Feeling more positive

[Dickieticker]

Hi

I posted about 3 weeks ago really at the end of my tether, and wondering if I would be able to return to work again. Since then I have contacted the hospital and I have a telephone appointment with an EP at the end of Sept and then out of the blue I got a call from the cardiologist who suggested I try Adizem, a CCB and also go for a CT scan before I talk to the EP. Betablockers are not for me. Ive tried the usual ones and they make me so ill.

I'm taking 200mg of Adizem and feeling much better. Not breathless, blood pressure and HR staying in normal boundaries. Im still getting short spells of daily arrhythmia though which my kardia says is posdible AF . Just is more tolerable as my HR is not shooting up so high. So, I'm wondering if this compromise is the best I'm going to get without ablation as I'm due to return to work on 30th September . I will be telling the EP all this when I speak to him. Maybe I just need a larger dose. Does anyone take Adizem and what is the dose and do you take a rhythm drug as well or do the 2 not go together?

Any information gratefully received.

[rosyG]

Glad you’re a bit better. I don’t take meds as have vagal af but others will reply.

[BobD Volunteer]

Diltiazem being a calcium channel blocker doesn't suit all of us so good that it works for you. Impossible to wear shoes if I took it due to fluid retention.

[Buffafly]

It is a form of diltiazem, I take it because I have asthma, fortunately can’t take bisoprolol. If you take Flecainide you are supposed to take one or the other as well to prevent another kind of arrhythmia. You need certain tests before taking an anti arrhythmic drug. Glad it works for you 💜

[cuore]

At one point in my AF journey, I took Diltiazem ( nondihydropyridine CCB) and Flecainide (rhythm control), so the two do go together. I soon choose an ablation because the combination did not keep me in sinus. After my third ablation, I am now 15 months sinus.

[Dickieticker in reply to cuore]

Thats such good news for you. It proves there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Ducky2003]

I was on Diltiazem for a few months, then Dilitiazem and Amiodarone for a short while. It suited me better than beta blockers but I got swollen gums, which fortunately went back to normal after I stopped it, and fluid retention in my legs and feet, which was painful......... I lost about 3kgs in 24 hours and 5kgs total in the week after being put on a diuretic just to show how much it can make you retain, so keep an eye on those things and report to your Dr quicker than I did if they occur.😊

[Dickieticker in reply to Ducky2003]

Thank you, I will keep an eye on that.