Alcohol

[Stinky1953]

Waiting for my second ablation (the wait is another story) having had my first in 2011 and original diagnosis in about 2005. As I see with most people on this forum as we get older so it seems we suffer more when in AF. These days I have to lie down most of the time and any sort of exertion can send my HR up over 220. Any way my question is do you find alcohol is a trigger. I've been off it since beginning of Nov and am missing the odd cold beer, especially now as the weather is warming. Happy mothers day to all the mothers.

[CaroleF]

Alcohol isn't a trigger for me personally; I drink one small glass of red wine most nights with my evening meal. However, it is definitely a trigger for many of the people who post on this forum and I would have thought that since the impact of the episodes you experience seems debilitating that in itself suggests you'd be wise to avoid alcohol. I guess the only way you are going to know if a cold beer affects you is to try one.

Sorry .... not what you hoped to hear, I suspect!

Thank you for the Mothers' Day wishes.

[Bauldy]

Been off alcohol since middle of December and I was a average drinker manly weekends socially ..... I know I suffer if I drink and last night I went for a meal with my wife son and daughter in law I had three pints of lager and a Jameson's coffee and boy did I enjoy them, that is a lot less than I would drink prior to December, Middle of the night I'm wide awake with my heart racing, dehydrated and sweating finally drop off and when I wake up this morning I'm in af.

I do wake some nights in af since I stopped drinking but the sweating has stopped and I am not so dehydrated so alcohol certainly puts a different spin on my af

[Finvola]

I found alcohol to be a trigger and stopped my beloved wine at diagnosis over three years ago. Interestingly, de-alcoholised wine was only slightly less potent and I had to stop it too - someone suggested it might be the sulphates in the wine, rather than its alcohol.

The only way you will know for sure how alcohol affects you is to try it, but the fact that you felt the need to stop in November might provide the answer. Perfect nuisance, isn't it?

[jeanjeannie50]

Yes, alcohol is certainly a trigger for me. I can get away with one drink, but that's it!

[Hidden]

Yep alcohol a trigger and my theory is that the longer you haven't had a drink the more of a trigger it will be.

[Stinky1953]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I think I will stick to no alcohol for now just to be on the safe side. It also helps with keeping my weight down.

[Plai in reply to Stinky1953]

Maybe a pint of water before bed with a vitamin b tablet might stop the dehydration and maybe the problem. I had some lager a couple of days ago and ended up with weird dreams. So am trying this before I give up completely.

[Hidden]

Yes, number 1 trigger for me. I went tee-total a few years ago, can't cope with any at all. Accidentally had half a flute of Proseco last year, wow.

[icklebud99]

Hi Stinky 2153, alcohol is indeed a trigger for some, me included, I only needed to take one mouth full of fizzy Prosecco wine and I went into AF almost as soon as I swallowed it. I haven't had a drink in 4 years now and miss a glass of wine. As I am too ill when in AF, it is not worth the risk for me.

[Jonathan_C]

I had an ablation on 20 Jan. Up to that point my drinking followed a similar pattern to yours (I think: not much during the week, but I enjoyed a few when the occasion allowed). I really enjoyed getting a bit (and sometimes more than just a bit) tipsy. Since my ablation i have found that the third, and sometimes the second, glass of wine doesn't taste so good any more. The first is good, but then once I am entering that tipsy/hangover/potentially dehydrated zone of consumption my body starts to reject it (that is how it feels).

If you knew me when I was younger you would think this would devastate me[because of how much I drank when i did drink], but it doesn't. I can enjoy a few beers before my body says no - and 6 months ago at that same point it was saying "give me more fast!".

I have no desire to touch spirits - i was never a big drinker of them, but did enjoy a whisky. I am quite cautious about drinking wine too....which is strange for me!

[RobertELee]

Out of interest, were you AF free for any period following your first ablation in 2011?

[Stinky1953 in reply to RobertELee]

Yes 5 years Af free. Had a few ectopics and immediately post ablation a few dizzy spells but no AF.

[Fastbeat]

Yes alcohols a problem for me

[dmack4646]

both alcohol and cold are problems for me.

[jondeanp]

If you really miss the odd cold beer then why not give one a try? I'm not sure what my trigger is but i do enjoy a few beers at the weekend.

We don't want to give up all our guilty pleasures if we can help it

[Mike-tyson]

I find a couple of pints of Uk beer is the only thing that now sends me into AF. I now drink shandy 50% beer 50% lemonade is not a problem if I just have a couple of pints of Shandy or one pint of not to strong beer. I had my Ablation last December and heart rate down from Max 160bpm to between 60 and 70bpm now so I feel much better. Still on 3mg Warfarin and 2.5mg Bisoprolol per day until I next see the Consultant who did the Ablation in Heart & Lung centre at the Royal Hospital in Stoke on Trent (UHNM).

[Icenae]

It can be. I do have occassional wine or cider in moderation, without problems. But I avoid dry wine.

Just have to experiment

[needlestone]

Alcohol is a trigger for me. Occasionally I can have a gluten free beer without incident but since gluten is a trigger for me too I get a double whammy with gluten full beer.