Since many posters here reference Wikipedia as a resource to scientific data, the Shorts column in Townsend Letter by Julie Klotter caught my eye as Ive read elsewhere concerns about the reliability and accuracy of Wikipedia. She says: (quote) Wikipedia, a free and very popular online encyclopedia, gained legitimacy in December 05 when the prestigious journal, Nature, reported that Wikipeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hawk - I do hope the experiment with the ami is successful for you. Such large doses scare me but at least you are only using it short-term and Dr. Jais certainly knows what he's doing. It's a good sign that you are seeing improvements; that's encouraging. Many people are misdiagnosed with CFS/FM since it seems to be a handy catch-all place for doctors to 'park'by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Welcome, Neil ~ I'm very sorry to read your post about the heart attack and the other conditions you are battling. Any one of which would tend to make one feel 'down' or sense impending doom. It can be a rude awakening when we are faced with the fragility of our own mortality and I can certainly appreciate how you are feeling. I'm glad you are resisting the SSRI drug since you are already takby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Johnny - I've always benefited from Dr. Whitaker's advice. I hope you never have to make that visit to Houston and Dr. B. Liz - I'm very sorry about your cat. Sad. It seems when they reach that age, something gets them although I had one live to 19. All we can do is make them comfortable and then do the merciful thing when they are not. I've been there more times thaby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Angels to you, Bob! This promises to be a good start for the New Year. Special blessings to you, your family and your gem of a boss. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Link? Source? Author? please.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Barb - I wouldn't start supplementing with anything unless I did complete research on it. That's why I reposted the ribose information. You should read thorugh it to see how it meshes with your biochemical individualty. If you don't have the time, then hold off and read first. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ken - that's an interesting inquiry: Trained muscle vs untrained... I'm sure the BioEnergy (ribose) people have some study evaluations along that line. I have a contact with them and I'll see if they can offer any enlightenment. I'm certainly happy for you and your successful ablation. I definitely agree that physical fitness is important whether or not one also hasby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Christof - I've used a good deal of Solgar products over the years without any complaints. It does seem expensive but what's the milligram amount? A higher capsule content may make up for the cost, hopefully. I understand about the alphabet soup confusion when dealing with various forms of supplement identification. One has to have an eagle-eye with labeling and shop with either gby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
My knowledge is that during the ablation procedure, it's common practice to 'test' the focal points, potentials or drivers to see if they can induce afib or flutter during the procedure. I recall the comments from the AF Summit discussing the various driver areas that were typically difficult to locate or less common than the routine locations. It's been said that often itby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
The January 09 issue of Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, has a short review on the topic of Functional Medicine (FM). Since I frequently mention seeking care from a FM practitioner, I thought Id reproduce for you here whats said about FM. Functional Medicine deals with the bodys regulatory functions which underlie chronic illness and promote good health. Like Chinese, Ayurvedic and otby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - breakthroughs are not uncommon even when you have been afib-free for extended periods of time. Virtually everyone who has arrested or controlled their afib have also testified that breakthroughs do happen when all conditions are right. Sorry yours happened, but it's not at all unusual. Don't be discouraged. As they say, 'get back on the horse'... you must have beenby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
This is off topic, but since cancer is about to become the leading cause of death world-wide and now that this excellent commentary is published online in Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, I wanted to refer you to this link since its important information and we all know people whom cancer has touched. The story of Dr. Burzynski is something I have followed for years and Im so very pleasby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Of course! Just an example of where some experimentation is heading with an eye on holding down costs for emergency treatment for anxious patients.... and obviously, it will sell a lot of devices at a handsome cost plus the 'installation'. I believe it always pays to be a 'thinking' patient. I'd certainly not want something 'implanted' unless it was a matteby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
The symptom of fatigue during and after AF events is a common complaint and one we have discussed frequently over the years. Cardiologist Steven Sinatra talks about the energy needed to support heart function in his book, Metabolic Cardiology (©2005 updated 2008) and he emphasizes 4 key nutrients he calls the Awesome Foursome Coenzyme Q10, Magnesium, L-carnitine and D-Ribose. (Weve addedby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
You've probably read that the concern about herbs and food grown in China is the environmental pollution problem that is virtually inescapable given that the air, water and soil contain high degrees of contaminants or toxins such as lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum etc. I've read that even if they claim 'organic'... there really can't be any such thing because of the enby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Christof - thanks for taking the time to decipher this for us. I think that the majority of base nutrients for supplements do come from China and elsewhere unless specifically stated otherwise by the manufacturer. I do know that a few supplement manufacturers in the US proudly claim they do not use imported raw materials. The screening mechanism then becomes which of those companies double scrby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't know if this helps clarify or not: N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is a metabolite of the sulfur-containing amino acid, Cysteine. Cysteine is found in high protein foods, N-Acetyl Cysteine is not. N-Acetyl Cysteine is produced within the human body. Cysteine plays a role in the sulfation cycle, acting as a sulfur donor in phase II detoxification and as a methyl donor in the conversion ofby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - and other who react to stress related conditons by AF events: It's been my experience, and I've proven this to myself countless times, that if I am optimal in the key nutrients, magnesium, potassium, taurine and B complex, I can withstand severe and prolonged stress without breakthrough after my ablation five years ago. If I become low, especially in potassium, I am setting myseby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Many of us take Ginkgo biloba daily as a natural herbal aid to help increase circulation to small micro-capillaries which improves blood flow to the brain and other important organs. Ginkgo is well known for memory enhancement. It also helps reduce hypercoagulation so if you are taking aspirin or warfarin/Coumadin, you should do your own due diligence about the risks of using ginkgo with eitheby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sally - remember that if your body is unable to convert T4 to T3, then you will continue to have thyroid problems. That's typically the case when patients are prescribed only the T4 and they don't see improvement. As you know, both hypo- and hyper-thyroidism can cause afib so it's important to manage the body's needs for a proper ratio of thyroid hormones which is both T4 aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joyce - if it's by soaking, here's a link that says it's a safe method of increasing magensium levels. Here's a link that indicates epsom salts was beneficial to pregnant women in preventing seizures.. no adverse comments on using MgSO4 during pregnancy. References by Seelig on MgSO4 toxicity Another on Magnesium intake during pregnancy with 49 references to Mg and pregby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nick - When I am faced with a situation that I know is sure to bring me some anxiety and stress or if I feel something brewing internally caused by stress, I head right for the L-theanine and take one capsule immediately. Then I add extra magnesium and potassium plus a gram of taurine. That usually carries me through and I don't get the breakthrough arrhythmia I sometimes do if my electroby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Louise - quite a number of years ago, I was hospitalized in the CCF for flecainide induction. I was only in 3 days as I recall as they felt if there were incompatibilities, they'd know it fairly quickly... hence the 3-day stay. If you are doing well now, I'd not worry about an adverse reaction at 14 days... or they'd have kept me that long back then. Obviously, now they'by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Benj - thanks for the liquid requirement of the Half-lightly product. If I ever have to do it again, I'll remember that since after about the 3rd quart, it grows very tedious forcing down the last one. It sure is an oxymoron! Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Although this study is very preliminary, relates to mice study and references childhood occurrence, it does seem to have potential for an eventual finding about a genetic link to AF. It may well be that as in other instances, preventive measures to control or alter the gene expression may be useful with AF once we know what to target in humans. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
A good place to start is by testing your intracellular levels of the critical electrolytes.... magnesium and potassium. See the web page of Exatest @ www.exatest.com. Absent that, you can get a reasonably accurate measurement by having your physician order the special Red Blood Cell Magnesium test along with the routine serum potassium. These two minerals are often found to be deficient andby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Matthew - there is no question that stress contributes to heart issues including atrial fibrillation. Following is a post from a while back. It's especially to try to control cortisol levels - too much cortisol is highly damaging and asking the adrenals to continually produce cortisol leads to adrenal burnout and a whole host of other issues that comes with that condition. Jackie Im going toby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM