James - Where are you located? Most of the readers here find that ordering the glycinate form through Hans' website (see the top box My Favourite Supplements)... is both economical and convenient. Doctor's Best brand is popular as is the Blue Bonnet. You can try to use small amounts of the citrate. It is easily absorbed but it is also used as a laxative so it tends to have the bby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sharon - responding to your musings: This still isnt as complete as Id like, but..... Levels of magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium flow in and out of cells (and tissue) as needed for various functions. The body doesnt make or produce these electrolytes; rather, they are provided through diet (and/or supplements). If something depletes one ie, magnesium, for example, then there is no comby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Rich - glad the PIP worked quickly. So far, it has worked well for me, too. Be mindful of your dietary intake of magnesium and potassium and anything that might deplete those. If your diet seems to be lacking, then start supplementing with the Essential Trio. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
J - well - then, I'd say... don't rock the boat. I just wouldn't add more supplemental potassium.... unless you begin to experience increased ectopy and/or afib. Did the NSR happen as a result of adding the extra potassium gluconate or were you stable before then and you just added more 'for extra insurance?' Do tell the story because this is important info and exby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
J - you haven't answered the question about what is your heart status? NSR mostly or are you in afib? Sharon - the answer to your question deserves more time than I can spend at the moment. I'll respond soon. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, J, then I'd just stop the supplements. Actually, with 4.7... you probably didn't need much more, if any. Now the question becomes.... are you using magnesium supplementation? because if you have low IC levels of magnesium, adding potassium will not make afib better; only worse until the magnesium levels are optimal. Unless you go to extra trouble and expense to have the Exateby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
JJ - The Essential Trio plus Coenzyme Q10, carnitine and ribose is what keeps me from having afib breakthrough post-ablation. After my 11/03 ablation, I went for 4 years afib free and then had a some isolated breakthrough events in the years since. It happens when I become lax about this combination which I call the Essential Trio "Plus"... so it's a five-some... but I also useby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
J - it should come down now that you've stopped the supplement; I'd just go back to the same diet you had with the 4.7 level.... How much supplemental potassium did you add in a day? What's happened to your arrhythmia at that level? Improvement or worse? Do you know for sure that you have healthy kidney function? Do you take any potassium-sparing medications? Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Darcy - I think it's not only reasonable but a very good plan. Realistic and dedicated. You are definitely on the right track. Keep up the good work. You've done a great job so far. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Adam - the Kre-Alkalyn does have some creatine... and therefore will have some water-retaining properties...but it definitely appears to be an improvement over the original pure creatine monohydrate. How the Kre-Alk affects your body will be your experiment of one. I would not use it, but you won't know until you try it and observe if it causes you more afib or not. The most importantby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jason - I am assuming your magnesium is the glycinate form? and that each tablet contains 100 mg elemental magnesium? If so, then start with one a day and increase after 4 - 5 days to two a day and so on until you are taking 200 mg three times a day .... with bowel tolerance being the guide to how much you use. The key is to dose up slowly. Not to take 3 tablets a day when you are just beginby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Darcy - from all I've seen posted here over 9 years, 'cure' isn't something that is a given. If it happens, great, but even those who were long-standing afibbers like Fran and Erling and who were afib free for years found when all conditions were right, afib returned. Others have posted similar experiences after various numbers of years free of afib. I think that once yby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Adam - Apparently some of the Kre-Alkalyn forms are caffeine free and I'd definitely think that would be smart to use if you must use any at all. Jackie Creatine's Side-Effects 1. Because creatine can be an energy source for the muscle tissue, one of the side effects of taking creatine in the form of Kre-Alkalyn is longer and more intense workout sessions. Muscle fatigue lessens witby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - I was on both; made me feel terrible and I learned vagals should not take beta blockers so I stopped the Metoprolol and just used the flecainide. However, at one time when I was experimenting with cutting down on the BB, the nurse in the EPs office told me that 12.5 metoprolol was like taking nothing at all and that the 25 mg was a minimal dose. I figured if it was 'nothing' theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Louise, thanks for posting this sad story. We must always remember that Coumadin does have that high risk downside. Years ago, when I had my elevated INR, the Coumadin Clinic doctor that called me out of concern spent quite a bit of time telling me about precautions. He didn't even like that at the time I was playing golf regularly because of the risk of getting hit, especially in theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, definitely, salt can be a trigger. It competes with potassium (and wins). If you overwhelm the balance or ratio of potassium to sodium, and are also an afibber, you risk triggering an event. The dietary intake of potassium to sodium should be at least 4:1; some say 5:1. Your 4.5 serum potassium level is probably fine, unless you have regular bouts of afib and then it is probably on theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's a great report Greg - thanks for letting us know. Dr. Wharton is one of the early pioneers in ablations and enjoys a great reputation. I had a date set up with him years ago and was willling to travel there in case my Natale contact (local) didn't work out. Long may you enjoy NSR! Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - Nice find. Says it all. Plus, stents are known to also become plugged. There is a lot of discussion on this 'to stent or not to stent' issue that I've followed since some of my younger friends have been stented. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Josiah - Good for you. Another success story is always welcome news. Keep up whatever you are doing that seems to be working for you. Best to you, Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Teri - I responded to your email and asked if you could provide a link to the label of the NOW brand so I could check the ingredients/description. I did not hear back from you; perhaps my email was snagged in your spam filter... but it's easier to give advice if I can see the label. Off-hand, I think from what you say, that's too much green tea extract to take in a day. The benefitby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Curt - I'm glad you are okay. This blackout thing and then the heart stopping made me very anxious to know how you are. Regardless of your age, you need to be really diligent in learning the source of your blackouts. This person had no other symptoms of any heart problems, ever (or any other health issues either). Then after a series of 4 - 5 blackouts in a few days his heart stopped.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Does anyone know if Curt went for a consult over his blackouts? I've just spent several days with great concern over a friend in his early 60's who, by all appearances, seemed to be in optimal health... runner, works out every day, good diet, takes no meds, etc... but while sitting in a chair in the early morning, blacked out twice. His partner took him to the ER where he was admitteby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike - interesting that you mention vagals prone to over-acidity..... I was formerly vagal and found that I needed more stomach acid (supplements of betaine HCl) to improve protein digestion. I still use it regularly and successfully. As we age, we lose the capability to produce adequate amounts of stomach acid and then the down-line of that becomes concerns over mineral absorption and the proby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - do yourself a favor and print out a copy of your last post about overdoing right after cardioversion.....in case you are tempted to ever repeat that again. You only have one heart so you'd better resolve to get smart about treating it kindly. For the next week or so, chill out! Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Gregg - well it could be that the potassium supplement pushed you over the edge along with the extra fruit. If you can duplicate that regularly, then you can sort out which is the culprit. Often with a lot of fruit sugar plus the extra fiber, people experience diarrhea until they acclimate to an intake that high. This is that biochemical individuality or uniqueness we talk about so frequently.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - I don't doubt Dr. M's experiences and personal observations but I doubt that he used all 20 grams at once, initially...undoubtedly worked up to that number. Plus, as mentioned, had diabetes.. which also limits the amount of Mg that is absorbed due to the damaged Mg receptors... Coupled with the wasting problem, that's an different case entirely. So, for the normal, eveby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
New 4.5-hour window for tPA in stroke boosts number of patients treated, causes no new delaysby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Gregg - 400 is too much to take at one time. I push it with 300 and get away with it (so far) but much of what I read says the body can only absorb only so much at one time and the result will be the 'dumping' of excess. A 200 mg dose is much more reasonable, but I still stand by what I mentioned in my previous post about taking a time out to let your body reset/adjust. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dr. Gaby says this should read: "Thus, for every 3 heart attacks prevented by a statin, approximately one new case of diabetes will occur." He is notifying Townsend of the correction. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Gregg - I take either 200 or 300 mg magnesium glycinate at a time (capsules) and wash it down with 540 mg potassium gluconate in the powder form (pus water) ... sometimes with food; often without, and the bedtime dose is always without food. I do not experience the diarrhea problem. This very well could be an absorption issue but first, I think that you should reduce your dosing to very low leby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM