Think the AF wants to come out and play again!

[Dangerousdriver]

Hi all,

I feel like a hypochondriac at the moment, but I assure you I’m not!

After suffering BPPV earlier this week, I’ve been feeling vibrations in my chest and muscles for the last couple of months, but it’s only when I wake up, whether that be in the morning or after a nap. They soon subside upon waking, but after the BPPV I feel like I’m trembling all over from the waist up. My hands are trembling as I write this. I have a neurologist appointment in a week or so.

But just now I’m at my son’s Tae Kwon Do class talking to someone and suddenly I had AF kick in like I’ve not experienced since the ablation a year and a half ago.

Fortunately, it only lasted 20 seconds, but could feel it my neck and my heart was flip flopping like crazy and the lady I was talking to at the time recognised something was happening to me as she’s an Intensive Care nurse. I felt this intense hot flash afterwards and had to sit down. Took my EKG and it was in NSR and in the low 70’s but now I’ve got really bad reflux and just want to lie down!

Clearly the ablation is doing something as it arrested the AF, but the fact it’s trying to do it is disheartening.

I emailed the Arrythmia nurses again for the 3rd time and called left yet another message with no reply, so I’ve left a voicemail for my EP’s secretary explaining the situation. I’m hoping they’ll get back to me after the weekend!

So frustrated and down now as my mother in law had the kids all weekend and we were meant to go out tonight. Now all I want to do is go to bed! I feel like I’m falling apart at 42!

Sorry for the moaning, just feel down now. My job is at risk if this comes back, so I have more than my health to lose.

[BobD Volunteer]

Moan away mate. We can take it. Not like you are always doing it is it?

Great sympathy but do consider that your body is fighting another issue and anything like that can exacerbate any tendency to AF. Try to relax and if possble go on that date with your wife. Could relax you.

[Dangerousdriver in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob, means a lot!

Before all of the AF etc I used to brush stress off so easily, what I’ve realised now is that you doing have to necessarily feel outwardly stressed to experience symptoms of stress. I’ve realised that the subconscious is one powerful thing that can dictate how you feel without you even knowing.

We decided it was best for us to stay in tonight, I’m ok now and I guess I should be pleased that it lasted such a brief time which shows that the ablation in part is still staving it off. Just disconcerting when it was that powerful! It was pounding in my neck, don’t remember that happening before. I’ve asked for a 72 hour holter to see what that picks up. Left a message with my EP’s secretary to call me after the weekend.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Dangerousdriver]

This stress thing is a real beggar. After a lifetime of adrenaline running a motor race team as well as full time job I thought I was imune to such trivia but now in my dotage I realize that I can't do stress anymore. I find I worry about every little thing! I have come to the conclusion that we have a gland somewhere in our body which take in s--t and when that is full we react badly to any more thrown at us. And all without being aware of it!

[Dangerousdriver in reply to BobD]

Yes you are right! I realised a few years ago after traumatic incident that we think we can deal with stress, and then one day we cannot process and handle it in the same way. Frustrating as it may be, I've slowly learnt to accept it and try to handle situations in a different way. The one thing that astounds me is the symptoms you get, they vary so much that at times you question is it in the mind?!

I am struggling with my job, personal life and then my health, which is accentuated by the stress of the other two things, and on it goes like a perpetual cycle!

My mum asked me last night what I would do if I won the lottery and my reply pre health issues would be like most people, buy a Porsche, go on holiday etc. Jumping forward to now and I'd find the best damn cardiologist I could and get my heart fixed as best as it could be! You cannot put a price on your health can you?! That's one thing I learnt.

You ran a race team? Bob you dark horse! I live and breathe motorsport! Used to race myself, but these days I'm resigned to sim racing due to cost and obviously health. What type of racing team was it, Tin Top or Open seaters?

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Dangerousdriver]

I was #1 race engineer with Alfa Romeo Dealer Team in BTCC from 79 to 88. Prior to that ran Sports GT(Lotus 30 Pink Stamps car ) in laten 60s early 70s and then Production saloons. Now we have Drift team and Stage rallies in the family all under my name still. These days I just do engines for historic cars (No electronics! )Look for Bob D Motorsport on facebook..

[Dangerousdriver in reply to BobD]

Oh wow! Yep remember the Alfa's. My mate Tony Gilham runs the Team Hard BTCC team. I have always followed BTCC religiously. No other series sells road cars like that. Remember John Cleland once said "The Vauxhall dealers were full of people on a Monday morning wanting the car I had just won in"

Race cars now are just computers on wheels! I miss the Super Touring era of BTCC, that's what I watched as a kid. I lived near Brands so went there tons as a kid.

[Padayn01]

Really sorry to hear this AF has totally ruined my life and mix with anxiety it’s just a horrible burden on me, I know you should not let it beat you but sometimes you got to listen to the body and go home and rest

[Dangerousdriver in reply to Padayn01]

It does ruin your life in certain aspects I agree. I certainly can’t do the things I used to physically which I find really frustrating. But the blessing to the curse is that it’s given a genuine appreciation of health and life in general.

All of us take for granted our health, that our car works, the mobile phone etc. It’s only until it goes wrong do you realise the importance of something. I really do respect what my body tells me instead of fighting with it.

[Aurealis]

What is BPPV please?

[Alli58 in reply to Aurealis]

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, a horrible condition also.

Strange thing thing is I have it as well ,so I completely understand how “Dangerousdriver” is feeling, as if AF wasn’t enough to cope with.

[Alli58]

I know how you feel as I also have BPPV along with Multiple arrhythmias, so rant and moan all you want, it’s good for the soul lol.

[Dangerousdriver in reply to Alli58]

It's horrible Alli, I hate living like that and often I think well you aren't as bad some people, but the truth is you only really know how you feel and we all handle conditions differently. I for one never tolerated AF well if I am honest, but there are some that deal with it far better!

I had a colleague commit suicide this year, and I can in part see how he reached that stage. He like me was an ex police officer who went through a torrid time in the job. He moved on with a new career, but never really got over the incident. I'm not weak, but with everything I have had to put up with over the last 3 years I could write a book. This would not be information I would openly share ideally, but I think if you know there circumstances I have had to face then maybe it'll give you a better understanding of how I feel.

I served for many years as a police officer. It was a calling and a job that I felt extremely privileged to do, helping others and saving lives gives no better feeling. But that all changed when I was falsely accused of a terrible crime by a member of the public who later admitted it was done for their own gain. But that didn't stop me being arrested at my police station in front of colleagues and suspended and held on police bail for 11 months until I was cleared. That day had a profound effect on my physical and mental health. The force did not support me in the way I expected even though my immediate colleagues and supervisors did. This made me revaluate my life and career.

When I was diagnosed with AF and I discussed the circumstances of when it first came to bear I was reading a news article about a police officer who was in a similar situation. Literally whilst reading it the AF kicked in at 236bpm and the EP reckoned it was triggered by the vagal nerve reaction even though whilst reading the article I felt fine!

So, then I was diagnosed with A-Fib/Flutter and SVT and to round it off I have a Bi-Cuspid Aortic Valve, so I'm pretty screwed where my heart is concerned.

Then after the ablation I went back to work and had my boss at the time trying to use my health as a way to get me out of the company, using dishonest and manipulative tactics. Luckily, I fought back and raised a 25 page grievance where it was discovered that she had acted improperly and as such was severely reprimanded and demoted.

In August last year I was then was diagnosed with cancer and had the op to remove said tumor. After a couple of scares, I was given the all clear and am now in remission.

I have a new job of which I love, but I've been training nearly a year now and I am struggling with the training because it's barely fit for purpose for my role where other's lives are in my hands. I'm getting pressure to pass out, and fingers are being pointed at me when I've done everything I could. When I raised it with my boss he simply told me I need to pull my socks up and learn to separate my home and work life! He's got to be the worst people manager I know, and I have known a few in my time. But last week I was off sick, yes because of ailments, but also because it was easier than facing more stress. Dreading going in next week tbh.

Anyway, sorry for the long winded message...

[hartbeast in reply to Dangerousdriver]

So sorry to hear what you’re going through. I’ve had an ablation, but I only really started to heal once I understood that I have PTSD from some difficult events in my own life and that I don’t have conscious control over the way my autonomic nervous system responds to emotional triggers. I highly recommend reading up on PTSD. The autonomic nervous system can get damaged from all kinds of things, and healing is slow. Wishing you peace and healing...

[Alli58]

You’ve had a lot to cope with, hopefully it’ll get better, I always try to remain positive.

[Hidden]

Try this to keep your afib at bay:

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

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 (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). 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?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??

I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.

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 study backing up this data you can view at:

Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28

[Dangerousdriver in reply to Hidden]

Why do you post the same old guff on every single post?!

[Hidden in reply to Dangerousdriver]

Sorry about the same stuff all the time. I just cut-and-paste it into responses. I do that to get the word out to as many people as I can, hoping that, some day, a Researcher might see it and do a Research Project on the subject. Also, if I can get enough people to try limiting sugar in their diet and it decreases Afib for them, then we will, collectively, have a stronger voice to tell doctors/researchers - and hopefully we can get one to believe us and initiate a Research Project. In the mean time, folks will have to live with my boredom!!

- Rick Hyer.

[marcyh]

BPPV - My doc referred me to a therapist with a specialty in balance problems (therapists specialize in various parts of the body). After suffering for years I received immediate help. He cured me in minutes with painless strategic maneuvers right in his office. I've been fine since September... can go back for more if necessary. Wish I'd done it sooner!

marcyh