Grateful for finding this website. Have had three ablations,can't take beta blockers and am up most of the night ,every night with AFib. That is when I have most of my episodes..lying on my back or side. Looking into wedge pillows.
Does anyone have advice what kind of elevating pillow or mattress to get?
Sorry to hear you are having a hard time. Have you tried a V pillow with a couple of ordinary pillows underneath. You can get V pillows from most shops selling bedding. I have got one recently from Dunelm and johnlewis do them but any good bedding shop should stock them.
Hope you find a different sleeping position helps. I think I would try pillows before I invested in a bed which can be electronically raised, very expensive I would imagine.
I do hope you are getting some good medical support as you must be shattered not sleeping well. Do you have a good GP who can help with your sleep and af.
Sorry that you are having a difficult time.......if it's just you in the bed, you could try putting blocks under the bed at the head end and see if that helps.....good luck, John
Welcome to our forum, you will always get good advice here from others who know just what it's like to have AF.
I, and I know others on this forum are the same, never sleep on my left side as that can trigger AF. Could that be your problem? not doing that made a great difference to my AF. Also have you limited all foods with additives from your diet? Artificial sweeteners always triggered an attack for me. Like you I have had three ablations but still get AF, but my heart rate is never as high now as it was. I'm wondering what medication you are on, because Flecainide has been my wonder drug?
I guess you know about the vagus nerve and it's link with AF? If not click on the search box on the right at the top of this page and that will throw up a lot of posts relating to that.
Jean
Sorry you are having a difficult time of it. After reading your post I thought possibly you could be suffering from sleep apnea. I have it chronically and sleep with a CPap machine. Sleep apnea is know to cause AFib. Possibly you could run it by your GP and having a sleep study, Hope you feel better soon, Gracey
I was also wondering if you had been screened for sleep apnea.
Very little if any. Lungs do have some issue but pulminoligist does t want to do any stress test etc. till after forth ablation.
No asthma or anything like that and chest CT scan is clear. But have always had say a problem blowing up balloons even when younger and in shape.
On a practical note you may find putting a couple firm pillows UNDER the mattress ( or a folded blanket is a good starting point then arranging some on top. Less likely to wake with a crick in your neck and subsequent headache.
If you do decide to go for an electric bed then ask your EP to confirm that you need it for medical reasons and you wont have to pay the VAT. The shop will have the form.
I Have posted this before so sorry if people have already read it! I to found that I could not lie prone in bed as it set off the AF so investigating the internet came across an inflatable bag which goes under your mattress, has a controller for any position and will lift your upper body at an angle from the waist upwards. It has been wonderful and I only need one pillow now when I use it. Google 'Mattress Genie' on the internet and you will find it. It costs about £110 but that is a lot less than buying an adjustable bed!! I would not be without it now! Good luck
Thank you all for your wisdom and advice. I once again feel there is hope. No sleep apnea. I'm sure now that it is positional. currently trying a wedge and a loop pillow and actually got some sleep last night. One instance of mild AFib and it went away!
Checking into vagus nerve( I know I have neck damage and some arthritis) and avoiding food additives makes sense. Have had an intuitive sense about avoiding carbs for both AFib and fibromyalgia too. Will push that to the front of my consciousness and take note of what happens.
So thrilled to have you all and hope I can be of help to you too.
I had to stop gluten/wheat altogether to be able to sleep at night. Those ingredients along with aspartame kept my heart going banana's and it was always worse at night. Now only have issues if I have any alcohol which I have to limit. Look at your diet, it made a world of difference to me. I was tested twice for Celiac and it came back negative but I am super sensitive. My doctor told me it could be up to a year off gluten to get things back to normal but I noticed a difference right away and the longer I've been off (since April 2016) has only gotten better. I don't have to take meds or anything.
Get a good quality adjustable bed. Many have adjustment capabilities just as hospital beds do.
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