Hi to all my fellow A-fibbers..... Just found this blog after I googled, is A-fib forever? I had a revision of a 15 year old failed total knee replacement early August of 2017. Four days post-op I had my first A-fib episode completely out of the blue. I am a retired nurse so when I experienced the strong and rapid heart pounding, I knew something was amiss. My husband called an ambulance and off I went to the hospital. In the ER my HR was somewhere between 160 & 180 and after initial attempts for conversion to sinus with varied IV meds, I did convert on my own. I had the recommended 24 hour admission to the hospital and was discharged on Eliquis 5 mgs twice a day and Diltiazem 120 twice a day. The consensus was A-fib was probably caused by the surgery and type of anesthesia for the knee revision. Long story short after 4 weeks on the medication, I convinced my cardiologist that Eliquis was the cause of stomach, musculoskeletal and headache problems. He reluctantly relented and agreed to discontinue. Four weeks later, after having continued stomach and intestinal symptoms along with, what I perceived to be a agitated state of mind, I went to the ER. During the initial evaluation it was discovered I was again in A-fib, with a HR of over 200 bpm. This second episode was completely different than the first one because in this one I had absolutely NO symptoms whatsoever. Again, I successfully self converted. Four months later, here I am back on the Eliquis and the Diltiazem feeling perfectly normal with no negative effects at all. Because I had two distinctively different A-fib episodes, it was recommended by my EP/cardiologist that it would be a good idea if I agreed to having a Medtronic patient assist monitor implanted just above my heart. Now I have progressed from a middle aged woman who threw a few vitamins (no rx medication) into her mouth every morning and who went about her busy day with no health complaints ever, to an older middle aged woman who takes a blood thinner and blood pressure pill and now has a piece of metal a little thicker than a toothpick nestled atop my left breast and who now must always carry a key fob that will record any suspicious protracted arrhythmias wherever I am, along with a base unit next to my bed that is on duty from 11pm until 7 am, 24-7, in the event that I go into a-fib while asleep. Additionally, everyone who is on Eliquis knows that any and all products that contain aspirin in them is strictly prohibited. What that means to me personally is that I absolutely cannot take anti-inflammatories anytime I have an ache or pain. I must now rely on Tylenol only, which unfortunately does not do the job even close to a Advil, Excedrin or Aleve. There's also the other negative reactions such as very ugly skin bruises from minimal bumps and of course the danger of bleeding from minor cuts or nicks. In the future my hope is, that according to information from my doctor, studies are being done that perhaps with the added protection of the monitor that is on duty 24-7, "maybe someday, if I have no recurrences of A-fib, or no recorded events, I may be able to stop the Eliquis completely." If there is someone out there who is, or who has lived with this device, I would love to hear their story.
Thanks for letting me vent......
Written by
donsgirl58
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I must admit I take both an anti- coagulant, in my case Rivaroxaban, and Diltiazem, and I feel fine and will probably be on them for the rest of my life.
I'm not medically qualified, but like you an AF sufferer.
Let's start with that Diltiazem, is not technically a blood pressure drug it's a rate control drug which will slow heart rate, can be used for high blood pressure, but I suspect in your case and mine it's to slow down the heart.
Also your Apixiban (eliquis) is not a blood thinner, Yes I know the medical profession call them blood thinners, but they do not thin your blood even one iota, it's an anti-coagulant.
And you have no fears whatsoever from minor cuts and grazes, I very much doubt if you will even notice the difference in the time it bleeds, it's barely noticeably longer than any untreated person with a cut.
Re bruising, I must be lucky I do bruise, but mainly after inept blood taking (they go through the vein) and I end up with a blue forearm, but it doesn't hurt just unsightly for a while. Don't bruise from minor bumps however
I have to say, I am on an anti-coagulant for life, and not at all worried about it to be honest.
Lastly yes you should avoid aspirin, mainly due to it's ability to give you stomach bleeds, much more than the anti-platelet effect of it. In fact aspirin and anti-coagulants are prescribed together for people with some heart complaints.
And joint aches? use a rub on ibuprofen gel, check with your medical advisors first, but they told me the amount absorbed is tiny and would not affect my anti-coagulation. Plus remember you can take Codeine, which is more powerful than most other painkillers (again take medical advice please)
Good to hear you have adjusted and are comfortable with you medications. Lucky you to not experience bruising from even minor bumping, i.e. tucking in bed sheets or glancing blows with a door knob etc. You are also fortunate that topical Voltaren Gel is working for you...the 6% of anti-inflammatory that actually enters into the blood stream didn't come close to easing my musculoskeletal aches and pains, so why take the chance??? The less prescription drugs the better has always worked for me. Post operatively 4 days after my revision knee surgery I discontinued the opiates that were prescribed for pain due to adverse reactions, so I certainly would be very leery to take another opioide with the well known adverse effects with codeine. I also understand that medical professionals have labeled Eliquis "blood thinners." In reality their purpose is to reduce the overall risk of stroke related to a-fib by preventing pooled blood in the heart from clotting, i.e. anticoagulant actions or perhaps apples to oranges.
Sounds as if you are adjusting to the new situation- as you had AF again- and didn't have symptoms, it is good that you have Apixaban- I have taken it for some time now and had teeth out with no bleeding and only minor bleeding and bruising- you will manage OK - it's just adjusting to some small restrictions that is hard at first
I do thank you for your words of encouragement ... I'm working on acceptance of my new restrictions and hope one day to fully accept that they are now part of my everyday life.
Thanks for the thread....so many different stories and apparently different types of implants too. Can never have too much info, right ?
Hi donsgirl. Good to meet a fellow retired nurse even if it is on the a-fib website.LOL. I'm 73 (74 in a few weeks) and worked 40 years as an RN (in US-) mostly in the Operating Room. Anyway I'm in permanent afib (diagnoses in 2011,) had a successful cardioversion for 3 years then went back in afib. Limped along on a variety of meds til 2016 when I went permanent with a dx of Tachy-Brady syndrome. Was really tired of med changes where nothing really worked. So in 2016 had a 'pace and ablate' and have done fine ever since. Off all cardiac meds which I love.My pacemaker is named "Seymour" (might as well have some fun!) During this time I chose to be on Coumadin. I self-tested and self managed at home weekly calling in my INR;s to my coumadin nurse. I began to have sx with the coumadin and wanted off anticogulants so on January 15th had an LAAO (Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion-Watchman Procedure). I've done well and see my surgeon next week when hopefullyI will get off the Coumadin then another few months of Plavix and then no more anticoagulants. All went smoothly and doing fine, Hope you continue to do well.Many people do with just meds. I just don't like meds. Anyway think I'll try to sleep. Almost midnight (Atlanta GA)/ Take care irina1975 PS Named my Watchman device "Sidney" sonow Seymout has a friend!!!
Irina I know this is off subject but I am so glad that I am not the only one who names things. When I was having my radiotherapy I named the machine MARVIN after the paranoid depressive robot from Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy. My BMW is called Helga.
Hi Bob. Loved your reply and chosen names. I think it's fine to name various 'things' in our lives. Some we choose (car, etc). some we have to have (pacemaker, etc.) I believe it changes our thinking in positive ways. Kind of like instead of being resentful of the pacemaker, how can you not like a cute little guy named Seymour???LOL. I read an article once years ago about how we name our pets. Paraphrasing, it said some people will name an animal a name like "Spot, etc-non-human" Others will choose human names/nicknames. I believe the author said something about this makes for better bonding. I would bet if you've ever had animals in your life, they had 'people-names,' Take care. irina1975
I currently have three cats. Pete, Ally (after Ally McBeal) and Nell (Portia De Rossi-from the same show). The previous three were Edmund, Baldrick and Queenie after the caste of Blackadder a UK TV comedy show. Sometimes we can make registration numbers into names for our cars. Sam's Fiesta ST was -----LXY so became Lexie and my Nissan Micra runabout is OLE so became Ollie. My BMW became Helga just because she is German.
I KNEW IT! I've always had all sorts of animals.Won't go into all their names but probably my fave was my Siamesecat, Irina Aleksandrovna, who I had for seventeen years. irina is my user name. My real name is Burma (after the country). I mention this because years ago someone who I don't think liked me very much gave me a baby snake- a BURMESE PYTHON ! Do you think there is a connection here? Duh! She/he was cute and I kept her til she got too big than gave her to a snake farm in Florida. Most of my passwords are based on animal/travels/ and literary characters. Good to know there are others on the same page as me. My family call me a giraffe because my head is in the clouds and not closer to earth by their standards. I like it up here.
Thank you. If I could I would move to the UK but seem US-bound because of medicare. My sister was married to a Scotsman and lived in Cumbria in the 90;s Loved to visit. And I like Blackadder. Watch all the British Shows (reruns) which are frequently on Public TV here. Also I have a channel called ACORN TV which is nothing but British television. Drams, mysteries comedies, documentaries, etc.I stream it so I can watch whenever- just binged a couple of weeks ago again on Doc Martin. The thing that sets him apart from opinionated docs is that he has a brain to support his decisions. LOL. BBCAmerica isn't very good because it is on commercial tv and if the program is too British a lot of Americans won't get the humor.
On the plus side you are protected from having a stroke that could leave you unable to talk walk or wipe you bum sorry a bit crude but true hope you feel better soon x
It sounds as though you are going through the angry, slightly scared phase which we all go through and quite understandably. Being in a Health Care profession doesnt necessarily equip you to deal with health issues when they affect you personally.
All I can offer is the assurance that this phase will eventually pass as you gradually accept the situation. Yes , life does change, but often for the better. I am certainly mhch healthier in every other way as I have dealt with life style issues. It took me a while to get tl this point but now, I can honestly say that life is good. I went from taking no tablets at all to being on a cocktail of pills because I was found to have inherited osteoporosis at roughly the same time. I too felt suddenly like an old lady but now I just pop the pills and thank God I live at a time when I can take something to hopefully stop me having a stroke.
Good luck with all of this. This forum is great for support and comiserations and sometimes some straight talking ! X
You're right. Sometimes what I know-esp about how the US healthcare system works ( including the money-driven aspect) the less trust I have.My trust is becoming less the older I get. BTW an interesting point. I grew up in a home with a very smart, educated mother who did not like doctors. We always had medical care when we needed it but she did not trust them, I believe what I learned as a child about her beliefs is beginning to surface.
Have you have you only had 2 a fib event? Or has the monitor shown more issues?
I ask as had PAF for 2 years 4 months and I was not put on blood thinners. I was also asymptomatic at hr over 200 . My chads2vasc score was 0.I am male 57 years.
I am on dabigatran( Pradaxa ) currently temporarily as I opted for an pulmonary isolation ablation as after 2 years my PAF became more frequent and I was put on 200mg diltiazem and 50mg twice daily flecainide which I did not like.
However I have no issues with the dabigatran in terms of side effects (no noticeably increased bleeding or bruising with me and I did have a fair bang on the thigh when I idiotically walked into an open cupboard drawer). However anti inflammatories are also out with this drug.
Does the monitor warn you personally immediately if you are in a fib?
HI...Yes only 2, but 2 significantly different episodes. The first one was 4 days post op and included obvious rapid heart rate and weakness. After d/c of Eliquis that I was taking twice a day for just one month, the second episode could have been going on for days, or even weeks as there were no signs or symptoms with this one, although once in the ER, my heart rate was 192 and I had no idea. The Linq monitor that is next to my bed would link to my doctor's office and I would then receive a phone call seeking my current condition. The implanted device would pick up irregularities when I sensed them and I would place the key fob on top of it. It would be necessary for me to transmit that tracing with the monitor that is along side my bed. So in answer to your question regarding a warning, if I was out and about and felt sustained heart rate changes, the key fob that I carry constantly would be used by placing it over the Linq and then I would be responsible for transmitting using the fob to the base unit when I returned home and whatever was picked up would be absorbed and sent to the doctors office. Todate, I have not had to use the fob (Linq implant) and have not had any phone calls alerting me to any irregularities that may have occurred during my sleep. Thanks for your comments and questions.
If you don't have any more AFib episodes, will the implanted device be removed? I tracked mine with a Kardia Alivecor, and was able to email EKGs to my electrophysiologist from that. I had an ablation a year ago and haven't had any further AFib since then. I supplement with magnesium, taurine, Co Q10, krill oil, see an acupuncturist, and now a chiropractor to heal a thoracic problem which seems to have contributed to autonomic disfunction, and meditate for the same reason. I have just started fasting to promote autophagy. I refuse to accept that I'll have AFib for life, and have been doing everything I can to prevent that. Good luck
HI...I have had that exact conversation with my EP person but because I only have it implanted less than 6 months, I didn't get a definite answer. The batteries last 3 years or so, so I don't think I will be able to get a definitive answer until then. I too take daily doses of magnesium, CoQ10, in addition to calcium and a daily vitamin. I hope I never have to go the cardioversion or the ablation route, preferring to blame my A-fib on protracted revision surgery, anesthesia and dehydration.
Curious on the autophagy route....let us know how that goes and any positive results from it.
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