u/SetMom

Just what the title says, and I can prove it. If you have these episodes of Tachycardia, there is one specific place it feels really weird and annoying. The hole your poop comes out, there's a lot of blood flowing through it, and it pulsating at 180+ times per minute feels extremely weird.

Before I get into the what - best piece of advice I was given a couple years ago that works to make the Tachycardia slow down or stop, squat a little and squeeze your muscles like you are pooping. I don't know why it works, but it works about 90% of the time. Before I learned that, my episodes could go on for 30+ mins or more..

----<even more> Boring stuff for people this doesn't affect, but Wade, seriously, it could save you a lot of time and money with one simple blood test----

A little over 20 years ago I started, out of the blue, having random Tachycardia events where my heart rate would go to 200 bpm or higher for short periods of time. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason, it wasn't brought on by stress or anxiety, as panic attacks typically are. I was also having other random things, like my knees hurting, which I equated to getting older, even though I wasn't 30 yet at that time...

I went through the Dr House gambit of testing - Even though I also have heart issues in my family - heart was great, CT clean, MRI clean, Spinal Tap clean, every kind of test came back normal. Except for one blood test. My doctor had ordered a Lyme Disease Titer test, even though I had never had found a tick on me, certainly never had a bulls-eye rash, and hadn't gone out in the woods for years (this was my indoor gaming period of my life). But, it explained everything...

....Even more boring sciencey stuff...
Lyme disease screws you! Seriously, Lyme is cork screw shaped, so it can go through blood, muscle, brain, anywhere in the body it desires. This is why you see all these people diagnosed with Lyme with vastly different symptoms. For me, it was the Tachycardia, my knees, because Lyme can also cause arthritis in the joints, and my memory, were the big issues. When I researched it years ago, there was a theory that it may also contribute to big afflictions that tend to show up later in life that they don't have explanations for - Alzheimers, Parkinsons, MS, though I have not checked back on that.

Last I knew, which was about 8 years ago when my daughter was tested, they still didn't have a definitive blood test to determine if you have Lyme disease. Instead, it's a "titer test" which measures your anti-bodies to Lyme. Iirc, if you have 3 bands, they consider that a positive. For you, it's still just a simple blood test your doctor can order. If it comes back positive, odds are, with your symptoms, you have Stage 3, which means you've had it for awhile.

...The "Cure"...
This is the bad news, there really isn't one. When I was diagnosed, I had one month of heavy antibiotics, which did help. It stopped the rapid progression, but it didn't cure the damage it had already done. I still have arthritis in my knees, which I take a daily baby arthritis medicine for. (Side note - it's a fun party trick, because even though they typically don't hurt, my knees sound like someone biting through Chicken Wing bones as I go up and down the stairs). The Tachycardia became infrequent, but didn't go away, which I have low blood pressure, so there is nothing to take for it. My memory didn't get any worse, till recently, but that actually is age taking it's toll.

So while it might not be great news, if I am right, and a simple blood test can tell you, at least you will have answers and can hopefully stop the progression.

If it's not that, at least I gave you a trick for your Tachycardia.

I sincerely hope this helps you or anyone else that may be going through similar, undiagnosed medical issues. Because even if you don't have the same symptoms, but seem to have other idiopathic ones, a simple blood test may give you answers.