KEPT UTERUS - Ovaries removed: Heart Palpitations - What were yours like and any advice on getting through them

Hi all! I'm 5 1/2 weeks post op. Although my surgeon decided to keep my uterus in place, I had both tubes and ovaries removed, so am definitely dealing with the fun of surgical menopause. (I'm 42, so I hadn't hit even perimenopause just yet.)

I'm frustrated a bit because I am starting to feel good, energy is still low, but not terrible... but I'm struggling with heart palpitations, and they are driving me crazy! I had 2 bad episodes about 1 week post-op where they started at night, lasted for an hour and the kind of continued mildly most of the next day. I went to my GP and had the gamut of tests: ekg, blood work, echocardiogram, holter monitor. Nothing major was found. (some slight issues with irregularities in the electrical impulses... but supposedly somewhat common.) My surgeon thought that HRT might resolve them.

Well, I've been on HRT for just over a week now and had an awful day today with the palpitations. They started up at 10pm last night and have been off and on all day today.

I know the tests were all clear, but I still find this very scary! And very uncomfortable! And it seems like my doc isn't very clear on the relationship between estrogen and heart palpitations.

Has anyone else experienced long stretches of palpitations like this? (off and on for hours or a whole day?) Did they eventually calm down as you settled into HRT? Its making me tired and anxious and I'm feeling pretty down. I feel almost as though I've traded one set of problems for another...
I'd love any stories of similar experiences or advice for things that helped you to calm your palpitations when they happened...

It might be worth posting in the menopause part of the site, since that's your possible problem.
I had lots of scary palpitation events pre-op because of very low haemoglobin but haven't been active enough since to set them off again and am presumably now in a much better state anyway. I've had them on and off through peri-menopause too.

Oh! Thank you!
That's a good suggestion. I guess I sort of straddle the line between "recovering" and "menopause" here. I'm new and just learning where everything is.
Thanks for the suggestion!

I hope you find some helpful answers!

My dr suggested that cutting out caffeine would probably help, and it really did

Thank you. I cut out caffeine before the surgery...
Thank you for the suggestion though! That's exactly what I'm looking for now... things to try while I wait to see if they might go away while my body adjusts to the HRT.
I'm having a palpitation about every 15 minutes today and it is just driving me nuts. Arrgh.

Not related to my surgery, but I’ve had heart palpitations on and off for several years. After cutting out caffeine, and getting regular exercise, what has helped me is a low dose of beta-blocker. I’ve been taking them daily for about 4 years and have many fewer episodes like the ones you describe. Before my Dr prescribed them I did all the tests you did, plus a 30-day monitor, which showed PACs and PVCs (neither dangerous, but definitely annoying). Now, I have occasional palpitations when very anxious or under a lot of stress, but nothing like what I used to experience. I know my experience is a little different than yours, but I know how scary those can feel and just wanted to let you know what worked for me. Take care!

I have had PVCs, or irregular rhythm’s that are benign after each of my three surgeries this year. I am on a beta blocker now because they would go on for hours at a time. So very annoying. I feel your pain!

Hello,

I don't know if this is the same thing but when I was in the hospital during night one, my heart rate while sleeping was in the 150's. I didnt even realize something was wrong until the next day. While laying in bed, I'd start shaking. If I got up, it went away. They did all the tests and it showed I had afib...probably as a result of surgery.

I ended up staying one extra night because it continued to happen the next day. They ran the tests again and it showed the afib was gone. As a result, I've been on metoprolol, it's a blood pressure medicine that prevents the rapid heart rate, also a beta blocker like someone else commented. I hadon't high but controlled blood pressure prior to surgery. After surgery it took a while to get back to normal.

I only have one ovary, everything else is gone. No HRT.

It could also be anxiety. I know some people who have the rapid heart rate when they are having an axiety attack. Or just your body's was of getting used to the new you.

Good luck, I hope you get it figured out soon.

I've moved your thread here to the Kept Uterus - No Ovaries forum and hope you'll get some further input from members who can relate.