Allergy triggering symptoms?

[Bryonny]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone else has found that if they have an allergy this can make symptoms associated with AF worse?

Visiting family who have a dog and my allergy seems to have really kicked in this time. The local pharmacist said is was okay to take Cetrizine (non-drowsy anti-histamine) with Rivaroxaban. This has certainly helped, but it really frightened me when I had pre-syncope episodes which I have not had for over three years. The latter may also relate to a lot of stress at work over the past three weeks - I do recall one member of the forum chatting to me at one of Beancounter's get together and she said a consultant who had spoken at one of their local group meetings had expressed how AF and work related stress not good together!! Not sure if I should see my GP on return home as symptoms improving slowly? Anyone have any thoughts? Thank you.

[BobD Volunteer]

I think there is no doubt that any inflamation or stress in the body can trigger AF so I am not surprised if an allergic reaction brought on an event.

[Bryonny in reply to BobD]

Dear Bob, many thanks for your reply. It was very reassuring. I try to keep everything in perspective, as without AF I know I am not going to sail through life without others factors impacting on my health. Just want to try and keep a balanced view on things.

[PALady in reply to BobD]

I was interested to read this. I have recently noticed that when I had hay fever, the AD seemed more noticeable. A couple of months ago I fell off my bike and was a bit bruised down one side (I don't remember it hurting that much when we were kids), and had a longer than usual AF episode after that. So far I have always gone back into NSR without additional drugs, so didn't bother seeing medics, except that I was on my way to GP surgery for INR test when I fell off.

[dmac4646]

you may find this interesting - cheese of any kind triggers AF in me every time.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[clanmags]

Before I was diagnosed as having AF (now persistent) I had short episodes lasting from a few minutes to 20 minutes. I am now 64 years old. I didn't understand what was causing my palpitations until I started having migraines (aged 42) and I had to try and locate what was causing them. I haven't had a migraine for years...ever since I stopped having concentrated citrus juice. Some of the foods/drinks that gave me headaches were also causing palpitations. To date: Caffeine gives me palpitations, citrus juices, red wide and chocolate cause headaches...citrus juices also make me wheeze a little. I have recently found out that I am allergic to beef protein, hence no beef, milk or cream in my diet. I'm allergic to cats and dogs but the symptoms are controlled by the meds that I take for asthma. Although these foods are off my diet, you wouldn't believe how many times citric acid is added to food these days! The most popular flavours for food are lemon and chocolate. Unfortunately, I went into persistent AF when I contracted a nasty virus. My heart rate suddenly went above 100 and stayed that way. On a great note, though, missing all these foods from my diet has seen my asthma improve so much that my meds have been reduced dramatically. My hayfever has lessened greatly, too. It makes me wonder why everyone that has asthma isn't told to look to their diet. Mostly, we are just given medication and told how to use it. By the way, if I happen to eat anything with beef in it, I get one or two very painful hives on my face that take weeks to clear!

[Bryonny in reply to clanmags]

Thank you for reply. I have wondered if being unwell with a virus or infection made my AF symptoms worse? I guess the impact can be variable on AF for each of us. Was interested to read that you found a virus triggered persistent AF (although sorry that it caused that problem). Although having great time with the family am looking forward to be in an allergen free environment and assess if my symptoms improve markedly?

[PeterWh in reply to Bryonny]

Sorry you weren't able to get to the meet last Saturday.

As you know I am in persistent AF and I have found that a couple of virus and also a couple of splinters that caused infections and necessitated antibiotics made my AF worse.

[Bryonny in reply to PeterWh]

Dear Peter, thanks for your reply. Having reached an 'allergen free zone' I cannot believe how much better I feel. My heart rate back to normal for me and the other symptoms have significantly reduced. Still going to see my GP as some symptoms were unusual!