good news, I’ve found my trigger, bad news I’ve triggered another episode!!

[macymoo007]

I’ve been kind of keeping a mental note of different foods I’m eating to see if I could find a trigger. Well, I’m 99% sure I’ve found it.

My last episode was 2 weeks ago. I remember that the only thing id eaten out of the ordinary was a bag of midget gem sweets. The af episode was the longest to date and I was hospitalised for a few days.

Well, yesterday, against not the norm, I had a bag of sweets (candy) It’s not something I usually do. I said to myself then (really not thinking it had a link) if I have af after this I know my trigger. Half laughing to myself because really not believing this could be the trigger.

Within 2 hours WHAM. Heart rate started soaring and was so erratic. The ecg on my Apple Watch was crazy. Wasn’t showing af immediately just a crazy pulse and pattern. Within a further 30 mins AF!!!

So I’m happy I’ve found my trigger. I took an extra 5mg of bisoporol. My HR is staying quite low (for af) definitely under 100 so far.

Anyone got any suggestions on how I can get out of af? I’m drinking lots of water to try and flush the sugar out of my system.

Note to self, no more sugar rushes!!! I wouldn’t mind but I rarely touch sweets

[JaneFinn]

Oh macymoo, I’m not sure whether to commiserate or congratulate! Both maybe 😁

How are you doing now? I’m hoping you’ve converted back to NSR, though it’s good at least your rate is nice and safely low.

Well done for identifying a trigger at least! I’m the same with artificial sugars, such as aspartame, and some additives. Do you think yours is definitely just due to the sugar rush, no other ‘nasties’ in the sweets?

I’m sorry I don’t know how to flush out the system- you’re right about water but I’d also be careful not to imbalance your electrolytes with too much water. Maybe if you’re upping the water, sipping a little coconut water as well for electrolytes might help… But I’m just guessing, sorry.

Do let us know how you’re doing Jx

[macymoo007 in reply to JaneFinn]

Hi Jane.

Fortunately I’m back in nsr now. My hr was all over the place this morning but I’m back to ‘normal’ now thanks.

I’m not 100% sure it’s the sugar or as you say something in the sweets. I do know, I’ll not be having any more. I never thought about other things in the sweets like additives. I guess it could be.

Thanks for the reply.

[JaneFinn in reply to macymoo007]

I’m so glad you’re back in NSR, what a relief. I agree, you’ll not be putting sweets to the test again! Hope you get a nice restful sleep tonight and your heart stays steady. Jx

[macymoo007 in reply to JaneFinn]

Thank you so much. You’re very kind. You do have me now questioning if it is sugar or something within the sweets. I have never cut out sugar before in my life so maybe it is something else within the sweets. Have you any idea what I might be looking for in the ingredients,

[JaneFinn in reply to macymoo007]

It could be just sugar for you (or an overload of it!) but for me I look out for aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. Also several E numbers trigger me that are in many things like sweets to provide colour or flavour (also in capsule coatings so there’s some brands of meds I can’t take). And MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a no no for me. And alcohol, sadly- I don’t know if it’s something in it or the alcohol itself! But everyone is different of course. If you drink sugar -free drinks with no problems, you might be fine with artificial sweeteners and colours . (Well fine as far as AF trigger is concerned, at least!)

Worth checking the ingredients of the sweets you had in case it might be something else you don’t normally have as much of, maybe. But it could well be just the sugar too x

[macymoo007 in reply to JaneFinn]

It just seems too coincidental that each time within 30 mins of eating the I was in af. I drink caffein free coke but have that quite a lot with no problems so far 🤞🤞.

[Peacefulneedshelp in reply to JaneFinn]

JaneFinn, doing tons of reading and research over the years I too cannot tolerate MSG or any chemicals in the food supply. When I read Wheat Belly, he explained that Wheat gluten and MSG have a similar chemical makeup, one is left handed and one is right handed, but the body can't tell the difference. That was a ah-ha moment for me. I immediately put that to the test, and lo and behold, no more inflammation in the form of migraines and no more rapid heart beats, and less and less AF. Just informing everyone of my miracle find regarding similarities in the two substances.

[JaneFinn in reply to Peacefulneedshelp]

Oh wow, that’s really interesting! Thank you! X

[Treschere]

If it is possible to "make" some sweets yourself that contain nothing but natural ingredients, as an experiment, then you might know if it is the sugar or the nasties.

[macymoo007 in reply to Treschere]

I don’t think I’d ever go to the trouble of making them. Ha ha. I’m beginning to wonder now since JaneFinn suggested it may be something in the sweets as opposed to sugar as I’ve never cut out sugar in my daily life but as I say, I don’t eat sweets that often. I may see if I could get a list of ingredients on the packaging. Do you know what I might be looking for?

[1browneyes1 in reply to macymoo007]

Just Google ingredients in the sweets.

[pusillanimous in reply to macymoo007]

Stick to chocolate.😆

[Espeegee in reply to macymoo007]

Colourings, flavourings, artificial sweeteners like sorbitol, Carnuba wax which I think they can be coated in to stop them sticking together.

[Treschere]

Well anything that is not a natural product would be suspect first.

[macymoo007 in reply to Treschere]

I’m going to do some research. Thanks for the info

[Frances123]

sorry to hear your news but glad at least you have found the trigger and you are back in NSR. My guess would be sweeteners used in the sweets. Something like Aspartame and/or Sucralose. Both are known to affect arrhythmias. I give all artificial sweeteners a wide birth where I can.

[macymoo007 in reply to Frances123]

I’m so grateful to this group for the information I’m receiving. Thank you so much for your reply.

[secondtry]

Whereas you almost certainly seem to have found the straw that broke the camel's back bear in mind it could be a build up of adverse factors eg processed food, gluten, alcohol, fizzy drinks that needs to be addressed with equal priority.

[Ala2145 in reply to secondtry]

So right, SecondTry! This is so important for those of us with digestive issues affecting afib.

My EP talks about Afib needing a substrate (heart cells prone to arrhythmia) and a trigger (stressor that sets off Afib within the prone heart cells). Maybe those of us with digestive related Afib should start thinking of the gut axis also being a substrate that opens the gate to the heart substrate for certain triggers. For instance, cold drinks are an immediate trigger for me into Afib, but artificial sweeteners and too much sugar contribute to the condition in my gut that makes Afib likely. It’s an important distinction because it helps you address the issue properly.

My first few episodes were ‘triggered’ by things like jelly beans and skittles. But really it was an entire system out of balance.

[secondtry in reply to Ala2145]

Totally agree. I have started and stopped an AF episode with a cold drink.

[JaneFinn in reply to secondtry]

Me too!

[JaneFinn in reply to Ala2145]

This is so helpful! Thank you! Jx

[OzJames]

Too much sugar in drinks or food set off ectopics for me which can develop into AF. I’ve now felt the ectopics and begin my deep breathing as well as lots of non sugar drinks like water or chamomile tea. Things now settle and no AF. It’s incredible how when you feel the ectopics we can almost will ourselves into AF by panicking. My bible about breathing was James Nestor’s Breath and of course in the first instance the good people here like Bob suggested long slow breathing

[Singingforever]

I think it is less likely to be sugar - more likely some artificial sweetener - aspartame triggers my AF.

[macymoo007]

I’m thinking it’s sugar because directly having a bag of sweets now twice in the space of a month my af started.

I’ve been drinking caffein free coke throughout the summer and have been ok (I realise it’s full of aspartame). Think I’m back to not knowing what it is now

[Buffafly in reply to macymoo007]

I keep seeing the words ‘bag of sweets’ 😲 Bag 😳? What were they? Usually bags have a portion size on them - very often 2! I think you just shocked your system 😂

[macymoo007 in reply to Buffafly]

Ha ha. Just a pre packed I think 100g.

[Hidden]

A sudden influx of a lot of sugar really does a number on our system, but I wonder what else the sweets you ate contained? Colouring? Artificial sweetener? Never mind, I looked them up:

Midget Gems (also known as Mini Gems) are chewy, firm sweets similar to wine gums but much harder. They are manufactured from sugar and glucose syrup, corn starch and/or various other starches, animal gelatin, and various colourings and flavouring.

It's possible it was one of the other ingredients that you're senstive to.