Failed EKG!!! I'm SCARED!!!

[skr0w]

I just took an EKG to allow me to participate in a local firefighting mentoring program. The doc said I had abnormalities when he looked at my EKG. Do you all think it might be caused by ephedrine i was taking? I was taking 2 a day along with 200mg of caffine for the past five weeks and stopped yesterday to help me get cut for the beach. If I would of known i was getting an EKG i would of never of taken the epherdrine. PLEASE ADVISE.

[bulldawg_28]

The same thing happened to me when I was on ephedra. I had a tachycardia(sp), with abnormal sinus rhythms. It's the ephedrine bro....relax. Or your heat rate will just go up even more.

[Merc..]

The same thing happened to me when I was on ephedra. I had a tachycardia(sp), with abnormal sinus rhythms. It's the ephedrine bro....relax. Or your heat rate will just go up even more.

I do agree totally ,but in these tyes of sitituations (IMO) it always best to see a doc and go from there..

Merc

[bulldawg_28]

I forgot to mention that after I got my EKG, I went and got an ultrasound of my heart, and bloodwork done. Everything was fine.

Be sure to increase your potassium and taurine intake, even when you're running ephedrine.

[skr0w]

Do you all think he could of picked it up when he listened to my heart beat?
Damn that ephedrine!!!

[bulldawg_28]

He'd probably just pick up a faster heart rate. He wouldn't be able to find any abnormal sinus rhythms.

[Merc..]

He'd probably just pick up a faster heart rate. He wouldn't be able to find any abnormal sinus rhythms.

^^^^^^



merc

[skr0w]

So do you all think i sould go to another walk in clinic to see if they pass me I kind of would like to start the training process tommorow. Like i said I thought i'd just show up and the doc would take my bp weight and say your good to go. I'm not sure if I should take the chance if another doc might be able to pic up on it.

[bulldawg_28]

I'd wait until the ephedrine is completely out of your system. Give yourself a week atleast. But for now, eat plenty of foods rich in potassium, drink plenty of water, and avoid any nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, etc. Do all of these to help bring your heart rate back down to normal.

[skr0w]

How long should i wait to i get anther ekg reading done. My last day was on thursday. when will it be back to normal?

[Dizz28]

^^^ What bulldog said is on the money...

You should wait till all those stimulants are out of your system before you get another one. EKGs will come out "abnormal" if you have a fast or irregular heart beat both caused by stimulants.

A doctor or even a trained nurse could tell the difference between that and a more serious problem...and like Merc said you should rely on them to read it and let you know what's wrong with you

Dizz

[Luuke]

Stimulants like caffiene etc.. have been known to make you throw PVC's premature ventricular contractions which would show an abnormal EKG. Just lay off the stuff drink your mulitvitamins and hydrate yourself.

If it's abnormal ask why and what rhythm? Too fast, too slow, extra beats etc...

Some people naturally throw PVC's but once they are put under stress or a workload (example stress test) they disappear. If they don't disappear that's not a good thing.

Either way just lay off the stimulants and go get another EKG and if you fail that. Try a cardiologist

[skr0w]

How long should I wait to go back to the doc??

[magic32]

Do you all think he could of picked it up when he listened to my heart beat?
Damn that ephedrine!!!

This depends on when your last dose prior to testing was...Eph's active life is short!

[skr0w]

This depends on when your last dose prior to testing was...Eph's active life is short!

The last dose was about 18 hrs. before the physical. It's funny becuase i got a phyical from a diff. doc. to get my current job 2 months ago and they didn't say a thing. I started the ephedrine 3 weeks after the first phyical and now I have abnormal ekg. How long do you guys think i need for it to return back to normal if this abnormality is caused by the ephedrine?

[skr0w]

So if i wait a week I'd be alright to get a stress test done? or should I wait longer?

[sarcomere]

What is your heart rate now? If your heart rate is normal maybe it's out of your system..

[skr0w]

around 70beats per minute. But would that cause an abnormal reading. He showed me the printout and said see these two dips in the reading they are not supposed to be there.

[skr0w]

The reason I'm asking is becuase I'm getting a stress test done thursday. It will be one week since I took the last ephedrine pill. Just want to make sure that wont effect my stress test.

[sarcomere]

I wish you had the EKG cause it usually tells you the reason at the top and then you could have a better idea what is happening. If it's only because of the caffeine and ephedrine I would think because both of them have a short half life that everything would be back to normal in a day or so. Most likely everything is fine.. Some people have abnormalities on their EKG but it is nothing that will cause any problems..

[skr0w]

I wish you had the EKG cause it usually tells you the reason at the top and then you could have a better idea what is happening. If it's only because of the caffeine and ephedrine I would think because both of them have a short half life that everything would be back to normal in a day or so. Most likely everything is fine.. Some people have abnormalities on their EKG but it is nothing that will cause any problems..

So I guess I'd be good to take it on thursday since it will be out of my system. I do have a heart murmer would that show up as an abnormailty?

[sarcomere]

Oh one more thing if it's premature ventricular contractions then they can often be resolved with continuous rehydration and by repleting the balance of magnesium, calcium and potassium within the body... I'm thinking Gatorade

[sarcomere]

A heart murmur is just the sound heard from the stethoscope usually due to an abnormal heart valve and shouldn't show up on the EKG. I can't think of a way that it would show up on the EKG but if somehow the defect causing the murmur (turbulent flow of blood in the heart) was related also to an electrical problem in the heart then I guess it could be on the EKG

[Maldorf]

Each EKG reading has 3 main areas: the p wave, the QRS complex, and then the t wave. Some of the abnormal readings you get are nothing serious, I once had an inverted T wave and it turned out to be nothing. My family doc freaked out and had me take a stress test and nothing turned up. Taking the stress test is fun. If you havent done one yet it bacically entails running on a treadmill with the ekg machine hooked up. The longer you are on it the faster it goes, and the higher the incline goes. It will take anyone to the point of failure eventually. Think I got my heat rate up to something crazy like 190 BPM.

[10nispro]

One other thing to thing about...sleep deprivation...if you are not getting enought rest...good sleep...it puts even more stress on the body. Sleep is the bodies way of recooperating and healing. 70bpm is good and you can still be throwing pvc's. How was your blood pressure? Stay off the stimulants, get rest, and I bet things work out. I was a medic for 10yrs, I personnally had some weird a** ekgs, but everything worked out just with rest and laying off caffeine

[pr0digy9daniel]

Dont take epherine for two weeks, relax, and get good quality sleep. Make sure you take no stimulants, caffeine, and avoid any non-nessasary medication. If you still have the problem, its not the ephedrine...

[skr0w]

Well I went back to the doc today to get another ekg It's been a week since the last one and a week since I stoped taking epherdrine. The results were the same. On the positive side he said he thinks 98% I'll be fine once I get the stress test and echocardiogram done. I asked him why he thinks my ekg was like that and he said "It looks like you were taking something you were not supposed to." I said in response like the ephedrine and fat burners? and he said yes. I don't know if he was also refering to gear, but I did not mention that part. He did talk about the wrestlers who died recently. 98% i like those chances so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's not anything else.

Stress test and echo are scheduled for 8-28.

[Merc..]

Thanks for the update..

Merc

[d smooth]

what was abnormal on the EKG.ie Slow, fast irregular. I too had an abnormal EKg, and i have been a firefighter for 10 years. he should refeer you to a cardiologist which will tell. Its probally just normal for you. good luck .

[skr0w]

What do you guys think about what the doc said?

[skr0w]

I have been hitting juice for around 7 years now 2 cycles a year for 12-16 weeks max with mostly winny, enathate, sus, eq and deca , no dbol or 50's do you think this could cause my ekg to show up abnormal. I'm asking becuse a friend of mine told me his friend in ohio who set powerlifting records died of a heart attack at the age of 27 and he said he was on juice when he died. Maybe he's trying to scare me???

[sarcomere]

An enlarged heart and a heart attack could show up on the EKG, but it is most likely nothing like the dr. said. I'm not trying to scare you just noting possibilities. He should tell you what the EKG shows, next time ask him and let us know... you can even look up what he says online and probably get an answer.. If you look big, 7 years of cycles, then he might suspect your on steroids and maybe the reference to wrestlers was a passive way to suggest stopping. I think any signs that he might see on an EKG are very non-specific to steroid use so he may suspect, but there's no tell tale sign that says your using steroids from and EKG that I know of..

[mesoman]

an EKG cannot detect steroid use per say but it can detect an enlarged heart and a fast heart rate from ephedrine. ask ur MD what the abnormality is, be ohnest with him tell hom what ur on, a good doc would then let u stop ur ephedrine for a period and repeat the EKG if its still abnormal then its been a godsend that its been picked up as u shouldnt be on roids or ephed if u have a cardiac abnormality. i know im an MD!

[perfectbeast2001]

without knowing what kind of abnormality it is it is very difficult to comment. I would trust the doc mate and wait to see what he says.

[XNathan]

Post your EKG record copy... so than I can tell you what is wrong.

Or wait one week than check your EKG again. So than will be origin of your abnormalities more clear.

[RA]

without knowing what kind of abnormality it is it is very difficult to comment. I would trust the doc mate and wait to see what he says.

Beast hit on it right here. Without knowing what the abnormality is we cant even speculate. Several different things could be wrong that would show up on an EKG.

[skr0w]

An enlarged heart and a heart attack could show up on the EKG, but it is most likely nothing like the dr. said. I'm not trying to scare you just noting possibilities. He should tell you what the EKG shows, next time ask him and let us know... you can even look up what he says online and probably get an answer.. If you look big, 7 years of cycles, then he might suspect your on steroids and maybe the reference to wrestlers was a passive way to suggest stopping. I think any signs that he might see on an EKG are very non-specific to steroid use so he may suspect, but there's no tell tale sign that says your using steroids from and EKG that I know of..

What do you mean when you said "but it's most likely nothing like the dr. said?

[skr0w]

an EKG cannot detect steroid use per say but it can detect an enlarged heart and a fast heart rate from ephedrine. ask ur MD what the abnormality is, be ohnest with him tell hom what ur on, a good doc would then let u stop ur ephedrine for a period and repeat the EKG if its still abnormal then its been a godsend that its been picked up as u shouldnt be on roids or ephed if u have a cardiac abnormality. i know im an MD!

When I was 22 im 27 now I had an ekg and an echocardio gram done they said i had a slight enlarged heart but it was perfectly normal becuase i was an athelete and had nothing to be worried about. as far as i can remember the ekg had no abnormalties but I wasn't on ephedrine either.

[RA]

What do you mean when you said "but it's most likely nothing like the dr. said?

Hes just spitballing. We need more info.

[skr0w]

The only thing he told me was that my ekg was not normal for a 27 year old. and that it looks like iv'e been taking something. I said like what ephedrine and fat burners and he said that will do it. He also said that he was 98% sure things would work out once the stress test and echo were done. When he said that I said, "doc. dont shoot me any bull is this your honest opionion. he said it was and he's obligated to give his honest medical opinion. After all this he told me not to worry and metoned the wrestlers and football players that drop dead. Maybe he was just trying to scare me i don't know.