Hello!

[booboo73]

Hello everyone!

Just saying hello to you all and hoping you are all doing okay!! Sorry I have not posted in a long time but I have been trying to avoid everything AF like the plague – very suspicious that if I think and read about it, or say it out loud it will come back!!! But trying to ignore it isn’t working at all!! I have been very lucky in the fact I have had no major AF since April, I do have mini runs but I do the Valsalva manoeuvre trump( - the glamour!!!) and it seems to go but I am plagued with ectopics which are driving me crazy and now it seems I have sick sinus syndrome.

I am very silly as I have the option of an ablation but I am terrified of the general anaesthetic but I don’t think I can ignore feeling like this much longer – constantly feeling the end is nigh – I am sure you all understand that feeling, and I know I can’t cope with 8 days of fast flutter/af ever, ever again!!

So even more stupidly I have started smoking again so I am hoping the penny will drop soon and I will stop again- But I am proud of my self as I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol even though really, really felt like it-I was alcohol dependent but the fear of AF made me stop with help of detox so it’s not all doom and gloom!!

So be warned I am back and will be driving you all crazy for advice again!

Sara x x x x x

[BobD Volunteer]

Well done on the booze Sara. Shame about the fags but none of us are perfect. As an Ex 40 a day Marlboro man I am the last to point the finger. Just insufferably smug is all. 32 years now and just stopped one day! Glad to have you back.

Bob

[booboo73 in reply to BobD]

Thank you Bob you are a such a lovely man and hope to meet you one day when im a success story at the conference with Matt!! x x x

[Hidden]

Welcome back Sara,

I stopped smoking in October 1985, similar to BobD, I was a 40 a day Benson & Hedges man. Unlike Bob though I had to resort to help and consulted a hypnotist. I haven't smoked since - so that's 31 years since my hypnosis. Well done on the booze though, that's something I haven't yet managed. But then I haven't tried real hard either .....

May the force be with you.

John

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Oh I had help! My dying mother asked me not to smoke when I went to see her and after that it was easy! Actually it was 34 years ago not 32.

[booboo73 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks gor the advice and well done! I was looking into hypnosis but apparently uf you suffer mental health issues it can be detrimental. Why can't I just be sane and normal haha! x x x

[soupersue in reply to booboo73]

If you were you wouldn't be 'one of us'.

[buddje]

Hi Sara. I too try not to tempt fate by trying to ignore the AF site.

18months on flecainide and No AF. got to address huge weight problem now .I think the weight is partly due to the pills but mostly comfort eating at night.

So need food addiction support

[booboo73 in reply to buddje]

Hi Bud yes its strange but I flinched even the mention of af and I was convinced it would start but must say I feel so much better for coming back again...its such a lonely illness. Regards to the eating I understand. I was nearly 30st but I was lucky enough to have a gastric bypass but im stuck at 16st and still have all the eating addictions and can still put weight on if I am greedy...which I often am...managed half a pizza on Saturday so I guess my stomach isn't the size of an egg which they said it would be...well maybe a ostrich egg!! x x x

[buddje in reply to booboo73]

Hi Sara

I have been referred to weight management by doc and maybe gastric band after if I need it.

Sounds to me like you re doing well really

[booboo73 in reply to buddje]

If you need any advice at all on surgery let me know...they gave me the gastric ballon initially which worked wonders. ..unpleasant for the first week but worth it. If I remember right you're from Scarborough? I go every month or so as my other half lives in Hull so we could maybe meet for a coffee. Funnily enough just booked Travelodge in Scarborough as a surprise for him!! x x x

[buddje in reply to booboo73]

Filey-moved up here with my job in 2002-

[CDreamer]

Well done on the booze and good luck with the nicotine. What made me stop was having dreams about my teeth falling out - then I went to my dentist who told me all my teeth would fall out if I didn't stop!

I stopped - spent a load of money having restorative work done and my teeth and gums are back to good health!

My guess is your smoking is an attempt to self soothe - you may find EFT helps.

[booboo73 in reply to CDreamer]

Hi yes had so much trouble with my teeth lately and my dentist has great joy blaming the fags! I have done EFT in therapy and it did help for other issues. ..will certainly hive it a go x x x

[Rellim296]

Really good to hear from you. It sounds like you have been moving forwards. If you've started smoking, it means you've managed to stop before and you can, when you're ready, stop again, so further steps forwards are just waiting for the time when it feels right. The same for the ablation and you will know when you are ready to grasp that nettle.

[booboo73 in reply to Rellim296]

Hello! yes that's what I keep telling myself that ive done it once can do it again. I think my behaviour is a bit of rebellion as its the only vice I have left but I must agree with the psychologist I saw last year that is that im soooo scared of the ablation the reason for me not stopping is that I won't have it done whist im smoking. . makes sense to me but time as come now that I need to get a grip.x x x

[Rellim296 in reply to booboo73]

Everyone finds the prospect of an ablation scary and most say afterwards that it was not the hurdle they'd expected.

[Hidden]

Why are you worried about the GA? I've only ever had one and I felt unbelievable afterwards, 20 years younger. It only lasted a few days unfortunately 😂. My farm vet (yes vet) said it was probably a long-acting opiate.

Well done with the booze. I stopped as well about 5 years ago. I love my alcohol-free red wine now. Still get that dryness and it tastes like wine to me, that took a while though. And it's so cheap. We drink about 4 bottles of champagne a week, £2.75 a bottle.

I also stopped smoking cigars on the day I was diagnosed with AF, Christmas Eve 2003. Not intentional, I just never wanted to smoke again!

Koll

[souljacs4 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Koll can I ask what champagne and red wine you drink I have tried a few but not really found anything nice.

[Hidden in reply to souljacs4]

We just buy the stuff from Sainsbury's, their own brands. I've also bought from the alcohol free wine shop online, they do all sorts at all sorts of prices. Marks & Spencer used to have good ones but I think they may have stopped now.

[souljacs4 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you will have a look in Sainsbury's,

[booboo73 in reply to Hidden]

Im a big baby...I can cope with pain and any unpleasantness but the thought of not waking up sends me into a meltdown. When I had my gastric bypass I ended up in intensive care with pneumonia. ..in the same ward where my precious Mum was just before she passed away of pneumonia so im just terrified but I know I need to sort it out and stop been so dramatic as the arrhythmias are getting worse. Good on you for the alcohol free vino but I know even a sniff of isn't a good idea for me!!! x x x

[irene75359]

Every ex-smoker on here will have sympathy for you (me included) and you have done so well with alcohol. My sister and brother-in-law stopped with e-cigarettes - I tried one, and 35 years after stopping to me it just tasted like the real thing. Worth a try?

[booboo73 in reply to irene75359]

Hi Irene x I have many vapes with dust on, patches... alan carr book ..... I just need to just stop. .im just so full of excuses at the moment. But im gonna alternate my vape with a cig...to be honest just can't afford it..nearly a tenner a pack and im a heavy smoker. yep gonna try and cut down with the vape and stop . In fact gonna go dust it off charge it up and start now!! Thank you x x x

[Polski]

I understood that an ablation doesn't necessarily require an anaesthetic. They can use sedation which isn't nearly so scary, providing one doesn't mind having some awareness of what they are doing from time to time, and one should recover much quicker. Read it up on the AFA site perhaps.

[checkmypulse]

Well done on the booze, I don't miss it at all, some of the non alco beers are ok, only some! Tried one yesterday called Maisel's Welsse, went down well, Nice . I've never smoked so don't understand why it's done! Welcome back.