Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome and Serotonin

[nopxl]

All,

As you may or may not know, I am the Cold Turkey guy (12/05) who was diagnosed with Mitra Valve Prolapse last week, after having a negative test for the same in 2004. I started having PVCs, which I never had before, about 3 weeks after the CT. I have been interested in exploring whether there is a link between MVP and stopping Paxil CT. I found an interesting quote below on a MVP info website:

"There is no doubt that serotonin imbalances play a large part in the symptoms associated with Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome. In fact I believe this is what separates the patients with MVP and MVP Syndrome." Robert Hamilton, M.D., Vice president of The Baptist Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama
http://www.mitralvalveprolapse.com/index9.htm

It just may be that during withdrawal, especially after CT, your body is thrown for a huge loop in the CNS and the imbalance affects even major organs like the heart. I am still looking to find out what role Serotonin plays in the Mitral Valve and its function/tone. I am still holding out the hope that the MVP is transient, even though it is the regurgitating kind.

I have an appointment with the Center For Autonomic Disorders and Mitra Valve Prolapse on 4-3-06 to have my condition studied. According to their website, they take a thorough history and are very good about connecting the CNS issues with MVP. I know I sound crazy, but I know this drug is dangerous and should be taken off the market. Sad as it is, we just have to keep pushing until someone listens.

How many of us do you think there are out there, honestly? Thousands, millions??

[zappelina]

I am eagerly awaiting the results of your evaluation because this may be the problem for many of us. I researched it a bit and have every symptom. This is surely one of the causes of the irregular heart rhytm and breathlessness that so many people in withdrawal report. My autonomic nerve system has been completely crazy for two years, mostly it´s been too slow and hardly functioning at all with very low blood pressure and lack of impulse to breathe automatically and others report hyperventilation, high blood pressure and palpitations. Good luck and tell the docs about all the withdrawal problems reported here!

[feelin'_wiggy]

As I've already mentioned, this is a subject very close to my "heart". (Eww...) I've been a sufferer for almost 20 years, and I've suspected for ages that there is a strong link between MVP and the autnomic nervous system. Thanks for sharing this info with us.

[Gottabestrong]

yeah this would be good to know, again therefore we know that it will pass, i had pretty bad pvc's about 1 1/2 weeks ago, but now things are getting much better, plus arent there a lot of ppl here who had palpitations or pvc's during withdrawal and dont have them anymore right? so there is hope that its not permanent, pray and take care of your body!!

[silence4now]

I think there is a connection, but never thought of it connected to serotonin imbalance. It's basically a valvular variant with underlying causes related to stress. When you address the underlying causes, the MVP symptoms get better, I'm told by cardiologists. I've suffered from MVPS since Paxil withdrawal but never had a clinical diagnosis of MVP. Here is an interesting article:

http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/m...18.html#355370

[LossLeader]

The symptoms of MVPS are identical to the symptoms of anxiety disorder. In fact, MVPS and anxiety disorder are perfect mirror images: one is caused by the heart and affects anxiety, the other is caused by anxiety and affects the heart. I recently got myself checked out, had an ECG, and although all the tests aren't done, it looks like I don't have MVP. And yet I have every symptom of MVPS.

Logic would say that if you're in withdrawal, you have MVPS symptoms but you don't have an MVP diagnosis, then what you actually have is a withdrawal-related anxiety disorder, from a combination of mental and physical stress. Therefore, like all withdrawal symptoms, it might pass in a few months or last for several years. Unless you get the MVP diagnosis (and in some cases even if you do) the MVPS symptoms will only last as long as your withdrawal does.

Which of course doesn't make it any less unpleasant... and these symptoms themselves are not good for your heart...

[Scott]

have you considered taking magnesium? they helped me with the heart symptoms.. i had all kinds of skipped beats, racing heart etc.. i think seratonin affects the blood vessel constriction, they don't seem to respond as fast right after tapering.. thats why i had to stand up slowly

[katkins]

Hi, I had to register and reply to this post. I am weaning off paxil, but that's another story. I also have MVP. Mitral Valve Prolapse is congenital (from birth)....you were born with it. Often tests can miss it, as the valve does not always prolapse, thus making diagnosis sometimes difficult, false positives.... false negatives etc. The Dr. should have explained this. I went on Paxil because I do believe I suffer from MVP syndrome, as I had sever anxiety/panic for many many years. There are several fantastic books regarding this subject and the connection between MVP, MVP syndrome and depression/panic/anxiety. The palpitations... heart flutters are harmless, although scary!. The condition is not life threatening, athough taking antibiotics before nay medical or dental procedure is a must. MVP can be life style threatening however, as so many people with the condition experience panic/anxiety/depression. The medical fiels is finally starting to pay attention to this connection. Do an Amazon.com search for Mitral Valve Prolapse. Being educated on the condition is important. Best of luck to you!

[scotty]

Originally Posted by katkins

Mitral Valve Prolapse is congenital (from birth)....you were born with it.

This isn't completely accurate. This is from the Texas Heart Institute. Cause is still unknown.

"Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is among the most common heart conditions, but it remains something of a puzzle. Although MVP affects about 2% of the population, the cause is unknown. MVP often occurs in people who have no other heart problems, and the condition may be inherited."

[katkins]

Hmmm...everything I have read in the past 15 years including medical journals, regards MVP as congenital, and inherited. My Cardio also explained that is was not something that just "occured", it was....from birth. , but who knows, perhaps they are finding new information on it?
Do you have MVP?

[katkins]

From the University Of Minnesota study of heart conditions:
A Woman's Heart Problem
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's not necessarily a worrisome condition, but in some women, it can cause mild chest pain, fainting, dizziness--and irregular heart rhythms. It's called mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a congenital condition that affects about 5 percent of the population--as many as two-thirds of them women.

Just what is MVP? It's a heart valve irregularity in which the leaflets (or flaps) of one of the heart's valves bulge, or prolapse, when the heart contracts. "In women, it's one of the more common causes of palpitations and heart rhythm disturbances," says Richard H. Helfant, M.D., vice chairman of medicine and director of the Cardiology Training Program at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center and author of Women, Take Heart.

[scotty]

Nope, but a nurse.

http://www.tmc.edu/thi/mvp.html

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/mitr...pse/causes.htm

There are many causes of mitral valve.. diseases(rheumatic fever and lupus), body shape appears to have something to do with it, genetics, drugs. Genetics does play a part in this, but it's not the only cause that is identified.

It's another BIG unknown and ends up with treating the symptoms and prophylactic antibiotics prior to invasive procedures.

[katkins]

Thanks so much for the information!.....I have been "under informed!"

[scotty]

Not a problem... genetics plays a big part in the absence of the other causes. Welcome to paxilprogress!!!

[nopxl]

Hello everyone! I was able to go to Birmingham Alabama to the Center for Autonomic Disorders and MVP on Wednesday this week. (I cannot tell you how painful the filghts were) I saw a Dr. Moore there. They did an echocardiogram, stress test and a tilt-table test where you lay flat and they raise you to 60 degress and measure your heart-rate and BP. I was diagnosed with MVP (again) with slight regurgitation and MVPS. She also said that my tests and history show severe dysautonomia - CNS imbalance. She listened to my history with Paxil, including the fact that I had my first panic attack after tapering off of Paxil - not before! She knew that I stopped Paxil CT in December (a move that I will most likely never get over) and started having these severe symptoms. She also agreed, after I argued with her a bit, that MVP could be triggered by a stress to the body like stopping Paxil too quickly. After all of this, do you know what she recommended for me? PAXIL. She actually wanted me to take Paxil CT (because it worked so well for me in the past) for the anxiety/panic, klonopin for the muscle pains and acute anxiety and a beta blocker for my PVCs. I am proud to say that I looked her in the eyes and told her that I would not be taking any of the suggested drugs and would just power through it. I was able to get her to agree that my d/c of Paxil most likely caused my dysautonomia and maybe even my MVP, which she said was also linked to dehydration. She told me that I would not die from the MVP and the PVCs were related to the MVP but not life threatening. I would say that what I have learned about dysautonomia tells me that we all have it to some degree during withdrawal. The symptoms all match up. The significant (and sometimes not) drop in Serotonin wreaks havoc with our CNS, causing all kinds of strange symptoms, including pain. Speaking of which, I am in now and will sign off. Thanks for the MVP linksSilence4now and Laurie.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by nopxl

After all of this, do you know what she recommended for me? PAXIL. She actually wanted me to take Paxil CT (because it worked so well for me in the past) for the anxiety/panic, klonopin for the muscle pains and acute anxiety and a beta blocker for my PVCs.

This is absolutely unbelievable! So she admits that paxil probably caused this and her recommendation is to go back on... sorry, I have NO faith in this women at all. I don't blame you for not taking the recommended drugs. Bottom line is that you are so close to the cold turkey event, that it's to soon to tell how this will pan out. Give it time..+ another reason not to cold turkey.

[Healing]

Thanks for sharing the info, nopxl. And I'm so glad that it's still looking like your syndrome is due to w/d and will correct with time. Sorry the doc was yet another drug-pusher.

Can you (or anyone) tell me more about what dysautonomia is?

[zappelina]

Thanks for letting us know about this. I definitely have this, no doubt in my mind. From reading about all the strange withdrawal problems and going through it myself for over two years it seems this is a withdrawal induced problem for many people. Luckily most of us didn´t have it prior to wd and hopefully it will get better some day. When bad it is really a life destroyer. It can get so bad that it makes it impossible to sit or to stand up for more than a few minutes at a time.

Healing! Dysauatonomia is when your autonomic nerve system doesn´t work properly. This system is responsible for all the automatic functions, the ones you can´t control, in your body such as blood pressure, heart beat, circulation, breathing, muscle tone, bowel and bladder function etc etc. A lot of it is regulated by the neurotransmitters acetyl choline and norephinephrine. If you have dysautonomia these things can shift from normal to too slow or too fast or even stop working if it´s really bad. This is what happened to many of my body functions in withdrawal and the worst of it was when I almost completely stopped breathing for long periods and didn´t get help. I had to stay awake and use willpower to breathe. It was like the impulse to breathe was too weak. When muscle tone is affected you get too tense muscles or worst case - no tension at all and you fall down like a rag doll. For me it has been an every other day syndrome all the time - too much of everything day one and too little on day two, a constant pattern for two years.

To understand the functions and importance of acetyl choline you can look up a disease called myastenia gravis which affects the receptors for this substance..

[silence4now]

Way to go nopxl! I'm glad you are feeling better about the diagnosis now. As someone who has suffered froom MVPS since Paxil withdrawal, I just want to assure you and others that the body can heal. I feel it getting better with each passing month. I attribute it a lot to my acceptance of the fact that it is not permanent, thanks to the knowledge that has been shared on this site, and to craniio-sacral therapy, which is helping my body heal itself.

katkins, there is a lot of argument FOR MVP being a defect, and there is just as much research that shows that it is not, only a variant caused by stress. I suggest you dig deeper and look at the other arguments before deciding for yourself.

Thank you Laurie for your insightful wisdom.

zappelena, thanks for the info.

Continued healing to all of you!

[Trying66]

Originally Posted by nopxl

After all of this, do you know what she recommended for me? PAXIL. She actually wanted me to take Paxil CT (because it worked so well for me in the past) for the anxiety/panic, klonopin for the muscle pains and acute anxiety and a beta blocker for my PVCs.

This bothers me, but it doesn't really surprise me. We see it happen all the time. Someone has adverse effects from using Paxil or one of the other SSRIs and the doctor recommends that they go back on the Paxil or an alternate SSRI with other medications added. I don't doubt that Paxil works well for anxiety/panic for most people, but at what cost?

Maybe they should be warning people before they begin these medications that they are probably going to be for life. You either stay on them forever or you go through hell.

Nonpxl, I sure hope that what you are going through is reversible. I sure hope that what we are all going through is reversible. Only time will tell.