After waiting for months for my check up I came out feeling so confused. I was immediately asked if I knew I was in permanent AF to which I replied I knew as soon as i woke up it was back. He then said straight out ‘do you want a shock or ablation?’ I tried asking questions and honesty felt I knew more than him after two cardioversions and two ablations 6 and 7 hours under GA respectively. He said if I had a cardioversion I would have to have amiodarone. Does anyone know if that’s correct please? I had amiodarone after my second ablation and never want to take it again I felt so bad.
In the end we agreed to a new echo and Herat monitor and he’s referring me back to my Barts EP who did my ablations for a chat about it. I know thee are no guarantees but I am happy to take advice from someone who knows his subject. The amiodarone is the main problem for me also my symptoms are nowhere near as bad as they were before my last two ablations so really not sure about having another.
Thanks for any advice.
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ETFCfan
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I have had about 20 cardioversions and have never been told I must go on Ameodarone.
You are right this drug really doesn’t suit most people and from what I understand it is more useful for short term use. Personally I hated it and the side effects and my EP understands this and won’t make me go back on it.
You need a full and frank discussion with the EP at Barts before the next step is taken.
My EP worked at Barts with Dr Schilling. Barts is a centre of excellence so you should be in good hands.
Thanks so much for that reply. I certainly have nothing against a cardioversion just the amiodarone which I didn’t have after my last ones. My EP is Dr Sporton at Barts and I do have confidence in him. Just felt the doctor I saw wasn’t very informed.
I had my second ablation last Friday went back to sinus rhythm then out again had cardioversion still in AF, so Dr Saba StGeorges has put me on amiodarone until 3 month check
My EP suggested amioderone after my last (4th) ablation but we both decided not to, as I spend a lot of the year in a sunny climate. He gave me some intravenously after the procedure and that was that.
Wow that sounds brilliant Barb, I’ll mention that to my EP thank you very much.
You might want to give this a try:
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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
PS – there is a new study out backing up the above observations. You can see it at
That's a great bit of information sugarisit. I have known for years that too much sugar has always made my heart feel funny and/or speed up. And as the report says, I am more sensitive to it as I have got older.
These days I actually feel more drawn towards savoury anyway, body tells me quite loudly sometimes, I just have to master listening to it.
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So upset and disappointed
My consultation with an EP
EP consultation
Amiodarone again.
