AF at night

[scottishmuppet]

Morning all

I seem to be mostly fine by day but my nights are horrid. Awake and aware of AF several times and always wake with it.

Anyone else? Any suggestions for alleviating it?

With thanks!

[jeanjeannie50]

Good Morning, sorry to hear you are having problems. I was just wondering what medication you are taking?

Jean

[BobD Volunteer]

Sounds like you AF may well be vagally mediated. When you relax and your central nervous system slows down it starts misbehaving. In such cases beta blockers are not the best thing if you are already taking them. I think you need to speak to the specialists about you condition. Sadly there are still some doctors who will not accept vagally mediated AF as reality.

[Rellim296]

Yes, I get AF while I sleep. The good thing is that if I wake in the morning and get up and I'm OK, the chances are that I'll be OK all day. I can nod off in front of the tellie at night though, which I find very annoying as I can miss the end of the programme and find my heart's gone bonkers. When I go to bed I can usually ignore the AF and sleep quite well and sometimes I am OK when I wake. I've no idea how to deal with it apart from taking flecainide.

[scottishmuppet]

Hi just to say I'm only on apixaban (anticoagulent) and calcium channel blocker Verapamil.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to scottishmuppet]

Has the Verapamil ever kept you totally out of AF? I would have a word with your GP to see if he can suggest a solution. Perhaps a higher dose or different tablet.

Jean

[pottypete1]

Try nose breathing strips to increase your oxygen intake.

I have used them for weeks since numerous episodes of AF at night and not one since.

Still had them in the day mind you.

Maybe worth a try.

Pete

[Vony]

Yes I am exactly the same. When I lie down or sit in the evening my heart starts going haywire. My EP did say it is because my AF is triggered by the vagal nerve and unfortunately cannot really be controlled. I do get more episodes in the daytime now but it is definitely worse from evening onwards. I sleep propped up and this wards episodes off for a couple of hours but does not stop them totally. I am on beta blockers which do make me feel slightly better as I go into Atrial tachycardia a lot too and going a bit slower I find more bearable. I also try not to eat huge amounts as having a full stomach triggers me a lot. sigh lol. Best wishes! xxxx

[EngMac]

Some chiropractors think the vagus nerve is impacted by vertebrae out of alignment. Might be worth investigating. The breathe right strips sounds interesting. I have difficulty breathing through my nose so may be this would help. Also, beta blockers or calcium channel blockers might not be the best option if they slow your heart too much at night. Some of us notice that AF starts more often when our heart rate is low.

[Hidden in reply to EngMac]

Yes Breatheright strips (thanks Bob), breathing exercises x3 in the day (big breath in hold for 4, breath out for 6, hold for 1, breathe in), reduce stress, increase fitness and reduce gluten, sugar and processed foods. Don't just collapse in front of the TV or when into bed as I believe the Vagus Nerve can be triggered by sudden changes e.g. get into bed a bit earlier. Hope something there helps.

[scottishmuppet]

Thanks all - lots for me to try there.

I didn't eat or drink last night after an early dinner and felt I had a better night.

There's definitely something in the point about sudden changes as when I stagger out of a deep sleep to see to the kids if they cry out or whatever my heart goes into overdrive and my remaining sleep is usually broken at best.

Thanks all for your continued support!

[Whimsicalitys]

I used to go through these Afib episodes constantly and would go to the hosital to get oxygen. Three different because they couldn't get it straight. But now? Whatever they have me on has gotten rid of the Afib and I haven't had one episode in about 4-5 months! I hope you get to feel better!

[scottishmuppet in reply to Whimsicalitys]

Great - so what DO they have you on? 😊

[Whimsicalitys in reply to scottishmuppet]

Can I have your Email? I am on meds for heart and thyroid as well...I don't know if its any or the combination but I thank God its under control!!

[Whimsicalitys in reply to Whimsicalitys]

No?

[Eliza2 in reply to Whimsicalitys]

What medication helped you?

[Whimsicalitys in reply to Eliza2]

Eliza.. Send me your email... too much to put on here!!

Annette

[Whimsicalitys in reply to Whimsicalitys]

No?

[scottishmuppet in reply to Whimsicalitys]

Sorry don't like to put my email address on a public forum. Will try and work out how to send it privately at some point - thanks again

[Whimsicalitys in reply to scottishmuppet]

Hmmm! Thats how I feel about my email! But here goes!

[e-mail]

[Rellim296 in reply to Whimsicalitys]

I'd edit and delete this and send it via the messaging facility

[Rellim296 in reply to scottishmuppet]

Click on the downward thing by your name at the top scottishmuppet and Whimsicalitys - There's a pull down menu: Profile, Messages (which is what you want) People near me and so on. Click on Messages and then go to 'Compose' and fill in the name of the person you want to contact and write what you want to say.

[needlestone]

I had these terribly at night too. I went gluten free in April of 2016 after taking advice from my naturopath to try it. Now I am completely free of any episodes except when I tried a little glutenized bread as a test and my heart was bonkers for 5 days until that got out of my system. Also if I even chew gum or anything with Aspartame in it it will set mine off horribly almost immediately. Keep a diary of what you eat and what happens. It took me 2 years of misery to discover what caused mine and now that I have, I avoid the triggers and no more episodes. You would be surprised at what all has wheat and gluten in it. Even some of my supplements I took had it. I am very careful to read labels now. The doctors never told me to do any type of diary or any possible food triggers. I had to find out pretty much on my own. I was happy the naturopath suggested gluten since I had been tested previously 2 times for celiac disease and they were both negative so did not even consider this could affect my heart. Surprising to say the least.

[coopo]

Hi Muppet , I find that if I have ANY alcohol in the evening I wake up and my heart is pounding fast or even if I have any caffeine such as in diet coke etc. I'm not sure if you drink alcohol and if you do it might be worth giving it a miss to see if this is causing the problem ,

Good Luck ,Coops

[austin21]

I have the same symptoms than you and I feel so miserable and scared. I do not know the reason why but it keeps me awake an as soon as I sit down or lay down I have those awful AF. I understand what you are going through totally.