - especially when I was a preteen (dismissed as teen whinning then). I've had heat prostration 3 times, have AFib and vasovagal synocope, and a minor hole between my upper chambers.

Magnesium significantly reduces my allergen response and my migraines. Doctors focus on stress, but I believe it plays only a minor role, since bad news does not often trigger it ( tried lexapro to appease doctors - did not help) . I recently discovered that virtually all my relatives on my paternal grandfather's side, have AFib, as well as migraines that often begin in early childhood. We're also prone to heat prostration/sunstroke and get Alzheimer's if we live long enough. There are NO known heart related deaths in my well documented family, going all the way back to the 1600's! My family is tiny - there are 146 people with this surname alive today.

An ablation was no more effective than any meds I've taken. Meds have been a nightmare - I'm unable to wake myself up in the morning when I'm on them, and fall asleep diving. I have yet to be prescribed coumadin, but based on my past history with meds I don't have high expectations of it. I eat salt to control vaso vagal symptoms and heat prostration but don't see an improvement from that either.

I contacted some cousins and discovered that nearly all of us have the same set of symptom, to varying degrees - no one has gotten any answers and we're all pretty frustrated. None of us have had a doctor mention nutrients like potassium and magnesium., let alone test for them. However, in internet research, I found strong links between these conditions and a mineral deficiency. Recent studies show that people often progress from AFib to Alzheimers.

I then shopping for a doctor who has some training in nutrition - and who understands it's not good enough that an element gets into the blood - it must also get into the muscles etc to do any good. Who tests for this? Very few labs do, and very few doctors know about them. I think the truth is they were never trained in nutrition and don't know anything about it. I've come to suspect that medical schools are heavily funded by pharmaceutical companies, and because of it, they simply do not teach this very essential aspect of medicine. When I finally found a doctor who uses an intensive lab ( Spectracell), I asked about this and she not only confirmed it, but went on a rant about it - said that doctors - especially cardiologists and endocrinologists, take financial advantage of it - so no one wants to change it (We get sicker but they get richer, so who cares?). Next day I happened to have a dentist appointment, and mentioned my hunch to her, and she went on a very similar rant! My new primary agreed that my condition is quite obviously genetic, and agreed that thorough testing is in order, beginning with testing from Spectracell labs (samples sent off yesterday - results come back in 3 weeks).

In 25 years of being chronically ill; the last 13 with diagnosed heart problems, not ONE doctor has mentioned minerals or sort of testing for them. There has been absolutely no interest in finding the root cause - only in stopping the irregularities. To me, that's not medicine. My primary concern about getting a pacemaker is that once I have it, that will be the end of concern about the cause. I'm concerned about having a stroke, obviously, but also about Alzheimer's - and about my children and other relatives who are at the migraine stage of this!

Does this sound like anything some of you have been through? Any words of advice would be welcome.

PS - I do take minerals, in the most digestible forms I can find, and I also take other things to help with absorption - I keep tweaking these and results have been mixed.

Laurel