Horrible feeling AFib is coming back.

[sirey]

I had a successful cryoablation three and a half years ago and I know that compared to others here I have been extremely lucky. However the last couple of weeks the missed and extra beats are becoming a lot more frequent and I can’t believe how nervous i’m feeling about the fact it could be returning. Barts hospital discharged me when I had been clear for six months. Should I get a GP appt to be referred back to Barts or hope it’s just a blip! Feel such a coward I suppose I became complacent and stressing isn’t helping. In fact just writing this has made me calmer.

[Hidden]

Are you taking any medication, especially an anticoagulant. There could be a number of reasons why you are experiencing problems, maybe an infection or a cold, the trouble is you are naturally getting anxious and that’s not helping. I suspect that you will not be happy until you actually do something, so speaking to your GP is probably a good starting point. It might be a good idea to speak to the Arrhythmia Nurse team at Barts because they will be well placed to advise you. Although you have been discharged, they tend to remain quite helpful so it’s worth a try.

Try and stay calm, generally ectopics are harmless and it may settle. A lot of folk here take magnesium supplements such as Taurate so that may be worth looking at too......hope it settles......

[sirey in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your advice. Yes I was advised to stay on warfarin after the ablation. I will try to get in touch with the arrhythmia nurse at Barts. I think once you take your pulse and feel the missed and extra beats you start taking it more often and get more stressed. Thanks again.

[Brizzy5000]

Had my ablation 3 years ago, I used to worry and fret about eptopics, missed/extra beats but since taking magnesium and turine which certainly calmed them down, I tend to think hey ho I'm still here and get on with life.

[sirey in reply to Brizzy5000]

Thank you this site has always been a comfort over the years. Feel less panicky this morning, worries are always worse late evening when you live alone. I will try magnesium before contacting Barts.

[Bob56 in reply to sirey]

In some ways, ectopic beats are worse than having bouts of AF, as you sort of know where you are with AF and there are some tried and tested ways of trying to alleviate the symptoms. Ectopics are a lot more difficult to pin down, and not a priority for most of the medics. We are often left to try and cope with them ourselves. That on its own can make you anxious, and then you are stuck in a vicious circle as the more you worry, the worse they always seem to get.

Beta blockers like Bisoprolol, and anti arrhythmics like Flecainide work for some people, and as you have already been told, magnesium can help. One thing I can say for sure is that they come and go, and I have always come out of the dark at some point back into the light again.

By all means speak to your GP, and if it helps get it checked out via an ECG or a longer term Holter test.

I can't tell you its just a blip, but the majority of us seem to find a way of coping with ectopics, at least until they get to be constant, in which case there is always a chance of a further ablation to try and stop them.

You shouldn't assume they are a forerunner of AF. I had my ablation 5 years plus ago, and the ectopics returned almost immediately, but not the AF. I don't know what the future holds, but this is a long journey and I have to try and find ways to manage at each turn in the road.

Best of luck!

[sirey in reply to Bob56]

Sometimes prior to my ablation I would have 24 hours of AF then it would go away for a week or ten days but as you say Bob the ectopics don’t work that way! I was spoilt after my ablation, forgot about what my pulse was doing — very lucky. I am a worrier perhaps that is why we get AF in the first place! Hopefully it will not lead to AF this time but if it does, I may be lucky again. Thanks Bob for getting in contact I repeat this site is a great comfort to us all.

[Zozzy]

There's no way to be sure, but if your body is stressed by dealing with an infection, virus, over-exertion, particularly large meal etc. then it could trigger a reaction in your autonomic system with symptoms such as enlarged glands, tiredness, aches, ... or ectopics. I wouldn't worry in anticipation - you'll have plenty of time and more reason to worry if it actually happens.