Consultant Appointment

[Ijacp]

Hi all, I’ve got an appointment at Newcastle Freeman hospital to discuss potential ablation for my paroxysmal AF (vagally mediated) which has become more frequent. I will be seeing Dr Martin who specialises in EP and also devices. Does anyone have any experience or has had an ablation carried out by this doctor? Would be interested to receive any feedback. Best wishes to everyone suffering from this. Thanks

[10gingercats]

I looked this cardiologist up as a matter of interest as his name has not, as I recall, come up on this site before.You would be wise to find out about him as there is little info. about him on the Freeman cardio. site. No cardiologist personal or results outcomes under his name for example while there is comment for others.

[Ijacp]

Thank you for looking 10gingercats and thanks for advice. I’ll update when I have more info.

Take care.

[rosyG]

ring the AF association- they will advise you well.

[Hidden]

Before you go under the knife, try this (it's free and good for you):

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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

[Ijacp in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Rick and some excellent information. Whilst everyone is different I think you are definitely onto something there. I have had this for around 14/15 years now and have only recently made the same connection (in that sugar levels play a huge part). I have not been anywhere near as disciplined with it but I’ve tried to cut right down. Might just try a little more seriously with it in light of what you have said and probably need to also educate myself a bit more on sugar in foods (as well as salt) to help with preciseness of gauging intake and tolerances. I already try hard with the water and hydration side. Great advice thanks,

[Hidden in reply to Ijacp]

You are welcome. If you find out that sugar is triggering your Afib, make sure to spread the word as much as you can. I have a hard time believing it's just me.

- Rick.

[maria68]

Hi ljacp. I just wondered if you’ve had your ablation at the Freeman by now and hope you are well. I’m interested to know as I’m hoping to have one in the future.

[Ijacp in reply to maria68]

Hi maria68, not yet, I’m giving the Flecainide a chance. It seems to be very effective so I’ll likely continue with it. Have another appointment towards end Oct’19 at Freeman so will discuss more with consultant as still have a few questions that I would like his view on. Ablation sounds like a good option also though, if that’s where you are at, so good luck with it.