Afib for 3 days.

[ETHEL103]

Hi I am feeling totally stressed with my high heart rate and uneven pulse, feeling awful. Can't seem to get any treatment advice. On 120mg verapimil it's obviously not working. Should I go to A&E tomorrow?

[jeanjeannie50]

What is your high heart rate Ethel?

[ETHEL103 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

As soon as I start walking about it goes to between 125 and 135.Whilst resting goes down to 70 odd uneven.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to ETHEL103]

That's not right then is it. If it's making you feel poorly, then yes go to A & E tomorrow morning. I know from experience that a pulse going up and down by a large margin can totally wear you out.

Please let us know how you get on.

Jean

[ETHEL103 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Will do. Thankyou.

[10gingercats]

I had taken Verapamil for a few years but suddenly at the end of last year it stopped working. I called out the ambulance service a few times as my palpitations were thumping as though out od my chest for an hour or two . A long story short was that I had my meds changed and the palps. stopped Sometimes meds lose their effectiveness.

[ETHEL103 in reply to 10gingercats]

I'm just so worried the doctors surgery will get fed up with me. Called them so much in the past few months.

[Sfhmgusa in reply to ETHEL103]

Doctors are there for when you are unwell and concerned, you are not a burden, you are the reason they are there. Afib is scary and real, please don’t think you are wasting time or pestering . I’m sure they will be keen to help you get sorted

[ETHEL103 in reply to 10gingercats]

What meds were you changed to please?

[10gingercats in reply to ETHEL103]

My lungs were found to have fluid in them(disregarded......unnoticed by my GP) and heart had fluid around it. So I was given Spironolactone and Fruosimide which worked fast! Then it was found my Thyroid was not being treated properly so the thyroxine was increased and the Verapamil was replace by a)Digoxin...which did not suit me and then Bissoprolol and Folic Acid.......my blood was also very low. Then I recently had an iron infusions to adust my ferratin levels. I now feel'normal ' although with a leaking tricuspid valve etc, etc. Plenty of energy .

[ETHEL103 in reply to 10gingercats]

Wow quite a few meds then. Thanks for replying.

[10gingercats in reply to ETHEL103]

Not a lot of Tabs. really. Five tiny ones in the morning(two half tablets to make up one) and 2 at night.

[meadfoot]

The stress and anxiety associated with your current heart activity will be adding to your distress. By all mean go to a and e if you feel poorly. Only you can know how bad you feel ,follow your gut instinct please. You cant go on like this and nor should you.

Your GP surgery really must accept your heart issues are currently extremely troublesome, its not as though you are contacting them with a cut on your little finger. Please dont let what you think they might think about you contacting them compromise your health needs put yourself first. Best wishes.

[Dee5165]

The stress increases the aFib. I was told to take deep breaths, drink cold water, and reduce times taking HR. I was having a bad day today and that helped.

[SamanthaJane123]

Sorry to hear you are feeling awful. I know what that's like. If it was me, I'd go to emergency..I know when I went, they were able to monitor me very carefully and see what was happening. If you decide to go, I hope you receive good care. I You should not have to put up with feeling so terrible.

[waveylines]

My racing heart of 135 at rest consistantly was dismissed as non urgent by cardiology but my GP thought that wasnt good enough. Once Id had a heart trace on me for 48hrs suddenly cardiology had different thoughts, ringing me up saying you must feel awful.....I did! For me Verapamil has normalised my heart rate. Interestingly enough so did going gluten free -though I had other symptoms indicating the gluten was affecting me so Id say the improvement was more to do with the body not feeling stressed by trying to process gluten rather than gluten having any effect on my heart rate per say.

[ETHEL103 in reply to waveylines]

Hi do you mind me asking how much verapamil stabilised you, I'm on 120mg slow release. Thank you.

[waveylines in reply to ETHEL103]

Am on 80mg. On the whole Im pretty stable now but get the odd racing heart, normally at night.

[Rubymurray25]

I have in the past called 111 when in a situation with a racing heart going up to 195 and then settling into flutter at 135 for hours after my 300mg Flecainide PIP hasn't worked, on three occasions they have sent me to A & E offered to send an Ambulance but we are close and it's easy for me to get a taxi. I have found 111 a brilliant service and it takes away any discussion and guilt decisions . I also agree with a post above about the effectiveness of drugs after awhile it happened for me with Sotalol. Guilt should be one thing we AF' ers should learn to overcome, anxiety is bad enough!

[DevonHubby1]

Sorry to hear your experiencing such a long period of AF. My wife suffers from PAF and weve been in similar situations trying to decide if it warrants A&E. Were lucky, having been discharged from our local hospital cardiology depth, that we have the number of our arithymia nurse. Twice, we have rung when indecisive and they have told us to go to A&E.

[waveylines in reply to DevonHubby1]

Even though am still under cardiology with PAF Ive never met an arithmia nurse. How great you have the number of one. 👍😊

[Beeflower]

Hi go to A&E I would , good luck x

[buddje]

Go now for your own peace of mind althouhh uou will probably revert back

[Shcldavies]

Yes, the more info your Dr gets the better the treatment, the better the treatment the better your condition, the better your condition the better for the NHS - its a Wim win..

[ETHEL103 in reply to Shcldavies]

Hmm great advice. I was urgently referred in Jan and I have to wait 33 weeks for first visit to cardiologist. I paid to see a private cardio twice £590.He was great but he will see me on NHS sometime in the future. Treatment where I live is very frustrating. Trying to get a GP call isn't easy either.

[TracyAdmin Partner]

I am sorry to hear you are currently feeling so unwell, please contact your GP at your earliest convenience for advice, alternatively, please contact our Patient Services on 01789 867 502 or [e-mail]

[MRockwell]

Have your magnesium levels been checked magnesium deficiency is very common with AF ask them to check at the hospital.

[ETHEL103]

Decided against A&E gonna try and get a doc call tomorrow. Have to be on phone at 8.30 for ages. Wish me. luck.

[Paulbounce in reply to ETHEL103]

I'll certainly wish you luck Ethel.

You are doing the right thing by talking to your doc - let him / her guide you.

I fully understand your anxiety. Afib and anxiety are bed mates. I find it tends to pass in a few weeks. May I suggest you also write down any questions you have to ask your doc about - it's so easy to forget about something important without a written note in front of you.

You wrote

"I'm just so worried the doctors surgery will get fed up with me"

Don't be - that's what they are there for.

So once again good luck - I'm sure you'll find better day are ahead.

Paul

[ETHEL103 in reply to Paulbounce]

Same to you Paul as I know your going through it again after many months of normality. It's definitely increasing and hanging around longer. The jumping up and down of pulse is very debilitating. Went for a flat 2 mile walk yesterday and felt awful. Very hard to described the feeling, just malaise and a bit light headed. This is the longest run I've had. Bear in mind I haven't been officially diagnosed yet as there is an 8 month wait at my local hospital. See a private cardio twice. Very nice but lots of money. He will see me on NHS eventually but no date as yet. Can go in a couple of weeks if I pay. Feel my newly accuired pension is lining his pocket. Sorry for rant. Just feeling moany. Not like me at all, usually cheerful. Thankyou for reading and your kind reply.

[Paulbounce in reply to ETHEL103]

Hi Ethel.

We'll get there - you'll see

Hope all goes well with your doc and chat tomorrow - hopefully you'll have a few answers.

Enjoy the rest of your day as much as you can. Try and relax and put your feet up - take things easy

Paul

[ETHEL103 in reply to Paulbounce]

You too. Take care.

[heartbreak in reply to ETHEL103]

I have had palpitations all of my life. They come and go and sometimes I didn't feel them for months or years. During the Lockdown; and my divorce; and my severe midlife crisis, these darn palpitations got much much worse. i am certain that stress makes them worse or may ever be 90% of the cause. Most people have had anxiety attacks prior to ever having palpitations--they are clearly related. Once you accept that most of this is caused by stress or "deep persistent sorrow", you will feel much better.I had 8% of my beats as palpitations and the holter monitor showed that I had almost zero palpitations during an 8 hour sleep and during an 1 hour nap. But as soon as I awakened, and I returned to my reality of depression and fear and anxiety and regret, the palpitations started up again.

If I had a palpitation attack at night, I took 10 to 15 mgs. of Valium and that always did the trick--I went right back to sleep. That tells me that most of this is stress related. I wonder how Prozac affects palpitations. I need to look that up

Also, when I work-out hard, I have no palpitations. I guess during that time I am showing my heart who is boss.

[waveylines in reply to heartbreak]

Sorry to hear of what you are going through. Stress and anxiety definately dont help but we can't always avoid it. Mine will wake me usually around 5ish and then its a bit late to go back to sleep.......so am crashing come 9 in the evening 🤣

[greg35]

Hi I too was on verapamil and it stopped working on 5mg Nebivol and 50mg Flecanide works better for me, take care Ingrid

[KipperJohn]

Thinking this through for the longer term, a reference to an EP at the very least gets you ‘in the loop’ and proper professional advice from a specialist. Even if you don’t have an ablation, all the time you’re under their care you should have access to an arrhythmia nurse who has all your records and, in my experience, give great advice and assurance in such situations. I was in AF for 5 days last week and was in regular touch with the arrhythmia nurse. Unless I have other severe symptoms I ‘wait it out’ as I normally revert to sinus rhythm without intervention. Before I was referred back in 2015 and properly medicated (plus2 ablations), I paid a number of visits to A and E. I badgered my GP for ages for something different and eventually a locum GP referred me - it was really worth the effort. Take care and I hope you get the advice and treatment you deserve.

[ETHEL103 in reply to KipperJohn]

Hoping to get a GP call tomorrow, will mention EP. Thankyou for your reply.

[robster68]

As a minimum I would be ringing 111 (in UK) for advice. Three days is a long time, even if its not constant.