Most of you will know my AF story, so I won't repeat it other than to say I've had two ablations and lots of cardioversions.
I'd started a healthy diet regime and had been feeling extremely well since my last cardioversion in March. However, a few weeks ago I made the mistake of forgetting that I can't walk anywhere after eating lunch and went to shop in a nearby town. I soon started feeling ill and couldn't wait to get home. I can walk miles in the morning and even longer so long as I don't eat lunch time! Since then my heart has started doing an almost constant 'clunk'. Whereas I used to lay on my right side, or back and all was well, I now have to lie on my left side only to get a break from the 'clunking'.
Yesterday morning I rang my doctors surgery and went down for an ECG. This has shown that my heart is not beating as it should and the GP said it has nothing to do with AF. He has emailed a copy of my ECG to my cardiologist and I have a copy to take to my EP when I see him in a few months time. Now this wasn't my usual GP who I trust completely, but a new young one and I'm wondering if what he says is right. It doesn't appear to be making me feel tired or anything, for which I'm grateful, but the constant clunking in my chest is unpleasant.
I also have the most awful acid stomach which is worse at night. So far I've tried Ranitidine which gave me horrendous nightmares, Lansoprazole which made me dizzy and tired and Omeprazole which I'm taking right now which does absolutely nothing to improve the condition. If anyone has any tips on curing this I would be grateful.
Written by
jeanjeannie50
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Thank you for your suggestion Iris, but unfortunately acids make my stomach worse. I've not been able to have any type of vinegar for a long time. I have some digestive enzymes, so may give them another go and hope that it wasn't my taking them a few months back that started this session. I do eat lots of natural, low fat probiotic yougurts. When my stomach is sore at night I get up and have a few spoonfulls of yogurt and a banana, which will ease it for a few hours.
Sorry you are suffering- have you tried Rennies!! I think it helps and it has magnesium in so good for heart!!
See what the cardiologist thinks before worrying too much- GPs don't know the details of ECGs!
Acid reflux often causes/aggravates AF so that might be what is causing the problem and your connection with meals makes it seem the Vagus nerve is involved- I find sleeping slightly to the left is best and i have vagal AF
Hi Rosy - Thank you for responding. Yes, I'm sure you're right about the acid affecting the heart. I will have a look at Rennies to check that they don't have any nasties added and give them a go. It makes me so cross as I'm really careful with what I eat and yet I have this stomach problem! I never eat pastry, fatty, or processed foods and buy organic products whenever I can. Sorry, moan over. x
I've tried the lemon and cider vinegar thing Jean, and it worked on me. I made up a drink out of it but can't remember how it was made. It'll be somewhere out there on the interweb though. It had to be cider vinegar I remember.
Hi Koll - I have tried the lemon and vinegar cure, but unfortunately it makes my stomach worse. Though I will give it a try again. I've trawled the internet looking for a cure with no luck. About 15 years ago, after a blood test I was diagnosed with h-pylori (the bacteria in the stomach that has been show to cause ulcers). Doctor's cures of massive doses of antibiotics didn't help and I finally got rid of it when my sister in the states sent me oregano and garlic capsules. Last week I bought some oregano tablets, thinking I know what to do this time, but shortly after I took them my heart started its clunking serious style so I immediately stopped. I'll have another look on the web, thank you for your advice.
Can't help at all with the acid, but it does sound like your locum GP is taking action and I feel I'd be chasing your cardiologist for a swift diagnosis - to set your mind at rest, if nothing else. It sounds slightly more mechanical than electrical. I think a few months' time with your EP is not good enough.
Thank you for your response. I must admit I was a bit surprised when the GP said he was going to send a copy of my ECG to my cardiologist and that I could take a copy to my EP when I next saw him. I can only assume that what I have isn't the type of thing cured by an EP.
My EP reminded me that he takes care of the electrical parts of the heart and the cardiologist is the plumber. He also reminded me not everything is a fib or even heart related. I guess we get so caught up with it. We forget about the other parts of our body. One of my biggest enemies is my anxiety. I had two very bad panic attacks while sitting with my primary doctor the other day. We were talking in general about my pacemaker when it hit. He seems to think I’m more upset about the pacemaker than I let on about or maybe I don’t even realize. It’s crazy how the body and mind works JeanJeanne. My EP is a true believer of mind, body and soul connection. I have had a lot of doubts and questions lately about my pm lately. Not just my pacemaker, but pacemakers in general. Maybe I should not have been reading more about heart failure. I got really upset seeing the numbers as far as how long people diagnosed seem to survive. If anyone else has any comments about it, please let me know.
oh dear once again, I didn’t notice the date. Thank you. I know how much you have been through. It’s just a horrible thing that we have as you know even with the pacemaker, it’s not a fix all. I was wondering last night if I am just now starting to realize what’s been going on with me. As a rule, I tend to roll with stuff, and I was doing it fairly well with this until recently. I’m wondering if it’s just catching up now that I never really processed at all before because I was dealing with the actual physical part of it. It is what it is just now. I realized I feel almost normal. It’s a lot to process that’s what is wonderful about having you and Bob and others here as sounding boards. This really can be exhausting at times I have just realized. I tend to live in the moment, which is really all we can do. I I have a best friend who is like a little brother coming to live with us in the next few weeks if all goes well. He has ALS. Reality is setting into me about that as well. Thank you for answering. We almost March on. Watching him accept his diagnosis at the age of 57. makes me feel grateful for what I have. None of us know how long we have. Thank you again.
Years ago I used to suffer nervous stomach problems and my mother gave me Gypsy Petrolingo's oak bark remedy. Get a few large chunks of oak bark, break them up and stew them for hours till the water is brown and muddy. Allow to cool, strain and drink a small wine glass daily before dinner I think it was. It tastes absolutely vile but it works.
Agree with Rosy, great cure, my god mother strted every morning with cider vinegar, lemon and spoonful of honey in Warm water. may seem to be counter intuitive but slice of lemon in every glass of water, especially hot water, is a great way of countering acid stomach. Also don't eat carbs with fruit in the same meal - it can prevent the stomach emptying so you get acid reflux. Learned from hard experience!
That's interesting what you say about not eating carbs with fruit in the same meal. I often have fruit after a meal. Will make sure I don't do that now. Many thanks.
One thought.... it is often recommended that fruits only be eaten between meals or before a meal. When eaten at the end of the meal they ferment on top of the meal which produces more gas, and of course would "reverberate" on the vagal nervous system. Just a thought.
Hi jeanjeanie,I,ve suffered with acid stomach for years until recently.One i,ve started taking pro-biotic tablets for an healthy gut and two i mix my own vegi drink which consists of greens and herbs.The main ingredients are cabbage beetroot and apple with ginger and mint,you can add almost any other greens such as green beens or sprouts and even rosemary,i just drink half a cup a day and after 2 weeks i,m feeling loads better.I know people say they eat loads of veg but when you boil or steam you loose all the vitamins and the goodness in the veg so i blend them all together and when they,ve cooled I put it in the fridge over night.It,s not the best drink in the world but i,ve tasted worse bottles of red wine.It,s worth giving it a try and i certainly don,t think it will do you any harm.
I did try having a cabbage smoothie, but you know I'm so impatient. It didn't work within 4 days so I gave it up! Hmm will give that some thought again. Many thanks for your tip.
Cabbage smoothie Jean -- are you kidding ??!! Seriously, sorry that you are having all this trouble.I would hurry along your cardio appt if necessary . I go along with Rosyg re not sleeping on right side. If you suffer with acid reflux , rt. side position for sleeping will only aggravate.
Hi Sandra - Yes, someone on the internet said the cabbage smoothie had cured their acid stomach. I always think there's no harm in trying a vegetable based cure.
Yesterday I excluded bread from my diet. In fact because eating lunch causes me problems I've decided to just have a a banana lunch time. I'm not convinced I have a wheat allergy, just think it may be something that's added to the bread as I can have wheat for breakfast with no effect.
I slept quite well last night, on my left side, in fact my heart appears to have calmed down a lot. I must admit after months of a healthy diet I ate rubbish food last Monday and I blame that for my heart misbehaving. I do wonder if by eating healthy all the time we can make ourselves more sensitive to rubbish foods.
Absolutely once we cleanse our bodies out of the bad stuff I also find in less than a month the things I used to love, lol junk food of course, no longer taste as good. I am a bread lover, especially warm Italian bread from the bakery. If I stay off of bread which I do now because we don’t have any Italian bakeries here where I am, when I go to eat it, it’s almost as if I am eating my pillow lol. I no longer have the pleasure sensation that I once did.
I also believe our bodies want to reject the bad stuff. I know that wanting it is more mental than a physical thing. For the past couple of months I don’t know what’s going on but when I begin to eat I get nauseous. If I do find something I like, I find after only a few bites I also get nauseous at that time then I feel horrible for at least an hour. It’s almost like having motion sickness my primary suggested the brat diet. BRAT that is banana, rice, applesauce, and toast. It does work where I don’t get as nauseous but it’s not meant for long time use. The only good thing about this happening is I have lost 48 pounds since the end of February when I got my pacemaker. I don’t even get hungry and normally I am a big water drinker. However, I have to almost force myself to drink. I forget the name of the my primary just gave to me for this, but it’s interesting that I was recently reading hospital records and discovered it was given to me after each of my ablations while in the hospital. It is not an antacid. FYI. Interesting but I went through something similar before my pacemaker was fitted. I could be sitting talking to someone and all of a sudden become violently ill without warning. It happened to me in the doctors office one day. They had a packet of something they gave to me in a little cup. It was horrendous to drink down, but almost instantly my stomach felt better.
L O L it was the same stuff they give you to drink before your cardio version cocktail before yours. It is to help numb everything. It reminded me of a terrible tasting cough drop. For some reason everyone else thought it tasted like banana.😹😹
I like to read your posts. Interesting to read about sleeping on your left or your right. I cannot sleep on my right side. It has to be in my left. For some reason laying on my right side, I also feel as if my pacemaker is pushing out of my body. I can actually feel it on my chest.
I were crazy. My doctor looked at me as if I were crazy. My doctor looked at me as if I were crazy telling him that. He had me lay on my side, but of course, it would not do the same thing. After I was home, I realized it was because of having a bra on keeping it in place.
One other thing to ask if you have dealt with is hiccups? I get them every day ever since my second cardioversion.
Jeanjeanie50 Its not good when your stomach plays up (which is connected to AF by the way)
You are aware of my IBS which started at the same time as the Arrhythmia and and now I still get my stomach beating like my heart at times, I use "Mintec" which is clinically tested peppermint oil capsules, and also use peppermint tea which I take in the evening along with my Fodmap diet, keep on treating your food intake but if you are feeling a bit off just take one of these tablets it keeps everything at bay. I feel totally normal now and have had no more episodes for 9mths. ps you could also try a Fibre drink
Hi Ultramarine - Many thanks for your tip. I will certainly get some Mintec capsules and also try the peppermint tea. I too stick 'roughly' to the Fodmap diet. My heart appears to have calmed down a bit now. In fact I'm feeling really well today.
After months of eating healthily I must admit that last Monday I was tempted by 4 chocolate eclair cakes on offer for £1 at the supermarket. I bought them and ate the lot over the day! On that same day (must have been very weak willed) I bought a pack of boiled mint sweets thinking they would help my acid stomach. I don't think either did me any good and I blame eating all that rubbish for my heart going haywire. At times it's so annoying not to be able to eat what everyone else has, but if we want to remain healthy I guess we just have to stick to it. I must admit that generally I'm afraid to do anything other than stick to a healthy regime. Another thing I find is that my heart doesn't like me to sit still for hours on end.
Peppermint tea may do things to your INR - I have no idea how significant it is. I had a little dabble on line and failed to get any indication other than a warning that it affects warfarin.
I 'm almost sure it makes it go down. I used to drink a lot of peppermint tea and gave it up (being at that time without the benefit of this forum) when I started taking warfarin. With my INR dropping below the therapeutic range all the time or low down when in range, I haven't gone back to it. I know green tea is quite high in vitamin K.
PS I was quite horrified when I made a list of things that used to be a part of our usual diet a couple of years ago that have now become occasional treats or banned altogether or eaten sparingly. Some are just unhealthy - sugary or salty or fatty but quite a lot combine fat with sugar or fat with salt and so on. The salty bit (I tend towards high blood pressure) has a knock on effect as so many things (like potatoes and chips in particular) are far nicer with salt added. Then - before I touch on warfarin, which in fact I'll leave out - I've given up things like caffeine and alcohol for AF reasons, and reduced cream, butter, cheese and so on to keep cholesterol down. And now grains are up for scrutiny.
I've also had a spell of eating puddings (or indeed 4 chocolate eclairs) more than I used to, feeling I deserved a treat as my diet was getting so restricted. My weight has gone all over the place - a range of about 8 kgs. I'm currently 3 kgs over my lowest weight and 5kgs under the top.
But gosh, isn't AF good for making one watch one's diet!
Sometimes when the body is in a stress mode... we increase cortisol production and when that happens, we tend to retain weight. There is another thought concerning leptin - a hormone which when levels are low, tells your brain you are in need of food, - famine!
The body has a safety feature which tells one to store fat if there isn't enough being taken in. I've heard that going off diet once a week is good for kick starting leptin again. The tough part is going back on it the next day!
Sounds as though you are in a good weight range though, don't make too many goals which add more stress!
Have you always eaten yoghurt? Even though it is supposed to be healthy it is a nono for me - acid reflux. Also the fruit tip is a good one, either eat the fruit before the meal or at a different time because it digests the fastest and ferments while waiting for the rest to pass on, so I've been told and it seemed tohelp.
Yes, but I only eat low fat plain bio yoghurt. Interesting that you say it could be that. I used to eat fruit ones until I realised that they were loaded with artificial sweeteners. Did plain yoghurt affect your digestion?
Wouldn't touch sweetened yoghurt, read the list of contents once when I was stocking up for avisit from myrandchildren, it was scary! I just thought you might have suddenly started eating it as part of a healthier diet. I think I read somewhere that bio yoghurt is not recommended for some people but can't remember who! On the bright side, I am now able to blame my poor memory on medicated brain fog.
I hope you feel better soon, I've had the same problem and it is horrible so you have loooooots of sympathy (oops, forgot not on FB but at least I remembered before I added hearts and kisses.....)
During a very stressful time I developed acid reflux and was eating yoghourt to calm it but it made it much worse. Apparently yoghourt tames ulcers but is bad for acidity. Now it worsens my copd - can't win. Hope you feel better soon
Sorry you are feeling unwell Jean. I would go and see my regular GP he knows your history well and you are confident in him. I am a firm believer through personal experience that acid reflux and AF are close bed fellows for some people. Have a chat with him about both issues. My acid reflux comes in fits and starts and can last for a few weeks and then goes as quickly as it came, cant find anything obvious as trigger other than stress which also triggers AF for me.
Thinking of you. Please go see your favorite GP. Being concerned about what the young GP said about your heart wont be helping your stress levels.
I stopped eating yogurt, even Greek yogurt, and this has helped me. I also take apple cider vinegar capsules with the morning and evening meal. It is possible you ate a load of artificial sweeteners that take some time to leave your system which could explain a gradual improvement in the way you feel.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Fed Up!
Very frequent ectopics after covid 
Fed up with episodes 
