James - You may want to try another form of potassium supplementation.... the KClor is known to be highly irritating to gut tissue. If your vagus is irritated, you'll have ectopy and AF. Most of us like the bulk powdered potassium gluconate (from iHerb)... or potassium citrate. The gluconate form is the least likely to cause stomach irritation and it should always be taken with food to heby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian - thanks for your contribution. I have been routinely tested for parasites and other forms of pathogenic organisms since I am in the care of a Functional Medicine MD and it's good to mention this because a number of afibbers found once they got rid of H.pylori, control over afib was greatly improved. Sorry it wasn't immediately clear to new readers that I did have ablation after aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Louis - many people have reported a 'cyclical' type of AF pattern. Some attribute it to a type of hormonal buildup. Hans addressed this in the second Conference Room Session Additionally, I just responded to James and mentioned the importance of recognizing the potassium to sodium ratio... please read that and reflect on your sodium intake along with the other critical electrolytes.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
James - in the case of both magnesium and potassium, excesses are washed out if kidney function is normal. If not, then there can be retention that can lead to significant problems and while these are not common, it does deserve a note of caution. If you are taking potassium-sparing drugs, then that's a whole other issue. You are correct in stating that too much supplemental potassium wiby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - how are your levels of magnesium and potassium? Do you supplement? You may find you can wean off the flecainide if you start optimizing your IC stores of both electrolytes. If you haven't read The Strategy... now would be a good time. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tim - You may find that a PIP approach to using flecainide would work very well for you. PIP is 'pill in pocket' or on-demand. It's not for afibbers who have almost continual events, but rather for infrequent afib... and is taken at the onset. In my case for the occasional breakthrough AF that I have post-ablation, my instructions are to take the beta blocker (25 mg Toprolby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello Tim and welcome. You've found a most valuable place to help sort out the afib puzzle. There is an overwhelming amount of valuable information here and in the Conference Room Session link and we are all willing to help. Just start asking your questions. How frequent are your afib events? If you are vagal, then the beta blockers typically are not helpful on a daily basis. With Tiby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ivan - thanks for this link. It's a nice review of the importance of magnesium - especially for afibbers but for many other health conditions as well. I had fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome and taking magnesium for afib automatically got me out of trouble with the muscle pain. I also had a tendency toward headaches which was attributed to perimenopause but in hindsight, most likelby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Steve - do you mean you are intentionally consuming 1000 mg of sodium? Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I use MagneDerm from Designs for Health .... but I only use it for sore muscles so one 8 oz bottle of the concentrated gel lasts a very long time as the amount applied is small. If you intend to use it daily as your only Mg source, then the flakes George mentions would be more economical. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Monty - when I was having such a time with frequent and long-duration AF, I asked my EP, Dr. Natale, about the harm of frequent cardioversions.... he said that there was no harm in having them but it was not cost effective. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bill - some of the reason for magnesium and bowel tolerance issues can be the form... and not all chelates are true chelates. These reports cover the absorption issues and addresses topical application as well see also: The topical or trans-dermal or 'oil' forms are also effective. They don't have to be costly. There is a gel-form that works well. The spray-on types are dilby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes - Murray - please do... Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Dave - I forgot your story about the poor infection control. That's inexcusable! I hope you sent a steaming letter and copied the state health board. I don't blame you for switching; I would too. There is only one EP that I would definitely not see at Hopkins... send me an email and I'll give you his name if you don't already know it. I wish you well. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Chris - thank you. It's my mission to help in any way I can and it seems that the longer I am on this AF journey, the more I learn along the way so I feel compelled to keep sharing in case it may be useful to others. Be well, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nick - The rule here by the Cleveland Clinic is not to go longer than 48 hours in AF if you are not on warfarin/Coumadin because clots are found to form after than long in fibrillation. Of significant importance is that in many places, you can't just show up and expect to get in for cardioversion within that time frame - especially if you wait until the '11th hour.' So plan aheaby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Josiah - I'd be curious as to the brand of the WalMart Mg if it was branded or generic. Much of WalMart's stuff is imported - China for sure - and the impurities involved might be high. And, typically, generic magnesium is the oxide form because it's cheap (and useless). But as you say, strange things happen. There is also the possibility that the initial test was a lab error.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Josiah... well, one would obviously depend on the other... if he has a liver function issue that improves with stopping the Mg, then it's obvious that the Mg is contraindicated in his case as warned by several of those sites mentioned. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks George. I definitely feel that people can improve ablation outcomes...or avoid ablations completely with the right nutrient intake aided by testing or monitoring of same plus the very important food intake education. I've worked with a couple of local afibbers - one ablated at the CCF and one, not, and they had improved stabilization of NSR and also were able to get out of AF fairby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark - you're probably right that AF leaves mental scars. I keep my PIP stash on hand so that I know I am always in control to the best of my ability. I also have a small stash of Mg and K that I always have "just in case." Security blanket of sorts. When I do have a breakthrough, I experience none of the previous panic or even dread because thus far, I have been extremely sucby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Erling - I had forgotten it was included...shoulda looked first! Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark - keep in mind that your nutrition may have been at least adequate but for some reason, the nutrients taken in were not accessible to the interior of the cells where they function. We now know that eating bad fats such as hydrogenated forms and trans-fats damage the outer layer of cells so nutrients can't access. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Josiah - type into Google: "liver function affected by magnesium supplements" and read the various links indicating that in some people, it can be a problem with either liver or kidneys. In my many years of Mg supplementation, I've not had any indication that either of my organ systems is affected. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
oops...by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Murray - here's another on statin damage to mitochondrial DNA and PQQ. Add this to your collection. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Bill - sorry to read this. I know how you feel because I had my first AF breakthrough four years after my 2003 ablation. I had the PIP kit still in my stash and I used it immediately...thankfully, I was home with immediate access. It worked in less than an hour. NSR. Coincidental to that event, I had just had routine labs done and was found to be low in both magnesium and potassium... (eby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Absolutely right on, Erling - the SAD is also apt to be way too high in calcium as well so there is a double threat to heart cells. This calcium issue is commonly addressed in functional medicine circles where they frequently comment on the overemphasis on calcium and not enough on magnesium to counter-balance the excitatory property of calcium. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Steve, as I mentioned previously... at the very minimum, your ratio should be 1:1... for afibbers, it should be higher in magnesium and lower in calcium for the obvious reasons... calcium is excitatory. If it dominates the cell then some hearts will have problems. Try cutting back and see what happens. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dave - sorry to hear that. If I were in your area, Dr. Callans would be my choice. He's a brilliant EP. What does he say? Did you ever get into managing your electrolyte levels prior to the first ablation? If not, you may want to read the observational report I did just for this reason. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Erling - to add to this... Remember the paper by in David Van Wagoner, PhD? Mechanisms of AF In many patients, AF begins with short episodes, typically characterized as "palpitations" (a fluttering sensation in the chest), or "paroxysms." Over time, there is a tendency for these episodes to become longer. Why does this happen? Once AF has been initiated, the atria undergo a process known asby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM