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Non-prescription potassium supplements are limited to 99 mg of elemental potassium in the US. I don't care what it says on the label; there is no more than 99 mg of potassium in it. Therefore, there are no K+ supplements that are worth taking without a prescription. However, getting far more potassium from food than you'll ever get from supplements is trivially easy. In general, heaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Three thoughts: 1) Dehydration is your #1 enemy because it causes electrolyte imbalances, particularly potassium loss. Avoid it at all cost. And excess alcohol leads to dehydration so careful with that. 2) Two episodes in 8 months, both preceded by dehydration, doesn't necessarily mean you need to be doing anything other than avoiding the dehydration and toning down the alcohol. 3by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Your cough started in February when you started the sotalol. Very unlikely it's phrenic nerve injury. That's not a mistake Natale makes. A sore throat and/or cough from the ET tube usually goes away in a day or two. I think it's really unlikely it was a consequence of the ablation.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I definitely wouldn't allow your local guy to overrule any of Natale' recommendations. I hope the Inderal works better for you. And if you can get by without any antiarrhythmics 13 days post-procedure, that's a really good sign.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nobody can predict that for you. Beta blockers are known to cause a cough in some people. You might be one of them, and if so the Inderal might not be any better, but all you can do is try it. QuoteMadeline Yesterday when I saw my local cardiologist, he firmly said sotalol does not cause cough. So I guess the FDA, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, the NHS, and a few dozen other authoritative sourcesby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quoteafapr14 Though I went into Afib at 30 hours, it's pretty close to the 24 hours so I don't know if I should go to emergency now or wait and see if a self convert before 11 pm tonight. I'm concerned about these intense waves of wooziness. While I've experienced them many times pre-ablation, never to this degree. I'm also experiencing some chest pain, more like a pressuby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's another post about this on the site that had a bit more information. Search and I'm sure you can find it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't know how useful the 6L will be in real life. My suspicion is it's mainly a cool gadget and won't add much diagnostic value for most people, but I can definitely see it answering the question of whether it's afib or flutter, which is a question that gets asked a lot. And I might buy it myself just to have a cool gadget. :-)by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesafib It may not be structural, and/or it may be latent , e.g., sudden discontinuation can cause angina, myocardial infarction, and rebound hypertension. It is not an issue of what it was prescribed for. My point is to ask Natale. Madeline is not at risk for those complications. Angina and MI are risks only in the presence of cardiac disease. Tapering off beta blockers is usually only neceby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesafib It often isn't clear that one's only condition is afib. There may be latent coronary or thyroid disease, or perhaps some issue with not having a thyroid, which is aggravated by sudden discontinuation. That's why gradual reduction of nonselective beta blockers over a period of 1-2 weeks is safer. I'm familiar with Madeline's situation and she just underwent anby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's no risk associated with stopping sotalol. You can stop it anytime you want if your only condition is afib. The worst case outcome is you end up back in afib.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMadeline Carey, I have written one of the nurse practitioners at Saint David’s but haven’t heard back yet. I would like to experiment not taking the sotalol today. Would that be all right? Well, sure, you can do that. Worst case is you end up in afib. It's a bit early to stop everything, so definitely talk to the NP about this. Sounds like they need to switch you to something else thaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The GI problem isn't something I ever experienced but we've seen enough reports of GI issues following ablations around here to know it happens to some people. It could also be lingering effects of the anesthesia. Most people snap out of the anesthesia right away, but for others it takes a while. Sounds like you're one of the latter kind. One of the things that can happen with anesby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You should be following your EP's instructions, not other forum members here. Their particulars may not be the same as yours. QuoteHBK My question is: should I be on Flec so that I can have pretty much no ectopics? Or, should I keep going without it as long as I can avoid an Afib episode? Why bother having an ablation if you're going to remain on an antiarrhythmic? I would do as yoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePompon Looks interesting, but I wonder if a "6-lead" tracing one gets this way is much more informative than a single lead one. For arrhythmias, a good 1-lead recording is maybe enough... A single lead often is sufficient, but it's a blunt instrument and only tells you there's some sort of arrhythmia. The additional leads should allow other arrhythmias to be identified.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDoug S. Wonder if I should try something new, but kind of afraid to. I experienced 6 years of virtually permanent afib, and I dread going back there. The only thing my EP could suggest was dronedarone, which he said a lot of people complain about. The only complaint you'll probably hear about dronedarone (Multaq) is it didn't work. It has very few side effects and would be a greaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I agree that the Kardia retention policy is unreasonable and severely limits the usefulness of the device. I was an early adopter and when I first got it you could store unlimited recordings at no charge. You only paid a fee if you wanted a recording reviewed. Lucky for me and others who bought at that time, when they changed policies they gave us free lifetime premium memberships. Not really surby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What you describe doesn't fit anything clearly. I would call your cardiologist's office again and tell them you're experiencing chest pains. That should get you back in much sooner, hopefully the same day you call.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Miss Sunshine summed it up nicely. Your episodes are too short to be considered treatable arrhythmias. Are they harbingers of afib in your future? Probably not but obviously none of us has a crystal ball. A late recurrence of afib 14+ months after an ablation is unusual. Once you reach that one year point, it's generally considered that your ablation was successful. Yeah, you went on flecby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks for the copies of the article, Lance and GG.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotechrrev Interesting you mention that high BP is not associated with Afib, I thought it was. It is on a long-term basis, meaning untreated hypertension causes atrial stretch, which leads to fibrosis and fibrosis leads to afib. But that's something that occurs over years. During an afib episode your BP can be high, low or normal. For most people it's low, and sometimes low enough toby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Unfortunately, you need a subscription to read the article. WSJ doesn't even give a few free readings per month like most newspapers do.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Millions of people have spent years taking flecainide daily without problem for several decades now. Flecainide is contraindicated in people with structural heart disease such as heart failure and prior heart attack for the reasons you mention, but for everyone else it's a relatively safe drug. It doesn't substantially reduce EF and it doesn't create a stroke risk.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
This doesn't have anything to do with big pharma. This is the basics of aspirin and afib. Pointing you to specific sources of knowledge would be a huge task involving you spending a lot of time reading about the mechanism of action of aspirin, its known effects, and the history of afib. Keep in mind that afib and aspirin have both been with us for a very long time (afib since the ancientby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemwcf Carey, I certainly take and respect your point of view as per your quote and I too have known of a few folks who've lived to be 90 having had permanent AF for 30+ years, but do you 100% stick with your viewpoint as quoted even in the face of the points Shannon makes above re dementia? I do, with some reservations. The data quoted by Shannon is certainly interesting, but it'sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I think the advice you got to take aspirin was somebody's misunderstanding of the advice to take aspirin if you think you're having a heart attack. Aspirin doesn't do a single thing to stop an arrhythmia or lower blood pressure. So it had absolutely nothing to do with your arrhythmia stopping or your BP improving. Unless maybe it worked as a placebo, which is always possible. Hey,by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteJoe Was worth doing in my case because i didn't like the bad symptoms and the CV lasted 18/20 months. Oh, I never said it wasn't worth doing. Cardioversion definitely has its place and I almost always think it's worth trying. I've had more than a few myself. I just meant it won't cure anything. I've always envied people like you who got relief for many monthsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Interesting coincidence. :-) I promise you the aspirin did not stop the arrhythmia, whatever it was,by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It might seem like that should be the case, but it just isn't. People with rate controlled afib and anticoagulation live just as long as anyone else, including people who treat their afib. It might seem like it should do harm, but it's well established that it doesn't.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotekatesshadow I understand the rate control aspect, but isn't the atria quivering a problem? It's not functioning correctly and doesn't that affect circulation, etc.? When I had my Afib episode, after a little while, I was short of breath and lightheaded (that's when I headed to the ER). Was the rate causing that? When you're in afib you do lose the so-calledby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM