Side Effect of TRT: Anxiety or Heart Palpitations?

[Blankinator]

Long post alert!

I've read several posts on associations of TRT and Anxiety. Anxiety seems to be a cited side effect of high or low E. I'm curious if anyone has attributed TRT to heart palpitations.

I'm 4 months in to TRT and 3 weeks ago was diagnosed by my cardiologist with PVC's (aka heart palpitations).

I had been feeling some palpitations for a few months but didn't identify them as palpitations. I had been having palpitations but thought they were the beginnings of anxiety or panic attacks. One day a few weeks ago, I woke up feeling the palpitations and they really didn't stop all morning. As my better half (see my profile pic) works in a cardiology office, I got in that day and they identified palpitations. Stress test done and everything was "fine" except for palpitations. Wearing a "halter" monitor for 24 hours revealed that 20% of my beats were "abnormal". Other than T, .5 of my AI, 81mg aspirin, and fish oil, I'm off all other supplements, caffeine, and anything else for 3 weeks now.

Now these palpitations, when I first felt them, seemed like what happens about 2 seconds after you are startled...that "sinking" feeling in your chest. My palpitations were random but occurring anywhere between 6 and 15 beats when they were happening. So, I had that "sinking" feeling every 6 to 15 beats. It very much gave me a trigger to panic - especially when they would happen frequently over a few consecutive minutes. It wasn't until I woke up that day and they just didn't stop that I zeroed in on my pulse and realized a beat would "skip" every so often.

So, I'm on a light beta blocker and headed to see my cardiologist on Tuesday after a second 24 hour period of wearing the halter monitor. But it has me wondering if some of these "anxiety" issues might actually be heart palpitations due to either higher-than-normal levels of T or from out of whack E2.

My cardiologist says if we can't get these palpitations under 10% of total beats on average, a possible intervention might be an "ablation" procedure. Since I'm not a fan of having a portion of my heart zapped/killed, I'm hoping to get to a root cause and hoping something less intrusive can get these under control or eradicated.

I'm thinking of asking for some T and E testing a few days after my weekly shot to see what my "peak" levels of T and E are. My testing usually happens 7 days after my shot which is of course when my trough of levels occur. My TRT doc agrees that high T levels can be a trigger for palpitations and is open to reducing my dosage to see if that has an impact. (My dosage of T was upped to 160mg per week about 2 weeks before the palpitations really increased.)

My E levels rose the first 30 to 60 days and the AI seems to be controlling it into the "normal" ranges, so I'm wondering if it could be the artificially "high" T triggering these things.

Any thoughts on this or similar experiences?

Thanks in advance to the gurus here for any input.

[bass]

same story here, two months into TRT I felt my heart stop every once in while, it felt like a lump in my throat, so went through all the testing you been through and was diagnosed with PVC, my doc told me that 50% of the world have them and only 20% of those know they have PVC. its not life threatening but if they don't go a way I encourage you to do the procedure, its painless and permanent, I read allot about it.

I hardly have them since I lowered my dose to 120 ew and got my E2 under control, but if I drink coffee I get them all day, however not with tea! it took about a year and half for them to go away, not entirely but I hardly get them now.

[Brazensol]

I get pvc's too but I had them before I started trt. I notice them most whenever I let myself get dehydrated. You may have always had them but something lately has caused you to become aware of them. It may or may not have been the trt. Not sure what shape you are in but since I lost most of my fat and started cardio, except for when I'm dehydrated, I rarely, if ever, feel them anymore. Doesn't mean they aren't there but if they are they are not noticeable.

I don't know if you've ever listened to your own heart with a stethoscope but it is a very weird experience to hear your heart throw pvc's. Quite unsettling actually! Good luck getting to the cause of this.

[Blankinator]

same story here, two months into TRT I felt my heart stop every once in while...
I hardly have them since I lowered my dose to 120 ew and got my E2 under control, but if I drink coffee I get them all day, however not with tea! it took about a year and half for them to go away, not entirely but I hardly get them now.

Thanks for the input Bass. I'm getting some BW back today on my T and E levels. Might ask the doc to reduce my T dosage to see if a little lower impacts the PVC's.

[Blankinator]

I get pvc's too but I had them before I started trt. I notice them most whenever I let myself get dehydrated. You may have always had them but something lately has caused you to become aware of them. It may or may not have been the trt...

I don't know if you've ever listened to your own heart with a stethoscope but it is a very weird experience to hear your heart throw pvc's. Quite unsettling actually! Good luck getting to the cause of this.

Yeah - knowing what I know now, I may have had PVC's for a while on and off and now they recently have gotten worse.

I haven't had a chance to listen on a stethoscope, but I did get to watch the valves during the stress test on ultrasound. Interesting. And not at all what I would have imagined.

[barack_obama]

I've been experiencing PVCs for about 4 or 5 years now being fully aware of what is happening. I believe I've had them since I was a kid, just never paid attention. I too initially thought it was the onset of a panic attack. Though stress does mildly effect the PVCs, mine are more bothered by other situations.

I ended up having both hypopituitarism and adrenal insufficiency. Since I started the meds for my adrenal insufficiency (prednisone), the PVCs have all but stopped. Having the adrenal insufficiency, my body was not properly using and ridding of salts/potassium (in my case, very MILD hyperkalemia). If I eat too much potassium, the PVCs come back. Caffeine and other stimulants also irritate my PVCs.

Did your doc run full metabolic panels(note: if he didn't, run quickly to find a new doctor)? If you are comfortable, would you post the results?

[Brazensol]

Yeah - knowing what I know now, I may have had PVC's for a while on and off and now they recently have gotten worse.

I haven't had a chance to listen on a stethoscope, but I did get to watch the valves during the stress test on ultrasound. Interesting. And not at all what I would have imagined.

It's pretty freaky! You get the extra heartbeat early which messes up the rythm and then there is a long pause before the next beat and you start to wonder if its going to beat or not. Even after listening for a long time it still creeps me out a little. Ok, a lot. lol. It's just weird.

[bass]

It's pretty freaky! You get the extra heartbeat early which messes up the rythm and then there is a long pause before the next beat and you start to wonder if its going to beat or not. Even after listening for a long time it still creeps me out a little. Ok, a lot. lol. It's just weird.

good thing its not life threatening, well, at least that's what the doc said

[Blankinator]

Did your doc run full metabolic panels(note: if he didn't, run quickly to find a new doctor)? If you are comfortable, would you post the results?

No test run like that yet. I WILL ask on Thursday though.