Hi All, new to this forum and ultimately AF. Diagnosed 2 weeks ago with Paroxysmal AF after A&E visit due to continued palpitations. I’m a 36 year old male, fairly active and standard build. Echocardiogram has confirmed no structural or functional damage of the heart. Was given 5mg daily of Bisprolol which didn’t get rid of it. Been on Flecanide in addition to Biso for nearly a week now and no further episodes of AF which is great news. Was put on blood thinners just in case Flec didn’t work and then they would do an Abalation.
I have struggled with this the most being the mental side and so many worries and thoughts go in to my head. Am I at a heightened risks of severe issues with Covid? Am I able to get rid of this in the long term without tablets? Due to go on family holiday to America in 4 weeks. Should I be going?
Thanks all, any comfort you can bring is most welcome.
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tom0985
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Hello Tom, welcome to the place you would rather not be!! If you are already talking about having an ablation then it sounds as though you have seen a specialist or at least that you have a well informed GP. This forum is really helpful because although most, if not all member are not medically trained, all have experienced what you are going through now so you are likely to get lots of practical advice which will help put your mind at rest. We all know that being told there is something wrong with your ticker is going to be daunting, especially when you are young with a whole life in front of you. The most important thing to remember is that them that know about these things, tell us that provided AF is controlled, it does not reduce normal life span which means you shouldn’t be curling your toes up any time soon. Bisoprolol is a beta blocker which reduces heart rate if necessary as heart rate should be between 60 - 100 bpm. It also can reduce blood pressure which can be helpful because often AF can elevate blood pressure. The Flecainide is known as a rhythm drug and often a lowish daily maintenance dose is used to keep you in regular normal sinus rhythm (NSR).
Being on an anticoagulant (we hate using the term blood thinners cos they don’t thin the blood 😉) at your age is a bit unusual but it’s no bad thing until your condition is properly assessed. All this means that your AF is effectively controlled so there is nothing for you to worry about but we all know life ain’t like that! AF is a very common condition affecting in excess of 1.5 million in the UK alone so you are in good company.
This may not apply but you need to be aware that lifestyle issues have a significant impact on AF. Excessive and extreme exercise, diet, alcohol, drugs, weight etc etc can all have a massive effect but from what you have said, it sounds like you are already doing all the right things. AF is what we call a mongrel condition which means it can affect folk in so many different ways so the best thing to do is to find out as much as you can about so that you can have a meaningful dialogue with your Doctor so a good start would be to click on the following link.
With regard to travel, AF shouldn’t prevent you from travel but you need to be sure you have adequate travel insurance. Although many tend to ride through their episodes without medical intervention, you have only just started so there will be a few unknowns so proper cover is important. There is a lot of information about travelling with AF on the AF Association website but making sure you avoid alcohol but stay well hydrated are important as well as being sure you leave yourself plenty of time to cover all the things which need to be done at airports. Stress and AF are NOT good bedfellows!
Others will come up with lots of things to consider but hopefully this will be helpful to get you started….good luck
Thank you flapjack. Really appreciate the words of wisdom. Another couple of days in on flecanide and I have felt that little bit better. One of the things I am finding is the more I search the internet for certain things to do with AF the more my worries build and essentially puts me back a step or two. Sometimes I can’t help myself looking but I really don’t know what to believe when I see a lot of negatives.
The following is a guidance to how I coped with AF:
Having had AF for 16 years, three ablations and numerous cardioversions my advice to people who have just been diagnosed with AF is the following:
1. Know that you are most unlikely to die from AF. I used to think that the way my heart bounced around I would surely be found dead next day. Still here though!
2. Changing your diet to a more plant based one, avoiding any foods containing artificial additives, not allowing yourself to become dehydrated, cutting back on sugar and losing weight (if it's needed) will all have a beneficial effect on your AF. Artificial sweeteners were a sure trigger for my attacks. How I wish I'd known all of this before having any of my ablations. Would I have listened if anyone had told me? Probably not, because I believed ablations would cure me - three didn't!
3. This is a hard one, but looking at gadgets that show your pulse and AF will make you anxious and anxiety feeds AF. I was obsessed with what my heart was doing for about the first ten+ years of my AF journey and my attacks were so debilitating I'd end up in a hospital ward, it has taken me a long time to take my mind off this subject and get on with living. The less I think about it, the better I feel. Now I used to feel cross with people who suggested I stop looking at my pulse rate machines, I thought that their AF couldn't be as bad as mine and they didn't understand how poorly attacks made some of us feel. I would get cross with anyone who said they could still go on holiday and carry on life as normal. They made me feel evil, by not understanding how ill I felt!
4. Make sure you don't slouch, or unwittingly do shallow breathing. If you do your heart will protest.
5. Try supplementing with magnesium (I use glycinate from YourSupplements). I also take vitamins B12, C and also D3). I feel really well and there's nothing I can't do now, despite being in constant low rate AF. Or at least I think I am, I don't check these days.
6. Dr Sanjay Gupta from York Cardiology in the UK has made some really helpful YouTube presentations. Have a look. If you can't find them let me know andI'll send you the link.
Thanks so much JeanJeannie. That is really kind of you to add all those tips and some make alot of sense to me. I do tend to slouch and shallow breath which is interesting as never considered that before. I was tempted to get an Apple Watch but did have the worry you suggested if always worrying about it and checking. I check my blood pressure at home 4-5 times a day already and feel that is too much. (FYI 120-130 / 75-85 generally)What makes you think plant based diet helps out of interest?
The plant based diet has helped me feel so much better. I cook all my food from scratch, so I know exactly what's in it. I have fish twice a week, baked with different types of vegetables. Breakfast each day is my home made organic muesli. Yes, I eat rubbish sometimes, but really wish I didn't! I do eat chicken, but no red meat.
It's natural to keep checking your heart rate and BP, I think it took me about 13 years of having AF before I realised doing that could take my anxiety levels up and make my heart rate worse.
Thank you - I don’t think I have the skills to be able to cook from scratch and how you do but well done you. My wife is a vegetarian which helps with what I eat. She has got my on porridge, honey and flacseeds for breakfast these last 2 weeks which has been very boring. And 1 maximum 2 cups of tea or coffee as opposed to my usual 3-4. I’m hoping I can get rid of this thing and never have to experience an AF episode again….don’t even know if that is possible but I like the challenge.
Rightly or wrongly, I choose not to check BP or heart rate too often….it simply makes me anxious. I think I’m healthier this way. ( If ever the medics take my blood pressure, I have acute white coat syndrome!)
Hi Tom, somewhat off topic, but if you're planning a trip to the US , make sure you're vaccinated for Covid 19. Also check your travel health insurance. You could be in for a nasty surprise if you have to pay out of pocket for any medical care received here. Also, if you decide to make the trip make sure you bring enough medications to last for the time expected tobe away and extra for any possible enforced quarantine if you should happen to test positive for Covid. Drug prices here are ridiculous. Wishing you the best at what is going to be the start of a long journey with Afib. etheral
Thanks Etheral. Will need to take out a new policy due to this condition which i plan to do and also take plenty of meds. Due to fly on 27th - with current variant, who knows whether this will be possible!?
Thanks so much Stephen. Love the glass analogy, can really relate to that. I hope I am able to find that trigger or two which causes it (I suspect maybe anxiety and coffee) and be rid of it hopefully forever. Although I just say like you, 1 week in with Flecanide and I havnt had a single hint of it and even last day or two been a bit daring with eating the naughty foods I like.
hi, sorry you have joined us. I can understand your worries as it took me a long time to come to terms with this beastie. You have some great advice already so all I can say is try not to worry and best wishes.
Hi Bassets. Thanks for your words. Can I ask, how long you found yourself worrying about it, and what fo you wish you had known at the time of your worry?
Hi again, I worried myself into a panic (I had panic attacks for a while before this)which didn't help at all. I found that happened when I was first diagnosed because I didn't know enough, and there didn't seem anyway to find out. It was about 6-8 months before I managed to calm down, and found that mindfulness helped no end. the best thing that helped me was this site as the people here are so kind. You have to understand this is not an unusual disorder and as others may have told you it will not kill you - it just feels as though it might. You seem to be on the right meds at present and hopefully these will make things much easier although if they don't suit make sure you talk to your consultant again. You also have a lot of really good advice here, so try not to worry and get back to us all if you need more help. Hope this all makes you feel better as you are definitely not alone. Best wishes
Thanks Bassets- appreciate you sharing your experience and I’m happy that you eventually turned the corner. The anxiety and worry really did effect me in the first week to the point that I think I may have been able to control the episodes on beta blockers only but the worry and anxiety for sure set me off. Woke 4 nights in a row with AF at 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep again. Vicious circle. Like you said - no it won’t kill you- which at the moment my head is taking you guys word for it is reassuring. I do worry what could happen if I was to get covid again though.
I can well imagine your worries -- we've all had them when new to a-fib. I've had a-fib for about 15 years and had Covid last December. My case was relatively mild, but it exacerbated my a-fib, no doubt from my constant coughing and inability to breathe well. You'll be fine going to America. I'm from the US and went on vacation to the UK a few years ago, having no problems with a-fib episodes while I was there. However, be sure to get lots of rest and drink lots of water, as jet lag after my flight home gave me a minor a-fib episode -- I hardly rested in Scotland (loved it so much!), the stress of airports, etc., I imagine, caused it as well as dehydration from the flight.
Thanks Snowgirl. Thanks for the reassuring words about travel - I really do hope I can go. Seeing dr next Wednesday to discuss how Flecanide has gone. I also got Covid myself in July which also was mild however lost my taste and smell with the taste still not come back. I won’t pretend I havnt had thoughts about whether this AF is linked in anyway and caused or whether the taste think has a link. I know it’s unlikely but still.
I honestly don't think the lack of taste from Covid has anything to do with a-fib, but it's possible that having Covid irritated your a-fib. I hope you can get to the States. I'm here in the U.S. Just curious: where exactly will you be traveling?
Thanks Snowgirl…. I have so many different things in my head which make me think may have started my aFib. Does your body finally got a trigger which says right now you’ve developed Afib or is it soemthing which has been there since birth and now decided to rest it’s head?I’m hoping to go to Florida/Orlando for New Years (2 weeks). I’m hoping the Dr says I can go. Should he??
Also there is now the uncertainty of Mr Biden and CDC adding tough testing or quarantine rules which may make it too hard to go.
I can understand all your questions. I'm no doctor, but I don't think a-fib is something in you since birth, but maybe your personal disposition might be a factor in developing it. For instance, I've always been a hyper person, obsessive about getting things just right, etc. I think people like me hold certain muscles tense around the diaphragm, and it affects the heart. I hope you can go to Florida -- I've been there a few times and loved it. I don't know how Biden's rules on testing and quarantine will hold up here; there's much opposition to it. Regarding your concern if you're more at risk for a bad Covid illness with a-fib, well I'm 71 and had Covid while being an a-fibber. I don't think my having a-fib made any difference with the severity of the virus in me. I hope this helps.
No but I find any infection may trigger an AF episode. I was AF free for 3-4 years after treatments (had the gamut of them). Caught COVID in November and had several nasty episodes but everything has settled again.
I’ve had AF on trains and boats and planes, in a small yacht in the middle of the Atlantic, on mountains and just about every place you could imagine away from home and medical help - still here!
Travel is not an issue outside of COVID and neither is Insurance - depends more on age & co-morbidities. Now at 88 my husband finds it a little more difficult when you are 85+ and travelling to US.
Years ago I was in your place physically and mentally. Scary thoughts but now after having an ablation in 2016 and going gluten and wheat free and eliminating artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose. I almost never have an episode and when I notice some flip flops, they are very mild and short lived. I have never taken any meds for this as I tried flecanide for a couple of days and didn’t like it. Chose to go anti inflammatory route through food elimination. Feel great and no worries. You are young, you may be able to find a food or ingredient cause for this. Pay attention to when it happens and what you recently ate or drank.
Thanks Needlestone - it gives me hope that there maybe something that triggers it that I would quite happily cut out to stop it happening again. Flecanide has been good to me for a whole week now with no episodes so I wonder if this will now mask it and I not be able see any signs of cause.
Welcome to the club and my sympathies that you've had to join us. The mental side of it is probably worse than the physical, in my case due to the unpredictability of episodes. You think you have it cracked and then, bang, it's back again. At your age, risk of stroke is quite low but doctors will advise. So, you have to just get on with life.
Thanks for your response. I’m hoping I can just get on with it and live life as normal and in theory have none or very rare short episodes but time will tell I guess
35 yr old male here. 33 when diagnosed. Can completely relate to your predicament. As soon as they mentioned heart issues in the A&E department I sank into my seat thinking everything as I knew it was over. Million questions, mainly how am I going to provide for my young family, am I going to be able to be the dad I want to be too my 2 young kids? It was scary without a doubt and we all go through it.
You’ve made the right move in finding this forum early. Loads of extremely helpful people on here that will be able to dish out plenty of advice and help stear you through what will be a tough early stage of diagnosis. It sounds like you’ve visited a very decent hospital or gp though as sounds like they’ve done the relevant tests and given you some sound advice. I was just given bisoprolol, anti coags and sent on my way to wait for a cardio appointment that took months to come. Even when that appointment finally came about it wasn’t much better than the original A&E visit. Just gave me some different pills to take as pill in the pocket and sent me packing again.
Wasn’t until it started to get really frequent, pretty much weekly attacks where I decided to use a private electrophysiologist to speed things up. This was 1.5 years after original diagnosis. Things moved rapidly from there and I had an ablation in august. Can’t tell you for sure if it’s worked or not yet as I’m still having a couple of issues but I started tapering off my meds 3 weeks ago 😁👍 so far so good. I’m down to a quarter tablet now and will be off completely next week for the first time in over a year 🥳🎉 hopefully my heart doesn’t protest and I can start to move forward from here on out 🤞🤞
It’s scary to be told you have a heart condition as 36 for sure. Not the news you want to be given. But you will get through and will learn to cope once the original shock has worn off.
As a few have mentioned lifestyle changes are a must in my opinion. Sleep, exercise, diet, weight management being 4 of the most important things to keep on top of. Get yourself a copy of “the afib cure” by John d day. It’s available on audible if you have a subscription and it goes into real depth about everything afib related. Most importantly how to deal with it and what changes to make. Also goes into depth about ablation it that’s the route you choose to go down.
Any other questions you’ve got, which I’m sure will be many over the coming months, fire away and we’d all be happy to help.
Good luck mate 👍
Edit : just seen you mentioned the Apple Watch in another comment. I understand some people can become obsessive but for me it’s been a god send. Wish I’d bought it right at the start and hadn’t waited so long. It logs everything for you so whenever you need a reference you can just look on the health app and it’ll tell you everything you need to know about a specific day. Keeps logs of all your af attacks for when you need to let docs know etc. I’ve got weighing scales, Bp monitor as well that link up to it so all I do is use them and forget about it and the app does the rest. I understand why some people get obsessive about it but for me it’s been superb. I would whole heartedly ( forgive the pun) reccomend it.
Hi Eli, firstly thank you for taking the time to respond. It’s comforting to find someone the same age as me and a little further down the road.I also have 2 young kids so that mental side you talk about is exactly the thoughts I have.
Good luck with the abalation- I hope it is a success for you! I’m your kind - are you thinking, if it works ok then in theory AF stays away for good and you no longer will consider yourself to have a heart condition?
Do you have any heart function or structure issues that the DR has said at all? Or any other known reason which is likely to have caused your AF?
Thanks for recommending the book, will have a look, also your opinion on Apple Watch is useful.
One last question - in the grand scheme of things….do you consider this a serious condition that is effecting you in everyday life or are the people you’ve been around for years in theory none the wiser to how you are as a person…ie- you havnt changed as such. Reason I mention is I’m very aware that friends and family are looking at me as someone who has had the stuffing knocked out of them and almost look depressed.
Ablation has worked for many people and if you read the book they’ll explain that many people after sticking strictly to the lifestyle changes alone, have managed to get rid of their af completely. My lifestyle is pretty healthy anyway but I can’t get as much exercise as I would like due to low grade inflammation issues for the last 10 years or so.
I used to be extremely fit before and the sudden issues with inflammation came after a bout of illness. I have my suspicions that my af was caused by these inflammation problems but have not had it confirmed by any medical professional. They just seem to want to treat the issue infront of them and not want to find any underlying causes. Understandable in a way due to time constraints and the huge difficulty entailed in trying to find an underlying cause of any condition.
Anyway I’ve made some changes and will stick to them rigidly and now I’ve had the ablation I’m hoping it’ll give my body/heart time to recover without any meds in my system and hopefully see the af off for good. That’s the plan anyway 🤞 many people on here will tell you you can’t get rid of it, only put it in remission. Which may or may not be true. But from reading the book form two leading experts in the field, they will tell you it can be done. So if that’s the case then why not for me 💪
The longer you can keep yourself in NSR the more chance there is of the af packing it’s bags. Af begets af and vice Versa as they say but this is all explained in the book.
I don’t have any structural or functional issues with my heart apparently so the only problem with it is the AF 🤞
As far as do I think it’s serious that’s a tough one to answer 🤔 the general consensus is that it won’t kill you. As long as your stroke risk is kept in check then you should be fine in that aspect. Like me though I’m assuming your chadvasc score will be zero due to your age. Unless you have any other conditions that may make it higher?
Outside of that it’s all down to how symptomatic you are. If like me your very symptomatic and struggle badly when in af then it can change you quite a bit. I also don’t get on with the medication either so this compounds the issue even when in normal sinus rhythm. In terms of energy I’m nothing like I used to be currently. Hoping this will change once heart settles down and I’m off the meds 🙏 this obviously effects most aspects of life including ability to play with my kids which is the big one for me but also my mood due to tiredness can be up and down. This was a big determiner in me getting the ablation. I want to be rid of it and get my energy and life back.
I think it’s only natural for someone who’s in their 30s and gets diagnosed with a heart problem to go through some form of depression. Obviously to different degrees depending on your personality. I did anyway but this forum helped a lot with that and so did my chat with the private electrophysiologist which set me in motion of having the ablation.
You will get there trust me. Your VERY early doors and your already well ahead of where I was when I was diagnosed originally. Just being on here will get you up to scratch in terms of knowledge and support. Just learn as much as you can and don’t let the the doctors make all the decisions for you. Work with them obviously but don’t let them make your mind up for you. It’s your heart at the end of the day.
See an electrophysiologist as soon as possible to talk about your options. I see a private one for £200 and he was one of the best in the country and he pushed things through very quickly for me to have the ablation done with the nhs. Read the book and in my opinion get yourself a watch, even if it’s just purely to log your episodes of af.
How many episodes have you had thus far? You mentioned being diagnosed 2 weeks ago but how long have you been suffering with it? Are you very symptomatic when you have an af attack? How you getting on with meds so far? Who told you about the ablation just out of interest? Did you go A&E?
Thanks again Elli and sorry to hear about your inflammation issues. Love your attitude about tackling it and I wish you every every success in achieving getting rid of it. I have just ordered the book and hope it provides me the same inspiration!
So my situation seems very similar to you.
Not issues with the heart other than AF, considered myself pretty fit, playing football from a young age and up to a fairly good standard until I stopped 4-5 years ago through numerous ankle operations.chadvasc zero with no other conditions. I am very symptomatic I feel with it and the 4-5 days of PAF finally resulted in the 5th day trip to A&E with. HR 170 BP 160/100 (i think). Bisoprolol got me in to SR and went home with the same dose to take. I had numerous episodes of AF on the 5 days between hospital and seeing Cardiologist and then a further 7 days while on heart monitor which DR confirmed I had numerous instances of AF which I knew about as it effected me. Woke me up at 2am every night and couldn’t get ride till 8am earliest.
Then he gave me 50mg twice a day of Flecanide and it’s changed it all for me. Not a hint of AF 7 days in and I feel I have got used to the tablets albeit I don’t have quite the same zest about me, but could also put that down to my worries.
I feel the intial period after A&E where I had probably 10-12AF episodes over 13-14 days was possibly being triggered by a lot of anxiety and worry I had building up inside. (Didn’t want my wife to leave my side the whole time)……(who would of thought!!)
My cardiologist put me on blood thinners last week at the same time he gave me flecanide on the basis of flecanide is 50/50 if it works and if it didn’t he wanted me prepped from a body prep point of view for an ablation as understand you needed to be on them 4 weeks before abalation. So I can’t knock his not hanging around attitude. From what I’ve read and given my age I think regardless of flecanide success that ablation might be a good option for me as like you I want to tackle this head on with lifestyle changes and no meds if possible. Plus I want to still be me that everyone knows and not have the meds change who I am. (Not sure if I maybe am exaggerating what they can do to me or not)
I was put on flecanaide for 8 weeks and had a really bad reaction too it. Everyone reacts differently to different drugs but it absolutely destroyed me. I thought it was my heart going haywire and genuinely thought I was slowly keeling over. I had no info from docs that the drugs can do this too you and wasn’t until I came on here that I found this out. Soon as I switched back to bisop I started to feel ok again. Flec worked as a pill in pocket for me for a few months but for some reason stopped working and like I say, once I went on it full time it ruined me.
Anxiety is a known trigger for many on here. Also stress. I’ve never really suffered with anxiety personally but stress is a sure fire trigger for me, along with a lack of good quality sleep.
Meditation is great for both stress and anxiety. Worth a try. You don’t have to be into all the spiritual side of things to do it either, I’m not atleast. I use an app called waking up by Sam Harris and he takes a much more scientific approach, which I’m all for.
In terms of the ablation, I went for it for many of the reasons you state. Apparently the younger you are and the shortest amount of time you’ve been suffering with af the better, in terms of getting a successful outcome with an ablation. I also did not want to spend the rest of my life taking drugs. I want to be completely drug free and living normally if possible. If that means giving up all the “good things in life” in terms of food and drink then so be it.
I don’t drink at all now and haven’t for the last 2.5 years, don’t drink any coffee at all, drink occasional non concentrate orange juice and then just water. VERY little sugar, zero junk food and try to keep my plate full of veg as much as possible but also I do eat plenty of meat. My watch automatically logs everything I do in terms of exercise, sleep, bp, weight, heart rate, af episodes etc. Going to start keeping a food log on an app so I can maybe see a correlation between what I eat and how I feel or if I get any af as well.
Sounds like a lot but it’s really not. Takes me minutes each day to do. Some might say it sounds a bit obsessive but if you read the book you’ll realise you have to keep on top of everything if you want to rid af. I’m determined to do just that 🤞
In terms of the ablation it’s taking me longer than I would have liked to recover I’m not gonna lie. I had it done in august and have been off work since then. Don’t seem to have the stamina yet to do anything too strenuous. I was kind of expecting this though due to the inflammation issues I’ve suffered with for a while. Im assuming my heart is probably still inflamed and taking its time to settle. Hoping coming off the drugs is going to give me a boost 🤞🤞 I did start to feel pretty good around week 10-13ish. I then did a bit too much I think and went into af briefly 3 weeks ago. Only last 4/5 hours which is quick for me. Hoping it was just a blip 🙏🙏 haven’t felt the same since though. Hopefully my heart just needs a little longer to recover.
Thanks again - all useful insight. I have downloaded the waking up and and will how much use i can get out of the free trial. You seem to have very strict and healthy eating and drinking habits - did you have these before diagnosis or have you made these changes as a result?
I am happy to cut back on what's needed but i often here everything in moderation is fine...1/2 cups of tea/coffee a day, the odd binge food once a week etc is what i had in mind but like you suggest maybe this book is going to tell me that this wont work.
Abalation seems to be a long road of recovery for you so far - i have read that people are back on their feet a day or two after, i didn't realize you could be talking months of recovery...I hope it goes well for you and the end result you want is still achieved.
In regards to the waking up app if you send them an email explaining why you can’t pay then he gives you the app for free for a year anyway. Been an real eye opener for me since I started 2.5 years ago. Can’t praise it enough.
I had fairly strict eating habits prior to diagnosis. Stopped drinking and eating junk food before for example. This was due to my inflammation issues. I was trying my utmost and have been for best part of 10 years to get back to training. So far haven’t managed it though 😫 everytime I make any sort of progress I get injured and end up back at square one but that’s a whole other story 🙄 since diagnosis I’ve gone VERY strict though. Doesn’t really bother me to be honest. You soon get used to it. I don’t particularly miss anything apart from the occasional glass of red with dinner. I used to like a latte with breakfast as well but can definitely live without it.
I’d suggest reading the book and then making your decisions from there to be honest. Everyone is different and deals with it in their own way. I’m very black and white and either 2 feet in or nothing. So when I make a decision I’ll go all out 🤣 not sure if that’s a good thing or not 🤔
Ablation has been a long slog for me without doubt. I partly expected this though due to the other issues I’ve had over the years. As for being on your feet within days it’s depends what you mean by that. I was in bed for first 3 days but was technically on my feet to get up, eat, toilet, stretch legs etc. day 4 I took my first walk down end of road and back VERY slowly. Been very slow progression for me. Doctors in hospital told me they don’t see why I couldn’t be lifting weights the next day 🙄 shows you how out of touch the docs are with the patients reality. Everyone on here will tell you that for sure.
There is a fact sheet written by patients on here regarding ablation which is very informative. I don’t have the link but if you ask flapjack he will provide a link for it. Everyone’s recovery is different. I’ve heard some people up , about and back at work within around 4/5/6 weeks and others that have taken around 9 months to get back to “normal”.
I’m hoping coming off meds is going to let me turn the corner 🤞 I’ve been off work since august so I really need to get back in January!
No problem Tom. As bad as it sounds it’s good to know there are others out there my age who are going through what I’m going through. Always helps to have people to relate too.
Good luck. Hope you get yourself sorted asap and have a good weekend. Any more questions then just give me a shout 👍
Welcome to the Forum! I can see all the Members have already offered you great advice and support. You may wish to visit the A F Association website which contains a wealth of information, from patient videos, resources through to travel advice. May I recommend our ' A F Fact File'? available to download from Patient Resources:
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New to this forum, but not to AF
48 hours after 2nd ablation and so many irregular heartbeats and af
I'm new here and to AF
Return of AF feeling so down. 
New to the group and AF
