I went to an emergency care facility and they didn't find anything wrong, but had a short episode while waiting to see the doctor.

A few hours later it started up again but this time it was worse so I went to the hospital.

The EKG recorded 156 bpm heart rate at rest with a slightly elevated blood pressure. But it slowly went to normal over the period of an hour. They did blood test, many heart related test, but found nothing wrong. Thought it was just stress related and sent me home with some pills.

After the first episode I noticed I hadn’t had a bowel movement for about 4-5 days. When I tried to force something out I noticed it looked like improperly digested food. So I was forced to use an enema which seemed to clear things up well.

The next day started having the same problems but this time they were more frequent and would last longer. I was able to see a heart specialist and he decided to put me on a heart monitoring device. I wore this for a month and when ever I felt odd I was to record the incident and send the results to a facility. At one point the device recorded a heart rate of 158 bpm this lasted for about 10 – 15 but slowed to 120 then took about 3 hours to go back to normal.

I wasn’t able to sleep for the first week without my heart waking me up. Every time I ate something it seemed to trigger another rapid heart rate attack.

All the doctors I went to were baffled and could not explain it. One suggested that that I have a procedure done to check for misfiring electrodes on the heart, but it was an invasive procedure. I was totally against doing this.

I never feel normal anymore, but I haven’t had a bad attack for over a month now. My stomach always feels upset and now my joints hurt more than ever. I no longer take the glucosamine and I’ve noticed and so has my employer that I’m back to my sharper-calm-happy self. Although I do feel like I can’t think as well as I used to and seem to make many stupid simple mistakes.

I don’t know for sure if this was all caused by glucosamine, but it seems peculiar that it was the only supplement I was taking and now I’m doing much better now that I’m off it.

I just wish I could feel normal again.

There may be an explanation as to what your problems may have been caused by. Are you allergic to shellfish? Many glucosamine supplements contain the powder from ground shells. I would have it checked out just to eliminate the possibility of this occurrence. Doctors will not always catch life threatening problems. I would definitely have a physical done with the problems that had happen to you in mind within a few months.

As to your problems with arthritis there are other alternatives out there:

MSM is a naturally occurring compound that has been proven in clinical studies to promote hydration and rebuild tissues.

Turmeric is used as a spice and may even be found in your own kitchen cupboard. It has been shown to increase blood circulation and also reduce arthritic inflammation.

Bromelain, a food enzyme, is found in abundance in pineapples and helps reduce inflammation associated with arthritis.

Olive Leaf-A lot of research still needs to be done on this powerful herb but it is known to reduce symptoms from inflammatory arthritis.

Fish and flax seed oils are thought to reduce inflammation of joints.

Water-Dehydrated joints and tissue are prone to inflammation and injury, most of the time in my experience a lot of aches and pain reported from my clients are due to dehydration.

Remember arthritis is a technical term for joint and is medical jargon for inflammation. So your goal needs to be focused on reducing overall inflammation. This can be obtained by eliminating soda and other processed food, eating more vegetables and whole foods and drinking plenty of water to keep the joints and muscles hydrated.

Also, try low impact exercise. Yoga, tai chi and bicycling are great ways to increase blood circulation to muscles tendons and joints.

If you do find you have an allergy to shellfish and can trace this to your problems try switching to a glucosamine supplement derived from another source.

Good luck!