Tiredness levels

[Polly159]

Just wondering if folk have noticed some kind of correlation between extent of tiredness and both number and length of AFIB episodes

I know correlation should make sense (ie fewer shorter episodes = less tired) but last night I had only a 10 minute episode (Thanks to Amiodarone, largely) and today I'm zonked!

[SRMGrandma Volunteer]

For me, fatigue would be a trigger for Afib. It was also a warning sign in that if I felt a particular kind of bone tired feeling, I knew that Afib was about to start. Also if you are not getting adequate sleep at night it's important to be tested for sleep apnea because a very high percentage of those of us with Afib have sleep apnea, and once that is corrected, there is less Afib.

[debbiea042000 in reply to SRMGrandma]

Hi Like the previous answer I know that if I feel so tired that I have to go to bed the minute i come home from work then its 80% likely I'll have an AFib episode in the early hours of the morning. I also feel very hot even if the weather is cold, also another indication Afib is about to start.

During Afib I am usually tired and breathless as well.... followed by a 24 hour period of tiredness after I am back into normal rhythm - but I think that might be that by that point i have self administered two more flecnide pills on top of the two i take everyday anyway... Flecnide reduces the heart rate and I find this makes me breathless and tired

Although this sounds like I am constantly tired ... i do have intervening weeks when all is well.

Having my third ablation at the end of October so hoping this will be a thing of the past.

Hope all goes well with you. Debbie

[Polly159 in reply to debbiea042000]

Many thanks, Debbie, it is actually very reassuring to hear that other people have similar experiences. At the moment I feel as if I could operate best if I had one day working, next day off or week on, week off - but unfortunately that's not practicable at the moment.

Thanks

Take care

Polly

[Polly159 in reply to SRMGrandma]

Many thanks - yes, tiredness does seem at times to signal an episode AND often follows an episode. I suppose it's like the weather- lie low when it's raining and make that (I'm a measured way!) while the sun shines.

Take care

Polly

[Hidden]

I have noticed that moderate exercise actually puts my Afib back to normal beats, but exhaustive exercise sometimes makes my normally-beating heart go into Afib. I'm thinking the exhaustive exercise also makes me dehydrated, which is an Afib trigger. Here is a cut-and-paste of data I have accumulated over 9 years - you might want to give it 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