worst time and best time of day

[geepo1]

Does anyone else have a bad time of day, a time when they feel like lying down again ? The heart goes faster and feels as if it will thump through your body. With me it’s mornings. I go downstairs and have breakfast then go back up to the bedroom to finish getting ready. Walking back up the stairs I am breathless and absolutely shattered, I often lie on the bed for 5 min. I sometime feel breathless climbing stairs but never as bad as at that time in the morning. By late morning I am fine and no more pounding heart, just a few fibrillation sessions.

[jeanjeannie50]

In the days when my AF was worse. I would often feel ill if I walked after eating. I think the culprit is your breakfast. Try walking upstairs, before you have it. Perhaps eat it upstairs, just to see if that makes a difference. Jean

[Singwell in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Great excuse for breakfast in bed Jean!

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Singwell]

Good idea! X

[Leechg]

Yes, first thing in the morning, I make tea, then take it upstairs and I am aware that the stairs are a bit of a struggle and I feel a bit breathless and aware of my heart. I have my tea, all calms down and it rarely happens again till the next morning. It causes a bit of anxiety first thing. Very weird.

[Becksagogo]

I'm the other way. I have most of my "energy " in the morning. That last climb up the stairs to bed really takes it out of me and I have been known to sleep on the sofa rather than struggle up them!

[geepo1]

thank you, so pleased to find others have these ‘ strange happenings ‘ with their hearts. This isn’t something the doctor takes any notice of, so it is good to find others experiences. I’ve tried different ways of routine in a morning, I think it’s breakfast, food on a totally empty stomach ….. maybe.

[2learn]

I usually feel rubbish on a morning as I have back ache every day as soon as I get up. But once up then moving and standing hel my back to sort out. Then its usually late afternoon after doing some gardening I feel shattered, but can't go to sleep.

[Ppiman]

With me, it’s always during and after breakfast and mornings, then late evenings and when lying down in bed.

Steve

[Cha275rL]

it’s after breakfast for me. Heart starts racing and thumping, and I have to sit down for a little while, then it goes back to (a kind of) normal.

[Singwell]

Our metabolic rate gets higher after food and this might be happening quite fast with your first meal of the day. Do you think your breakfast is quite sugary or perhaps a form of carbs that give you a 'sugar hit'? That can make your heart race too. I also find it really helps to sit down quietly for 10 minutes after eating. It'll mess with your routine but might be worth it.

[geepo1 in reply to Singwell]

it seems to happen whatever I eat, from cereal and milk to banana, cucumber and protein smoothie.

[Singwell in reply to geepo1]

Put some nut butter with your smoothie to offset the high GI in the banana. And check the sugar content of your cereal - lots of hidden sugars in commercial cereals. You could add nuts to the cereal or some bran for roughage. Apparently these hacks will slow down the body's glucose response.

[Singwell]

Just thought I'd add - I noticed heart racing after breakfast any time within 2 hours after. Then I found out that's exactly the time we get a blood sugar spike if we eat something that releases glucose quickly into the body. Someone in the forum who used to be a nutritionist, told me that rice milk releases sugar quickly into the blood stream so I stopped using it. No more HR spikes in the morning!

[geepo1 in reply to Singwell]

Thank you all, these responses and useful bits of information are so helpful.

[BobbyGee]

Good question, geepo1. I'm a permanent A-fibber. My worst times are when, once in every ten days or so, I have a very disturbed night when I keep being woken up, my restless heart beating even more irregularly than usual. I put on an audio CD and stick it out. If I still can't get to sleep, I grab my laptop and watch a YouTube video. I recommend something that's fairly long (over an hour), consisting of conversation or monologue (i.e nothing to watch) and just interesting enough to distract the brain but not too exciting. And the sound of the speaker's voice must not be too harsh. I like to hear Dr Rupert Sheldrake, Dr Bernardo Kastrup and Dr Donald Hoffman. (They're not medical doctors.) Dr Iain McGilchrist is also good value. Good luck with your condition.

[geepo1 in reply to BobbyGee]

it’s good to find our pattern and what works for us individually. My nights are much better now,I go to bed with an empty stomach ( I don’t eat after 7pm, ) I think I have worked out that part of my ‘ bad time ‘ is having breakfast on such an empty stomach, so I eat slowly and sit for 5 min after breakfast till my heart slows down, this, of course gets me out of doing the dishes, which can only help. I do keep trying all recommendations till I have the best answer that works for me. I also sleep better if I don’t use fluoride toothpaste etc. We just keep trying to work it all out.