Recently diagnosed with AF really anxious about it. I am 44 cardiologist initially tried me on Metoprolol but it made me feel awful.

[marion3]

Now taking Verapamil 40mg 3 times a day, don't seem to have such bad side effects. Feel anxiety is a big trigger for AF.

[Maitha]

Welcome to the group

I'm 48 years old lady and diagnosed as atrial flutter patient less than two years a go even I think I had it long time back

I was initially on bisoprolol for a year ( lol family are beta blocker drugs ) no major side effects

I had my ablation two months back no flutter yet thank god , and currently I'm on sotalol which slow and regulate the heart rhythm but really bad side effects for the first months ( dizziness , anxiety , ectopic beats , fatigue , chess tightness and short breath )

I reduced the dose and double it in case of palpitation symptom ( SVT )

I noticed that sotalol increased my anxiety , I could not relax , all my muscles in tension , but I feel better after decreasing the dose

You are right anxiety will increase the AF episodes, it is like a cycle , AF increase anxiety then it increase back the attacks

Take it easy , we know here a lot about this type of suffering , and you are not alone

Try to do everything you can which can help you to relax

Also know more about the triggers for your AF , read more about it and monitor your self , by avoiding the triggers you will manage it a lot better

Hope you will better soon

Regards

[marion3 in reply to Maitha]

Thank you so much for the support. I am going to find out more about AF and do all I can to keep anxiety and stress to a minimum.

[Beancounter Volunteer]

Hi Marion 3, and weclome to the Group.

Well you are certainly in the right place for this question, because everyone, and I mean everyone here has been through exactly what you are going through right now.

If I may start right from the diagnosis, it's really scary isn't it? "gosh there's something wrong with my heart, what's going to happen" even "how long am I going to live"... What helped me was a quote from a doctor on this, he said "A Fib is seldom, if ever, life threatening, it just feels like it during an episode". You need to hold onto that, and over the next few months you will start to understand and then believe it.

OK well what else will help the anxiety....well knowledge, understanding the condition and particularly YOUR condition, because we are all different, we all have different triggers and we all suffer in different ways, the one thing you will find with A Fib, is that there is no "typical" symptoms. So read the AFA website from cover to cover and then go back and read it again, ask as many questions as you like especially here, there are no stupid questions and certainly not here, and there will be someone or more likely several people who have been there, done it, got the T Shirt; so ask away.

OK the drugs, very commonly you were prescribed a beta blocker at first, many many of us struggle with beta blockers, they can make you tired and lethargic, and even dizzy at times, You have been switched to a calcium channel blocker, does the same thing but in a different way and some find this easier to take and less side effects. But remember I said we are all different?, well some on here feel just as strongly the other way round, and find beta blockers better than calcium channel blockers.

OK so you've started your journey, I understand it's into the unknown and the anxiety levels are high, but we are here many of us will have travelled the road before and some of us will have been up and back several times, the route is slightly different each time, and the destination sometimes varies, but they criss cross each other, and at all those touch points we can help.

Welcome again, you're in the right place, you are among friends to share the journey.

Ian

[marion3]

Thank you so much for the support, it has calmed my thoughts. It is comforting to know there are people to talk to here.

[Dodie117]

Hi. It is really scary at first but at least you now know what it is and getting treatment. I was diagnosed 9 months ago and have an EP who believes early ablation is best and most effective before too many drugs and too many AF attacks have affected the heart - so I had mine done yesterday and feel good. Hope it works. It may be something you want to look at a as you are young and in early stages. Try to relax and not worry too much. I assume you are on warfarin so you are protected from stroke. Wishing you the very best. Marie

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Marion and welcome to our forum. Yes, anxiety is certainly a trigger for AF, My arrithymia nurse told me yesterday that being anxious generates adrenaline and as we all know adrenaline gets the heart going faster. That really hit home to me, because I have just been put on new medication for a permanently fast pulse, and had become very anxious about my condition. I'm booked for a cardioversion in a few weeks time and can't wait to have it done. Really do your best to avoid any stress. It's hard I know, especially if you have a stressful job.

[Hidden]

Hello Marion

Sorry to hear you've been diagnosed, it is a big shock, I remember when it happened to me 10 years ago and it was scary.

I reckon I've had AF for 20 years but only diagnosed 10 years ago when it came on strongly. At the time I was going through a huge change in my life, almost everything except divorce happening all at once. I think that's what brought it on. But it was there already so it was just a matter of time I guess.

Anxiety makes it worse for me sometimes. I can't do Yoga, or anything like that, just doesn't work for me but does for others. So my GP has prescribed some drugs to calm me down if things get bad but I only use them VERY occasionally as they are addictive (Diazepam, but maybe there are others that aren't addictive?). Maybe just once a month or so, I have trouble sleeping because of AF, and by taking a pill it usually stops the cycle within about 30 minutes and I get a good night's sleep.

An upset stomach brings on my AF I think, not certain.

I only joined this forum recently and more than anything by talking to people on here, I'm now learning to recognise my main triggers and to avoid them when I can, and it's working. As Ian said, we're all different. My triggers can be real silly. One of mine is being stuck at the end of a row in the cinema during a rubbish film. So we only book end seats now. I can thank the film "The Guard" for 4 days of solid AF, never heard so much swearing in my life and I was right up against the wall. Mind you, I suppose it did alert me to my problem so thanks to the producers for that!

[BobD Volunteer]

Hi Marion and welcome to the site. As Ian says we are all different but the one commonality is fear. Once you have assimilated some knowledge about the condition a lot of that fear goes as knowledge is power. AF is along journey but you have some great travelling companions on here and as Confusious he say "journey of thousand miles start with single step" and you just took that step..

BobD

[willhall]

Hi Marion,

I developed A F. several years ago but only discoverd this web site a few months ago! .Just wanted to say what a great help this Forum is and how well it relieves the isolation one feels in the early days of A.F. So many wise participants with good advice which helps to lighten the anxieties.Very best wishes

Hazel

[abihel]

Hi Marion I have recently been diagnosed with AF as well..after spending nearly a week on a cardiac ward....my first ever stay in hospital I was very scared. After getting my warfrin at the right dose I am due to go into hospital on Monday 11/11/13 for a cardio-version I am scared but at the same time looking forward to getting my normal life back. The biggest problems for me have been tiredness and shortness of breath....not being able to far all.I am hoping that the treatment works for me as it is now 11 weeks since it happened. I am 51 and wondered if any other females thought the menapause may have triggered theirs. I have found this forum invaluable as I had never even heard of AF before me...it's surprising how many sufferers there is so your not alone Marion. xx

[marion3 in reply to abihel]

It's comforting to see how many people have this condition. Good luck with the cardio - version (though I am not sure what that is)

[Beancounter Volunteer in reply to marion3]

Hi Marion

A Cardioversion is an procedure which involves paddles being put on the chest (or chest and back) to shock the heart back into Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR), It's done under anaesthetic, usually in the ante-chamber to an operating theatre and they connect you to a machine which matches the shocks to your irregular heartbeat and tries to stop the irregularity. It's often a first step, it's painless day surgery (you know nothing about it) perhaps a very little soreness afterwards but nothing else. However it also does not always manage to keep you in NSR, often patients slip back into AF either minutes, hours weeks or even months after a cardioversion.

Ian

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to abihel]

That's interesting you asking whether AF can be triggered by the menopause, because when I think about it that's certainly when mine started.

[Julia59 in reply to abihel]

Hi I'm just browsing the forums and read your comment, I thought the menopause was responsible for my af but having gone through that I've still got but I'm now in permanent af and going for cardioversion on Monday hoping this will cure it and I can get my life back to normal

[Terjo in reply to Julia59]

Good Luck for Monday I had my cardioversion three years ago and have only had about four outbreaks in the years since then.

Looking back I think the AF started in the background round about the menopause but I wasn't diagnosed until it was fully developed around twelve years ago. I've been on HRT thirty years and apart from AF and high blood pressure which is being treated I'm fine.

I'll be thinking of you Hope all. Goes well. Teresa

[dedeottie]

My A. F. Started during the menopause . I asked my doctor if there was a connection and he said he didn't think so. He wasn't the most communicative of doctors so that's where the discussion ended but who knows? Hope all goes well for you.x

[marion3 in reply to dedeottie]

The menopause link is interesting as I mentioned hormonal changes to my cardiologist and he said it could cause AF potentially.

[gerryatriq in reply to marion3]

Funny how they talk about hormonal changes in females being a possible cause of AF, I wonder if the same could be true in males, maybe with testosterone, a very powerful hormone that tends to diminish with age.

[abihel in reply to dedeottie]

Thank you fingers crossed...they have told me there is an 80% success rate so heres hoping...I am scared though lol

[iris1205]

Hello Ladies, only because of the menopause issues.... mine started as well though the doctors seem to negate any impact other than the fact that stress has an effect on all bodily functions. Hence where are fragile spots are... our attention will go. I basically hear, AF is mechanical, if your atria are in chaos you can spend all day trying to figure out your triggers and you still fibrillate.... I am still seeking a few other solutions before I go for the ablation.

Courage ladies... it is all so individual, such personal choices. Nice to know there is support out there regardless of our situation or choices --- clearly including all the wonderful input by the men in this forum!

Thanks

[tibetan36]

It is great to have the experience of Ian and Bobd as well as other wonderful people on this forum to bring a sense of 'normality' to AF.. I have not been on the forum for very long so I can only relate my own experiences. It is been really comforting to read other peoples story's and know that as Ian said "we are all different" however we have basically the same diagnosis. I have a pacemaker so there is a forum called "pacemakerclub.com" which provides wonderful support for those with pacemakers! I will add another one which is 'Losteye.com" I have only one eye so there is a support forum for that as well! I believe globalisation has its benefits as we are all one people making it easier to help each other .)

regards

Barry