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Jackie, You should write a book, or another one! I think the cathartic value of our own understanding of what we have actually lessens anxiety about our dealings with our common foe. For me, Type A personality, "never let the grass grow under my feet" type of person, it was invaluable. For those of you, us, who have been posting for a considerable length oby J. Pisano - AFIBBERS FORUM
Carol, Good to talk with you! I can agree with you on your point. Anxiety is certainly a major problem and possible trigger for many people. I would suggest a periodic journal for those affected by anxiety. It is better to have an informed shot that "shooting from the hip", especially if you are going to put the time in researching your problem as many people tend to do.by J. Pisano - AFIBBERS FORUM
Joe, I hate to be a naysayer, but I think that we afibbers either are or tend to become obsessive about our disorder. Obsessiveness may be an innate trait of afibbers and/or it may be bourne of the desperation of trying to figure out the cause of afib. Theoretically, keeping a journal is a good idea but I think that it will only keep us tied to the beast, whereas we need relief from the anxby Carol Andrews - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello friends, After browsing the 5th bulletin board (WOW)set up by our dear friend Hans, I noted that many of you may not be taking advantage of keeping a journal or log. I can't understate the value of daily/weekly records to help you determine what is happening to you and why. Like everyone here, I have had severe problems with afib. Like few here, I have been fortunate enouby J. Pisano - AFIBBERS FORUM
"Does it mean that the chaos of AFIB is occurring, but the sufferer is not aware it is happening. In this case would a quick check of the pulse reveal the AFIB?" Bingo! (yes) Sometimes the atrial chaos does not translate into ventricular chaos ie; high heart rates. For an afibber I am lucky . My afib HR resting is about 70-80. Some would consider that normal except for the irreguby Adrian - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks to everyone for all your advice and help. Hans I have been taking fish oil for 4 months now, but not the DHA. Jackie, I think you are correct in that it is very important to get the blood pressure down. The doctors don't seem to want to work on that very much. I take 25 mg of atenolol a day, but the blood pressure goes up to 150/90 and higher with the least bit of anxiety. The doby SUZETTE - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thomas, I got caught. I had two TIA's which were caused by LAF. I never thought that it would happen to me, because I was healthy - except for afib - exercised, and ate well. My doctor warned me and said that I should be on Coumadin. I resisted his advice. It happened out of the blue when I was 69, working under pressure and having afib on and off almost every day for about a week. Itby Carol Andrews - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thomas, you said "Afib is not dangerous." Well, I'm here to tell you that afib is very dangerous, because it can cause transient ischemic attacks and worse - strokes. Carolby Carol Andrews - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello: There are a lot of foods I can eat, but in small quantities and that for others are a trigger....I can even have some wine....but salt is a definate trigger unless I dilute it with water and temper it with lots of veggies cooked without salt or raw. I don't test limits....I may have one food once a day or every other day that is a known trigger.....and then I am very careful aby Isabelle - AFIBBERS FORUM
Susan, You have made yourself paranoid. It's not fear, it's a phobia. Do you realize you're creating anxiety that will lead to the afib once you eat something you think you shouldn't? You will bring it on yourself. Forget about the eating part. You need to get over this fear about eating and enjoy life. That which we think about we attract. I was like you are my first year ofby Dr. Zilliox - AFIBBERS FORUM
Until that brief episode yesterday morning, i had been free of it almost 3 years, and that paranoia was only then beginning to go away. I know now how to damp down the afib's worst effects, though, and actually afib's worst effect is the terror it used to put me into. I know it is not going to kill me, and it will just be unpleasant til it's over, and it will eventually be over.by PeggyM - AFIBBERS FORUM
Susan- I used to feel like I was walking a tightrope, but now I don't even think about afib(except when I'm in it). For me afib burden is not just number of sessions times length of sessions. It also includes time that I'm affected by afib in any negative way at all. I choose to make this amount of time as short as possible. Afib is not dangerous. It is basically something liby Thomas - AFIBBERS FORUM
Susan, Can you remember what life was like before afib? Isn't it like looking back at a past life? I look at people going about their daily lives afib- free and they seem like a different species. So free. Sometimes I feel like doing everything that we are not supposed to do. I feel defiant! Carolby Carol Andrews - AFIBBERS FORUM
I am on 250 mg slow release rhythmol twice a day and 25 mg of atenolol (which I cut in half and take 1/2 tablet twice a day for a total of 25 mg. I have been on this for 4 weeks now and have had one breakbreakthrough of afib. However, I feel yuk. I am fatigued, short winded, kinda lethargic and have fluctuations of some energy and no energy all during the day. I wake up feeling exhausted. Thby SUZETTE - AFIBBERS FORUM
Chris, It fits. No operation yet and not taking the drugs but the anxiety is always there. I changed wife to mate and when he read it he just hung his head and said, Truth. Thanks Carol Pby Carol P - AFIBBERS FORUM
This was originally posted on the BB over 2 years ago, some of you may have also seen it in Han's third book. I came across for the first time yesterday and found myself in Jackies words. Over the past year, I have felt increasingly lost in a storm, feeling depleted of will and energy to find my way out. Jackies story gives me hope, and a new desire to get back on top of my life. I felt it neeby Valerie Ice - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Doug, Thanks for the good info. I have read your posts in the past. I am not freaking over the BP taking, especially when in the middle of an attack as the readback when I had my first attacks added a LOT to my anxiety. But the last two times I was curious and wanted to do a little documentation. I have had my machine calibrated at my doc's office, but I think it is misreading duringby jude - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello all, I have had paroxysmal afib for about 5 yrs now-pretty much in control-but at my gp the other day she heard a "mumor"-that has never been told to me recently and I am a little concerned. Have no new symptoms. Called my cardio -I wasn't set for a check up till August but have lots of anxiety & the nurse set me up for an echo on May 24th. When I was a child the dby Denise - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sam - I tried Dr. Weil's deep breathing methods but didn't find them to be as helpful as the Buteyko Eucapnic Breathing Method.... less of the deep breathing and more of the holding pattern to increase CO2 levels and increase pH. That seemed to make a difference for me, but it could depend on body chemistry... maybe I was too acidic and the change helped me become more alkaline. Iby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've not seen any research; no big profits to be made from this; no patents. As for being off-beat, I think it's the other way around; these remedies were used long before drugs entered the scene and have been used successfully for certain conditions for centuries. I found meditation and breathing techniques to be helpful in reducing the anxiety that accompanies afib although I canby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just had my follow up visit from my PVI ablation on 04/10 and have been wearing a monitor for the past 10 days. I'm happy to say that I have been in NSR since the ablation. I'm optimistic that it was a success. Does anyone know what length of time has to pass that you are Afib free for then to say that there is a good chance that my Afib was cured? I am still taking dofetilide and wby Rich G. Plymouth, Penna - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Philip~ I can easily relate to your symptoms and anxiety. I was a tad older than you at age 59 when my afib began and just reading your post brought back some vivid memories of my early days on the afib journey. I too, had a jaw pain and it happened consistently every time, increasing my anxiety, since I thought initially it might be a symptom of a heart attack. Well, I'm alive anby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Arnold: The stress test will give you an idea of what kind of general shape your heart is in and a maximal (or submaximal) heart rate that you can use to calculate a sensible exercise heart rate. I would continue to get some reasonable exercise (there are a lot of posts on the board about overdoing the exercise bit that are worth reading, as the highly developed vagal tone of endurance athleby Doug Symonds - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi again Diana, Please don't think that I am making light of your feelings of fear and anxiety. I know exactly how you are feeling, as I had the same feelings when I started having afib (10 years ago). It can be horribly frightening;; and not just the afib, but the anxiety and fear of the next episode, and the frustrating, aggravating PACs. I have had times when I have had 10 or 15/minuteby Pam - AFIBBERS FORUM
OK, as I await Hans book in the mail, I am so confused. Yesterday I had tons of extra beats etc. I went to a doctor, and he sent me to emergency! In emergency, they monitored me for a few hours, but said I was in normal sinus rythym, so there was nothing to do. But I should take metropolol as a preventative measure. The nurse also told me horror stories of how even skipped beats can cause dizzinby Diana - AFIBBERS FORUM
When i was still having afib episodes, i was definitely vagal. Was taking fish oil when first diagnosed, intending to use it to lower my blood pressure. It did lower it a little, but not enough to discontinue use of lisinopril. Fish oil is well referenced as a help for depression, and indeed my longstanding anxiety and depression got gradually better from the time i started the fish oil, evenby PeggyM - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jude, Merci. Re your clue about heightened anxiety. I seem to recall that anxiety, at least some kinds, is related to something physical but I can't remember what. Maybe the afib episode just tires out the atria, like they have run a marathon. The atria may be too tired to fibrillate for awhile. Note the ventricles aren't tired because they haven't been contracting as much. (Justby Bob K. - AFIBBERS FORUM
I guess I'm anxious now because I'm having alot of extra beats and skipped beats, and the last time that I did, it went into afib the next day. Does anyone take the beta blockers just "as needed", like when they get these symptoms? Diana.by Diana - AFIBBERS FORUM
Diana, i do not know what caused that breathlessness and so i cannot say whether it is dangerous, but afib itself has not killed any of us yet. Afib is terrifying, no question. It feels like i imagine a heart attack feels. But it is not a heart attack. All the people you are talking with here have survived a whole lot of afib episodes, and some of us have gotten quite blase about them. Readby PeggyM - AFIBBERS FORUM
Diana, If you are having a hard time find a good psychologist and talk with her/him I did. When you first get afib and are learning to deal with it there is a lot of anxiety. I keep xanax handy and if get unbearable i use that. I may not have as much afib as you but i do know that my anxiety has decreased. A good combination of talk ideas and maybe drugs are your options. Face that and go fby steve Daley - AFIBBERS FORUM