8 day update - alternatives to ablation or mini-maze

[Bambi65]

After all the research I did, reading everything I could find on alternatives for any type of proceedure to stop/cure my Afib. This moster showed up about 2x a week and wreak havoc on my body from 4-26 hours each time. I have read here that there is no cure for Afib, just treatments. That just saddened me tremendously. Why treat the symptoms and not find and cure the cause. No cause has been found, I get that, but it just dosent sit right with me. I just dont know...

Well, I made a decision. First, the medications that had been prescribed by my doctors over the last 4 years did work for me, or the side effects were horrid with no QOL. So none of those for me! I recently started on blood thinners which I have stopped. Dont panic, just read on.

Next recomendation was Yoga, I havent done it yet, but its on the list.... lol,

Diet modification was the easy part, since I dont eat junk food and the breads and pasta, maybe 1x a week . I increased my fish intake from 1 or 2x a week, to 4x a week.

Then the next recommendation was the Chinese Medicine thats been around for 3,000 years. I, with help, very carefully chose the ones that would keep my heart rate in normal rhythm , another would be to assist in detoxing my liver. I also developed RA, the year before the Afib monster became a problem. There is a very close connection to RA and Afib so I added an herbs for that also.

Next was acupuncture. I dont like needles and the thought of having them stuck in me was terrifing. But I found, by recomendation of friends, an excellent guy that runs a non-profit acupuncture practice for over 30 years of training, certification, and he is good. He went over my medical crap with me and said lets get started. He also made suggestion of a multi-herbs that would address my health issues including the difficulty breathing from the Afib and the high risk of stroke.

Well, its been 8 days! I dont know which one, or if all of them in concert worked, BUT.... I havent felt this good in years. Not only have I not had ANY afib, but most noticable is that my breathing is not labored. 8 days ago, walking up the stairs to bed was dreaded. I had to stop half way to not just catch my breath, but to keep my heart from banging through my chest. Once I did reach the top of the stairs, I would just fall on my bed trying to breath and hope the heart racing would soon stop. For the last 2 days, I run upstairs, YES I SAID RUN. Several times a day I can run upstairs racing our border collie up the stairs. My goal is to one day reach the top before she does. I no longer get out of breath, or feel my heart pounding. I have more energy than I can recall having in many years past. All this happened in a week!

So, I continue to have my herb teas 3x a day, take the other prescribed herb pill mixture, and have acupuncture. I walk and run without fear of afib, ride my bike and swim all without releasing the afib monster that took over my body and had crushed my spirit.

I have not discussed any of this with my heart doc yet. I am scheduled for a cryo-ablation Aug. 20 but I beleive I will cancel this. Im hopeful and so relieved. There are no side effect from the herbs, and there are not chemicals in my body that dont belong there.

We are leaving on a cruise to the Baltic's in 2 days, and I will leave behind the fears and bring this new found energy with me. My husband, a general surgeon, has really struggled with my decision to stop all traditional medications. Our opposing conversations over this matter as you can imagine, have been difficult to say the least. However, He too sees such improvements in me and yet remains skeptical. I would like to think at some time he would go from skeptical to hopeful.

Well its time for me to take our dog out for her morning run, and then pack for the trip. I will try to keep updating through out the next few weeks.

[Horse57]

Well done! I am on board with what you are doing 100 percent. That is wonderful news. Even if you have an occasional hiccup you are on the right track. I am curious as to what the herb mixture is. Is it something you can share? I know that there is a study I just read about low carb diets bringing on afib. I think it is mainly low blood sugar that sets us off with low carb. I know that happened to me many times. I would love to hear more about your herbs and any other details you can share. I for one say Good Good for You! Yes that’s 2 Goods!

[Bambi65 in reply to Horse57]

As soon as I land, I will send you what I am taking. I'm leaning alot toward the Acupuncture because the herbs would have taken much longer to be effective. He did between 20 and 30 needles, bulk of which was in my right toes and foot, and right inner wrist. a few others in both k er area and right back and side of hand and both ears and top of head. I went 5x in the week whatever it is, it's working Did you read my first post? thanks for the affirmation.

[Horse57 in reply to Bambi65]

I’m. It sure about your first post. What was it titled?

[Bambi65 in reply to Horse57]

the first one was; "alternatives to ablation or-maze"

[Horse57 in reply to Bambi65]

Got it!

[Hidden]

That is a very encouraging path you are taking. I am a retired nurse, so naturally Im skeptical but I am cheering for you! I can imagine your surgeon hubby is skeptical. He fixes people for a living so it has to be frustrating for him to not be able to fix your disease. I am setting a personal record of going 14 mo with no a fib. No ablation, no longer on daily meds, I made several modest life style changes, retired at age 63 from stressful environment. I thank God for everyday in normal heart rhythm. Please keep sharing your status. This is very exciting! Hope your vacation is amazing💜

[Bambi65 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you... Hubby is amazed as well, and apprehensive.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Yay, Hoski!👏🏻

By the way, the turtles send you their love. 🐢 🐢 I was just with them on my walk and am planning on sharing a photo of them soon.😻

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ha, that is so cool.I am looking forward to seeing them💜

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I want to do one of those cool 4-photo uploads like Kaz does....any idea how to do that? Maybe I have to set that up ahead of time?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I would like to know how.

[Hidden]

Good for you, Bambi65! I'm happy to hear that you found a solution that's working for you. I find that it really pays to be a strong advocate for oneself in dealing with AF and I'm so happy that you've done this.

The mindset in the cardiology/conventional medicine world toward dealing with AF can be incredibly strong and narrow. The more I have discovered through exploring holistic approaches, the more I think that it's the conventional, narrow approach to dealing with AFib that is to be feared, when there is no talk of lifestyle or possible underlying issues. Just an expectation to be miserable with awful side effects from drugs.

I, too, have felt much better overall since I've been taking herbs prescribed for the underlying conditions my naturopath suggested and Dr. Sinatra's micronutrients.

I was just thinking today about how much better I feel, no thanks at all to the last EP, who told me, "I got pills & procedures, that's all I got." He's not even interested in learning about any other approaches to dealing with AF, whereas for my new acupuncturist and naturopath, it's an investigation in which I feel really cared for and supported.

Good for you!! 😊 👏🏻

[Hidden]

Wish you know exactly what it was that worked. After 9 years of trial-and-error, here is what triggered my afib. Perhaps, with all the changes you made, you accidentally reduced your sugar intake or kept hydrated, who knows. Here is something specific that is documented and works:

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After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. 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 (easier said than done of course). 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 just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt??

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. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. 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. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer

[Bambi65]

I'm not much on anything with sugars or sugar substitutes, or high fructose fruits, and very conciousness of what I do eat, lots and lots of green leafy veggies etc without dressings of course.

The only thing I can see is maybe not enough water and not enough sleep.