The physical battle may be won, but....

[Mejulie69]

Greetings all! It’s more than 9 months post ablation now. Physically I’d say that I am back to “normal”…. mentally, I’d say that I have some way to go.

I haven’t been in AF since my ablation, but I do still get the odd ectopic.. maybe a few per day if I’ve had too much caffeine. There’s a good chance I used to get these before my heart went haywire, but I didn’t notice them. Now I notice them a lot. I’d describe my ectopics as like being poked in the heart – a bit sore. I get an immediate surge of adrenaline when I feel an ectopic which compounds the unpleasant feeling. After 6 months of not touching my personal ECG monitor, I have started using it again regularly. Whilst it is reassuring to see that I am still in sinus rhythm, I feel that overall it only makes me more paranoid about my heart. I guess what I am describing is a low level mental illness!

Don’t get me wrong, I am forever grateful for the NHS and the miracle that is ablation, but it just highlights that AF can turn into as much a mental problem as a physical one.

Anyway, off for a bike ride now. Have a nice weekend all

[Hidden]

Just a thought Mejulie, but Magnesium Taurate taken as a supplement can help with ectopics for some people. Check out Dr Sanjay Gupta’s videos on the subject. They can be a bit expensive, I use BioCare but it might be a good idea to check with your doctor first. I’m sure you have seen it said here many times that ectopics are not generally harmful, but as you say, we tend to be far more sensitive to any heart abnormalities.......

[wilsond]

Nice to hear from you and a positive experience.I think if we are honest,we all get downhearted ( forgive the pin!) from time to time. Im sure you will be on the upswing soon.

It can be a small thing that ttiggers gloom or someyhing physical.Cylce ride will help your mood i

I hope.

Try to look on the positives, sounds great overall to me!

I have decided not to open links such as 'no possible cure for AF',although appreciate knowledge is power and the thoughtfulness of the poster,as I got upset reading it.

Just a suggestion.

Take care now

[Peddling]

So nice to hear from you again. I used to enjoy your posts. Isn’t it often the way though with our wiered species that we we have to find something to fret over even when things are going well. This sounds like a job for mindfulness or some other meditative programme to get stuff back into perspective. Good luck.

[Slim2018]

Can I make a suggestion? I am a lawyer not a psychiatrist but I too am struggling with the anxiety having not been faced with anything like this before. Interesting my youngest daughter who will qualify as a doctor next summer thinks the Kardia should be used sparingly whereas I find it a very useful device and reassuring. Last night and this morning I have felt a bit odd but the Kardia has confirmed 62 bpm and Normal which has a calming effect. I digress. Paul McKenna “I can help you reduce stress CD” I find invaluable. People talk about mindfulness and meditation but I struggle with the discipline to do it. McKenna on my iphone and earphones in and its an enforced 30 minutes. I am out like a light within seconds and then its “wake up feeling calm and collected”.

Seems to work for me. Isn’t the panacea for everything but it helps. Have tried a couple of sessions with a very good hypnotherapist and that also deals with some of the surrounding things. I have been well looked after by my Consultant and the Arrhythmia Nurses but strangely no one looks at the mental side of the whole process.

[Slim2018 in reply to Slim2018]

And just off for my first (gentle) run since the ablation nearly two months ago. Have rowed and cycled but mixed feelings about actually being out in the park. Of course this illustrates the anxiety. I am about to run possibly a mile and a half max at a slow pace. The other day I rowed six miles on my water rower in under 45 minutes without hardly being out of breath...so much is in the mind!

[Slim2018 in reply to Slim2018]

Ok only one mile run and one mile walk but baby steps and all that. Kardia showed normal rhythm when home but the ectopics are more noticeable as we have all discussed. Not sure its because I still have a month to go on the three month post ablation period or whether its the anti-Arrhythmia drug which apparently can increase ectopics (which makes no sense to me whatsoever). Its like when my Consultant told me the Fibrillation was caused by fixing the flutter. I said its like me saying to a client “we need you to go to prison to stop you going to prison”!

[Madscientist16 in reply to Slim2018]

So true Slim2018. I am pretty sure that I never had ectopics before my AF diagnosis, because I feel everything. Now I have ectopics pretty much hourly. Cardiologist said it was either the AF or the meds. Apparently, calcium channel and beta blockers can cause a elongation of the AV node in some patients, causing the ectopic or feels like a skipped beat. Anti-arrhythmia drugs can do the same. It is disconcerting that the side effects of the medications mimic the symptoms of the ailment.

[KMRobbo in reply to Slim2018]

I had the opposite - the EP fixed the fibrillation and I got flutter. Had to have another ablation to fix the flutter. The flutter was possibly promoted by the flecainide - apparently it does that. It was explained to me why but is was so complicated I cannot remember. I already knew that the rhythm control of flecainide could promote high HR (hence why I was on diltiazem rate control (Just in case!...)

Consequently I am not surprised at anything anymore!

[abbadabba]

Really? Though I've heard that exercise can be a trigger in a minority of cases, on the whole improving your fitness will reduce the af burden and make other heart issues less likely.

[KMRobbo]

I had AF ablation end January and a flutter ablation the end February and been off all drugs since may 15th. I have had no AF or flutter since the ablation. I do get ectopics which initially caused my hr to rise quite a bit. After a while I realised that my reaction to the ectopics was what caused the hr to rise, it was an " oh sh*t is AF back!!!" And up goes the hr. I just tried to ignore them and it worked - my hr does not increase any more. Probably 4 or 5 months on now I rarely notice them at all unless I get one just as I am trying to go to sleep when you can hear anything you r heart is doing very easily.

I was back cycling 3 months after ablation, only 25 to 30 miles at a time, but am now getting fitter. None of it competitive. I did also start running at a similar time , but did not do much of it over the summer as it was so hot and I did not think it was sensible to try much in the heat as when I run it is a higher intensity than when I cycle. Since the weather has been back to normal, I am now doing 2 x 5 or 6 mile runs a week (plus the cycle) and I had initially a problem where my hr shot up at the start of a run immediately to 160 - 170 ( in 40 yards) so I stopped and when it went down started again and after a few stop starts it stabilised. A few months of this and this issue has pretty much stopped and I think it was more unfitness than anything to do with AF.

I am now down to 8:45 ,minutes per mile which is a minute slower the I was in 2015 before I had AF, but am beginning to feel a bit like I am running again rather than shuffling. I was never a serious runner just did it to keep fit. I am 58.

[Slim2018 in reply to KMRobbo]

Excellent- it really is a journey for all of us. I am going to try the HIIT training in a few weeks that our wonderful York Cardiology Consultant talked about on his YouTube video but do the first six weeks at half intensity at his recommendation. Also only drinking organic red wine from now on to avoid the sulphides again on his say-so.

[Jonty_13 in reply to Slim2018]

Slim2018 hi can you let me know where the video from the York team is please. I used to do HIIT before my afib. I’m now recovering from 4th Ablation and feel better. I want to get back to training but have been only doin v moderate stuff. A lot of how I’m feeling I know will be the detraining I have suffered but want to gradually progress back to a good intensity. Thanks Jonty

[Slim2018 in reply to Jonty_13]

Jonty, I will dig it out but if you just go onto York Cardiology on you tube its one of his many videos. He suggested to me that for the first six weeks you do half the times and build up to the full 40 minutes. Three times a week. Results from Dr Malmo’s study are quite amazing and if they can be replicated I will be doing it three times per week.

[djbgatekeeper]

The mind game can be a very difficult one, anxiety is my current battle 10 weeks after ablation. Physically doing well, mentally .... the jury is out 😬 you are not on your own.

Good luck and I hope you start to get better soon..

[Jonty_13 in reply to djbgatekeeper]

I went to a psychologist to help put things into the right place mentally. Has been really helpful for me.

[abbadabba]

Slowly and carefully with the exercise is a good idea. But there are so many studies showing its benefits for the heart and the rest of the body that I think it's important to do what you can.

I'm not sure that exercise is the af ticket. Reading all the posts on here, many people have it come on in their ordinary daily lives or whilst asleep. Exercise trigger seems to be the minority and sometimes even makes the arrhythmia go away (though in some cases there is the opposite effect). We are all different and the best thing as many people say is to be careful and listen to your own body.

The username was chosen on a whim. I think I've just heard so much ABBA over the years that it has wormed its way into my subconscious 😊