AF with Red wine

[Zacky19]

I have AF, this used to be controlled with Flecanide 200mg per day but this month I have had 4 episodes and all seem to relate to alcohol, if my flecanide was increased would this be a solution. I only have a few glasses of Red wine of a few pints.

[BobD Volunteer]

You know the answer to this. Stop the wine. Simple. So many of us found this out. For most people with AF alcohol is not possible and since it is not an essential part of life easily avoided.

[pottypete1]

At the risk of being controversial I wholeheartedly agree with Bob.

Whatever you do, do not adjust your Flecainide dose without medical supervision.

Pete

[Hidden]

Don't you think the answer is in the question?.....simples!!

I was tempted to say if you had a headache and wanted to bang your head against a brick wall, would you take more paracetamol, but I'm glad I didn't!

[Zacky19]

You should be on the stage.

[Hidden in reply to Zacky19]

Sorry Zacky19, I didn't mean to sound disrespectful.

[Zacky19 in reply to Hidden]

No worries Flapjack, but I do get your point, I don't smoke or have other vices and do like the odd glass of wine which is looking unlikely now but understand my health is more important.

[Hidden]

Zacky,

By definition, a couple is 2 while a few us often defined as between 2 and 5. So basically don't increase your Flec to enable you to continue drinking 'a few' of ... whatever!. Just stop the booze. Food was my problem and it has been painful cutting out my favourite foods. Just do the business. 🍺🍺

[Zacky19 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your advice, can you let me know what kind of food started your AF ?

[Hidden in reply to Zacky19]

It started off as very hard to identify. I consulted a Nutritionist who said go gluten free, wheat free and oats free. So from there it expanded .... Out went, soft cheese, yoghurt, all salad type greens, pork, duck, all real ales, raspberries, jury is still out with eggs which at the moment are highly suspect, reduced coffee, bread especially wholemeal or grained bread.

The only booze I can drink now is no alcohol beer 😟😟 or Peroni or Tiger beer! Wines and G & T are fine, but only 2 small glasses of wine with my evening meal.

Meal portions are now small and we eat no later than 6 pm.

Hope that's of interest.

John

[Zacky19 in reply to Hidden]

Hi John, I really feel for you, it must be extremely difficult eliminating all those foods.

Many thanks for your feed back and much appreciated. It has given me something to look at and will try eliminating certain foods. Thank you.

[Hidden in reply to Zacky19]

Hi Zacky,

I've been on this diet thing now since about 2011/12. It has been worth it as my last AF event was in April 2015. Bloody hard graft though, ☺️

[Zacky19 in reply to Hidden]

Yeah, sounds hard graft ! Well done. When you had an episode how long did they last ? I've had one from 1.3am this morning and still in AF now.

[Hidden in reply to Zacky19]

Never that long Zacky. Short bursts up to an hour or so. Long bursts 2 to 4 hours, usually in the afternoon. My consultant also stated that I could be asymptomatic, in other words, in AF but not know it !

[Zacky19 in reply to Hidden]

John, can I check if you still take or have ever taken Flecanide ?

[Hidden in reply to Zacky19]

No, never ever. My consultant prescribed only Bisoprolol for AF ( rate control) and Warfarin as my anticoagulant.

[Sam72-]

Hi Zacky 19 , I am going to choose my words very carefully here as I have asked about alcohol and like you I enjoy it as I don’t smoke or over eat .

First off I am not medically trained or a medical person this is just my own experience with alcohol.

Af and alcohol don’t mix however some of us have no problem with it as long as we don’t go mad . I used to love wine red especially, but I noticed wine , cider, some beers and definitely spirits made my heart skip beats the next day NOT AF !! I also have not taken flec before so I would not advise you on the medication as that definitely is up to your doctor. My top trigger that would give me SVT or a lot of flutters was CAFFEINE!! I can not touch a coffee or tea or cola . But some are fine with caffeine. I also noticed food or just water will set me off with ectopic beats, I have gone without alcohol and still get days with ectopic beats and fluttering, everyone is different and what may trigger one person might not bother another person. Apparently in wine there are a lot of tanner agents and sulfate so I no that can trigger some people to . I don’t no how much you drink probably your not going crazy on it with having AF but try and change your glass of wine to something else and see how you feel? I always drink 2 bottles of water after my couple of cans and plenty of water in the morning because dehydration can definitely cause AF . I gave up on watching what food was triggering my heart because one day it was beans the next day it was not beans I think with me it was just anything that hits my stomach . But I can definitely tell you that red wine and white but my worst was rose wine . I hope this helps with some feedback for you.

Best wishes

Sam 💜

[Zacky19 in reply to Sam72-]

Hi Sam, many thanks for sharing your experience. I would only have a glass or two max after a meal once a week or a few real ales but both seem to relate to my AF. I going to give up the wine and real ales and see what happens over the next few months. Once again thanks for your advice.

[Sam72- in reply to Zacky19]

Your welcome, and I hope it settles down for you 😊👍🏼

[Tako2009]

Hmmm.... red wine does it for me every time (☹️) so sadly have had to give wine and any other alcohol a miss or take the (AF) consequences!!

[Zacky19 in reply to Tako2009]

Hi Tako, yes, I'm afraid I will avoid the wine in future, thanks for tip.

[Geza10]

Have you tried a white wine with soda water at a ratio of 4-1 thats the 1 being wine (just in case some might take it the other way round lol ) you can still have a drink and keep hydrated at the same time

just a quick one i done the same as carneuny the specialist tested me with a simple blood test and it came back eggs /yeast/almond/gluten/wheat/goats milk/guarana all a red no go area border line are cows milk/buckwheat and brazil nuts so my eating has changed and the food bill has gone up

i must say i have been much better in myself and lost 7lb since Christmas still in AF but reading the posts on the site and trying some of the things others have tried has been a great help good luck Zacky 19

[Zacky19 in reply to Geza10]

Hi Geza, thanks for the advice. I will start to eliminate certain foods to see what works for me but feel the main culprit is wine etc so will stop for a while then try your suggestion. Well done for the weight loss.

[Geza10 in reply to Zacky19]

Cheers Zacky 19

[Flatlander]

Alcohol in general doesn't appear to be a problem for me unless I binge drink which is rare these days. However I have found that red wine and hoppy ales (American ipa or the new summer ales) can cause it after a few sips. I therefore avoid those, especially if I exercised that day (my main trigger).

Some Googling has led me to believe that it may be the sulphates used in these drinks.

[Zacky19 in reply to Flatlander]

Hi. Interesting, I also trigger af when exercise and drink alcohol same day. Thanks for your comments.

[Zacky19 in reply to Zacky19]

Sorry, forgot to say, I'm having an Ablation next Wed so fingers crossed.