Thanks everyone for helping me celebrate. I agree that Natale rocks Cleveland! And he is my 'rock.' My mission is to create awareness - not only about afib but also health related issues - so I'm not bowing out anytime soon. By the way, Howie, dinner was just another meal and without a wine toast. My best to you all. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dear Dr. Hagan - welcome but sorry to meet you under the circumstances. You're about to receive, I'm sure, an avalance of testimonials regarding the AF connection to aspartame, so be assured - you do need to give up any chemical sweetener along with any foods that are commercially prepared/packaged that may also contain MSG or hidden MSG disguised as "natural flavorings, seasoniby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
KD - I can certainly understand your concern but afib after ablation, while very disappointing and discouraging, is not at all uncommon. You should inform the ablation doctor of your situation in case he has specific instructions for you to follow. During the 6 - 8 weeks post-ablation, the heart is in a stage of irritability and often exhibits afib and significant bouts of afib. Try to remaby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Three years ago today at age 67 my turbulent afib journey of 8 years ended. Thanks to Dr. Natale and team at the CCF, my life was given back to me with a successful pulmonary vein isolation ablation. My procedure was less than 3 hours. My recovery time was quick and I had virtually no post-ablation ectopy or other complications. However, on day 103 post-ablation, I was cardioverted at hour 3by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I think you can try it but I know from my own experience and what Dr. Schwarzbein indicates, that without nutritional support, dietary changes, and testing for deficiencies, one may not make the progress expected. I have every respect for Julia Ross and her Mood Cure book and I wouldn't have introduced this to the BB if I did not. I just think that in the case of adrenal burnout, patientsby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Arnold - good luck with your program to stop smoking. You have everything to gain by eliminating those toxins from your body. If your doctor says that drug is safe to take with arrhythmia, then fine. You could also confirm that with your pharmacist, just to be sure. Welbutrin is effective, though I hope you don't have to take it for too long. If you have anxiety after the Welbutrin cby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - I'll send you an email with some of my posts on Taurine rather than repeat here again. I definitely think it is time for you consider it. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jim - That's a super report. So glad it worked for you. Just remember to be very diligent with your regimen. Do check in from time to time and let us know how you are doing. Healthy regards, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - as I stated previously, this is not a DIY project. The tweaking of adrenal function has to be correlated with testing and the use of certain glandulars and herbals are definitely contraindicated as they will worsen the situation. It is also a cure that takes a significant amount of time...it's not like take a few pills and in 2 months, you're normal. Burned out adrenals take aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - can you elaborate a bit more on the stress issue angle. Do you become fairly anxious? Also, refresh my memory - are you taking supplements to help maintain intracellular balance of the critical electrolytes? Sometimes we need to add more or at least do it consistently. One of our former posters, Erling, who's story is in Hans first book, cured his afib with diet and supplements.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Carol - best of luck and health to both of you. Sometimes it certainly is better to make the most of the situation at hand rather than try to create more stress with resistance. Just having sun and warm weather every day would be very therapeutic for me. Wish you well, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - I was dianosed and treated by a functional medicine MD for more than adrenal fatigue, but actual adrenal burnout which went hand in hand with hypoglycemia and chronic fatigue, also diagnosed. My first integrative medicine MD used the adrenal extracts or glandulars which didn't help a whole lot at first. He moved. My new FM MD used two approaches - one was the guidelines set forthby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bob - did you have a stressful, fast-paced working career? Many people who have high-stress jobs end up with burned out or highly fatigued adrenal glands and they also produce far too much cortisol inappropriately which makes them always running in fight or flight mode without relief or transition to parasympathetic. Did you ever have any of the evaluations for adrenal function, cortisol levelsby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark - did you ever follow through with having your diaphragm position checked? This maneuver creates pressure that can impinge the vagus nerve enough that it could be a trigger - or perhaps work in reverse and relieve pressure in that area as well. Just a thought - based on my experience with displaced diaphragm. The valsalva never worked for me though - I was vagal. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dean - I should, of course. Thanks for the reminder. No venom here! : ) However, many GERD cases are chalked up to HH when they aren't really there...or so I've read... and PPIs are over-prescribed along with many other quick-fix drugs which don't really address the source of the problem, but rather mask over it. Naturally, if there is an ulcer or true hiatal hernia, other remeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Marian - I've seen those as well and my thought is it has to do with anything that contributes in any slight way to what might be considered "blood thinning" effects....but in reality, most are not capable of doing that to any significant extent. It could be an indirect effect - bromelain, for instance has anti-inflammatory properties and could help blood viscosity to a minor degby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Stan - Nice to see you posting again! Here's my experience for what it's worth - since we are all different - it may or may not be useful to you. Alcohol and red wine was a trigger for me. Since ablation, I have sampled wines at local wineries and also have consumed a full glass of both red and white wine on several occasions and have had no heart reactions - at all. However,by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Cynthia - it is probably not wise to continue to take St. John's wort with coumadin.... If your doctor has advised you to take two Ecotrin and two Ibuprofen, then I have no comment on that. You can check here for the contraindications so you know what the risks are. Have your fibrinogen levels been checked? In range? or on the high side? Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Chris - see if you can determine if it is a certain food that causes the ectopy or just eating in general. Certain foods are more apt to be allergenic or create some racing pulse while or shortly after ingesting, depending on how sensitive the host is to that food.... prime suspects... wheat, corn, eggs, dairy, shellfish, seafood, nuts - especially peanuts, soy, yeast and ..... sugar and/or aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Continued - sorry - too many fingers on the keys at once.... ...sucralose, titanium dioxide, gelatin, glycerin, bees wax. None of these chemicals are needed in a health product other than for filler. In Doctor's Best, they use Bioperene which is derived from black pepper and is said to increase absorbability. Some individuals find the bioperene is irritating to stomach tissue. A dosageby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sorry to respond so late to this post. I was hesitant to suggest one brand over the other but did some checking for reliability. Consumer's Lab is an independent testing organization that evaluate supplements to see if they supply the amount of nutrient labeled and will on occcasion reject some for other reasons as well - like if the tablets don't break apart or they find impurities,by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Omega-3 fatty acid levels are associated with decreased risk for sudden death; however, the protective cardiovascular mechanisms of omega-3 are poorly understood," write Fernando Holguin, MD, from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues. "One of the proposed mechanisms by which omega-3 fatty acids may decrease the risk of arrhythmia is by increasiby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Michael - I sound like a broken record. The reason people resort to PPIs is because of GERD. GERD happens because food isn't broken down in the stomach because of lack of stomach acid. Catch 22? I'm not going to be the one to tell you to stop the PPI and use a digestive enzyme that contains betaine HCl, but I can tell you that when I eat a protein meal - which is 3 times a day -by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Emmie - yes - I rely on digestive enzymes and probiotics and have done so for about 11 years. Definitely, some people do not produce enough stomach acid to break down foods - especially proteins and fats, but many also suffer from breaking down milk sugar (lactose intolerance) and starches. Digestive enzymes help unless one has a true food allergy and then avoidance of that food is the onlby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Chris - you said: "He put me on Co-Diovan, a combo of valsartan and hydrochlorothiazid." Check with your pharmacist to determine if any of these drugs promote potassium loss. I know any of the thiazide diuretic drugs do but perhaps one of the others helps prevent the loss. If not, then be aware that potassium depletion will lead to more arrhythmia. You may need to consult once agby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike - I seriously doubt that thawed natto loses its potency. The original natto was carried in straw bundles and totally un-refrigerated. What is unknown is any other bacterial contamination that could grow but I still think that is minor. Your rash situation is either an allergy to soy and/or the fact that the bacterial content of natto starts killing Candida along with other systemic detoby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dean - one of the side comments Kaayla Daniels mentions is that when Asian women want to cool down their mate's libido - they feed them extra soy products. : ) You are correct about the phytoestrogens. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well Cynthia - you were giving good advice to Anne about some calcium and vitamin D but bones also benefit from an assist from vitamin K2, selenium, boron and traces of strontium. Especially important is intake of supplemental magnesium to match the same amount of supplemental calcium - 1:1 ratio. This applies also to many younger women as well as osteoporosis starts around age 35 and manifestby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ella! Still working on this clarification. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shaun - this product contains typical digestive enzymes along with some Ox bile and hydrochloric acid. Very expensive for what it is. You can go to Hans' web vitamin store (above link) and view his recommendations for digestive enzymes that are reliable and economical as well. My two favorites are: Brand: Source Naturals "Essential Enzymes" and NOW brand - Super Enzymes. I tby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM