Joyce - See...nature's healing powers. Never underestimate...and no drug side effects. Now, only if it could have cured my AF. I virtually bathed in various oils to no avail, but it surely did make me relaxed and fragrant. I love them and use several every morning and evening. Just a way of life now. Some can be ingested to prevent colds and flu... Pretty amazing. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ohh yeah! Didn't someone on this BB just say... "give me drugs!".... Not for me. I like you are glad to be rid of drugs thanks to ablation. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Wil - Well said! It is true that the more exercise, the greater the oxidative stress and the greater the risk of AF because this increases irritability of the heart cells. It's pretty easy to make the connection. I recently read in something I found on oxidative stress that indicates athletes who have increased oxidative stress also have shorter life spans. If I can find the resource,by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
David - very sorry for what you are going through. Bone spurs (calcium deposits ) typically come from surplus calcium known as "free calcium".. you may not take calcium, but it's from your diet or just your chemistry. If you use magnesium and get your levels up, this is said to dissolve spurs on bone and in tissue. And watch excess calcium intake from foods - like dairy. Yby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Annie - I agree with Thor.... and you will certainly hear from others about their events that came and went during the time the heart is healing. Please remember.... the heart is in a state of irritability for 6 to 8 weeks...some say even long. Some say 6 months and I've even read that it may take 9 months to a year for a heart to settle down. Naturally, none of us want any AF after ablby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
More from www.mercola.com In national survey, 45 percent of specialists reported that a medical error had occurred in their practice in the past six months. Of the reported errors, which included medication errors, testing errors, surgical planning errors and judgment errors, 37 percent caused major injury or harm, and 4 percent were fatal. Both adults and children were affected, and youngerby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
News From Dr. Mercola's web site: If you want to know just how far those mega-billion pharameuticals will go to maintain their marketshare, a $345.5 million settlement announced late last week sure sounds like a lot of money to me. That's the amount it took for Schering-Plough to resolve a government Medicaid investigation. Last year, Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline paid $257 and $86.7 miby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
David - no I was musing about the statement frequently written that Flecanide becomes pro-arrhythmic in time. After 4 years of it, my af became progressively worse.... until I increased the minerals, and then the AF stopped completely. When I say nasty... I just don't like side effects for any reason. I had visual disturbances and some oral symptoms thought to be from Flecanide. My caby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike F. I'd like to share my limited experiences with drugs.... during the 8 years of AF, I only was given a few to try... Betapace... wrong for vagal....did nothing.... perhaps made worse. Side effects - awful! Great fatigue. Toprol and Toprol XL - almost the same thing...plus the development of insulin resistance. Flecanide.... never really did stop the AF....and I increased fromby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Howard.... the Prothrombin test is rountine lab work. It doesn't measure the same clotting mechanism as INR, but is a good indicator of your blood's overall ability to clot or not... measuring all clotting factors. INR only measures the effecacy of warfarin (coumadin). Hans explains this very thoroughly in his Thrombosis book. Every afibber should have this book and understand theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Erling - Excellent - thanks for passing this along. Very complete, concise and important information. I was glad to see the ratio's published and validated once again. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Kerry - I totally agree with you on the fish oil recommendation. I was taking 6 grams a day of Omega 3 fish oil along with other natural supplements to reduce any clotting tendency. I was never concerned about clotting during my whole 8 years of AF history because I felt I was well covered with a variety of anti-clotting measures. Apparently after 39 hours of AF, I developed a clot which shoby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
From what I've been told, the TEE is very accurate. The CT scan, of course, is accurate, but when my clot showed up on the spiral CT scan, they had to have a second interpretation, to determine if there really was a clot in the left atrial appendage. The TEE was designed specifically to determine the presence of a clot before cardioversion...to make the procedure more safe. The CT scanby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hans - Peggy - Thanks for the report defining their perameters and levels.... I'd like to comment that when I first learned about CRP as a marker for heart disease, the comment made by the doctor was that a level of zero would be a great number. When I was cooling my heels during one of my ER visits awaiting cardioversion or self-conversion, and in a conversation I had with a cardiolby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Babs - this is coming up everywhere because herbal remedies work and are safe...economical and can't be patented. The drug industries fear their bottom line is being affected...and so they "educate" the doctors that these are harmful to patients. This is why the push is on to regulate supplements... our biggest fear. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Kerry - Right on. It really isn't expensive when you consider the benefits and the convenience. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bill - Welcome to the BB. The best place to gain knowledge about clotting is from Hans' new book... Thrombosis and Stroke Prevention. You can order it online by scrolling down below the box where you would post a reply. It is worth its weight in gold. Diagnosis of clots in the heart are by TEE - Transesophageal Echocardiogram - which is a little camera on a cable that you swallow andby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joyce.... Dr. Mercola frequently comments that most soy products offered in the US are from genetically modified soybeans.... this is bad. But, he does say that one can consume a modest amount of fermented soy products.... organic .... to eliminate the genetic modification...such as tempeh or miso..... However, if one has the sensitivity to soy, then any amount is not good since it undoubtedby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
you can believe that most fish is contaminated and that Omega 3 fish oil is safer. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy... you are jogging my memory here..... the year before I developed AF, I went on a vegan diet...no dairy, no eggs, no meat. Strictly vegetarian.... and following that.... I developed my first case of AF.... I believe there were about six months from the time I ended the diet to the first event. Not that there is any connection that I can see. Just remembering. Eventually, I became coby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joyce - I've read that chocolate cravings mean magnesium deficiency. There is a connection.... type in google.... chocolate cravings magnesium deficiency and you'll get 3500 hits. The only problem is to consume enough chocolate...and it has to be unsugared.... is not such a treat afterall. Just increase magnesium supplementation. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Todd - organic apple cider vinegar is the best.... but are you sure on the 3 Tbs. amount? That's an awful lot of vinegar. Usually it is only one TBS in about 4 oz or less of warm water. I think it really tastes good. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Michael - old dog...new tricks...it can be done. Eating fast is a habit many of us get into and it is so bad on so many levels.... I hope you can make a concerted effort to chew very well each mouthful. It is amazing how, when you concentrate on chewing and even counting the times you chew, how long it takes to completely pulverize the food.... everytime I discipline myself to concentrate onby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Angels, prayers, positive energy, good wishes.... all will be needed in August for these BB members..... Aldona - 8/2 Lynn 8/13 Ron 8/26 If there are others...please add names Blessings to all, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
The one issue this study does not address....and should..... is the recommendation tuna as a safe fish. Tuna and other large fish are the ones most contaminated with mercury and should be avoided by everyone...not just afibbers. It is well known and reported anectodatally that ingestion of large fish (regardless of how prepared - broiled or fried) will set off an afib event due to the mercuryby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
PJ - I can imagine your disappointment, but a second ablation or touch up is always a potential....I guess we all knew it going in...just think it won't be necessary with us. Don't be discouraged. Many others have had touchups and are enjoying NSR once again. Just be patient and try to remain unstressed...and I know how difficult that can be, but a calm heart is important. Keep usby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
There is little doubt that anything antiinflammatory will help reduce C-reactive protein levels....but I would definitely want to stay away from anything that utilized prednisone. Way too many side effects. I reduced my C-reactive protein levels with natural plant based supplements - combined in a product call Phytoprofen.... from Thorne Research. Inexpensive and no side effects. Even aspirinby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Because pesticide and other toxic chemicals are contributors to AF, I thought this was good to pass along. For some, it is a review since weve discussed this in the past, but for new readers, it is important. Dr. James H. Martin of Sarasota, Florida, sends out e-Health Alerts to patients and other interested people. This months has some useful information. You can be placed on his mailby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
While I'm on a roll, here, I also have a very insightful article -FDA Shenanigans - that I will email to whomever is interested. It has some political overtones so I don't want to post it, since it is not my intention to make any political statements. It just points out some of the inherent problems we, the people, face as a result of FDA dealings with the drug companies. To Peggy..by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
This warning comes to us from the Weston Price Foundation. If you are one of the people who enjoys eating shrimp, you need to know what else you may be eating along with it, and it isn't cocktail sauce. Jackie WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION ACTION ALERT July 27, 2004 TAKE ACTION: TELL FDA TO INSPECT SHRIMP IMPORTS! Shrimp is currently the number one seafood choice for American consumers.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM