Follow up on bummed out

Sorry to hear this but hope your EP will give you encouragement. Mine wrote out a list of methods of dealing AF and thanks to his input my life is now so much better.

It may not help or be what you want to hear but a total of 4 cardiologists and 1 ep have told me the same thing. So long as you are anti coagulated AF isn't life threatening, it's simply a pain in the bum( or chest )

Your not alone, I'm in the exact same place you are, I muddle along, you'll find away too, we have to......

What's the alternative?

Feel your frustration Paul, I have gone from being The Bionic Woman to a woman exercising like I'm twice the age I am. I used to do high impact intensity driven regimes and now running late for meetings sends me into AFib. I haven't stopped exercise but have moderated it and have to be content with my 6 laps now instead of 60! Stay strong and good luck with the EP

Best to get it sorted if it can be. I had nearly a year of not being able to do anything and I lost condition as a result. Eventually got to see my EP, he changed my drugs, now I can do anything again within reason, but still not back to where I was. Age kicking in as well to confuse the issue, but definitely not all age related. We had to try 4 different drugs to get a good result.

Hope you get a solution.

Koll

So sorry to hear that Paul, I agree with the guys above, have a word with your EP and arrhythmia nurse if you have one, this condition really sucks but we just have to pick ourselves up and adjust accordingly, You will get there and you are not alone, as you say this website is great for getting things off your chest.

Take care

Wendi x

From what I can remember you were quite active and exercised frequently so yes, this must be extremely difficult to come to terms with.

I remember when I wnet into AF 10 days into a residential bott camp which I was just loving and it took me maybe 12 months to really stop "if only-ing" in my head. It's a major adjustment that you can't just magically deal with on the spot.

I also have paroxysmal AF and TBH I thank my lucky stars that I am not like some of the other people here who have AF constantly and have to deal with it day or night - THAT would be hard. I'm worn out after a couple of hours in AF let alone that.

I assume exercise is a trigger for your AF - is an ablation in your future - it would almost seem to obvious?

If or when youre in Af, its not advisable to do exercise, 200+ is in the death zone IMO rest up and be kind to yourself, get your heart rate below 100bmp, even if its means going to bed all day and staying there,

save your exercise for another day when your not in Af...don't be come a self inflicted casualty ? its certainly not worth dying for !

Af probably wont kill you but a blood clot will.

if you have paroxysmal Af, it will go away when it decides to, with or without any meds,thats been my experience. thankfully I've have an ablation

So sorry to hear you are having problems. Heres hoping the EP gives you some good advice and help when you see him. Having to modify your exercise routine is tough and I fully understand the shock, frustration and anxiety this condition brings with it.

You are in good AF company here but not company you would choose, none of us would. We would all prefer to be back to our original selves but we are here for each other ongoing so never feel alone we all understand what you are going through.

Cyber hugs coming your way.

Dee

I'd like to swap bodies but there is no way you would agree to it - I can only swim one length! (Backstroke)

Paul - very sorry to hear about your bad news but don't be despondent. Hopefully some of the regulars won't mind me saying some things that are in other posts as Paul may not have seen them. By the way I am in Persistent AF.

When my father was diagnosed with bowel cancer he was given 1 year to live (not that he told us at the time) but lived 6 years. He said "life is changed not ended"!!! Very true for us AFibbers but a sure death sentence for him!!!

At 33 I had a bad car smash (other drivers 100% at fault) which put pay to all my sporting activities. At that time I played squash (at least twice a week), indoor hockey and field hockey. That was a blow but I had to be positive and get my head around it. I suspect that now 27 years on with greater knowledge and equipment this would not be the case now. But c'est la vie - we are all where we are at and in most cases we can't turn back the magical clock and undo things!!!

It is true that AF in itself won't kill you but left unregulated and uncontrolled it will trigger or lead to other things that could kill you and that is not just strokes. Also the more AF is triggered the more paths that it opens up (finds) and makes the AF worse. I am now sure that I have had AF for some years but because I did not get bad attacks (and was able to explain away some of the symptoms that I now know are AF ones). However I was gradually getting "run down" and when AF was actually diagnosed I was in persistent AF. Had an ablation but was back in persistent AF in less than 72 hours.

I have read in a few places that heart rate should be a max of 200 minus your age. Also resting should be in the range of 60 to 100. However I am not medically qualified and for some these may not apply to you / everyone. In the early stage of my AF journey my GP said that if procedure(s) could be done so that taking drugs permanently was avoided then that was a good route. AF will progress. In my case taken off rhythm control drugs after failed cardioversion last year and I was told that the only realistic option was an ablation. My current HB is mainly in the 90s and sometimes creeping into low 100s but my EP says that it is too fast and has increased Bisoprolol by 1.25mg. I was in low 60s following ablation whilst I was in NSR.

I have also read that the chances of success of ablations is significantly higher for those with paroxysmal AF then when someone progresses to persistent AF.

There are many triggers / exacerbators for AF (some above) but a very key one is adrenaline. In my case I am sure that adrenaline was and I know is the main trigger since I only partially ticked some of the other boxes. This was due to work and lifestyle adrenaline rushes (always rushing around and meeting challenging deadlines).

My view is in the short to medium term take things a bit easier (no matter how hard) and get things more on an even keel. It is just not worth the risk. I know it is hard - it has been for me, particularly over the last 8 months. I also have heart valve problem. Chin up!!!