Thank you all for replying to my posts .Im currently taking verapmil 40mg 4 times a day for afib and irregular heartbeat ..don't know if it's helping as dint know how I'd be without it ...I go into afib 3 or 4 times a day sometimes it last 10 mins and sometimes an hour or 2 ...do people just try to function in afib or should we rest ? Is afib dangerous as in will it kill me ? So confused and worried ...
Also has anybody developed a rash on their legs like mottled skin on verapamil ?
Hi Sun.
The headline of your post is
"Can life ever be normal again"
Of course it can ! We are the lucky ones as we know we have afib and can seek treatment. You may have to make some lifestyle changes but it can be controlled.
You wrote
"Is afib dangerous as in will it kill me ? So confused and worried"
If you were unaware you have the condition then it could cause right problems. However you know you have afib and are seeking medical help. Your cardio / EP are the best people to help with this. Don't be confused or worried (I was when I first found out) as it's not a fraction as bad as I thought it might be - serious I mean that. Learn as much as you can (the search box here is handy) and you'll be just fine.
I'm a good few years in now and 100% OK - no worries at all. I feel very positive and know help is at hand if needed.
You'll be OK I feel sure. Just one thing - are you on an anticoagulant ? If not I suggest talking to your doctor about this.
Paul
Thank you for your reassuring words I was originally on blood thinners but my cardiologisttook me of them as according to the Chad thingy I wasn't high risk being only 53 ! Yes I worry she's made the wrong decision but what can I do as we put our trust in our cardiologist don't we and trust what they say ...having paid privately also as nhs route was snail paced every comsultagion be it face to face or over phone cost 150 a time which is stretching my savings now .
Is it a case of finding the right meds for me or am I heading towards ablation ...?
No worries Sun.
I to paid to see my cardio privately and told him I don't have medical insurance - he referred me to see him though the NHS. Why not ask your GP to refer you - you are quite within your rights to do this.
I think (for me personally) I would ask for anticoagulant's if I was in afib everyday. I think this is important for you to do. Don't panic though - you'll get it sorted.
I can't give you medical advise about taking med's or going down the ablation route. A medic needs to do this.
For sure though contact your doc and explain you are going in to afib 3 or 4 times a day. Your Chad may have been fine when you saw your cardio but it can change with afib.
So we agree 
Don't panic or worry but contact your doc and explain your afib is every day - also ask for a referral to see a cardio.
Done deal ?
Paul
Done deal ..thank you bounce 😉
Sorted
Good words paul. 👍
HiCan't add anything to Paul's excellent response except to say I agree!
Also ask to be referred to an Electrophysiologist
You have the right to access one. They are cardiologists with bells on,specialise in heart electric issues.
Although you are only 53,so was I when I began the Crazy Heart Club membership. I was not put on anticoagulants at first but six months later had a mini stroke and promptly put on them.
I had been asking why I wasn't on them and they too said I was only a 1 for being female.
Didn't account for my high blood pressure which made me 2! 4 is the highest risk.
Do you have any other medical issues ?
I hope you get sorted out soon.
Then you will feel more settled and go upwards and onwards
Life with AF is all right ,better than the alternative! 😘🙂
I’m in permanent AF, on Verapamil, with no anticoagulant. It started in my 30s and I’m 54 now. As you have concerns, I would speak to your GP, and ask to see a specialist - especially about the rash, as they may be able to change your meds to something else.
Jaws I have asked this before so sorry.
What is permanent Afib like?
Were you very symptomatic before?
Rod
Looking back, not particularly symptomatic to me. I felt light headed a few times after drinking alcohol. I really noticed when I was sprint training and had to stop after 60m to lie down. I'd just bought a heart rate monitor because I was trying to improve my 5k times, and thought it was broken because it kept going to 220. Day to day, I didn't notice it at all.
Now I'm on Verapamil it reduces my heart rate nicely, but means I can't really sprint or do high intensity exercise. As long as I keep my speed down I can still run 10ks though.
Hi do you mind me asking how much verapamil you are on. I'm taking the er 120 mg but still getting a fib weekly.
I take 40 mg 4 times a day ..so a total of 160mg a day ...I was on 120mg like you but it wasn't helping so asked my cardio if I could up it and she raised it by 40 mg ...I take first at 7am , 2nd at midday , 3rd at 5pm and forth at 9pm
I'm on 3x80mg daily. I now take two first thing, and the third about 5pm. As I'm in permanent afib, I probably have a different strategy to most. I used to take one at each hour interval, but there didn't seem much point slowing my heart when I was asleep - my pulse goes down to 50-60 then anyway, albeit as irregular as ever. Now I take two first thing so I'm getting a big effect when I'm usually physically busiest, and one at about 5pm to take me through to bed. I might experiment with taking all three first thing, but at the moment this is working for me.
Hey thank you for your reply ...I have a telephone appointment with my gp Tuesday and will ask him to be put on blood thinners as a precaution and for my peace of mind also .Yes I have m.e. /cfs for over 30 years so perhaps I don't respond to meds as well as I should because of this ...
I will also discuss being referred to an EP .
I was so active up untill 3 months ago and now I'm scared to do anything ...as it triggers irregular heartbeat ...and then the afib starts ...feeling so hopeless at the moment
Sun wrote
"feeling so hopeless at the moment"
I don't often make promises on the forum (sometimes I do but not often).
However - I'm going to make one now. It WILL pass. You'll see and I bet I'm right. You'll be OK sweetheart - I know I'm correct. We'll have a quid bet on it. Afib is frightening at first but I PROMISE you'll be ok (get your anticoagalants sorted).
The loser can send the pound to the HealthUnlocked forum.
Deal no deal ?
Paul
PS your profile doesn't say if your male or female - I'm assuming your female. If not I take calling you sweetheart back
Haha ...Yes im definetly female the last time I looked so sweetheart is fine Will hold you to that promise !
Of course ! I can see your picture. Put your glasses on Paul
Have a great day.
Paul
And you Paul and thank you for your reassuring words 😍
Don't feel hopeless and try to keep doing things. AF doesn't kill us. You will get used to it. I was in my 40's when it started. I'm now in persistent/permanent AF. I much prefer it to the lone bouts that kicked out of nowhere for 28 hours or so and left me unable to do anything.
BUT I have a big alarm for you here. You are 53. Are you on HRT? If not, it's time you got that checked out. You are either in menopause or perimenopause now and falling levels of oestrogen causes palpitations. For someone with a tendency towards AF, this could be a trigger. It's not a connection many make, unless you have been through it.
Start by reading all you can, and listening to the podcasts which are excellent, videos etc. on this wonderful web site menopausedoctor.co.uk. Dr Louise Newson is blowing the lid off menopause treatment in the UK (or lack of treatment) and has put together the best resource out there for current, NICE guideline led, NHS based treatment for menopausal women. I'm lucky in that I am a patient of hers, but all I know I've learnt from her and her web resources. You could benefit greatly from getting your failing oestrogen levels stabilising at a decent level.
You asked if we can live a normal life. Yes. I run a business with a lot of physical heavy lifting. But I am also badly hypothyroid and so far, 7 years in to that horrible journey, not found a medication that gives me my energy back yet. So I am very tired and depleted, but not from AF, but from thyroid. AF can be inherited, which I'm sure is my case as Dad had it and his sister and brother and his brothers daughter and those are just the ones I know about. I think I had it on and off in a mild form for years before it got going properly. I still kept fit and rode my bike and was on the go all the time. If I could only solve this thyroid problem I think I'd be doing all that still.
I'm only forty and had some irregular heart beats weird things for years and at the end aflutter and I think afib when that went on a while...but its good that we we have issues this early. It means we aren't blindly going down a road and can make good decisions to minimise the impact. I was terrified when it was bad for me and I'm not diagnosed because doctors weren't seeing anyone for months and when they did to an ECG I didn't have an episode so they saw nothing. My doctor isn't great anyway. So I have just been doing the things that help heart health ...going for a decent walk...checking I'm getting enough nutrition with an app called chronometer...I'm taking supplements and eating foods that are good for the heart avoiding things that are bad for it. For me everything settled down taking magnesium... So I must have had a deficiency although the tests for that is private and 400 euro and I can't afford that. So I might never know. I'm making sure I get enough iron and b12 for my blood, having a cold blast on my feet and hands to help circulation doing deep breathing to help oxygenate my blood and that's all I'm doing for now. And I haven't had an episode for a month or so so I must be doing something right. It does seem like at an early stage doctors don't really notice issues and haven't anya device for people until they're so far down the road they need meds and surgery which is the same for a lot of illness they just don't do oreventative medicine in this part of the world. Its not a thing doctors do. But we can all inform ourselves and do our best to help our hearts. excersise is definitely something good as is rest. Both are important. Good sleep restfulness of the mind and excersise. I find a walk very relaxing. I don't do anything very athletic and never have been that fit to be fair but walking is supposed to be extremely good even my aunt who is 80 yrs old and has broken vertberea is told she should walk ..so we should definitely be excersising. And being restful is more important than resting. you can lie in bed all day worrying or go for a walk and be calm and that's definitely a more restful thing to do.
The longer the symptoms go on for...because its like a twitching muscle imagine if your arm was spasming ...the longer it goes on the heart muscle thickens and that's not good. So you do want to control symptoms to prevent that thickening. I don't know how long that takes to occurr but I presume it takes quite a while before its an issue. So I would say if you're still getting it so often you might want to say to your doctor this isn't fully working ..and also to find out if there's a cause for it. So many things are listed as causing heart beat issues palpitations afib flutter tachichardia etc...so those things should be routinely screened for. Low iron b12 magnesium potassium high or low...those are some of the main ones... Even viruses... Although rare... So eliminating a simple cause should be something doctors do. And when all possible causes have been addressed and it still persists then yes you may need to be always on meds or have surgery. Even something as simple as dehydration can cause fibs and when I was having the worst symptoms my bloods said I was dehydrated and my doctor didn't even mention that I aught to drink more water. So I could just have been chronically dehydrated and causing my poor heart stress over a long time and not realising it. And trust as you may your doctors you must also take some responsibility for your health. Like if you smoke if you drink if you don't excersise if you have emotional or anxiety issues all of those things put a toll on your organs and your heart. And doctors don't always bother with mentioning lifestyle changes co they assume nobody will change. I mean they don't even tell prediabetics to avoid sugar ...so there's a lot missing from their bag of tricks which would be helfoul tools for people to employ to prevebt worsening their conditions. And that's really up to idividuals to invest in learning and making any changes that can support their health. Its not the doctors job.
So I would say don't worry but do take every action available to you to improve the situation. Learn about it, get tests that might help you get a picture of overall health and improve those things that Need improving. Basic stuff that we can all mess up on like drinking enough water getting enough sleep getting enough fresh air and excersise doing destressing activities that bring you joy... Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables or finding a diet that suites you, addressing any deficiencies you may have built up over years of stress and work and missing meals etc. All those little things that we can take care of add up and contribute to our health or I'll health and then the doctors can look after the big stuff like medications and surgeries and what not that we can't do much about. All we can really do is look after the little things. And it doesn't semester like ablation surgery is too big a dela...there are people on here who have had issues for years and multiple meds and surgeries and are still enjoying their lives and although I'm sure its not pleasant its a wonderful thing that medicine has these surgeries and solutions when everything else fails ...but the everything else is up to us to take care of. The mental emotional and day to day things ..like your car, you've got to do the oil and don't grind your gears or drive fast over potholes and if you do that your mechanic has an easier time replacing the ...( I shouldntbhave picked a car analogy I know nothing about cars..lol!) Flange grippers? Lol! When nessiary. Be good to yourself and if something surgical is nessisary in the future that's OK. But deal with it when that bridge comes along. Stressing about it now is too soon. But defo do something about the frequency of the episodes which you're experiencing now they may have to change your medication till they find what works. And in the meantime you can do everything in your day to support yourself. Nice walks good food learning about the condition so you're empowered to take actions rather than worry. I didn't realise how much I worried before all this. And I've made some choices now that have been weighing on me for years ... And the relief is amazing. I'm sure all that worry wore me down. And we are still young we have lots of time to rebuild our health in as good a direction as we can manage. That's all any of us can do. And no more than that. Good luck to you and I hope you feel a lot better soon. This forum is insanely good and supportive and informative and helpful. 
Can I go back to work as normal?
Can Afib happen only once and never again?
Will pulse rate ever again be less than 100 bpm?
Is this Afib or Normal Palpations? 
