Hi there, like KiwiBlake I am a new member and also have a very similar story. I am a 55 year old male who was first diagnosed with AF back in 2016. This was out of the blue resulting in a blue light ambulance ride to Accident and Emergency. Like KiwiBlake this episode was at a very stressful time with my mother passing away suddenly and then funeral arrangements etc afterwards. Everything in time seemed to calm down with only very short blips of "oh no here we go again" but these didn't amount to anything. I kept myself relatively fit going to the gym at least 3 times a week. Roll forward to Setember 2021 and like KiwiBlake there was a terminal cancer diagnosis given to my father and a stressful period until January 2022 when he passed away. During that period I cared for my father and my AF returned and with a vengeance. This resulted in a few trips to A+E and being prescribed Apixiban and Bisoprolol.
In March 2022 and after another trip to A+E the doctor indicated that I may have a sensitivity to the Bisoprolol as my heart rate dropped significantly. I am now on a calcium chanel blocker Verapamil although I don't feel quite as secure/stable as I did on the bisoprolol.
My symptoms now seem to be more regular.
I am from Scotland and my experiences with the NHS in North Lanarkshire, other than A+E haven't been that good I'm afraid. I seem to be left in limbo with nothing proactively being done to reduce the symptoms or curing them. No sign of being offered any form of intervention like ablation.
All of this has had an impact on my physical health but I imagine like others there is an impact on mental health which in turn does not help AF.
Like others I have learned a lot more from this site than I have from medical professionals and its comforting to know that I'm not alone.
I appreciate all of the information posted on here and given the festive period is approaching I wish everyone a happy, prosperous and above all a healthy Christmas and New Year.