How can I stay positive

[kiteman]

I am ashamed to admit that I am always waiting for my next episode,I am up to 7.5 bis. and fear the future,I have stopped playing tennis and am starting to withdraw from everyday activities.Can this thing plateau ?

[Smokie2D]

Everyone's experiences are different as we are all unique, we have a variety of different ailments etc. So all anyone can speak for is how it effects them. So with that understanding I will say you may have to slow down and adapt to things but you must keep in contact with the things you love to do. The danger is that you cut yourself off from others, seek advice on what you can do, physiotherapy depts etc like to tell me what to do, and do so with abundance, and sometimes it works.

Talk to your doctor if you can about what you have to watch out for, involve your nearest and dearest and don't cut them off. Find others with your problems and talk to them if you can. You can feel lost alone and out of control at times.

Ach you may think I am daft but I became ill in 2002 and part of the reason I am still here is by following one docs advice "Take up Golf, or get a dog! I recommend a dog because you cant ignore it and hang it in a cupboard" I met a lot of new people walking the dogs ( my family got me 2), I spent a few hours a day walking slowly in the park throwing balls, (and talking it to), it worked for me!

All the best to you and keep on looking outwards and not in!

[Rubymurray25 in reply to Smokie2D]

Great advice Smokie2D and a brilliant read.

Thank you for sharing.

[kiteman in reply to Smokie2D]

Thankyou Iwill try and take your suggestions on board.

[Smokie2D in reply to kiteman]

I hope it improves soon and we can adapt. Some days it can be stormy but the sun will shine!

[Morzine]

Awe bless you, .......I was the same.....I felt like my life was over....I think I was silly now but it was very real....thing is as time goes on and you don’t have it happen you will calm down.......you haven’t sajd how often you have had afib attacks.....once I got my meds stable I seemed fine bodily.....but mentally I wasn’t keen to go even out to our local bar restaurant, it was as if I shut down social life totally.....didn’t want to mix, go out...this forum was amazing.....helped me soooooooo much....we live in France we did a trip to Italy in the motorhome and I remember clearly we went out for pasta and I was so panicky in there it was torture......it took a while to get my dented, well destroyed, confidence back, you just feel fragile about goung places I know.

Start goung for walks each day that’s what I did, and if you feel some days too tired just do a much shorter walk.....I’ve a circular walk around morzine, that was good with a cuppa stop in the middle.....just get out, doesn’t need to be big steps.....

I had an ablation this year, still on tablets, and since have got a long haul flight and am now on hols in Australia, it’s a long way from being the scared witless person in the pasta restaurant over a year ago.....so what I’m saying is look ahead try not to dwell in it......gosh look I still take my pulse, I still have the odd run of nutty beats that freak me, but it passes.....there’s lots in here that were like you , we all have been knocked sideways.....

Chin up.....life will look brighter.....

Sue

[Hidden]

You might want to give this a try. Helped me a lot.

----------------------------------

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

[lynneangela in reply to Hidden]

Hi just thought I would share this information. I have Hereditary fructose intolerance which is so rare that 4grams a day is the max we should have. I'm so sensitive l have disliked any sweet tasting foods from new born. That's why I'm still alive. So my heart problems are not related to sugar. Maybe as you suggest mine maybe dehydration. I never gave that a thought either.

[Hidden in reply to lynneangela]

It may be dehydration - that will be easy to test. However, your body chemistry and metabolism is obviously quite different than most folks, so what works for us probably won't work for you. You will have to do what I did and listen, log and learn from your body to find out what is triggering your Afib. I wish you luck!

- Rick Hyer.

[Janith in reply to Hidden]

I hadn’t had an episode in almost one year ... went to a barbecue where they served very Salty cuisine ... l over indulged ... it triggered an episode the next morning, 3 am ... l’m positive that it was from the salty food and a very sweet dessert. Never again! A few hours of “fun” isn’t worth it!

[Hidden in reply to Janith]

Ohhhh - I don't know Jan. That chocolate concrete with malt I had today was worth quite a bit of discomfort tomorrow!! hehe.

Have fun.

- Rick Hyer.

[Rosemaryb1349]

I started to improve when one day instead of being frightened of the next AF episode I got angry at it for almost ruining my life.

[walterscarol]

Hi I just came in out of the yard really hot but don't want to loose my plants and flowers. I understand how you feel but it is not helping you to live your life to the fullest. Here is what I do with all my crazy medical problems. I have an imaginary draw anything I can't fix I put it in the draw so I don't have to think about it all day. I am trying to live as healthy a life style as I can I do watch my blood pressure (very low) and my oxignation also too low if my heart rate goes thru the roof I stop what I'm doing and try to patch myself so far so good. If you start listening to your body you will find you have more control over it than think. The worst thing that can happeh is I will kick the bucket. That will happen quicker if I don't exercise and have fun. I will admit that all of this is no fun but you can still have a great life if you learn what aggravates your symptoms. If you are playing tennis watch how you feel if it bothers you do it for shorter time . Stop sit in the shade drink some water and enjoy the outdoors in other words marvel at the beautiful world we live in Good luck start slow an add back what you like to do. Hope this helps Sincerely Carolyn

[walterscarol]

I did'nt say how often I afib I have attacks every day some times only a couple of times a day sometimes on and off all day. It is a pain in the boopie when I have a crummy day Carolyn

[Suebo2]

So sorry to hear this.

7.5 of which drug?