Hi John, I can see that you’re about to start treatment and are putting your mind at rest with some questions before you do. This is good because usually somewhere there is someone with the same or similar queries. I’ve said it many times but how lucky are we to have Dr James?

I had the viekira pack and ribavirin for my treatment and I am all cured and living a life without HepC. I don’t think I had ‘Riba rage’ (well I don’t think I did – nobody said anything!). I think that It did make me tired and headachy but nothing that couldn’t be managed and ofcourse it was well worth it.

Jump on in John and good luck.

Coral

Hi John,

With your PVCs they will settle if you exercise, so when you get them, get active.

Coffee is a well known cause, but that would include Coke/Pepsi and Red Bull, V, Max, Monster, etc

Propranolol is a relatively short-lived medication and needs to be taken at least twice a day to get consistent blood levels. It takes ~2 hours to get to maximum effect if you’re not taking it regularly.

http://heart.arizona.edu/clinical-approach-patients-frequent-pvcs

We need to rule out a structural cause. If there is not a structural cause of the PVCs then either

a) They will get better with exercise
b) They will get worse
c) Exercise will not change them (unlikely)

So, assuming the usual investigations have been done, and there is not a structural cause, either exercise will make them better or worse. If it makes it worse stop, if not… continue.

Hi John,

Propranolol typically helps. Stopping it to see if it IS actually helping would be fine. Curiously sometimes it can make things worse.

So no need to stop it, maybe just try doing a bit of exercise. If that helps, do more exercise. If you’re fixed don’t change anything, if not, see if stopping the Propranolol helps.

Do one thing at a time so you can know if it was “this change” or “that change” that helped.

Avoid caffeine, taurine in all off tea, coffee, Coke, Pepsi, Red Bull, V, Max, Monster and other sources.

Relax. I had PVCs for good 3 months consistently once. At the time I was in a “if I don’t wake up in the morning I don’t care” kind of a mood so I just left it. They went away. No idea why they were there, changed nothing, and they went away. That was a few years ago, so presumably not structural heart stuff. Maybe I just ignored them into going away, but, they came, they went, they were annoying, but… shit happens.

PS: I do recommend patients see an expert to rule out serious stuff but doctors are notoriously bad at following their own good advice. Mea Culpa.