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Steve - are you saying you still have AF? If so, what does your EP say about this? Is he suggesting you have a second ablation? The true test is getting off all drugs and then seeing how you feel and what happens. I think a lot of this can also be attributed to a mental pre-conditioning.... we all are overly alert to the pre-event symptoms that signal an oncoming event and we become anxiousby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Paul - I don't know if you were reading here when these posts were published, but here's some input on stress and heart health... along with clips that follows on alcohol and the heart.... Just FYI Additionally, review this post on The Mood Cure (book) by Julia Ross which has to do with anxiety, stress and imbalances of neurotransmitters which lead to cravings and addictions. This book is writtby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
This is an important post Hans. Most people never think about how acidic their water might be. Often municipal water sources are acidic. Mine is spring water and hard from calcium and magnesium content. I'll have to check the pH to see what shows up. I'd think it is naturally alkaline. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Paul - some years back, we had a tall afibber who was about 200 pounds using flecainide unsuccessfully at lower doses. He was using it daily and not PIP...but no matter. He was told (by another cardiologist) his low dose for his size would not be effective. You may find that the higher dose will help significantly. As George mentions, my instructions are to slow the HR first with the beta bloby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Elena - since you are going for ablation, it may not be crucial to get all this done but for clarification.... no, CRP is not the same as fibrinogen. CRP is a marker of inflammation... it can be general systemic or the HS or Cardiac CRP is the marker more specific to cardiac inflammation. Whereas, fibrinogen measures the viscosity of your blood and is different than what's measured in thby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just remember that the standard (routine) in-patient labs almost always measure serum magnesium which is not reflective of what's going on inside the cells. It may be worthwhile asking for the RBC magnesium just to verify you are at the high end of normal. Good luck with this. As for the regular occurrence between 8 and 11 - I'd look to what your dietary intake is late in the afternby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
David - I'm so glad you are doing well and that your Natale experience was so positive. He certainly is my hero. Be kind to your heart during the recovery time; don't be in a rush to prove anything. Welcome to the club... "Living with Passion in NSR." Best to you, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Dick- sorry to see all this. At the risk of sounding like a broken record.... have you had your intracellular levels of magnesium and potassium checked? My breakthrough arrhythmias in 07 and one in 08 seem to be linked to low potassium. If I hadn't been aware of that, I'd have probably been thinking I needed to get in line for the second ablation. Also, since you still do strby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - consider using d-ribose for energy restoration. If you go to the Conference Room session devoted to Exercise (the last session) - it's important to recognize the damage done by oxidative stress. It's important to add in plentiful antioxidants - especially NAC. Additionally, the use of d-ribose is helpful for restoring heart energy. Since it is unclear exactly what brings about the electrby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Doreen - I am certainly sorry to read about your clotting complication. Your progress thus far is admirable and I commend you for following through with the dietary changes. They can only help with overall health. If you have not had your intracellular stores for magnesium and potassium formally checked, you should do so soon as an deficiency in these electrolytes may be causing the continuedby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Cherie - chances are you are low in magnesium stores and the additional supplemental calcium did act as a trigger because in the absence of adequate magnesium, calcium is excitatory to cells - especially heart cells. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Elena~ You said: Guess I'm just real worried about what looks to be in the future for me. The complication of letting afib go too long has been posted recently and previously... enlargement of the heart chambers, valve involvement, cardiac fibrosis and electrical remodelling - all influence the chance for a successful ablation should you eventually decide on one. While you're waitby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Too much fruit and the fruit sugar causes other problems including the need for more insulin. While we tend to think of fruit as healthy, more than a couple pieces a day of the lower sugar variety is not smart eating. Joyce offers a good explanation. Insulin production requires potassium. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Palpate means to examine with fingertips.... For instance, soft tissue examination or palpations are common in dental examinations because we palpate lumps and bumps in in the oral mucosa and down the neck to locate suspicious lumps or growths. Palpitations...however typically refers to ectopic beats of the heart. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nick - The magnesium research expert, Dr. Seelig, says that it can take months, years for some and for those who are magnesium depleters - never. If you are only at 600 mg daily, consider adding 100 mg or even 200 mg to your daily dose and see what happens insofar as bowel tolerance issues. One thing you don't want is to get diarrhea and lose electrolytes...so add more, slowly. Waitby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks for your good-news report, Bob. Rest up. You deserve some time off. My best wishes to you for this procedure to impact your life in a highly positive way. Happy 2009. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - it's not always readily apparent by some obvious physical symptom of which you would be aware that can come as a result of not taking enough water with supplemental potassium..... apparently, the concern is stress on the kidney without enough water. The consequences of that stress may show up down the road so my statement was just a cautionary, preventive, good-sense measure offby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Marian - good point - I didn't think that far ahead but you are obviously correct. I'd really not want general anesthesia but then if that's what produces the best results then, so be it. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Doug - Isn't the Rx form still the chloride version, though? Good if it works for your stomach, but it has the reputation of being very irritating. Any potassium supplement should always be taken with a full glass of water... at the very least. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
John - since my ablation was 5 years ago, I was not, but I can see how it is probably helpful to the EP. I recall several things from my experience.... at one point, the conscious sedation wore off somewhat and I experienced the pain of the burning. Subconsciously or maybe as an automatic defense mechanism, I began taking deep breaths. The attending nurse who had her hands placed on the leftby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
James - Using the No Salt as a substitute for table salt is helpful; however it does have some other chemicals included. Are you dosing with that also as a supplement? It may be somewhat expensive to use that particular product for supplement dosing. Most of us use the gluconate form in the bulk powder...(you can add some to an empty 'salt' shaker. It's only mildly salty, thby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Rob - I was not adrenergic (mostly vagal) but I did have instances where excess stimulation, stress or excitement, even fright, would stimulate my heart enough to give ectopy and sometimes trigger an event. At the time, my functional medicine MD offered the observation based on her experience with adrenal issues.... and that was the over-production of cortisol can be damaging. Eventually, I haby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, Kent. Thanks for your report. Good to have updated information on Dr. Natale and his procedures and protocols. The ventilator sounds helpful. The 6 months on coumadin is new since I had my ablation 5 years ago. I was only on it for 6 weeks and then I switched to nattokinase. I asked him at the time if it would have any effect on reducing the efficacy of the scar tissue and he saidby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
In another post, I just quoted from a clip from Dr. Garry Gordon on Personalized Integrative Medicine... When genetic risk factors are present, it makes knowing all the risk-factor numbers even more important because one needs to focus on helping prevent the adverse expression of the gene factors. "The Integrative Medicine Specialists are focusing now on what is being called Personalized Inby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good News, Rob. Glad all goes well for you. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Aaron - the sad thing is that some physicians will list for you triggers to avoid and others will tell you they don't believe in triggers and most will tell you that supplements don't help. You'll soon find out what your consult has to offer. Life is about choices. The best thing you can do for yourself is make educated choices. Most of us here have gone through a variety of experiments anby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Serum magnesium tests are not reflective of what's inside the cell. The red blood cells last for about 120 days so after the AF event, you could certainly be tested and get an idea of where your levels are. Serum potassium, on the other hand, is fairly true as to what's inside the cells and they could test that while you are having AF. Often when we are low in potassium, it sets thby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Aluminum cans are coated with a film that is supposed to prevent leaching of aluminum into the food content. Critics say that the more acidic the food - ie, tomatoes vs. peaches - the more likely the leaching is able to occur in spite of the film. I've read (or looked for) any study evidence that this is actually the case. I have read a good deal of negative comments about the aluminumby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Isabelle - anything is possible, but I know a huge number of smokers who didn't develop AF and many lived to be close to 90. Certainly, I'd think if you have the gene for AF, smoking helps push the envelope.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM