Back in afib

[Jonathan_C]

I am not looking for sympathy, but want to share my experience. For context, I had an ablation in Jan 2017 and have been in NSR since April 2017.

The last few months I have felt like I have had mild flu. Exercise has been very difficult and I have felt like my asthma inhaler is not working.

Today I went for my 6 month check up with my EP and he asked me in a very pointed way: how are you feeling? And I told him I was fine except I thought I had some sub-clinical virus or something that was affecting my exercise. ... so it turns out these symptoms I have been experiencing are actually afib... which all makes sense now but I am shocked that I was so sure all this time that I was not in afib.

So its a good thing I have been taking my blood thinners. That's the real lesson.

Planning going forward is to have a cardioversion mid-June and my second ablation in late August. He feels someone as young as 45 should definitely attempt another ablation and we will see how it goes from there. He is hoping a small gap has opened up in the scarring, which seems quite common.

[10gingercats]

This is rather what happened to a nephew of mine some years ago. He had mild flu that refused to shift.Finally went to GP who said he had Afib. He did not have any previous history of heart problems.

[Hidden]

Disappointing but at least you’re getting it sorted..... hopefully this time for good.

[Amy2805]

So sorry to hear this. I’m in similar situation as you so know how you feel. I’m 29 and had my first ablation October 18. I have been great until last month when I got 2 viral infections and now struggling to do any form of exercise even going upstairs! I have to have another ablation but need to wait until my baby is born. He said similar to me he thinks some of the pulmonary veins have reconnected so a touch up would be the best plan.

[Ianc2 in reply to Amy2805]

So.. irregular heartbeat and a baby coming along. I don't think we have seen this before on this forum. Best wishes. Let us all know how you get on.

[Amy2805 in reply to Ianc2]

I will Thankyou very much

[Gowers in reply to Amy2805]

Thank you for posting - it must be very hard coping with af & being pregnant. You don't mention when baby is due but, do let us know.

[Amy2805 in reply to Gowers]

Baby is due 23rd November. So only 16 weeks pregnant so far and doesn’t look like I will be able to go back to work as the Moreno my pregnancy goes on the more episodes I have. Positive thought though it will be worth it when my gorgeous baby is here, then I’ll have my 2nd ablation and fingers crossed I will be sorted.

[Jonathan_C in reply to Amy2805]

I admire your positive attitude. I hope whatever you are doing to keep your blood thin doesn't harm the baby (maybe compensate with extra chocolate;). Best wishes for a safe pregnancy and delivery.

[Amy2805 in reply to Jonathan_C]

Thanks Jonathan! You stay positive and hope you are ok.

[Jonathan_C in reply to Amy2805]

I was in afib for about six weeks after my last ablation and the best description I had of the sensations I often had during the night was that it felt like I had a baby in my heart that was kicking, much like I would imagine it's like when a baby in the womb kicks. So good luck you if you are getting two types of 'kicks'.

[Amy2805 in reply to Jonathan_C]

I know that feeling, I got admitted to hospital with a heart rate of 240bpm for over an hour it was awful definitely the kicking in the heart is the only one I’m feeling at the minute, haven’t started to feel baby kicks yet so I’m looking forward to that haha.

[Gowers in reply to Amy2805]

Your right! - before you know it you will have had a lovely baby & another planned ablation.

Expect you are restricted as to what medication you can take?

managing af & pregnancy - cannot easy for you but sounds like you are coping really well.

[Amy2805 in reply to Gowers]

Yes your right minimum medication but I’m off work so I haven’t got any stress and staying away from anyone who is even slightly ill with a cold. I know how far I can push myself and am trying to do things at home to control it. Easy said than done sometimes but it’s all worth it.

[Hidden]

Since you are so young - this may be your problem:

After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar was the culprit. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer. If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again. It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day.

Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. Good luck! - Rick Hyer

[Jonathan_C]

Thanks. I can believe this, also the dehydration. I consume very little sugar and find that when I react badly to it.

[Jc24]

Has your doctor said anything about the inhaler? That was my problem. Now I’m scared to use one.

[Jonathan_C in reply to Jc24]

I only discovered I had asthma 4 years ago. Used subutomal (beta agonist) to start. It so happened that my first episode of afib started a few weeks later. I have seen two cardiologists since and neither of them think my afib was triggered by that.

I have since switched to Ipratropium bromide (the brand is ipvent), but that was under the advice of a pulmonologist. My EP is neither here nor there about what inhaler to use, he doesn't think beta agonists are a likely trigger.

He thinks asthma is much more likely to trigger afib than a beta agonist and one should do everything you can to avoid asthma, including using inhalers.

[Jc24 in reply to Jonathan_C]

That’s good to know. I see my gp on Monday and will ask and see if I can take something. My ep just retired so haven’t seen my new one yet. Thanks for the info!

[Jalia]

Hi Jonathan!

This sounds like the situation I was in for my first bout of AF at age 48. I went to GP as I thought I had a chest infection as getting quite breathless just walking children to school. Given EGG at surgery and fast AF diagnosed. I was mortified....had never heard of it and thought I was doomed! This was over 26 years ago and a lot of water under the bridge since then. An eventful journey and still travelling......

Best wishes to you.

J