I love reading this forum thank you everyone who contributes it’s so helpful! I suffer with dizziness & head pain - can come on bending over or sometimes walking (if I’m having an on off AF day or flutters), or sometimes just sitting or lying down! Don’t have it all the time. No indication when coming - makes me stop or sit down, grab my head usually passes quickly in couple seconds but terrifies me. Even tho I try stay calm. Sometimes I feel I’m going pass out others like a draining cold feeling. I hear & feel my BP thro my head & one ear when in AF. I meditate daily I yoga 3x week, i hydrate really well, take flec on empty tummy now, I take magnesium citrate, try get 7-8 hrs sleep (unless up with AF or a wee from all the water!), I try walking (when not exhausted). I’ve read about bisop affecting some of us. I don’t have the energy I did have. I’m 53 & have had AF for 10 years. Progressively worse last 3. Do you think it could be ear balance issue? Some of you mention getting thyroid checked. Is the head anything to worry about - as with all of us anxiety is kept at bay with above tactics but I’m interested in your thoughts? X
Head tightness/ache/dizziness/feeling... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Head tightness/ache/dizziness/feeling my pulse in ear body even when not in AF!
Like bantam12 mentioned last time you posted, you need to rule out heart block. Kardia at £100 is a good investment. You can email ecg strips (up to 5 minutes I think). Check it works with your phone. Apple Watch is very expensive but gives real time and recorded ecgs.
Thank you for reminding me ... have been little all over the place since posting & totally forgot bantams suggestion 😊. I’ll look into it. I will google heart block but can you tell me what you know about it please?
This should help
nhsinform.scot/illnesses-an...
Really informative thank you Bill - will help talking to my doctor 😀
Sick sinus syndrome is less common. It causes both fast atrial arrhythmias and heart block
Have you tried taking asthma meds or meds that clear sinuses? My sinuses have gone haywire over the last 12 months and I have experienced many of the symptoms you mention (I think there is some link to asthma and sinuses). I am now taking pulmicort venithaler twice a day and so far the same symptoms are very rare.
In a word no but a really good point! When we have AF I think we tend out everything down to it & forget other things occur. Glad your symptoms have cleared. I’m compiling a list from all these fabulous suggestions. Thank you so much 😊
I hear my pulse in my right ear constantly. It tells me how fast I am and if I'm in AF. I've got used to it.
I would really talk to GP...
Yes, I’m def thinking that too 😊
I have been trying to find the post I mentioned but have not found it. However I have found this one:healthunlocked.com/afassoci...
Also this warning leaflet (search for tinnitus) mentions it as a side effect
Has your doctor carried out an echocardiogram or a stress MRI recently to check that all is still working well, apart from the afib?
I wouldn't, myself, try to "self-diagnose" using the internet since it can so very easily lead you to false conclusions and stress, sometimes extreme. Your doctor is the way forward to knowledge and a peaceful mind!
Steve
Before I had by ablation 3 years ago could hear my heart beat a lot, particularly when I was in bed quiet and trying to go to sleep, which it interrupted. I put it down to my paranoia in that I was searching for an AFIb episode! (AF stress!)However I have since been advised by someone on this forum that flecainide can cause /exaggerate this pulsatile tinnitus.
Since the ablation I have stopped the flecainide immediately but it took a long time before I stopped the paranoia, probably 15-18 months before I stopped regularly "listening" for problems.
This is just my experience, I am not medically trained. However I am aware that there can be many causes for pulsatile tinnitus other that above, and it is unwise to assume, so I would advise you speak to your GP about it.
Best wishes
aF stress .... interesting! Your experience is extremely valid & yet more sensible advice - go appt booking tomorrow. Hope your ablation went well & fab to be off meds well done 😀
In my non medically trained opinion, self stress is a major issue. As I understand beta blockers (bisoprolol , atenolol , metoprolol) are prescribed as they block adrenaline.Adrenaline in produced for several reasons , one being" fight or flight". So back in time the wolf appeared, it scared you , hormones inc. adrenaline are produced, it raises your blood pressure, and your heart rate ( and probably other things inc in glucose in your bloodstream maybe), as your are going to fight the wolf to death OR you are going to try to run to escape it. All this is driven by fear! So in the modern world there re many things to fear, but not much you can fight physically. In this case we AFibbers are stressed by our hearts, but we cant fight it nor can we run away from it! I am 3 years plus past my ablation, but I still get ectopics. I have had them earlier today , very irritating flutter feeling in my neck. 2 years ago I would have worried about them , stressed about them they would not go away. I think now, partly at least, they were self generating. Vicious circle, more ectopics, more worry more stress more useless adrelanine more ectopics..... and so on. I suspect 2 years ago I would have ectopics now as I write this, but I don't have them currently ( as I feel my pulse nervously just to check) as I just ignored the damn things. I have had them for 2 plus years and so far as I know have not damaged me, so (mostly) I don't worry about them. Part of my lack of worry is 2 years later , no damage, but also on 1 year follow up on my ablation, my EP was not worried about them either.
But as I said earlier, you need to speak to your GP about your tinnitus to rule out any other issues to give you that confidence and allow you not to get stressed.
I would say talk to doctor. Have you seen an EP (electrophysiologist). Have you considered ablation. I had one in 2013 and kept me free of AF for nearly 8 years. On the subject of feeling your pulse in body/ ear, I think may be connected to vagus nerve and deep slow breathing for about 10 minutes or so calms it for me. Breathe in for count of 7 and out for 11. Good luck 🍀
Possible anxiety might cause your dizziness -- I think we're all so anxious when we get an attack! When I'm anxious, I tend to grind my teeth which sometimes makes me dizzy; an inner ear imbalance can also produce the effect. I hope you find a solution soon.
I’m thinking more anxious than I was aware - perhaps subconsciously... I also grind & working on relaxing jaw. Ear imbalance is also on my list for the GP. Thank you for reaching out 😃
Could b a citimin b 12 issue. I had ear issues for years I know that horrible cold emtlaic feeling I was getting it in my legs really bad. I have figured out by getting a finger prick iron test and also my mom saying my inside ryelids look pale that I needed iron and b 12 helped my itching all over and the ear and balance thing. I figured that out by internet but its very safe to take b12 ... You could also get tested for iron and b 12 because a lot of things cause the same symptoms when you have too much as too little. So too much iron can also cause that weird feeling in the legs as well as too little iron and so if you took iron and had too much that could make it worse. Drinking a lot of water without enough salt isn't good for the sizzy thing either. It can lower your bp which can make you feel feint. You really need to get a few tests before you can figure out what it is. B12 and magnesium are safe enough for most people to take even if you didn't have a deficiency. But if you have low b12 it can be because you don't absorb it so taking an oral supplement does nothing for you and you'd need it injected every six months. If you take a lot of magenisum that can make you feel wobbly and weak or if you aren't taking enough ...I was taking a small amount and until I started taking 400mg I wasn't OK. And I used to drink so much water and just piss it out five mins later when I had adrenal fatigue and my Chinese doctor said to drink soups instead warm things with a pinch of salt which helped me hydrate a lot better and helped my adrenal rushes I was having. I thought I was being healthy by not using salt but I don't eat processed foods so I need to add salt to my food its an essential mineral and if you drink a lot of plains after you can flush it out of your body. ... I'm still having the pulses and ear beats and leg veins feel heavy but my flutter has stopped since taking the mag. I also looked at my wrists and saw that my blood was very sluggish and dark ..I have big dark circles around my eyes and that's considered to be stagnant blood in Chinese medicine so their advice for that is eating warm rich foods like soups and stews root veggies grains soothing comforting healthy warm foods. I am trying to do that as well. They're very comforting I must say and my digestion has felt better for all the yams and things. And coconut water for potassium and hot chocolate which has magnesium and antioxidants. Beetroot grated up and some salt pepper and hot water so its like a quick bowl of soup ..very nice. You can also buy a blood pressure monitor in lidle they sometimes have them I'm sure Amazon have them too. Feinting and almost backing out is usually a sign of low bp... Or lack of oxygen...you could try deep breathing. ...breath in as fully as you can hold for a few seconds then let it out slowly. You can also lie down and lift you legs up above your heart level to let blood run back to the lungs to get oxygen and to the brain to give it oxygen. When you get stressed or frightened or an adrenaline rush your blood rushes to the extremities and away from organs like lungs liver...so that can make you feint. So relaxing the mind is important. I do cold foot and hand showers ( I'm building up to full body ones) ...don't take a long hot shower or bath because it further opens the blood vessels in the extremities and draws blood into hands and feet and if you've got low blood volume you end up with not enough going to your head so be really careful in showers ...I took a hot shower and nearly killed myself falling in the bath on the sink but my head just missed the sink thank god ..the heat just hit me like a cartoon where the mommed guitars make a horrific noise and then I just fell. So no hot showers only warm. And if you can do a splash of cold on the hands and feet it helps keep the blood in the organs ...and its good for a lot of things vascular tone and circulation and the immune system and mood depression anxiety etc. And go to your doctor because it could be a lot of things causing it. Get a full blood work at the very least. And your bp checked.
Wow what a fabulous msg with so many tips - I’ve compiled a list from all the other kind replies & will add yours too. Everyone including you have spurred me on to be focused proactive & advice armed to investigate. Thank you 😊
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