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Did this trigger the afib?

zorro15 profile image
10 Replies

I had a cold with stuffed nose and overindulged my flonase spray, finishing the spray bottle in 2 days. On the third day i went into afib which converted to normal in a hour. Was it the flonase? Also i take 80mg of sotalol 2x a day. I took my wife’s z-pak meds also. Would this have triggered it?

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zorro15
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10 Replies
rosyG profile image
rosyG

I don't know about those particular meds but people often do get an episode of AF when they have colds/ flu etc

zorro15 profile image
zorro15 in reply torosyG

Thanks for reply rosyG I just reached out to my cardiologist and he chastised me for taking Z-Pak along with sotalol. He is sure that is what brought afib on. I have had colds in past which never caused afib. I shouldn’t be taking my wife’s meds without checking with doctor. Prior to afib in my life z-pak was my go to med when i had cold, not no more. Thanks again

SpritzerAce profile image
SpritzerAce

Hi there! Yes am on Sotalol too and was told by my EP to stay out of any antihistamine and some cold meds when I have flu. Gotta let the flu settle by itself. Home remedy might help. Strictly no antihistamines for me. Hope you are feeling better now.

zorro15 profile image
zorro15 in reply toSpritzerAce

Thanks for your reply Ace and you are right on. In our world of afib we are always learning. I get an event maybe Every other month and i usually trigger it though i do not repeat the trigger once I’ve learned it . Strongly considering ablation to end the nighmares, hopefully. Thx again

Auriculaire profile image
Auriculaire

Are z packs antibiotics? If so it is absolutely pointless taking these for a cold as colds are caused by a virus.

zorro15 profile image
zorro15 in reply toAuriculaire

Thx for replying auri. I should of mentioned that i had a bit of bronchitis going on thus the z-pak. You are correct that the z-pak is ineffective against a cold. Thx again for your input

Tux18 profile image
Tux18

When I’m physically ill it has been common for me to go into afib.

zorro15 profile image
zorro15 in reply toTux18

Thanks for reply tux and what you say i have heard before, but i have been sick in the past and never affibed. Hope this isn’t the start but my EP is pretty confident it was me taking z-pak along with my sotalol. Again thx for your view

Here's what triggers my Afib, might be the same 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

zorro15 profile image
zorro15

Thanks sugar i can never learn enough about this monster called afib. All you have passed on to me will be noted Thx again

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