Colonoscopy and a fib

Atrial Fibrillation

by Gemita - 2022-11-24 17:13:59

Hello Lil, AFib is certainly no laughing matter.  Since diagnosis so much has changed in my life.  Perhaps without AFib I wouldn't have needed a pacemaker for syncope and bradycardia or have had to stay on lifelong meds for heart rate control and stroke protection.  However my AF hasn't progressed so I have a lot to be thankful for.  Hope your AF is well controlled too 

a fib triggers

by new to pace.... - 2022-11-26 11:24:57

i was told to avoid certain food that can trigger Afib.

Fermented foods, porcessed foods, aged cheeses and chocolate. some of these are hard for me to avoid.  doing my best.

new to pace

A fib

by Lavender - 2022-11-26 12:43:15

When I first read your line:

A fib is certainly not funny

I was thinking No! A lie is certainly not funny. I misinterpreted your "fib" as a lie (untruth)🤣

Foods and Atrial fibrillation

by Selwyn - 2022-11-26 16:33:23

I am not sure there is any proper medical evidence that foods exacerbate atrial fibrillation.

I certainly wouldn't make life a misery over this.  Even caffeine, has very thin evidence ( rats fed huge amounts). Some people are sensitive to alcohol - not all!

See:https://www.medicinenet.com/what_foods_trigger_atrial_fibrillation/article.htm

and then ask where is the evidence?

triggers

by new to pace.... - 2022-11-26 17:41:13

My cardiologist was the one that mentioned these foods to me.  Certainly was not my choice as these are some of my favorite foods.

new to pace

AF triggers

by Gemita - 2022-11-27 07:03:19

New to Pace, like with so many other health conditions, the triggers and causes for a condition like Atrial Fibrillation (AF) are all so unique to the individual.  There is usually never a single cause.  With a condition like AF sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for it to start although we are all well aware of some very definite triggers for AF like high blood pressure, heart disease, trauma both physical and mental, sleep apnea, infection, conditions which cause scarring of the heart muscle, a thyroid condition, even getting older which we cannot change and things like this.  Sometimes AF starts in healthy people, such as athletes.

I think all we can do is to keep notes of most definite triggers and avoid them whenever possible.  From experience I certainly know that wine, cheese and caffeine can all trigger my AF as indeed can loud music.  I attended a carnival (Nottinghill Carnival in London) a few years ago and my heart rate and rhythm were out of control for hours and I was very unstable.  The next day my clinic rang to ask what had happened since they recorded 18 fast Atrial and 3 fast Ventricular Tachycardia episodes during the day of the Carnival.  Needless to say I will not be attending a live event like this again.  The risks far outweigh any enjoyment!

Looneylil, I hope the Diltiazem and Digoxin help.  I am presently only taking a beta blocker (have never tried Diltiazem which is a Calcium Channel Blocker).  I tried Flecainide and Digoxin for a couple of years until they no longer helped.  I note you have tried Amiodarone?

Amiodarone

by Loonylil - 2022-11-27 08:19:45

Hi Gemita

i certainly tried Amiodarone, but it had a very detrimental effect on my thyroid .... and I couldn't function at all!

just got to keep tweaking meds I guess!?

Doctors like Amiodarone because it is usually effective but it is not a med you want to stay on

by Gemita - 2022-11-27 11:33:32

Hello Lil, I learnt a good lesson some years ago from a cardiologist/electrophysiologist who I didn’t like much at the time.  He said he didn’t always recommend taking out a sledge hammer to hit AF when I pleaded with him to do something.  Since those early days I have learnt that doing nothing is also an option for some of us and perhaps a safer one too, providing the heart rate can be controlled and we are protected from having an AF related stroke.  In fact the more we sometimes throw at AF, the more troublesome it can become until we have to have multiple ablations and multiple meds to keep on top on it.

A pacemaker has been an effective treatment for my often bradycardia induced arrhythmias which always led to AF with a rapid ventricular response rate.  I have not had to have an ablation and am no longer on anti arrhythmic meds, only a very low dose beta blocker.  

When I was taking Flecainide and Digoxin, my arrhythmias were more frequent and my pacemaker seemed ineffective.  Eventually both these meds became “pro arrhythmic” and were stopped.  Now without these meds, my pacemaker is able at last to make a difference to my quality of life.  Of course my AF is not cured, but I have it under good control and only experience symptoms when my body is stressed by illness or something else.  I recently went through a bad patch of AF due to a flare up of another health problem during the summer months, but my symptoms have now eased again without any additional meds.  I hope it will be the same for you too