collie dog 1

[colliedog1]

Do you all go about your normal business when your heart is banging away...or do you rest .....i find it very scary..i do try to carry on as normal.....i will never get used to this.

[Goldfish_]

I think you had the answer to this yesterday.

[colliedog1 in reply to Goldfish_]

Yes i know...but i wish i cud carry on without goin to A&E.....lieing there for 10hrs.....no-one does anything anyway...

[jeanjeannie50]

We all feel differently when we get AF some get it mild, others really suffer and episodes vary too. It depends how bad the attack is with me, mostly I have no choice and have to rest as moving around makes me feel so ill. Just do what you feel you can and don't push yourself. I don't think sitting around does anyone any favours but sometimes you just have to, listen to your body.

Jean

[10gingercats in reply to jeanjeannie50]

These feelings are very much individual and you can only respond to how your own body feels.....and it is not as if our emotions count for nothing plus family or personal obligations.....

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to 10gingercats]

Exactly.

[mrsg46]

Like many others I find it impossible to carry on as normal as I feel too unwell to do all the things I feel I should be doing. Over the years I've learned to resign myself to the fact that it's best to rest and try and distract myself from how I feel by either watching TV or reading etc, and not to feel too frustrated by being out of sorts.

I hope you feel better soon.

[pottypete1]

Ideally I stop everything I am doing and rest as I always have such bad symptoms and I find it so hard to cope.

If I am out or have to continue 'normally' these are often the occasions when I am unsuccessful with taking extra Flecainide to cardiovert my heart

However it must be emphasised that we are all different.

Pete

[Buffafly]

I can 'potter', doing things that don't need much effort slowly until my HR reaches about 115 and then it is best to rest so as not to make things worse. I wouldn't go out unless I had to or really wanted to!

It is important for your family to understand how your AF affects you as you should not feel you have to 'carry on' as then you will feel so ill you will end up in A&E which is really a waste of time and money when it could have been avoided. You seem to feel you have two options - carry on as usual or A&E. You should look after yourself 😘

[tibetan36]

I became sick of going to ED and spending eight hours there with heart going in and out of AF, they do an ecg and a blood test then send you home just when your not in AF.

It's tricky because there's a chance of a stroke when in AF.

Better off in the hospital whilst it's going on!

[CDreamer]

As others have said, depends on how you feel, I had bouts when I was able to continue, albeit at slower pace, and others which meant I couldn't raise my head off the pillow without passing out.

The anxiety is the worst to cope with SO the best way you can help yourself is to address your worry thoughts as this will only make you feel worse and intensify the AF, distract yourself - I go addicted to Audio books and just plugged in and rested until episode finished. Breathing exercises and Mindfulness are also helpful.

I would always stay at home - otherwise I would have been virtually living in the hospital - no place to be unless an emergency.

[AndyDuk]

The anxiety prior to an attack can make you feel worse than the actual attack itself. If my heart is racing or I feel exhausted I rest . What has made the difference for me is anti-depressants it takes away the fear and worry when the attack is due to start . Go and have a chat with your GP, mine was surprised I hadn't been to see her sooner.

[colliedog1 in reply to AndyDuk]

Thanx Andy i will..x

[LindaDaisy in reply to AndyDuk]

I too find anti depressants help me a lot. When I get AF I play games on my tablet which is absorbing, takes my mind off the AF and makes me relax. But no games against the clock.

[Finvola]

When my heart is out of rhythm, I can only rest as I feel so breathless and ill that normal walking about is too much. I usually had a high rate in AF - 160 to 200 bpm and anxiety was at maximum.

Each of us copes as we need to - for me rest is essential and I try to breathe calmly and find a distraction or simply lie on my right side and wait for the pounding to stop.

[Hidden]

I get short of breath and light-headed, which is made worse if I exert much at all. I have tried ignoring it, but whenever I get to where I'm going I'm barely able to function. So, for me, I have to listen to my body and respect what is going on. Everyone is different -- some people don't have such severe symptoms, and don't even know they are in AF until they go to the doc for some other reason. I say respect what your body is telling you.

[Hidden]

Hi guys first post, this is great site to help calm me down when heart is off on a run. I have been told I have heart failure but no clue to cause, I normally listen to audio books or read some posts here which helps. I'm on a combo of losarton, ivabradine and carvedilol and have to say at times I wonder if they making me worse as I wasn't really symptomatic, now I have every symptom you can think of but the worst is the dizziness and a feeling of agitation. Anyway enough rambling I got my first post done Nice to meet you all 😊

[Polski in reply to Hidden]

You might like to read Dr Stephen T Sinatra: the Sinatra Solution - Metabolic Cardiology. It mentions heart failure in there.

[BigStevie]

Palpitations and arythmia don't cause too much of a problem for me but when my AF turns symptomatic its an emergency, I hit the toilet first then I'm seriously bed bound for anywhere from 3 hrs to 5 days and all I can do is lie there awake and wait in pain and anxiety for it to ease, I'm hard pushed to roll over in bed never mind go to work!!!

[Hidden]

Before the stroke AF usually hit during a vigorous workout in the gym. My body was so used to AF that a 60 minute row on a Concept 2 would only drop from 12.5 km to 12.2 km and, I wouldn't really know that I had been in AF until I downloaded the heart monitor. I wasn't on an anticoagulant until after the stroke this July. Today I had a 7 day monitor fitted and in about 10 days I'll be back in the gym. Meanwhile I do a Pilates class and clear scrub with a volunteer group.