Read these comments on one past thread: Some people do manage to get along with amiodarone, but it is considered the drug of last resort. Be aware. <> Also: Patients Taking Amiodarone Amiodarone therapy causes thyroid dysfunction in 14 to 18% of the involved patients. Therefore, before initiation of such therapy, patients should have a baseline TSH measurement, and then they should be moby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thomas - over the years we have had many members joining us from 'down under' and I understand the difficulty in getting many of the supplements we recommend. We try to help you find alternatives when we can. One of the men had trouble finding the plain (unflavored) magnesium hydroxide but eventually found some bulk quantities in pharmaceutical grade. I imagine he had to buy a lifeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - I'm glad to see the ferrochel form of chelated iron is working for you. It's important not to be deficient. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great report, Denver. Thanks for sharing with us. Looks like you are Living with Passion in NSR thanks to Dr. Natale. I agree that keeping busy with an active mind is the key to longevity. Healthy regards, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
William, the brain needs DHA for function.... that's a component of Omega 3 and is found most abundantly in fish oil. However, lamb and grass fed beef (never had any grains) also provide Omega 3 if eaten abundantly and every day. If a diet doesn't contain Omega 3, then you have to supplement. This is basic science and not an old story. People who don't have good fat in the brby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike S - I like to recommend two separate digestive aids... one is the enzymes that include pancreatic enzymes and a second one that includes betaine HCl. If a mean contains protein... a normal serving size or more... then you need the betaine HCl . If the meal is small and does not contain much or any protein, then the one without the HCl is sufficient. You should try both as the HCl is ofby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
John - GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) often reflects the inability to digest foods properly. Undigested food that is not broken down adequately in the stomach due to lack of natural stomach acid or digestive enzymes, lies in the stomach and ferments (putrifies) and causes gas, irritation and often reflux which means stomach contents flow back through the valve that shuts off communicatiby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sharon - I would avoid the Rx oil... I looked into it some time ago and found it to be too 'processed' and I thought it was to pricey for what it was. My doctor recommends 4 - 6 grams a day of a quality grade Omega 3 fish oil. If I eat salmon, then I only take 4. T They say fish has to be cold-water fish to have the benefit of the Omega 3. Tuna would not be something anyone shouby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good for you George - There is no question that fish oil is good for the heart. More importantly, it's essential for good brain function as well. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tibbar - after the ablation, there is enough prevalence of breakthrough arrhythmia while the heart is healing - 3 - 6 months that many of the EPs now prescribe the use of warfarin until there is no evidence of afib activity... they call it silent afib. The whole idea of having an ablation is to be free of all meds and not have any afib but you do have to heal first. Remember, many ablations areby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thomas - Unique Water would be wonderful. That's how we initially got involved with making the Waller Water... based on the Unique Water application found in the literature and working with a US bottler of Noah's Water. Still, if the Unique water is too costly, the Waller Water is easy to make. I love using it because it makes my spring water taste even better. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
David - sure thing - not using the digestive enzymes can cause you enough bloat and distress to activate afib. Remember, the vagus inervates the heart, lungs, stomach, diaphragm - areas of digestion and comes down as the tenth cranial nerve out of the skull, down the cervical spine, through the thoracic area and then into the organs area... anywhere along the line it becomes impinged or irritaby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dennis - you are smart to be concerned about the life-time accumulation of radiation exposure. I'm not saying to avoid ablation - just be aware that you do get radiation exposure and it all adds up. While my ablation was done over 5 years ago, the fluroscopy time was listed as 38 minutes. On top of that, I had a spiral CT scan 3 mosts-post ablation that added more burden. In hindsight,by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Art - one of the top EPs from the Cleveland Clinic left and went to the Akron area. I'd definitely consider having a consult with him as he worked shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Natale for many years and enjoys an excellent reputation as an electrophysiologist. Robert A. Schweikert, MD Heart Rhythm Associates 224 West Exchange Street 225 Akron, OH 44302 330-344-4377 Couple of advantageby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike - the thing you have to realize is if you dampen natural stomach acid with buffering minerals (like calcium) and take Pepcid type medications, you don't get the benefit of why we have stomach acid in the first place...to breakdown food into usable molecules. Instead, food sits in the stomach, undigested....fermenting or starting to rot. This causes gas and stomach distress and GERD anby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - the body only handles 500 mg of vitamin C at a time so to get to high doses, the experts say to begin at 500 mg and ramp up slowly... throughout the day but don't go to high doses all at once or the bowel intolerance factor will definitely kick in. It may take a week of only 500 mg and then adding another 500 and so on until one gets up to gram dosages. I take 2 grams a day andby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Larry - on the rare occasion I need to use DGL, I use the Enzymatic Therapy brand that is not sweetened... avoid fructose. I believe NOW brand also has one that is unsweetened as well. Manitol and sorbitol are sugar alcohols and may or may not bother you; some people definitely can't process fructose and because it is a sugar, it depletes potassium. Much will depend on what's drivingby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi David and big hugs to you. I'm very sorry to see your post. Stress is obviously a trigger for you - it certainly is for me as well. If you haven't tried the amino acid L-theanine, consider that for times when you are facing something that may be stressful...even if you think it won't, use it as an preventive. It works well for me. Green tea - you drink a lot of it - it doesby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joe - going to the post I did to you in the other thread, you absolutely must learn to tolerate drinking water. Nothing else substitutes. Sodas are out.... especially Mountain Dew with the added caffeine. Sure thing, the high fructose corn syrup that is in sodas contributes to weight gain and many degenerative conditions in the body. Just recently I posted they have now determined HFCS is conby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joe - It's not unusual for some people to react badly to medications. Sometimes, less is more. If you can find the smallest dose that keeps your heart calm yet lets you function, that may be useful. Do you know if they checked your enzymes for liver function? Sometimes people who are intolerant to drugs have a liver clearance problem and they really feel very poorly when they are onby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike - definitely consider using digestive enzymes. Also consider that you may have developed a sensitivity to some foods - like wheat (gluten) and dairy. Using both the enzymes and eliminating at least gluten and dairy may go a long way toward helping with your digestive issues. Some afibbers have managed to put their afib on the back burner by observing the Paleo diet - I've always feltby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Why not get a second opinion with Dr. Wharton's group? We've had several people report satisfaction with ablations there. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
JP - I'm really glad to see this post on your consult with Dr. Natale. He did my ablation 11/03 when he was here in Cleveland and I've been touting his skill and compassion ever since. You can be sure he'll do his best for you. It's interesting to see you didn't have to wait too long for your big date. I know what you mean about getting to Austin. My son moved thereby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Pat - I have no information about Gotu Kola causing afib, but you should check it out with some google searches. Your chiropractor should have a complete reference for side effects. I checked the A-Z Guide to drug-herb-vitamin interactions and it wasn't even listed. From The Healing Power of Herbs - it says on toxicity: Centella asiatica and its extracts are very well tolerated, especialby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bobby Jo - this just came in and is probably the one you mentioned. I'm posting it for the critical commentary by Dr. Gordon: Postmenopausal women and multivitamins study Here we have the world being told that vitamins offered little benefit but when you read the last sentence you find this is DOSE RELATED! In other words, those that had supplements with significant levels of nutrientsby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Adrian - I do believe you are correct. Possibly the plan is to create such a negative view of supplement efficacy that the uninformed public won't think it's a big deal when they ban them. Codex looms large for all of us, unfortunately. Hopefully, we can raise such a ruckus it won't happen. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Jim - I saw that program as well and was just as disgusted as you are and about more than the Mountain Dew issue. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Liz This discussion really isnt about people taking vitamins on their own, but in rather about studies supposedly conducted with some semblance of science behind them; yet coming up with misinformation, flaws in the study and erroneous conclusions promulgated by the media. There is science behind nutrition. No one should consume vitamins on a whim or a guess without appropriate research andby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian - do you actually know if your High Sensitivity or Cardiac CRP is elevated? Some people with afib do have high CRP; others do not. The HS or Cardiac is specific to heart inflammtation... the general CRP is more reflective of any inflammation or even minor infection in the body, in general.... like an infected tooth would drive up general CRP. Two separate tests. It's unlikely that iby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Cynthia... most likely, the AF was a result of the alcohol on an empty stomach. The metabolism of alcohol is just like sugar, it depletes potassium and magnesium quickly and for some individuals who tend to have some glucose handling issues. I tended to be hypoglycemic until I fixed my adrenals and alcohol was a trigger. If it was on an empty stomach, it was a trigger in about 30 minutes aftby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM