After having a bit of a time a couple of weeks ago I am feeling a lot better particularly since having a short break in Devon.
Triggers are something we often talk about on this forum and I hope the following short tale might make some smile.
For the past 2 years I have done my level best to avoid all the known triggers.
No Alcohol
No Coffee
Keeping calm (some hope)
Not doing anything too strenuous whilst trying to do light exercise.
However, I sometimes cannot resist going to rock concerts. I know........... mispent youth.
Having been to two David Gilmour concerts a couple of years ago and in addition the Rolling Stones earlier this year I realise that the loud music and strobe lighting whilst not actually triggering AF or Tachycardia it does seem to precipitate palpatations. These can making my body feel like that it is vibrating somewhat whilst still being in NSR.
So being a glutten for punishment last night we went to see Nick Mason's Saucer Full of Secrets. Those of you who maybe liked Pink Floyd will know of Nick who was a founder member. Last night they played all the psychedelic music from the late 60s and early 70s. It was very loud with typical strobe lighting. Most enjoyable but...
My heart stood the test despite feeling that it wasn't.
We got home late.
Having watched the previous 5 episodes of The Bodyguard we felt we had to watch the last episode when we got home as there was a distinct possibility that we would discover what happened before we watched it had we waited.
I settled down in the chair and hey ho off my heart went into overdrive.
It must have been the tense nature of the storyline but it was as much as I could do to stay with it. It did calm down of its own accord within half an hour but I have now decided that it is no more live music and I should stick to Flog It, Antique Roadshow, Gardeners' World and Beethoven's 6th The Pastoral.
On a more serious note I am seeing a hypnotherapist on Thursday to see if I can be taught to block out the ectopic beats and the obsession of feeling my pulse every time I get a small palpation. In the interim I have found that YouTube videos by Jason Stevenson on Meditation for Anxiety and Nausea a great help. It is particularly helpful for controlling breathing when ectopics get the better of you.
Pete
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pottypete1
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All sounds good Pete, a few years ago at Patients Day we did have a hypnotists talk to us about self calming so I hope it works for you. Just decided I am too old to stand for three or four hours at Rod Stewart's Milton Keynes concert next year.
And pottypete1 ! My sister isn't a fan of Rod Stewart but saw him live as evening entertainment when she was attending a conference. His concert changed her mind - she said he was absolutely amazing live, and performed for two hours and just got better and better.
I’d be most interested in the outcome of your hypnosis appointment Pete as, surely it must be possible to stop our brains lurking, finger on the trigger, ready for heart/anxiety overdrive. Hope it goes well and you find it useful.
For me, the loud music would be bad enough, but strobing lights would literally knock me out. I once tipped headfirst into a supermarket open chest freezer and it was discovered that the strip light above the freezer was faulty and flickering at a rate that banjaxed my brain. Everyone was helpful but I knew they thought I should stay off the booze before going shopping. 😡
As time has gone and I have got older I think that maybe my heart and body can’t take ir any more.
It can be very depressing to realise that it will never be the same again.
Trouble is that I don’t feel as old as I look mentally but physically I think I am older than I look.
I did the test the other day which claims to tell you how old your heart is. Well it told me my heart was 95 and I am only 71. My wife on the other hand had a result that suggested her heart was 2 years younger than she is.
All a load of balony no doubt but maybe as I often tell others I should listen to my body and live my life accordingly. However I have no intention of vegetating.
Glad to hear you generally feeling better Pete and that you had a nice holiday
.I too like rock,and went to see Sabbath not so long back little anxious but was ok,also Motorhead which was the loudest thing ever.....Interesting that you also got a bit fluttery on Suday watching The Bodyguard,me too! Had long episode of AF/ AFl Sunday night,extra meds etc..still unsettled. I am having trouble ignoring it/ using usual counter measures..why I don't know.Had been lulled into false security a s been on love!y holiday,no big episodes..then...!huh! I would be interested to see how you get on.
Hope you have a good day,take care.BTW bet the concert was great!
I think that Motorhead and Sabbath is one step too far for me. It was bad enough with Nick Mason. My wife who saw Pink Floyd in 1967 and the Stones Hyde Park 1969 BP (before Pete), says there was a vast improvement.
One thing always makes me smile at these concerts is that before the performance it looks like a retired folks home outing, but once the lights go down you would not know it was a wrinklies convention.
One unruly member of the audience shouted out "WE LOVE YOU NICK". There was a pause of about 10 seconds. Nick Mason then replied "THANKS MUM"
Ps..had to wait on hold for 45 minutes...yes 45 minutes,( freefone but still...) Yesterday trying to speak to a government agency, the hold music was the Pastoral.....never want to hear it again..enough to set you off...on an endless short except over and over again..lol!😀
I remember Vivaldi's Four Seasons played on a synthesiser was used just about everywhere once too. Talk about ruin something beautiful. We went to a concert on Madeira many years ago when they played Beethoven's 6th it was great so it is just the on hold loops that are so hard to endure.
Mind you what is worse is some of the modern "Worry Music" that some of the on hold systems use these days.
I think now that whale meditation music is the answer. It has certainly been very helpful when trying to do Bob's 6 breaths a minute relaxation when Ectopics get the better of me.
Easy cause for this, Devon cream scones with cream and jam on top.
I go to quite a few gigs and festivals as I am fortunate enough to be friends with a 90's britpop band. I too have felt my heart do strange things after a gig, and I believe that it is down to being tired after going to the gig, a meal, after show party etc etc.
I'm certainly not going to give up doing something I love.
Pete, I had hypnotherapy before my first ablation as I was scared of the prospect of 6 months worry while I waited for the date to come. I was having sedation. I am very sceptical about these things but my goodness , it really worked. As a result of its success I enrolled in a meditation class and downloaded the daily CALM app and am beginning to feel as though my brains default position of fight and flight, is beginni g to change. X
I understand. I have found that using a YouTube meditation clip works well when I am trying to calm the Ectopics. I need to take it a stage further to stop the fight or flight reaction when my heart goes into overdrive. I am really hoping that it will help me to make progress. Having endured PAF for 27 years I think it recently got to me. As you know I have been relatively free of AF and Atrial Tachycardia for just over a year. However every time I get a bit stressed and sometimes just out of the blue I get a fast heart beat. What then happens is I go into panic mode. This is the response I want to try and nullify.
Wish me luck for Thursday. I have chosen someone who has qualifications as a Cognitive Hypnotherapist. My theory is that it it is my cognitive behaviour that needs sorting out.
We saw Dionne Warwick twice in her heyday probably about 30 years ago.
She was absolutely brilliant BUT she did a strict timed set without any encore.
We have been very lucky with recent concerts, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, The Manfred, Joe Brown. One of the most enjoyable was Paul Jones and Dave Kelly doing a Blues set at an intimate venue called The Forest Centre in the New Forest.
But back to my post, I am now very concerned about how my heart reacts to the strobe lighting, the loud music and the vibrating auditorium. I think it is now telling me it is time to call it a day.
I read some posts from 3 years ago where the subject of loud music and strobe lighting was discussed at length. I am not alone it is clear.
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