The difference.

[oltimer]

Over the many years that I have been in nursing I have witnessed many ailments & some remarkable cures & some pathetic failures & I have decided that we are all different . We are different in what we like & what we dislike . In the way we react to events, situations , what we like to eat & drink , the way we look & the way we respond to different medicines & treatments. What suits one person & cures or relieves their problem is anathema to another person & not at all effective & so we always have a percentage of patients on clinical trials etc. who react with side effects or are intolerant of the trial drug & so in practice we all post our own experiences of our success or otherwise of various available treatments. So because one preparation or procedure is successful in the treatment of one persons ailment or condition it might be a total ,dismal failure in another & so therefore in the final analysis you will not encounter a product ,preparation or procedure that is successful in all of us . Free of side effects &/or toxic effects . Don't look for it - as it does not exist . We can only tell of the treatment that has been successful in the majority of us & the various side effects that have presented in others who found the preparation of no benefit . I am grateful for the fact that I responded well to the ablation that I volunteered for & I have no need to take pills for the rest of my days to control my heart rate. I am getting old (85yrs. next month) & my `machinery` is wearing out & so will yours. I would willingly exchange my Sinus Rhythm for a younger persons A/F. if I could . God bless you all.

Oltimer

[BobD Volunteer]

Very profound. Well said.

[Hidden]

G'day Oltimer,

What a great post ... well said !

Indeed, our health is all about horses for courses. The group of people I feel so incredibly sorry for - is not AF'ers, far from it - its those in incredible pain ... I'm sure you will understand the poor souls I'm talking about. The management of true, and real pain must be the most challenging and heartbreaking of all types of human health care management.

Years ago I studied for a business management qualification. One subject was business statistics. I still use that tool. Also over the years I have learned to listen to my body - it tells me what help it needs. I have two areas of some concern, heart and diabetes. So I keep fairly detailed records of my readings of BP and blood sugar glucose. I ignore individual readings but watch the trend line and only get concerned when the trend line varies dramatically.

By keeping these stats, if I need too I take them to my GP and discuss with him 'THE FACTS', he quickly sees my arguments and deals with it accordingly. We hardly ever meet nowadays ... the last time was mid 2015 and that meeting led to a partial knee replacement in Nov 2015. We never meet on heart issues and now I am on an 'ADDED SUGAR FREE' diet we never meet on the matter of diabetes.

Whether this state of affairs continues remains to be seen. I'm a relative youngster at 71

Good luck to you.

John

[PeterWh in reply to Hidden]

And even pain is very subjective!!!

[oltimer in reply to Hidden]

I am impressed with your response to my posting & you are right about suffering pain. I have battled against the Big C & won out & AF & won again but the true pain is that of the loss of my first son in a tragic motor accident when he was just 17yrs. No amount of pain killers relieves the inner suffering & pain of that .

I had three ablations before the right area was found & I just suffer occasional PAT now & I know how to deal with that.

Best wishes to you friend .

[Musetta]

Dear oltimer,

A wonderful wise post - all the best to you.

Cheers,

Musetta

[oltimer in reply to Musetta]

Thank you very much . My lifetime in nursing was purely vocational - I had no ambitions & I refused to move from the bedside &`Fly a desk` . The highest position I accepted was a Night Superintendent in Johannesburg .

[davythom]

Well said Oltimer we are all so very unique!