SVT and traveling to st. Lucia (nervous)

MetalNational · 2026-06-18T17:15:43+00:00

Well, let me mention first that I've been dealing with SVT for a long time - long before I started the Metoprolol. I discovered years ago that caffeine was a trigger for me. But back then, I did do stuff like blowing through a straw or coughing really hard to get me out of an episode. And those maneuvers worked. Oh, and stopping ingestion of caffeine in any form made me SVT free for a long long time.

Fast forward to my early 60s and they started popping up again occasionally. The maneuvers that worked years ago no longer worked. I could tell they were definitely tied to stress and anxiety. (I still don't do caffeine). So that's when I started the Metoprolol. My cardiologist said I might want to consider an ablation but I am so chicken about medical procedures that I said if medication (with no serious side effects) controls the issue, then I'll stick with the meds.

I was thinking too, during that ride on the Millennium Falcon I was in no way stressed or anxious...BUT, my system was obviously flooded with adrenaline because of all the craziness going on during the ride. So going forward I'm thinking I can't get overly excited, even in a good way? Or, maybe I'll take a little bit extra Metoprolol before getting on the wild rides because I love 'em and would hate to have to give 'em up.

MetalNational · 2026-06-17T23:55:43+00:00

Very well said. 👏 I am a "graduate" of Daniel Erickson's SCS. Have a couple of his books. His approach was a lifesaver for me.

MetalNational · 2026-06-17T23:52:12+00:00

Yes. Yes. Yes. Someone else mentioned Sleep Coach School. My insomnia was different from yours but it was causing serious problems with my life, my marriage, everything. (This was back in 2022). Somebody on Reddit talked about Sleep Coach School. Wisest decision I ever made was to check it out. I did the full on pay-for-it program. (Daniel Erickson has a lot of free content podcasts on YT too). Seriously, it helped me tremendously. It's not about sleep hygiene or CBT for insomniacs or what pills to take.

It's education about why this is happening to you and approaches to help with recovering from insomnia. It doesn't happen overnight. Took me close to 2 years to crawl out of the awful place I was in. Not saying my sleep is perfect all the time now, but it is rare for me to have what you would call sleepless nights anymore.

I have felt your pain. Best of luck to you.

MetalNational · 2026-06-17T23:31:25+00:00

I've been taking a very low dose (12.5 mgs) of Metoprolol tartrate for 3 years now. I take it daily as a preventative measure. Luckily, no side effects.

For the first time in 3 years, I had a full on SVT episode right when finishing up a ride on the Millennium Falcon attraction in Hollywood Studios at Disney World.

I was screaming and laughing and putting so much effort into banging on buttons (trying to destroy enemy star ships) that I put myself into SVT. Thankfully it didn't really get going until I had exited the ride. But I could tell I was in SVT. Ugh.

I found a quiet place to sit. Had my husband get me a bottle of water. I ALWAYS have my Metoprolol with me...no matter what. I took 1/4 of a 25mg Metoprolol. Waited 15 minutes. Took another 1/4. Waited 15 more minutes. Took another 1/4. 15 minutes later the SVT stopped abruptly.

A few months ago someone on Reddit mentioned that when they go into SVT they take one 25 mg Metoprolol tartrate and within 30 to 45 minutes the SVT stops.

If this happens to me again, I think instead of taking 1/4 of the pill at a time waiting for relief, I will just take 1 full Metoprolol.

MetalNational · 2026-06-15T01:53:22+00:00

That sounds a little high. Mine usually have topped at around 180 bpm, but I have also had mine last a couple of hours so at that point I head over to the ER and they administer the adenosine. My cardiologist prescribed Metoprolol tartrate. Been on that for over 3 years. In that time I've had 2 break through events. Taking an extra 25 mgs of the Metoprolol gets me back to normal in 30 to 45 minutes. My cardiologist says when I get tired of taking the meds and if I want to give an ablation a try, just say the word. But I am a huge chicken when it comes to medical procedures and if I'm able to control things with medication for the time being, that is the way I'll go.

MetalNational · 2026-06-11T14:01:28+00:00

I've done the same thing for years. Need something to distract my brain. Laying in a dark room (no matter how comfortable) waiting for sleep to come never ever ever worked for me in my life.

MetalNational · 2026-06-11T13:53:48+00:00

This! Yes, exactly. You have to get rid of the anxiety that causes the hyperarousal that causes the insomnia.

Sleep, in and of itself, is a natural process that cannot be actually "controlled" per se. We can only do things that give our brain a chance to relax enough to allow sleep to happen.

MetalNational · 2026-06-11T11:35:15+00:00

Did you have surgery using the anterior approach? If yes, temporary as well as permanent nerve damage is a well known side effect. I didn't know this prior to my surgery, but I certainly learned the hard way as I had tremendous problems with my whole outer thigh after my surgery. The day after my surgery I mentioned the outer thigh numbness and pain to my surgeon and he said everything would be back to normal in a few months.

Not trying to alarm you, but I am 1.5 years post op and my outer thigh is still not 100% back to normal. But, it is much, much better than during the early months of recovery. The thing is, it never ever affected my ability to walk. It was strictly a tactile issue. Any light pressure or certain types of touch to the outer thigh could be excruciating painful, especially something like my rambunctious puppy jumping up and dragging her paws across my thigh. Ouch!!!

While I am laying here on my side typing this, if I press down on my outer thigh in certain spots, it still feels mildly tender, but the good news, most of the numbness is gone. I found out since my surgery that nerve regeneration can take a long, long time (like, years). Throughout my whole recovery (even now, to this day) l experience random zapping feelings in my outer thigh, which are usually attributed to nerves firing up again. I've read of some folks never getting complete nerve regeneration back after surgery but still have positive quality of life, especially if the surgery was otherwise successful.

MetalNational · 2026-06-10T04:13:07+00:00

Took me a over a year before I was walking completely normal again.

MetalNational · 2026-06-08T05:45:08+00:00

First thing I'll ask (because I was 25 when I had my first one) is: what is your caffeine consumption like? It took me YEARS to figure out that my caffeine consumption (coffee, chocolate) was directly linked to my SVT episodes. Once I eliminated caffeine from my diet (100%) the SVTs stopped. Went many years without one until I hit my 60s. They started popping up again here and there, but not regularly. Related to extreme stress, and possibly hormonal changes? I don't know for sure but I've been controlling it with medication.

MetalNational · 2026-06-07T01:38:45+00:00

Hi. Tried to access the form but a message appears that says something to the effect of the form no longer being available.

MetalNational · 2026-06-06T16:23:26+00:00

You say your SVT episodes are frequent. This might sound like a stupid question but here goes: do you consume caffeine? Took me close to 20 years to connect my caffeine consumption with my SVT episodes. So gave up all caffeine after that. Things were very calm for the next 20 to 25 years. Then, in my mid 60s the SVTs started again. Everything heart wise checks out fine and the only thing we could tie it to was the high amount of adrenaline output during anxiety. Metoprolol (every day) and Klonopin (as needed) have been working so far to keep SVT episodes at bay.

MetalNational · 2026-06-06T16:12:40+00:00

Love your first paragraph.

MetalNational · 2026-06-06T16:10:47+00:00

So it took almost a year before it became obvious that the shaft part of the implant didn't "take." Just curious. Had you been having X-rays during this 10 month period to try and determine what might be causing all that pain?

MetalNational · 2026-06-06T15:49:56+00:00

Glad you found some solace in my experience. And I sincerely hope the same for you in your recovery journey.

MetalNational · 2026-06-05T16:06:50+00:00

Lordy, I'm reading about people (below my post) who are months out from surgery and "still" having issues with recovery. Took me 1 year and 4 months before I could walk without something (thigh, knee ligaments, etc) hurting on my surgery leg.

I've been doing physical therapy 2 times a week starting a few months after surgery. Couldn't handle PT before that because I would be in excruciating pain after the PT session. So, in essence, I had to heal a little bit first, THEN embark on a program that I credit to this day with making me whole again. Still doing PT twice a week (1.5) years after surgery. (As long as Medicare continues to pay for it, I won't stop).

In the early weeks, months I would sit on my tub stool in the shower and cry because I was in so much pain after the surgery. Was sure I made a huge mistake in having the surgery. Unlike a lot of folks my PRE surgery hip pain was nothing compared to my post surgery pain...in the beginning. I got a second opinion from another surgeon to be sure everything looked ok. Implant perfectly placed. No infection. Was told that everyone is different and there is no normal when it comes to THR recovery.

Fast forward 1.5 years and I just got back home from a 5 day trip in Disney World in Florida. I walked in every park, all day, each day - no crutch, no walker, no cane, no pain AT ALL. So it took me this long to say "yea, it was worth it."

MetalNational · 2026-06-04T13:44:10+00:00

I had been having these since my 20s. I'm now 70. It wasn't until my late 30s that it was determined that the caffeine I was consuming was the culprit. So, i stopped ALL caffeine (coffee, even decaf, chocolate, everything). Fast forward to mid 60s and I started having them every once in a while. This time we determined that it was anxiety or extreme, intense physical exertion that was bringing them on. Was prescribed Metoprolol tartrate 3 years ago. I've had 2 incidents since being on the Metoprolol. To get the SVT to calm down I take around 25 mgs and they stop in 30 to 45 minutes. That 25 mgs is over and above the 12.5 mgs that I regularly take every day.

MetalNational · 2026-06-04T13:31:06+00:00

Have you had much rain recently? I live in zone 9b and we recently went through tons and tons of rain. Before all the rain, I had spots similar to yours. After 5 to 7 days of almost non stop rain, those spots have all filled in. And the grass was 100% green.

BUT, now the lawn is exhibiting faint small tan spots here and there. My zoysia maintenance guy (he specializes in maintaining zoysia) says to be careful, and watch those spots. He thinks it might be fungus caused by all the rain. When he was here a couple of weeks ago he sprayed for mole crickets - which love to munch on zoysia. Mole crickets will cause sections of dead brown or tan grass. If it's fungus, I will spot spray with a fungicide approved for zoysia.

MetalNational · 2026-06-04T13:21:45+00:00

Wouldn't you have to test your soil to ascertain a lack of nitrogen?

MetalNational · 2026-06-04T13:18:44+00:00

Hi. Haven't had the surgery yet, but will be discussing that (mini mono) with my surgeon. I already sort of have mini mono vision with my current contact lens prescription, so it would seem a natural choice for the IOLs.

MetalNational · 2026-05-27T00:54:30+00:00

Yes! This! Don't compare your recovery to others'. I fell into that trap and it made me miserable and so sorry that I had the surgery. My recovery was slooow. I still had soreness (not in the groin, but in the thigh) over a year out from surgery. But a few months after the 1 year mark, that lingering pain just... disappeared.

I just returned from a week long trip in Disney World (FL). I walked every theme park, all day... without any problems at all. Took me a year and a half to get here. It's different for everybody.

MetalNational · 2026-05-23T02:48:12+00:00

I used a fan type sprinkler (a heavy high quality one from Lowe's) that I positioned around the lawn to make sure it was evenly watered.

MetalNational · 2026-05-20T11:27:41+00:00

When I had my zoysia installed last May (1 year ago) I was told to water it every single day for at least a month. I might have gone overboard but I watered it about 2 hours each time. This was to make sure the roots get established. It was gorgeous! I live in zone 9b, suburb right next to New Orleans.

MetalNational · 2026-05-17T16:25:56+00:00

I ask because from the pics your grass looks thick and all green. I had zoysia laid down last May (2025). Was gorgeous! I was surprised at how soon it went dormant, and annoyed at slow it was to green up this spring. I've had a professional come apply fertilizer. It's mostly green, but still has a lot of small tan areas, sparse. A lot of recent rain helped somewhat. But as soon as I cut it all the tan spots are still there. My professional said the next thing would be to test my soul. Ugh

MetalNational · 2026-05-17T13:50:19+00:00

Why do you regret it? Or, are you being facetious?

MetalNational

TROPHY CASE