Well I ended up spending a good part of the day at the medical clinic. I started with the rheumatologist this morning. I had experienced heart palpitations most of saturday and sunday...pulse rate between 100 and 110 off and on. She wanted me to have it checked so I got in to see my PCP this afternoon. He wasn't that concerned but wanted to check it out so I got a blood test and an EKG. I'm supposed to call the cardiologist tomorrow and schedule a halter test over a 24 hr period. And, while I was there they gave me a flu shot! I recently stopped MTX (now taking Humira only) after using it for almost 3 years...wondering if that might have triggered something. My doctor seems pretty confident it will settle down on it's own. And, of course, it could just be stress or anxiety. Anyone else experience rapid or irregular heart rate after starting or stopping MTX or Humira?
Alan
Been there, done that with the halter tests. I think they are unnerving because you have to report every single thing and it's your heart. Anxiety and stess certainly can contribute. Mine was not related to start or stopping medications with exception of using asthma inhalers or upping prednisone.
Hopefully, they won't find anything. If they were really worried, they would put you in the hospital. Mine is controlled with Toprol XL. Sometimes I also have to use Nitroglycerin. But it is not considered serious in my case. I hope you check out ok.
Hi Alan - I got tachachardia (rapid heart rate) from Elavil (amitriptyline). It can be a side effect of it....quit the drug and it stopped. Too bad - I slept great on it.
I just started Humira TODAY! So couldn't tell you about that - or MTX either, just started that last week.
Hope you find out what's bothering your body!!
My doctor said is was very unlikely that the RA meds were the cause...it's not a known side effect. I didn't hear from the doctor today and he said he would call if there was anything abnormal in the EKG. Thanks for the concern! I'll let you know what I find out later this week.
Trixie: good luck with the Humira. So far it has worked very well for me (...about 6 months) with no noticeable side effects. MTX also worked well for me but it does have some annoying side effects...not too bad for me though.
Alan
Alan-
I just finished having the blood work, EKG, and Holter monitor done. I too was having a rapid heartbeat with irregular beats. It was VERY unnerving to say the least. At the time I was on Arava 20mg every day. To make a long story short, I ended up in ER with horrible pain, it ended up being my gallbladder. I had surgery. Liver enzymes were elevated. Dr. said it was from the gallbladder/stones. However, I don't believe they know everything about the side effects of these crazy drugs! I believe in my heart, that Arava precipitated all of this stuff. I took Arava months ago but had to stop because of stomach pain-the exact pain I had when I went to ER with my gallbladder. The pain went away after stopping the Arava last time. The Arava did work for the arthritis, so I decided to try it a second time. Funny thing though, the gallbladder pain started exactly 30 days after starting the Arava-BOTH times. I don't believe it was a coincidence.
Not all arrythmias are detected by an EKG. The purpose of the Holter Monitor is to monitor the heart for 24 hrs. It is a very useful tool in detecting what is called SVT - Supraventricular Tacchycardia, A-fib and others.Emma do you have the courage to try arava the 3rd time? If it was bugging your gallblader - now that it is gone it might be ok. Kinda like eating some fatty foods.
I am teasing you a bit.. I don't want to see you throw out a drug that did work for your arthritis. But I sure would not blame you for not wanting to give it the 3rd chance, either.
Alan I am sorry for your troubles. Hope that it just turns out to be another goofy episode with no repeats.I got the test results back today. The EKG and blood tests were all normal. I do the Halter test next Tuesday. My doctor is even more convinced it will take care of itself...no problems today. I'm still a bit suspicious that stopping the MTX may have caused the irregularities...it takes a long time for MTX to wash out of your system. However, the rheumatologist doesn't think so. Oh well!
By the way, my rheumatologist was very adamant about getting the flu shot...says it's very unlikely that it would cause any problems.
Thanks for your expressions of concern,
Alan