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I remember that I was aslo scared before the procedure thinking am I making the right decision. In hindsight I wish I didn't wait so long to have the procedures but then again waiting gave my doctor more ablations under his belt before mine. I guess it's just how you look at it. Being without Afib will be well worth the anxiety you feel right now.by Rich G - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bo - I do appreciate that you feel like you've been backed into 'that corner' and need to do something for fast relief and I'm certainly sorry for your situation. Gordon offers a viable option regarding Medicare rather than VA...(I have no experience with that). Regardless of insurance or no insurance, you may as well consider it's a given that you have adrenalby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bo: I used Klonopin PRN for years and it does indeed help with the symptoms of AFIB and the stress on your body. AFAIK, dosages as high as 2.5mg of it are seldom used for anxiety, more like 0.5 mg twice daily. The larger dosages are normally used for seizures and it's reassuring to know that it's still safe at megadosages. Klonopin is similar to Valium in that both are benzo'sby Gordon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bo, What is your background/progression/AF burden? I should have asked that right away. McHale, I wonder at your immediate suggestion that he starts taking Ativan. BTW, there is a huge difference between .5mg and 2.5mg of this drug. Both, Ativan is effective in Vagal AF. I have used it myself to stop ectopics (thus fending off an impending episode) and to shorten the duration of an episby lisa s - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bo, I would second Jackie's advice, but with a few added points. Have the adrenal function checked, along with a complete work-up, blood sugar, blood levels of all the stuff bandied about here, etc... Sometimes, when the docs think they have you pegged, they quit checking for other stuff. IF they don't find anything, and it still seems to be an anxiety issue, do your research (startby lisa s - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks everyone. I can't figure that I'm doing anything wrong. I only eat whole foods. My salt intake is limited. My salt shaker is 2/3 potassium, 1/3 sodium. I don't eat any grains, sugars, etc since I'm a diet controlled diabetic. I do have some raw vegetables daily. For fluids I only drink decaf coffee, Waller water and chamomile tea. I take about 900mg of fish oil daily. Iby Mike L - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie...thanks.....Another question: Is there a relation between vagal LAF and digestion issues like IBS. With my afib currently controlled the stomach stuff that came a little after I started afibbing, is now greatly reduced....it took awhile...lag effect.....by Tibbar - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, I got tears in my eyes from your post.You do understand what I have gone through. There is comfort in empathizing with others. For many years I have tried to say my panic/anxiety attacks were related to hypoglycemia. In my heart, I feel my af is connected...it is one of the things I saw on the afib report to rule out, and I am having a hard time discussing this with the doctors. I printedby aj - AFIBBERS FORUM
aj - quite possibly, you are set up by a hypoglycemic event.... which is similar to a panic attack. The anxious feeling is part of the syndrome. Managing your glucose handling is the issue at hand. Low blood sugar activates the body's natural alarm system because its ****is to protect the brain (so it doesn't run out of glucose) at all costs... thus the panic mode and adrenaline relby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Erling for your continued nutritional reminders and advice. I'd to emphasize the Taurine element that's so very important in a nutritional protocol for afibbers. Taurine is part of the original Essential Trio... magnesium, potassium and taurine ...and should not be overlooked. Taurine acts like a traffic cop - monitoring what goes in and out of cells. Now that we have the inside track oby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Anxiety, meaning common stress through the day or Agoraphobia, panic disorders? Is there a link to panic disorder and Afib; a possible autonomic nervous imbalance? I've read that high doses of magneseum will relieve panic disorders.by chris - AFIBBERS FORUM
In the interview on Electropollution, Dr. Sinatra said during the intense stress at the 11th hour when his son appeared to be dying, he was giving his son and taking himself hourly Bach Flower Rescue Remedy and White Chestnut. The Rescue Remedy is for Anxiety and the White Chestnut is for Fear. These homeopathic remedies have been used safely and successfully for a very long time. Dr. Sinatraby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've only had 2 episodes of AFib, and both started exactly the same way---the alarm clock went off at 6:30 am, I startled awake and immediately went into AF. I have bradycardia (resting rate from 36-54) and sick sinus syndrome. I continue to have an adrenalin/anxiety jumpiness when not in AF. Not every day, but frequently. On these days my heart sort of "thuds" but doesn't bby Calli Mico - AFIBBERS FORUM
More beans please, sir. I am on the road to being scheduled for catheter ablation I believe and hope. Time for me to find out as much as I can about cryo vs RF so that when the time comes I can make an intelligent decision. I am in chronic or permanent aFib and had an unsuccessful electro cardioversion attempt (x4) last week. I do not wish to climb onto the drug merry-go-round and am taking Mby Murray L. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Paul: That is the million dollar question and I have been through a myriad of specialists attempting to figure this out. First, be aware that I had H1N1 summer before last followed by three weeks on full life support (intubated) with acute pneumonia. Lung capacity is now down to just under 70% to start and that is where the story starts really. In terms of some days struggling and other daysby Murray L. - AFIBBERS FORUM
I can ABSOLUTELY empathize with your feeling of lack of oxygen and went through my whole story yesterday for my new gastroenterologist.... don't ask. YES. YES. Some days are just fine like today. No problems walking through the mall hauling heavy gear, etc. Other days it's a struggle to make it back out to the car 100M away. Especially if I have eaten or had something to drink (altby Murray L. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi folks, It's nearly 29 months since my last afib episode and I was happy enough with that result until about 5 weeks ago. I'd been training at the gym for the last 4 months hitting the cardio and weights quite hard but felt good and the results were showing. One friday afternoon I got the sensation that I couldn't satisfy my oxygen saturation when breathing. This sent me into aby Paul - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lisa, I am in my tenth week post-ablation. No afib that I know of, plenty of fast HR after I eat and when I lie down. I am off my Tikosyn for almost two weeks, but taking all supplements and eating very carefully. Like you, I'm feeling Afib could be lurking, it will take a long time in NSR before I'm rid of Afib anxiety. I am getting stronger and exercising more, however! Louiseby Louise E. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Wil - My afib was intermittent. I after the first few events, I wasn't obsessed or afraid of dying because of an event, but I was short of breath and often light-headed which meant I was unable to fully function. At times, my HR was recorded as high as 220 bpm and it worried the docs at the monitoring station who wanted me to go to the ER. Since I was used to having the symptoms, I decliby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond to my original post. We met yesterday with my wife's cardiologist. In addition to helping us better understand the extent to which afib need not force radical lifestyle modifications, he basically recommended the PIP approach, as do a number of this thread's respondents. In this case the "P" is Multaq (dronedarone), whichby sfbob - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just got back from a 1 week cruise about 2 weeks ago. Prior to going, I was in and out of afib and was having pvc's like crazy. Things settled down to just the pvc's and I went on the trip. I take atenolol for BP and rate control, zoloft, and have ativan for the anxiety just in case. During the cruise I had no afib but was still having pvc's. However, after bouncing around iby RalphL - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nancy: How long have you been on the supplements? Sometimes some supplements can cause a reaction--in my case, I cannot take any potassium supplements, I tried taking potassium powder as so many here say we need it, didn't work for me, I started getting runs of afib just from getting up and walking, this wasn't a normal pattern for me. I quit the potassium and the runs went away, thaby Elizabeth H. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jake - during my 8 year afib journey, I went to the ER a few times. The first was early on.. like my second event... scary, so I went. It certainly was an eye opener and expensive. When I arrived in the ER, they did a Cardizem IV for chemical conversion, but said I converted to NSR before the drug had a chance to work... however, they kept me for several days for observation, tests, etc. Expeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks for thoughts all. As for me, I have been making lots of changes since this hit 10 years ago. Vegan for almost 2 years now. Prescribed drugs (for more than 5 years now) Omeprazole 20mg (hiatal hernia / GERD reflux) Diltiazem XR 120mg (high blood pressure) Losartan 50mg (high blood pressure from kidney issues a decade ago - kidneys now doing great!) Celexa 20 to 40mg/day - anxiety issues Atby Nancy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jerry - what are you doing to assess your electrolytes? Have you read The Strategy and CR #72? My ablation was successful until year 4. Then I began to have one or two breakthroughs every 6 - 12 months. I had apparently become negligent in keeping up with mainly potassium which directly affects the the operation of the Na/K pumps and voltage. If my voltage gets low, I'm at risk for AF.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Derek - Since 'Holiday Heart' is a common factor that brings people to the ER with AF, it's not surprising they were queing in on alcohol consumption. I'm thinking that since all your heart stats/numbers are good, in normal range, etc. that the stress/anxiety factor is high in your case. When you panic, it's common to feel short of breath and have a dry mouth. Whby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Randy For what it is worth...yes, I experienced the hyper vigilance of my heart beat (especially when laying down for bed). I was in a constant state of anxiety during the 8 months after my first documented afib and the 11 following episodes. I chose to have an ablation since I could not take any of the drugs. The anxiety has subsided but I am still very aware of my heart beat when I lay downby Cyndie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I am a 40 year old male and was diagnosed last year after returning from Afghanistan with Afib after I had a weird feeling in my chest I called an ambulance, thought I was having a heart attack. Almost immediately I had a weird feeling, felt like i had to empty my bowels, pins and needle like sensation in my back, weakness in the knees, i guess this was from worrying. When I was in the hospitalby Chad A - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've been taking metoprolol 12.5mg every day since the middle of february and before that once in a while since early january. Knock on wood, I've had no episodes of tach or afib since I started and I just feel better in general actually. It seems to help with stress and anxiety somewhat as well. So, good for now but time will tell. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Randy, I was getting these episodes quite often and I'm certain that they were leading to afib since, of the 5 episodes i've had, 3 woke me up out of bed. I was sometimes waking up with my heart racing like this and when I tried to calm myself and bring my HR down I would get the palpitations. This seemed worse when I had ignored my triggers (had alcohol, too much salt, especially eby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM