What a good start to the week some real good info too ing and frowing ,I do have IBS along with a/f and do no many foods trigger me off wth IBS ,just wondered if this would affect A/F.
just one other question if not feeling well at what point do i need to seek medical help ,thanks Poppeystorey
Hi Poppy, the link with AF and digestive problems is well known. The vagus nerve which controls both heart and stomach is like the M1 of nerves and what affects traffic flow at Birmingham can back up down to Watford! Many people have been treated for stomach related problems when they actually had AF so yes there is a link. I find that some foods an set off ectopic clusters in me even though my AF has been sorted. If you are asking me if the AF is causing the IBS I would guess not, rather the other way round .
BobD
Hi
I was diagnosed with AF when I went to the GP's with stomach problems - (a random pulse check) . 1 year on I still have the stomach problems on and off. - nearly always when I am sitting/lying down. Standing. /walking improves it.
I am in permanent AF but have no symptoms. I recently told the cardiologist that it often felt that I had palpitations at the top of my stomach - his instant response was - it's your heart.
Marion
AF is linked with anxiety, likewise IBS. I suffer from both. Regards
Found this link to that beast of a nerve
I have gone on a gluten free diet, my daughter has ceoliac disease. I haven't got it but I think I must be gluten sensitive. Gluten in a lot of people will stop absorption. If you stop having gluten in your diet it will make IBS much better. Just try it for a month and see if you feel better.
Another thing I found this article !
la-press.com/instantly-conv...
Kate
That nerve is a pest... It gets everywhere, probably including Watford. I still think my AF was brought on by a really severe bout of coughing (never try to eat a pickle and breathe).
now ,thats interesting ,everything is interesting to me .I had a bad cough for about 18 months and wait for it ,got told it was the Benidorm bark ,as i had previously been there ,it was followed by a very bad chest infection ,which then uncovered a kidney mal function due to being over medicated,this i still have ,dont get me wrong im not a moaner love life and get on with it ,just worry about people who are not aware of what goes on with their own bodies. poppeystorey
Well, I'm pretty sure it was the cause - the first attack was about six hours after the coughing fit. Sure it wasn't a coincidence. My ribs were just so sore... I so wish I'd never eaten that pickle!
G'day Poppystorey
In my own experience -absolutely ! About a year after diagnosed I began to link the onset of Af with food/digestive system issues. Went to GP, carried out blood tests came back Ok but GP still thought I could be marginal IBS. I opted not to have any treatment under NHS. Instead went to a properly qualified nutrionist for treatment and diet advice. Ended up following the FODMAPS diet (Google it or go to the website Shepherd Works (I think). Now 2 years into this diet I am at last able to return to some foods I gave up at the beginning of the diet. I seem to think that NHS is now promoting FODMAPS through some College London (sorry, can't remember the name).
My advice would be get a blood test diagnosis of IBS through GP but go to a properly qualified nutrionist for treatment.
I would add - based on my journey that you will seldom get a Cardiologist or EP to admit the link between gut and AF ....... but often a stomach/gut/digestive system Consultant will admit to it.
Cheers
Aussie John
thanks that all sounds very interesting,will take it on board poppystorey
Hi. I saw an Electro Physiologist for the first time a few weeks ago and mentioned my experience of stomach problems triggering my AF and the enormous amount of wind I have at the onset. I was surprised to hear him say oh yes that's the vagal nerve (parasympathetic nerve I think he added), that is a trigger for many people - yay, someone other than my GP accepts the connection. Hitherto I had received very strange looks when suggesting it to medics.
Dee.
thanks for your reply i never fail to be amazed at how little,some professionals know about this illness ,and what sort of answers you get fobbed off with ,not on this site may i add .I sit in the warfarin clinic every week ,and the amount of people that dont know what warfarin is or does is beyond beggars belief,most of my knowledge comes from this site and my own study of A/F
I said to my cardio ( before I was discharged!!) that my abdominal symptoms were much less severe on Flecainide had he come across that . Reply was " well gastric problems are not my specialty so I've never asked".
I know years back flecainide was used for neuropathic pain in my specialty (palliative care nursing) and I don't see how it can calm specific nerve pathways i.e. just the heart. I guess this could account for some people's intolerance of it.
There is also a condition known as MNGIE which co indicates arrhythmia and bowler motility problems. If you think the IBS is linked to the AF there are specific genetic and neurology tests which can investigate the link at the national neurology hospital.
Is AF linked to weight gain? 
Has anyone been involved in any trials/studies?
A tip if you have to stay in hospital overnight 
