Wed, Jul-23-03, 11:23
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Senior Member
Posts: 155
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 236/186/190
BF:21
Progress: 109%
Location: Western, New York
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Hi resha & All,
I had to start taking potassium and also mineral supplements after being on Atkins for a month to help control PVC's (heart palpations) that are a result of having two heart surgeries to replace valves. It seems this WOE and its diuretic effect, depleting electrolytes, intensified the problem. The mineral supplements alone helped, but when I added Taurine almost all have stopped. I have not seen any effect on my weight loss or BP which is now quite low anyway. I am still taking HTCZ (diuretic) and atenolol, but at my last check up my cardiologist said to eliminate them and the potassium when I was comfortable doing that. From all I have read, Taurine is a very safe and commonly needed supplement with no bad side effects. I take 500mg daily, 99mg potassium and a combo mineral pill containing 1000mg calcium 400mg magnesium, and 15mg zinc. These are all 100% of your daily requirement.
Palpations should be checked by a physician if they are a new event as they could be from an underlying cause other than diet. Most, however, are harmless and are caused by a multitude of things, making it very hard for a doctor to prescribe a cure. My cardio man says "I just can't help you with those" and to live with them. I have found that mental stress is my biggest trigger and before I truly believed and knew that mine were harmless, each one I felt caused more....ahh, that active imagination at work.
SO, if you want some amateur (but experienced) advice over the Internet, I would suggest adding these supplements in this order, one at a time for a week or so to see if it helps: potassium, combo mineral, L-Taurine. If you are really concerned, see your doc to make sure they are the harmless variety. It will put your mind at ease and eliminate the stress factor that can make them worse.
Best wishes,
T.
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