Iron supplement and increase ectopic heart beats

Posted by susieq1957 @susieq1957, Jan 18 1:54pm

Hello. A week ago my doctor agreed that it would be a good idea to start a low dose of iron supplement due to my ferritin being on the low side. I purchased a bottle of iron bisglycinate 18mg. It's supposed to be the gentlest form in regards to not causing constipation or tummy issues. Well, a few hours after I took one my tummy hurt and had a bubbly feeling and the skipped heart beats started which scare me like they always do. I skipped taking the supplement the following day but still had the symptoms, I tried it again the next day and the symptoms got even worse. I had bad tummy aches and the skips really increased. I am still not feeling well and I stopped taking the supplement three days ago. I am so upset, I was feeling so good before the iron and my skipped heart beats were getting less and less, sure, I still had the horrid things, but they definitely had gotten better. I am in tears. I am going to call my GP and tell her what happened, I am not going I take them again.
I am prone to lots of skipped heart beats and atrial runs and tummy pain, so it doesn't take much to start them up. They scare me so much.
Has anyone else had this issue if you have taken iron supplements?

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calson | @calson | Jan 20 5:01pm

As a male there is not the need for an iron supplement to my diet. When my wife took one it was the lowest dose available and then only with food.

More frequent blood draws will help you to determine the minimum amount needed. I needed to do that with vitamin D as I needed to check actual blood serum levels with different daily doses. Without the blood testing I would never have known the amount needed for my body.

susieq1957 | @susieq1957 | Jan 20 5:47pm

In reply to @calson "As a male there is not the need for an iron supplement to my diet. When..." + (show)

@calson I just talked to my GP, she said not to take it. She said at this time it really isn't too serious if I don't take it as the ferritin is on the low side of normal. She said we will keep checking it and if it dies goes lower, then we'll have to figure out a way to take the supplement.
I, too am lie on Vitamin D, unfortunately here in New Zealand the government doesn't feel that blood work is necessary (which is ridiculous in my opinion, if course it's necessary) so I have to pay.

daniellemarie87 | @daniellemarie87 | Mar 19 1:37pm

In reply to @susieq1957 "@gloaming I started having these darn heart skips in my late 30's after mom had her..." + (show)

@susieq1957

@gloaming
I started having these darn heart skips in my late 30's after mom had her first heart attack. I wore a 24 hour holter monitor and I only had a few ectopic beats, nothing else. Well, I had them off and on and some PSVTs (Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia)as well, but nothing major, but they scared me. I was fortunate that I never had a lot back then. After mom died from complications from vascular surgery, they started again and this time a lot more and more atrial runs. I wore 7 day events monitors , and had a couple of echocardiograms
This was when I was 49 to 54. Daddy died from cancer, and then the skips got worse again. I married a man from New Zealand and I moved there when
I was 55(I live here now)and the ectopic heart beats and PSVTs have taken a turn for the worse. I am now 68 and I live every day in constant fear of them. Every little strange best sends me into panic and I cry. I have worn two 7 day monitors once a few years ago and one a couple of months ago. I had an echocardiogram a year ago. All "normal" results. I have lost track of all the times I have gone to the ER, again, I am always discharged because all blood work and EKGs are normal. I just now had a short run of PSVTs, at least I think it was that, I am petrified of having A fib. I am sick with fear, no matter how hard I try, I can't stop being frightened. I am going to see my GP tomorrow to see if she'll refer me to have another echo done. I wasn't happy with the first as it said on one part that the image quality was only fair and poor subcoastal windows. I paid a lot for the exam, I want it done right. I should have said something earlier, but I didn't think about it. Lately, I have been having the ectopic heart beats all day and night which are horrible, they are not sustained but persistent all day. I don't know how much more I can take. That's when I really studied the echo report a few days ago and it concerns me, I am surprised that I haven't been called for another actually due to the fact of what it said about the images. Also, the cardiologist said it was "an essentially normal echocardiogram" It did show MAC-Mitral Annular calculation, but no stenosis and just very trivial MR. The aortic valve had some thickening valves, but no stenosis or AR. The rest of the report was OK. I am concerned that he didn't mention another review as it's been a year. I am so scared I can't think straight. I didn't think much about it when I got the report, but now that AI answers questions, I feel like I know more and I am doubting my doctors. I just can't stop being scared. Oh, ejection fraction good, it was 72.
I also have fibromyalgia, a hiatal hernia and costochondritis, I get sternal chest pain at times and that scares me. Again, all blood work and EKGs and time on the monitor while in the ER are "normal".
I have to have relief from these ectopic heart beat fears. I am feeling weird again in my tummy and chest, this usually precedes the skipped beats, I am scared. The doctor told me to take Ativan,but I am scared of it, I am 68 and have glaucoma and those are two things that the warnings on the drug say to watch for and to not take it. She said to cut it in 4ths, but I am still scared. I know lots of people that have these horrible heart beats take Xanax, but I don't feel safe in doing so. Beta blockers really aren't an option as my blood pressure is low normal and heart rate in the 60s to 70s even during the skips, it is elevated when I have PSVTs.
I also get them after I eat or drink water. I probably don't drink enough water due to fear of the skips starting when I do. Bending over and lying down can also be a catylist. I am a mess.😭

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@susieq1957 I feel so bad for you i have been where you are living in fear and I can promise you that fear is whats making them all day and night I have always felt ectopic beats but the last 4 years they have been at there worst its only been the last few months ihave started to really try and conquer my fear and I can most days but some days I get totally fed up but I keep fighting I refuse to go back to that constant fear because the fear makes them none stop and I honestly cant cope with that it sends me to A&E its so hard to accept them but another thing my hormones play a massive roll in them xx

marybird | @marybird | Mar 19 5:35pm

I've fought iron deficiency anemia and taken iron supplements a number of times over the last few years. In my case this was caused by GI bleeding, from colon cancer ( happily now NED for 4 years), and gastric ulcers that tend to bleed. I've taken an iron supplement called Vitron C, which contains 65 mg of elemental iron and 125 mg of Vitamin C. The vitamin C enhances the absorption of the iron, and the instructions were to take the tablet on an empty stomach. I take it at around 5AM ( when I wake up to answer the call of nature anyway), then go back to bed and sleep a couple more hours, if it causes any nausea I sleep through that. This product is advertised to be "gentle on the digestive system and less constipating that other iron supplements, and I haven't had any issues with it.

I also had several iron infusions just after my colon resection surgery as I was severely anemic from the cancer bleeding and the surgery. I haven't noticed that either the iron tablets or the infusions resulted in increased arrhythmias. I've had a long history of SVT, and have added A-fib and A-flutter in recent years, but these are well controlled and manageable with medication and life style most of the time.

Best of luck to you!

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