First of all as a newcomer I’m really impressed with the site. Lots of kind people taking time to reassure others with their experience.
My query might be a long shot. I’ve started the anticoagulants and have in the past taken aloe Vera juice for my gerd which I’ve had a long time and also think is related to my episode of AF three weeks ago( my oesophagus spasmed). Aloe Vera is anti inflammatory and I’m wondering if anyone has used it ok and it’s not interfered with the ACs? I know grapefruit is contraindicated but just wondered about other stuff. Best wishes.
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Lizzie0205
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PS - caveat - be careful of Aloe Vera induced diarrhoea though and there has been very vague concerns about taking it with Wafarin but if you are unsure consult a qualified person - for me that is my Nutritionist rather than my Pharmacist because although they can look things up, I’ve found that my Nutritionist has normally a lot more information and access to interactions.
Kefir is also fine with a/c. Shop bought is ok but make sure it’s as fresh, organic & natural. Watch ingredients as I have seen them with added sugar of some sort, or fruit - if you want anything added - add fresh at home before you use it.
Hiya Lizzie,
What anticoagulant are you on - a newer NOAC or the former gold standard, Warfarin.
I've been on Warfarin for 12 years and self test ( and at times I self dose). I have my own INR hand held testing device and although I report regularly to my GP surgery my INR results I don't have problems.
To be honest the fact that I can self test enables me to take liberties with the so called "forbidden stuff" that may impact on the effectiveness of Warfarin. So, I eat and drink whatever I want, whenever I want because if I digest food or drink that may destabilise my INR I can do an instant check. In terms of Aloe Vera I used it as a gel (99.9% grade) to rub into my incision line after knee replacement surgery to promote good, clean and speedy healing. Worked a treat with no impact on INR. I have never digested it in any form. I whole heartily agree with CD though - consult a nutritionist !
I might add that I do eat grapefruit (from time to time) in any form without any adverse effects on my INR.
That's a NOAC. I can only self test for my INR because I am on Warfarin. These new anticoagulants have no requirement for self testing. My handheld device only works with and can be used with Warfarin I am afraid.I am not familiar with your drug and I have no idea how it's effectiveness is measured.
I'm sorry to read that you too are being plagued with ailments ...... funny you should say about the air. Thats exactly what has been worrying me. Yes right shoulder and I'm now starting to move into the world of permanent pain. The worry is that this level of pain I normally associate with high humidity and low barometric air pressure - now it is all the time and more recently down here at the the pointy end of Cornwall air pressure has been around 1020 mb and humidity 40 to 45 %. My employers are being most helpful and have agreed to my working 2 days with a one or two day space in between ..... more than I can say for the NHS who are as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Amazingly although I'm having much more palpitations than I'd welcome my Kardia is repeatedly show NSR and a pretty steady heart rate - around 58 to 67 bpm. Something to be thankful for.
They are both anticoagulants which work at different levels of the clotting process. Technically there is no such thing as blood thinners. Anticoagulants such as Wafarin & DOACS = Direct Oral AntiCoagulant (NOACs) is the older term & stands for Novel instead of Direct - but as they are no longer new or novel the term changed to Direct) do the same job. I think the colloquial term ‘blood thinner’ came from the anti-platelets - Asprin for instance - which helps platelets which could form in blood vessels break up which could otherwise form larger and larger clots which could block the blood vessel, preventing blood reaching organs eg stroke or heart attach.
Anticoagulants delay the clotting process - used to prevent clots whilst anti-platelets help break up clots in the blood and used after event - that’s why you are given asprin after suspected stroke.
Some people have a condition which makes then very susceptible to blood clots & is sometimes referred to as sticky blood - I suspect that’s where the term Blood Thinner comes from as Asprin breaks up clotting platelets but there is actually no such thing.
Unfortunately even medics use the term & I believe in attempting to simplify explanations to patients - cause utter confusion & fear that their blood will somehow leak out. The viscosity of blood serum of either anticoagulants nor anti platelets is not affected.
Hi Lizzie, first I would say that Rivaroxaban isn’t great for Gerd, I have found Apixaban is better. I have no idea about Aloe Vera but I can say that fresh pineapple helps with gerd and digestion generally - something to do with enzymes apparently.
Welcome to the Forum Lizzie, I am pleased to hear all our members have welcomed you and are offering great advice. It's always worth checking with your GP or pharmacist for advice regarding interaction with medications. Have you visited the A F Association website? You may find our A F Fact File helpful? afa.org.uk
I am a pharmacist , have just had an ablation for persistent SVT Grapefruit juice is contraindicated with various drugs including warfarin as it induces liver enzymes that increase warfarin metabolism. This does not apply to NOACs such as yours.
Hi and welcome to the group. As you say, this online group is a most friendly place for information and reassurance. Grapefruit (and many other foods and drugs) needs care only with warfarin, to my knowledge. With the newer DOAC drugs, there are fewer issues and with the most commonly prescribed one in the UK, rivaroxaban, when I last looked, there were no reported food interactions. The official patient leaflet should be your guide regarding all drug-related questions or, of course, the dispensing pharmacist.
I also feel a strong connection between my GORD and heart conduction issues (pre-ablation atrial flutter, now regular fast heart rate, occasional runs of ectopic beats and even more occasional AF). I take esomeprazole daily which stops the reflux well, but I still get lots of other issues in the gastric region, including nausea and discomfort under my left rib and through into my back. I have read that the oesophagus lies pressed against the heart in some people and that this can set off ectopic beats when eating or gulping; also, the stomach can distend naturally to press the diaphragm against the heart with much the same effect. Ectopic beats are known precursors of other arrhythmias such as AF in prone individuals - so they might well be a cause of AF.
Hello Steve. It’s very useful to meet someone who has similar issues. I strongly suspect my digestion and reflux is implicated in my diagnosis of AF but the medical registrar who saw me in A and E had never heard of that as a cause or an association. I’ve since read about the vagal nerve and Understand more about it. I’ve had s number of oesophageal spasms over the years but none resulting in AF previously. I’m looking to change my diet even more going forward. Tomatoes and nightshade family seem to be s particular trigger. Still taking it all in. Best wishes
I am forever wondering about a the link with my stomach. Sometimes I'm convinced the stomach affects the heart, then at other times, I wonder if it isn't the other way around. I suspect a heart that isn't pumping fully efficiently when in AF or whatever might well affect the nearby organs and structures and the nearest are the diaphragm and stomach.
When I was in hospital for my atrial flutter, the nurse did notice that ectopic beats were started by my swallowing food or drink. That's what led me to discover the link between the the oesophagus and the heart and that it can be pressed tightly together in some people. Equally, a doctor once showed me on an X-ray that my heart was being pressed against by my diaphragm, thanks to air in my stomach. That, too, was setting off ectopic beats - which are known to be able to set off other arrhythmias such as AF.
I don't know why cardiologists don't seem to show much interest in any connection with digestion. You'd think they'd at least want to look, but a gastroenterologist I saw at the same time was equally disinterested in any link, perhaps because nothing could be done about it even if there were.
In terms of a link with the vagus nerve, the cardiologist I see at Leicester, a leading medical school, said that a vagal link is possible but in his view, rare, and that any vagal irritation would cause severe bradycardia, not tachycardia, as happens with AF. He felt that the interest in it on internet posts was misplaced and just people searching for a cause for their ills and being unwilling to accept that it's more likely age-related, or BMI, sleep apnoea and so on. I think he has a point.
For myself, I remain less than convinced about food triggers (not to doubt that they might be a cause of AF in some people). I suspect that a more likely explanation is a physical one since, if the heart were reacting to an ingested substance, there would be quite some delay between eating it and there being sufficient of it in the circulating blood to affect the heart. It would take a bit of experimenting to be sure there was a link - a starvation study, say. I've read of many people who avoid all kinds of foods, yet there is no evidence to support their claims. Coffee (i.e. caffeine), for example, has conclusively been shown to be safe in the vast majority of AF suffered, yet you would think the reverse reading the Facebook AF site, for example.
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