A different kind of start

[Rienij70]

First of all a happy and healthy New Year to everyone. It was my birthday yesterday, and not a very good start. Had a very bad case of PAF starting at 4 am the day before. Couldn’t walk without staggering difficulty breathing and talking. Son in law phoned the emergency doctor who in turn phoned for an ambulance. In hospital I looked up and realised it was my birthday, lovely start! heart rate 280 and jumping all over the place. X ray showed some fluid on the lungs. Anyway doctor gave me some more Bisoprolol to take the heart rate down, and has increased my medication with the hope to control it better. The good news is he made me an appointment for Monday in the hospital for a follow up in Af clinic. And got told off for waiting so long before asking for help. So Bob was right. They also recommended to sort out help with my husband. That will be interesting. Thanks everyone for your support, and Bob the volunteer who always gives valuable advice. Rienij

[jedimasterlincoln]

I know all too well the telling off part, having waited days before getting help with HR in excess of 150 at home only to have it up in the dizzy realms of 240ish in ED.

Hope you feel better soon and Monday gives you a plan!

[Rienij70 in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

Thank you,

[rosyG]

Hope you are feeling better now- it's good to post this as helps those who are unsure to know they should attend A and E if they have these sort of symptoms.

Take care

[Babyr1996]

Yeah I know that telling off thing by A&E and Drs etc but you know what we live with this day in day out and it becomes the norm. My issue is by the time I get to see a medic HR gone back to NSR. I just never know if to get emergency help or not? How long do we have to be in fast HR before getting help? The 2 times I got help was I was out in public one a supermarket and security saw me made me sit and called paramedics the second time I was in a busy shopping centre and it just wasn’t settling I was with my friend and I stood still holding onto a bannister a girl in a restaurant came over got me a chair and b4 I knew it ide got paramedics by my side HR 246bpm in the ambulance I had ecg they were getting details off me then a tracing showed fast and HR irregular she said ide moved that it wasn’t any good the other paramedic had said hang on I’m capturing something here that was when the other paramedic said ide moved it’s nothing and destroyed that ecg!! I didn’t think they could do that? I didn’t go hosp in this occasion as it started to settle and was feeling fine but went pacemaker clinic next morning only for my pacemaker to have recorded an horrendous SVT at the exact time the paramedic discounted the ecg!! If only I knew her name and number I would’ve reported her. Other than that they were brilliant with me. Do afterall that I’m now extremely dubious about getting paramedics out but I’m not daft enough not to get help if I really felt o needed it. Is nhs workers really do make the worse patients. This was about a year ago now I’ve steadily got worse since! Yet other medics then ‘tell me off’ for not seeking help but like I say 9/10 it settles quickly within seconds: minutes

Anyway hope your feeling better and get the help you need

[Rienij70 in reply to Babyr1996]

You sum it up right on the nail. I tend to ride it out, and have done so for years. I don’t like to make a fuss. Hopefully I will get better advice in the clinic tomorrow. As I am a carer to my husband who has got dementia it is important that I function well. He panicked as he didn’t know where I was. I am hoping that we can limit the episodes with better medicine control. Quite often when I am in the shops I feel what I call wobbly and perspiration breaks out to the extent that my hair is soaking. So a check up is not before time. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. Kind regards Rienij

[Polski in reply to Rienij70]

I just wonder if it might be worth getting your thyroid checked. We AFers tend to assume that every symptom is from that!

[Rienij70 in reply to Polski]

Hi Polski, spend 4 hours in the hospital today. Had more blood test including thyroid, more ecg blood pressure you name it. As a follow up from being in A&E. End result is that they have made me an appointment with the cardiologist. I had been hoping for more advice to do with the AF. But all they said if feeling unwell to come back. But hopefully they increase of Bisoprolol will help. So we carry on as best we can. ☺️

[Polski in reply to Rienij70]

As you say, the Bisoprolol should help, providing it doesn't make you too tired. The cardiologist should be able to keep an eye on you and make sure things are under control, but if in the future you are not happy then ask your GP about seeing an EP. Meanwhile read the AFA website for more information about AF and possible treatments.

It's good to know they've checked you out for other possible problems and not found any. Do take this opportunity to speak to your doctor about getting help with your husband. Someone to look after him for a few hours twice a week would give you much needed breaks, and enable you to look after him at home for longer. Stress makes AF worse, so getting help with him so you are less stressed, will help your symptoms to be milder as well. In your situation you must look after your own health, in order that you can keep looking after him!

[Rienij70 in reply to Polski]

Thank you for your valuable advice. That about seeing my GP to get help with my husband is what the paramedics told me too. Maybe all this is a blessing in disguise. It certainly makes me evaluate things. I will try and stay calm.