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A couple of thoughts. Nine and a half years ago, I had a two and a half month episode. Six weeks or so into that episode, I had an hsCRP (inflammation) test performed. From memory the results were 0.15 mg/dl. Normal is less than 1.0 mg/dl and the bottom range of the test is 0.04 mg/dl. Hence, at least in me, six weeks of afib did not raise this inflammation maker above normal levels andby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark, I'm glad it works for you, however after reading here for ~10 years, I'd say that too much endurance exercise is a much more common issue for true lone afibbers than TOFI < for those not familiar. If you are relatively inactive and naturally thin, you may be a candidate to be TOFI. There are quite a few studies showing long term participation in endurance activities signiby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Simon, I believe it was the CAST trial < where flec had problems with people who'd had an MI or ventrivcular rhythm issue. Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Have a safe drive and a successful procedure!by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Randy, It would work for me. I do recall some posters in the past having a hard time with this. Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ben, The Alive Cor and the Polar strap really serve different functions (I have both). The Alive Cor has the advantage of giving you an ECG reading vs. just a tachogram (heart rate vs. time or beat length vs. time). If you need to see the ECG waveforms, obviously the Alive Cor gives that to you. However it is not suitable for extended monitoring, as you need to hold it the entire timeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Erich, I'm one that has been successful controlling my afib with mag/pot/taurine for 9 years, after a 2 1/2 month episode (which started two months after my first afib episode). What I'd suggest is to discuss a prescription for an on-demand med like flecainide, to be taken when you have an episode lasting for more than a couple of minutes. This would hopefully minimize the timeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Catalin, If you have an iPhone, the app HVR Logger along with a Polar H7 (bluetooth) chest transmitter strap would allow you do "see" kind of ectopics you are experiencing and quantify them. I've used a Polar S810 watch for years for this purpose and example charts are shown in CR 52 and 52a in the Conference Room archives. The app will export csv R to R files to Dropbox, wherby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dirk, I've been using a loading dose (300 mg) of flecainide on demand (pill-in-pocket, "PIP") to convert my afib since Nov. 2004. Initially, I converted a 2 1/2 month episode. This and the next episode one month later took 20 hours to convert. All subsequent episodes took between 1/2 and 4 hours to covert with almost all around 1 hour. After the 2 1/2 month episode, I sby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, I did not mean to imply the 9% rate was typical. I think it speaks loudly about his attitude that Dr. C would choose a study with a 9% (and 6% tamponade) rate to cite in his editorial suggesting that afib be a first line treatment. My recollection of Pam's description of dealing with him after his fellow ripped her valve was basically "too bad, so sad." Without takinby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Iatrogenia, I appreciate your posting the articles. I actually agree that ablation can be a first line treatment as many AA meds do not have stellar records, IF you are able to go to one of the top centers for an ablation. In Dr. C's editorial you cite, in a med vs. ablation study he writes about, he notes there were major complications in 9% of the ablations, including 6% with tamponadeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
I concur with Liz. Interesting, my recollection is that Dr C was reported to be the EP in charge when one of our posters was severely injured. I recall the issue being described that a fellow did the job of threading the catheters and tore a valve while Dr C was out of the room. Hence the suggestion to always ask whose hands will actually be at the controls!by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Iatrogenia, Fermented foods are a good source of bacteria and food for them. There is nothing "magic" about potato starch. It would be RS2 in the wiki list. The issue is getting enough resistive starch (read starch that is not digestible, but is fermentable) in many diets to feed well the bugs. My understanding is that RS types 2-4 meet the not digestible but fermentable cby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Liz, When I first heard about the idea, I was repulsed. The more I investigate the gut biome and all the functions it provides, I can at least understand the logic. There are people who eat a lot of fermented food for this reason, and, even though this is gross to us, it is really just an extension of that logic. The exploring the blog linked by Onewaypockets adds to this. Dr. Ayersby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
I thought Dr. Ayers comment " Does Altered RS in Modern Bread Explain Gluten Intolerance? The RS remaining in today’s superfine flour that is rapidly cooked into bread and other foods, may be very different from previous generations. Traditional hydration and exposure to fermenting microorganisms may have produced breads with higher levels of RS that contributed to healthier gut florby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
David, In Nov 2012, my afib was very sensitive to vagal stimulation. I started taking powdered organic ginger spice, which did seem to offset the vagal stimulation. I recall, that when I looked into it, it raised the adrenergic side rather than lowering the vagal. Some others have had positive responses to ginger and I recall Hans wrote about it in the Afib Report. Here is a search heby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nancy, " and it seems that people don't get results with the potato starch until they start using a good probiotic." I'd say some don't get results and some get better w/probiotic. I'm sure it has to do with the state of a person's gut. I initially tried potato starch, just in water. I certainly saw the blood sugar effect right away. My sleep improveby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Louise, If you really have questions, for $2 a tech will analyze it with 24 hour turnaround. Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom, Good news. Thanks for the update! Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Louise, Do you have any symptoms. How much of the time are you in afib? Could it be you are just seeing normal NSR? Here is an example of normal NSR: < (ignore the first beat where hands were moving at the start) Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Shannon, 4 tsp is a good place to start. Reading through the link I posted above (including comments) <, people range from a tsp or two up to 8 tablespoons. Starting small is a good idea. Also, people are experimenting with consuming various probiotic formulas at the same time - give the bugs something to eat and also add some more "good" bugs at the same time. Three mentioby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jim Bob, "Does anyone know the exact relationship between bradycardia and afib?" In layman's terms, each time the atrial cells contract, there is a "blanking period" where they don't fire on their own, "atrial effective refractory period" or AERP. When the heart rate is fast, a new beat happens before this period ends. When the heart rate slows down,by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
I got one a few weeks ago. My heart has been calm since May, so nothing too interesting to report. It works well for a 2 lead ECG. You don't have to use it as a case (good for me since I like my Otterbox case for my phone). You just need to hold close to the phone. It easily creates a page size PDF that you can email or print. In some senses, I like my Polar monitor for long term (hoby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nancy, You might be interested in this quote- < "One of the unfair advantages I have as a biohacker is that I am married to Lana, a Karolinska-trained physician. I asked her about resistant starch, and she said: ”Yeah. We doctors know about that, but we call it indigestible starch.” But then, she went on to say that East European herbal healers, including her grandmother years agoby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, From reading, the gas appears to be highly individual, but common. I started eating it with a little bit of yogurt and kefir. This seemed to help a lot. I'm a little over two weeks in. As you pointed out, insulin has a U shaped curve, in terms of optimal amounts. With my normal low carb diet, I periodically (maybe once a week) "spike" my blood sugar to keep my inby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nancy, "Dr. H's nurse said that if I only took the Flec without met as a PIP, it could actually make my afib worse by speeding up my HR. Is this true? " I'm guessing they are worried about flec leading to aflutter with 1:1 conduction. This is a possible risk - certainly Shannon has had this experience. On the other hand, I've taken PIP flec w/o any betablocker pby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi John, I started down the path of looking at diet as a result of former prolific poster, Patrick Chambers, MD (PC) suggesting that many lone afibbers had a tendency toward hypoglycemia. Here's a search on the Conference Room on hypo: < This prompted me to purchase a glucometer and determine my situation. I found I had a much less than perfect glycemic response eating carbs. Hypby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ralph, No, not related to arrhythmia symptoms at all, only bowel tolerance as I explained above. Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Liz, A cooked potato is a lump of sugar. A raw potato is almost all resistive starch. Potato starch in the store has not been cooked. It is about 80% starch, 20% water. If you heat it, it is like popcorn - will expand. When expanded, it is no longer resistant starch, it is a very fast carb. A cooked potato that has been in the fridge overnight is some fast glucose with some resistive (typby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM