AF and Dreams?

[bassets]

I woke up yet again last night after a lurid dream, went to the loo, and back in bed, felt myself starting in AF

How many other of you lovely folk find this happens? And what do you usually do after an episode - I feel like a wet rag!

[jeanjeannie50]

Yes, I've had this and I know the answer to stop it. It's a nuisance but you need to sit on the side of the bed for a minute before standing up. Take a few deep breaths and keep taking them occasionally while you're up. Before you get back into bed take deep breaths again and keep doing them once you're back in bed.

I once asked my GP why I felt worn out after an AF attack and his reply was that with the heart beating so fast it's as though you've run a marathon at top speed.

Jean

[bassets in reply to jeanjeannie50]

That's very helpful Jean, thank you

[Windlepoons in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I've been doing this since you last mentioned it Jean. Thank you very much. It works very well.🤗

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Windlepoons]

That's good to hear. It always works for me too.

[bassets in reply to jeanjeannie50]

👍😊

[Kennyb1968 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Works for me too. Interesting so does sneezing! My AFib is now quite mild - less than 80bpm and more like clusters of ectopics followed by 3 or 4 skipped beats - I find if I make myself sneeze 4bor 5 times it will invariably restore NSR! Discovered quite by accident when taking a COVID test.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Kennyb1968]

It's always good to hear from others on how they stop their AF. I sometimes wonder if walking and the beat of our feet hitting the ground could put us back into normal sinus rhythm. How do you make yourself sneeze?

Jean

[Kennyb1968 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Cotton bud

[bassets in reply to Kennyb1968]

Never tried that! Will do

[mikelocke in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Interesting in that I have been doing a 30 sec sit before standing for some years after being told by a Doctor that it reduced the possibility of a stroke.

[bassets in reply to mikelocke]

Thanks for this. I'll make sure I will have to remember to sit for a few moments before getting up. A simple solution and hopefully this will work for me.👍

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to mikelocke]

Yes, I've seen that it can also help prevent strokes too. I used to get out of bed quickly and would go dizzy and this could last a few hours. I think that as we grow older the blood supply to our head is not so quick to get there when we stand up.

[mjames1]

I've had similar afib episodes at the loo after getting out of bed, dreams or no dreams.

Jean's advice on deep breathing is excellent.

It may have to do with changes in the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system caused by the physical mechanics of urination and counteracted by deep breathing.

Jim

[bassets]

Thanks Jim, I'll try it (hopefully I'll remember!).

[Threecats]

Well, you’ve got me on my favourite subject😊 This is exactly the way the vast majority of my episodes have started and so, curious to know what was going on, I purchased a little device that measures my overnight oxygen levels and heart rate. I discovered that I tend to wake from a period of rem sleep, where not only have I been dreaming but my o2 levels have been down into the mid 80% range for quite lengthy periods and my heart rate has correspondingly gone bonkers in response, so no wonder it triggered af in me! Jean’s suggestion with regard to deep breathing is a very sound one in the circumstances, I think.

As for how I feel after an episode - wrung out rag is the best description I can come up with!

[secondtry in reply to Threecats]

Curious to know which 'little device' you use?

[Threecats in reply to secondtry]

My ‘little device’ is a ring oximeter made by Viatom, distributed by Wellue health. It links to my phone via an app that displays the previous nights data and gives a figure for the number of O2 drops per hour. I’ve always been partial to a bit of tech😊 so was keen to try it out.

I wasn’t sure how accurate it would be to be honest but, based on the readings I was getting last year I asked my GP for a referral to a sleep clinic. I had a home sleep study carried out earlier this year and wore the ring as well, for comparison. The results for both the number of apnoea episodes I had plus the heart rate data matched remarkably well, so all in all I’m impressed with it. ( Don’t have shares in the company either😊)

[secondtry in reply to Threecats]

Thanks Threecats very useful, I will look into it.

Incidentally my sleep study a few years ago revealed apnoea episodes (9 per hr If I remember correctly) which was not bad enough for the NHS in the UK to treat. So my self-treatment is practising slower breathing & relaxing in the day and at night BreathRight nasal strips & then for the last 2 years Myotape (I cut them up) mouth strip also. I have found both useful.

[Threecats in reply to secondtry]

You’re welcome, Secondtry 😊Thank you for the information on what you do to combat your apnoea. I am certainly conscious that I breathe too quickly and have been working on that following my reading of the excellent James Nestor book.

[bassets]

Thanks for this - we sem to be in the same boat! I suspect my heart rate drops too - and like secondtry, I'm curious bout your device?

[Threecats in reply to bassets]

Hi bassets, see my reply to Secondtry above. It certainly does sound like we’re on a similar path at the moment!

[bassets in reply to Threecats]

Thanks

[Geoffa1]

Might I ask are you on Metoprolol or Sotalol? Both caused me to have vivid dreams. After a successful PVI I was able to stop the Sotalol and it has taken nearly a year for my sleep patterns to get back to normal!

[Hidden in reply to Geoffa1]

Vivid dreams are a listed side effect of Sotalol. Before taking it I would recall, on average, one dream per week, but now recall them most nights. Sotalol taken before bed does make me feel drowsy, however, and I normally fall asleep quickly.

[bassets]

I'm taking Apixaban and Dilitiazem. I can't take beta-blockers as I'm asthmatic, but I do have a friend who not only had vivid dreams but also had hallucinations to the extent that she had to stop taking these. I'm glad your sleep patterns are getting better

[Hidden]

Vivid dreams are a known side-effect of Sotalol. There are probably other heart medications which make these more likely too. The vivid dream and the AF may not be related-you may simply have woken up because of the dream (or for some other reason) then gone into AF after getting up, perhaps because of the change in heart rate which was the result of getting up.

[bassets]

Perhaps. I find it happens where my dreams are particularly vivid possibly because of a virus or similar.

[Cookie24]

This happened to me just last night. I was dreaming, woke up, and go to the bathroom. I know when I have to keep going to the bathroom at night I am in for an episode. My heart had been beating normally the last four days. I have been in and out of flutter for two months. EP says cardioversion won't help because I am in and out of flutter. He has suggested Tikosyn or repeat ablation. I am going for a repeat. I currently take Propafenone and Diltiazem. He thinks the Propafenone has stopped working. The will be ablation #3.

[bassets in reply to Cookie24]

Yes, I now that feeling - having to get up often. I hope your repeat goes really well when it comes

[Magson]

bassets, the majority of my AF episodes started about 2.00am. I believe this was a result of Bisopropolol dropping my heart rate down to 40 at this time. But I don't think you take beta blockers.

[bassets]

I'm pretty certain that dilitiazem does something like the same thing. Before I had my ablation I was unable to take a higher dose because it was dropping my hear rate and blood pressure. I could be wrong of course!

[Gumbie_Cat]

I get this too - minus the dreams part. Get up to go to the loo, end up shaking, dizzy and sweaty. I blamed prawns, must have been a coincidence! Since I was diagnosed, I have recognised this as atrial fibrillation starting up.I was advised that it could be a drop in blood pressure, so I keep water by the bed. I recently attended the eye hospital - had a retinal vein occlusion a few years back, treated by quite magical injections. I mentioned the shakiness to the consultant as I also get some visual disturbance - sort of white blobs appearing with eyes closed.

She said it was a circulation thing, and - to sit on the edge of the bed for a while before standing.

So, I have also been doing this - and the idea that it could help with stroke prevention is so interesting!

My sisters both had strokes, and both times it was a middle of the night thing,

[bassets]

This is so interesting! My blood pressure goes up and down when in AF. I'm sorry your sisters both had strokes - it must be familial. Sometimes I wish someone would invent a handbook for us seniors giving all the knowledge we need to keep active and well. If it wasn't for this forum and all the great people on here i would have been nuts by now.