A love letter from and for the heart 💜

[Sparky143]

I just want to send love to everybody out there.

I have suffered from Atrial Fibrillation since 2014. I've had two successful cardioversions and two hospitalizations. Because I was afraid of doctors and had no insurance ( yes, I live in America - the sickest, most unhealthy unenlightened country in the developed world) I walked around in AFIB for 6 mos before arriving at the ER gravely ill with CHF, cardiomyopthy, Rt venticular tachycardia and trouble breathing. I did myself damage by not getting medical care and as a result my strength and overall vitality was xompromised and Inhave never been the same. Despite improvments and having been in normal sinus rhythm for the last year and a half, I feel like a wrung out shell of my former self.

Had I gone to a hospital the day I first went into AFIB, in the first 24hrs they could have reset me and I would have been back on my way, healthy and happy. So if you find yourself in AFIB, go to the ER/ SURGERY IMMEDIATELY! If you wait, it's a longer process. This is my lesson in self love.

Has anyone had success going off sotalol while remaining in normal rhythm? This is my goal. Ideally Id like to move back to California and find a holistic cardiologist as well as an enlightened GP. I'm currently in old dark dense New England. "-/ California is my happy place!

My AFIB is caused by MAJOR ANXIETY. I've had a very stressful life. Being an ulrasensitive, I'm a worrier. Last week I had a massive gall bladder attack during the night. It was a long agonizing night. When I woke up the next day, I was in AFIB. Stupid me waited four days to see my cardiologist. She put me on a 2nd blocker on top of fhe Sotalol I take and on Pradaxa, a blood thinner and planned a cardioversion in 4 weeks time. It was a week of hell for me - exhaustion, debilitating fatigue. wildly fluctuating pulse, (low 100's up as high as 160). Thankfully for me, after much prayful intending, my heart reverted back to Normal Sinus Rhythm at 5a.m. yesterday. It did a number on me being out for just a week. I'm hoping solid rest will bring me back around.

So this is a love letter to all my friends out there who live with heart disease. This is not an easy walk, it shakes your confidence at the core, so my heart goes out to you.

I am sending you all a warm hug. I think you are all very courageous. Which by the way, comes from is the french word " Coeur" which means heart !

May You Be Blessed,

Sparky

[Hidden]

G'day Sparky,

That's a nice post - and a bit different. As I am on Bisoprolol, not, Sotalol I can't comment, other than to say they are both Beta Blockers which seem to have the purpose of slowing the heart rate.

Bits of your post ring true - the bit about ER/SURGERY IMMEDIATELY especially. The day my AF hit I had no idea that it was a heart issue - because I felt that I was going down with 'flu ! They were my symptoms ! during the morning my blood pressure became erratic, then it started to fall - my 'Apollo 13' moment - you know - the bit in the movie where Tom Hanks says ....'Houston, we have a problem' !!

I went and saw my Surgery immediately, and was sent direct to ER where I stayed for 6 days. End result - AF was diagnosed and treatment started in some 9 hours of getting the 'flu symptoms. Speed and accuracy of diagnosis were critical to my well being as it is today.

The other bit of your Post that strikes a chord .... is about anxiety, stress, gall bladder. You talk of cause. My view (personal and not in anyway medical) is with AF there is always a cause. Equally, having then got this mongrel condition there are things that trigger it - cause and trigger can be and are often different. For me I was under stress at the time, I did have blood pressure issues too, but then came (what I regard as critical - others do not) electro hypersensitivity. Then after some 4 months I found that food was the trigger that sent me into AF.

Long story short, I learned about the vagal nerve, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and how they function. The vagal nerve directly influences many organs but in particular, gall bladder, heart and digestive system.

I consulted a Nutritionist and adopted a diet aimed at calming the digestive system and hopefully the vagal nerve (NOT A DIET TO LOOSE WEIGHT), figuring if I do this it'll calm the heart.

Job done ! My last AF event was recorded in April 2015. It took a lot of dedication for some years to get to this point. No I am not cured but my body knows that I am the one in command the various body systems are not !

You guys in the States are much more willing to embrace other ways of treating medical conditions than we are here in Britain. I would suggest - if only out of interest - you have a look at the Mayo Clinic website on some of the things I've mentioned here, or even just Google various things I've mentioned.

A holisitic approach would be my preferred approach.

Hope this finds you well - 'May the force be with you'.

John

[sleeksheep]

Hi Sparky

I was on Sotalol for quite a few years (thankfully I am on Diltiazem now ) and it made me feel weary and nauseous . So the Sotalol could be whats making you feel off all the time.

I am in sinus rhythm and stopping the beta blocker is still in the future as I want a good 15 months clear of AF before I ask the cardiologist about that but I will stay on Flecainide .

I to had an anxiety problem but rather than taking drugs , I tried hypnosis which in two sessions has made a 99% difference. I was a lucid dreamer so that made me one of the most responsive clients to hypnosis.

Hope you can get back to feeling its all on the up again.

sleek

[A-U-B-Y in reply to sleeksheep]

Hi there

Having serious anxiety problems at the moment due to being diagnosed with AF which I'm sure was brought on by an ongoing tummy problem( possibly gall bladder related)

Interested to about the vagus nerve connection

I too intend to visit an hypnotherapist, who also does other treatments such as EFT, Reiki, and reflexology, as I don't want to go down the medication route either.

Hope that the anxiety treatment works quickly for me too, as I seem to be consumed by it at the moment

Any suggestions as to how to cope until my appointment with Hypnotherapist next week

Thanks

Aubrey

[sleeksheep]

I wasn't anxious about my AF , anxiety is a curse all on its own.

What i found that worked for me was a long walk early in the morning and if needed another at night fall. Summer here so thats easy for me to say , if your in the Northern Hemisphere that could be a "moot" thing to do in Winter.

I have been stress free for three years and only wish I had gone decades earlier

[A-U-B-Y]

Thank you for your reply.Unfortunately too cold to go out walking today!A good idea though.

[Mike-tyson]

I was on Soltalol after AF when it was first discovered when In Hospital for jaw cyst removal. It was good and got me through two facial Cyst operations. But could not live with it after the operation so changed to attenalol. Which was ok for a while. But since having Ablation have put on Bisoprolol which I have been told is later drug than Attenolol as much better to control af. It is Woking for me as since Ablation my heart rate is now down to around 65bpm with no irregularities after Ablation at UHNM at Stoke on Trent Uk which has a wonderful heart and Lung dept. Hope this helps. Mike