Afib

[Mrbill757]

Jeff,

Welcome to my world. I got AFIB at age 48. Just turned 63. My wife and I both ski, bike, hike, and travel the world. Gym at least 3X a week. I swim around 1200 meters every gym day. My cardi doc says that ablation is now the treatment of choice as opposed to meds. Sounds like your doc is not in the mainstream of thought. But since I have been on meds so long, he thought that as long as they were working, keep on them. The only drug I take is flecainide....100mg 2X day. The max is 150mg. I started on 50mg but after about 4 years, I had my first attack after having been on them. At the hospital, they doubled the dose and converted immediately and have been fine for 3 years now. 3 things. First everyone is different ant reacts differently to any drug. What might work for you, doesn't work for others. 2nd, almost every drug will lose its effectiveness over time so be prepared for that. Last, I believe in supplementing your diet with magnesium (mg). There's several kinds out there. The mg of choice is magnesium oxide. Almost EVERYONE is deficient in that. Your body is a living battery which depends on chemistry to keep the electricity going in your body. Your chemistry hinges on what vitamins and minerals you take. Most diets are lacking in mg so that will impact your chemistry. I have been on it for 3 years. After my last episode of AFIB, I began taking it. Don't know if its the increased dose of flec or the mg, but I have noticed a significant reduction of pacs which I use to feel quite often. Make sure u see an electrophysiologist specialist. Cardio docs specialize in different aspects of the heart, so they're not all the same. Also MOST people get AFIB prior to age 50 contrary to the myth out there that says its an old age problem. Hope u get better.

[overmars]

A very positive reply .Do you or anyone else know about rivofloxaban .pros and cons ..also I am on warfarin is it good to switch to above .

Wilco .

Andy

[Hidden]

I hadn't heard that doctors now consider ablation as the first line of treatment. But then I live in Wales and I think it's fair to say that we're not at the cutting edge here. Sometimes I'm amazed we aren't using leeches...

[PeterWh in reply to Hidden]

Well sometimes they still now use maggots (bred for medical use) to clean up persistent wounds, mainly in the elderly.

[Hidden in reply to PeterWh]

For some reason this makes me think of Blackadder II and his 'modern' doctor

[Ben166]

i too take only 100mg flec, does this control your afib completely? Do you have any side effects?

[Mrbill757 in reply to Ben166]

Been on the increased dose of 100mg 2X/day for 3 years this Christmas. Absolutely no problems, no side effects either. My cardio guy believes in the "pill in the pocket" approach for afibbers. Keep 2 extra pills in a container with you at all times when away from home. If you go into AFIB while away from home, pop (2) pills into your mouth. Hopefully that will reset your heartbeat. BUT.... (2) is the max. I also carry a few extra for those few times I forget to take my morning dose. Talk to your cardio doc about this b4 considering this. Everyone is different. You may have other underlying conditions I am not aware of. For me, I have "lone afib". Absolutely a picture of great health except for afib. Unlike most insecure males in America, I have a man bag where I store it in along with an extra pair of reading classes, an extra set of hearing aids, extra hearing batteries, my wallet, cell phone, car keys that I never touch (have an awsome VW - just touch the door handles to open and lock), a few pens, a few eye glass wipes, and my tablet. I really can't understand how other males can live their lives without something to carry all their equipment. Keeping stuff in a man bag also maintains the correct temperature. So you don't have them in your cold car parked in an unheated garage, or even worse, outside. The same can be said for hot days as well. I keep my bag in the house hanging on a hook right inside the garage entry door to our house. I grab it on my out and I'm set, except for my cell phone which I forget to throw in my bag more times than I would want to admit! Don't forget about magnesium oxide. Since I began taking it, I've noticed a huge decrease in the amount of PACs. Hope this helps.

[Thomps95]

wow your story is my future. I also have lone AFib - diagnosed age 51. For five years I took nothing and coped with occasional attacks (4-5 per year, lasting 5-10 hours). Two years ago I started 2 x 50 mg flecenaide per day, being tired of worrying about going into AFib unexpectedly. I haven't had an attack since but lately I've been feeling a lot of PACs. I test myself frequently with AliveCor and it's never AFib so they do really seem to be ectopics - but something is changing - I suspect I'll need to move to 2 x 100 mg by the time I'm 60. I find regular exercise reduces the ectopics (you do a heck of a lot more exercise than me), whereas sedentary computer work increases them. Keep up the tips!