What shall I do?

[Honks]

I’m new to this condition (AF). I am waiting for my telephone conversation with a cardiologist at my local hospital. As I am having AF episodes nearly every other day (yesterday I had an episode in the morning at 9am when I had just woke up and another at 11.30pm) can I take paracetamol or anything to relieve the pain??? I have been given 3.75 bisoprolol and 10 mg Apixaban.

[BobD Volunteer]

Paracetamol os fine but NEVER ibuprofen.

[Honks in reply to BobD]

Thank you for a speedy reply. Is AF something I will have to manage as each episode is wearing me out and I think the medication is not quite right yet? My telephone appointment is a month away and as I am having frequent ‘attacks’ at any time of day, I am a little anxious! During an episode I also seem to pass a lot of water! Apologies for the questions but don’t know who to talk to!

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Honks]

Finvola has said it all really. Ask and we will try to help.

[Finvola]

Hello Honks and welcome to our forum.

Where is the pain that you refer to?

Weeing, weeing and weeing during AF is normal as our bodies get rid of salt when our hearts are stressed. It is very important to keep hydrated - drink water (at least 2 litres daily) and make sure to drink during and after an episode, especially if it is a long one.

Read up all you can on the condition - there is a pinned post on the top right for Newbies and the AF website is a mine of information and reassurance. heartrhythmalliance.org and choose AF section.

Look at your lifestyle in the light of advice on diet, weight and exercise. The biggest challenge is anxiety - AF causes it and it aggravates AF so it is a vicious circle. There are meditation and mindfulness exercises which are as simple as controlled breathing which are excellent at helping to calm the mind and help us cope with episodes.

We have all been where you are and are able to answer most questions people have. If you need anything, just shout.

[Honks in reply to Finvola]

The pain is above my left breast and is like a burning constant pain. Thank you very much for all the info on this forum - I really appreciate you letting me share my anxieties!

[Finvola in reply to Honks]

Have you mentioned this to your doc? Pain which is constant is better to be checked out. I had tight chest pains when I was first diagnosed but it turned out to be anxiety and shallow breathing causing it. Hope yoou get it resolved.

[Paulbounce]

Welcome to the forum Honks - and the afib roller coaster.

Finvola wrote

"The biggest challenge is anxiety - AF causes it and it aggravates AF so it is a vicious circle"

Yep - no truer words spoken. I've been knocking about with afib (at a guess) for 2 -4 years now. I ought to know better but boy do I PANIC when it kicks in. I ought to know better by now but completely understand where you are coming from.

All I'll add is this - it's not going to be as bad as you think - you are are on med's and at least know you have afib. You are half way there - many people don't know they have it and will be at risk.

Keeping the fear at bay and relaxing is half the battle

Paul

(mental note to self - follow your own advice Paul and stop panicking!)

[4583 in reply to Paulbounce]

truer words never spoken!!!...Your note nails what all new a-fibbers go through!!...THANK YOU!!!

[Buffafly]

If the pain is causing any breathing problems you might consider taking the C19 test as AF is often exacerbated by viruses.

[Honks in reply to Buffafly]

Thanks for the info! I was tested last time I was in A a E and pleased to say negative result.

[Buffafly in reply to Honks]

👍

[Leonardo3]

Please call your doctor if only to put your mind at rest x

[jennydog]

Stress is a prime trigger for AF.

I always remember something that Bob wrote :-

AF will not kill you BUT it has serious bed fellows, notably stroke risk. And that's why you are taking Apaxiban .

[Sfhmgusa]

My advice is easy to give and one bit hard to follow.😀

The main one is take the apixoban .. the risk to address is stroke and the apixoban will do that job

the hard to follow is try not to worry ! It is really hard not to be very anxious when this happens but learning relaxing techniques and not just focussing on the afib helps

[secondtry]

A telephone consultation might be easier as you can have a list of questions in front of you without the cardiologist seeing it and losing patience! Remember we all have individual circumstances, there is no norm so make sure you are not categorised as such by any GP/specialist.

[tunybgur]

Hi Honks, welcome to the forum, there's lots of practical help here from fellow sufferers.

Firstly AF is well known, very common and can be well controlled so it doesn't have to affect your life in a huge way, but you must try to follow some simple rules and always listen to the medical specialists.

Some actions which can help:

Reduce or eliminate caffeine from your diet.

If you smoke, quit.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Exercise regularly, but don't overdo it. Extreme exercise can cause AF attacks.

Control your blood pressure.

Manage your cholesterol levels.

Eat a heart-healthy diet.

Get enough sleep.

Find out about AF triggers, cold and flu remedies containing phenylephrine hydrochloride and liquorice are two of mine for example, triggers can be specific to you, so learn what you are most sensitive to.

Reduce stress in your life. This last one is probably the most important, stress causes adrenaline to be released into the bloodstream and this could initiate or extend an AF attack.

As previously suggested, de-stressing can be achieved in many ways, breathing exercises, calm music, yoga works for many, doing some activity that requires your brain to concentrate on something else, gardening, cooking, crosswords etc....it will take time but works for many.

Good luck

[Shrek1974]

Hello Honks, The thing I’ve found in the 16months I’ve known about my AF (looking back I’ve had it for years prior to diagnosis & have been very lucky) is that a lot of us have very different experiences & symptoms with it. A couple of very common issues though seem to be stress or anxiety. Easy advice to give - not to worry, though it can be near impossible to achieve at times. It really can be a vicious circle but you WILL gain a level of calm and control in time. For me, concentrating on breathing exercises has worked very well and delivers a close to instant result. My dog tends to pick up on a low mood that can loom during an occasional struggle, he really helps. Also a good comedy can help me as it raises my mood & distracts me enough from making my symptoms worse. A huge positive for you is that you’ve been diagnosed & are on an anticoagulant which should immediately control the greatest risk. Good luck in swiftly finding your control over it, there’s plenty of us here & somebody on here might have the tip that will give you the upper hand - you’re already in a better place. Stay strong & stay focussed, or distracted - whichever you find works best.

[Honks in reply to Shrek1974]

Thank you all for caring and being so positive for me! I am finding it difficult as I am having episodes at least every other day and sometimes twice a day at the mo! Desperately waiting for a cardiologist to ring me via NHS in July! Currently been asked by GP to take blood pressure 4x a day so we can work out an average over 7 days!

[Shrek1974 in reply to Honks]

Box breathing is a good technique (for me) & was recommended by my cardiologist. It’s very easy to find the technique online & seems to help gain great control over yourself in stressful situations. The best way I could describe its results is that it seems to simply slow everything right down, block out pretty much everything except the focus on breathing & it stops many natural panic instincts “firing” which would increase symptoms and anxiety if not controlled. You’ll have a grip on this technique within a minute & I would encourage anybody to try it in any stressful situation. 4tests per day seems a lot but sounds like your GP is trying to gain a good understanding as quickly as they can. I’d go with it if you can whilst making sure I was rested and calm enough before each test. I make notes on mine as to mood & activity too to maybe make sense of some results - they can vary widely with stress. Staying well hydrated seems important too for BP & AF.

[FancyPants54]

It's a horrible condition and it's quite terrifying at first. But you will get used to it and learn how to live with it. And it will calm down with better medication.

My tip would be when you are taking your BP, pop a video on, sit at the table for a few minutes watching the video and then take the first reading still watching the video. I do my tests in blocks of 3. Write them down and go back to whatever I was doing before. Don't linger over them or watch them or stress at the numbers. The first of my 3 is often slightly higher than the other two.

If I do get stressed over it I find I can't relax well enough to read a novel. But I can paint and colour. So I do that and it's really stress relieving.

[Honks]

Thank you all for your kind and constructive comments! My cardiologist didn’t think the flacainide was working well enough for me as I was still having episodes every other day - although not as fierce - and so this is my second week on 400mg x 2 Dronederone and a 2.5mg bisoprolol. Looks like getting the correct tablet and dosage is the way forward! Is anyone else taking Dronederone?