Good evening everyone. wishing everyone a peaceful Easter. I am in need of a little advice from you lovely people. Since last Friday, I have been experiencing irregular heartbeats and combined with occasional AF. At least I presume that’s what it is, very fast beats. I don’t really know how long I should wait before consulting someone. I know people say just keep calm and it will eventually revert back to normal. Because I live in France, if you go to the surgery and say it’s to do with your heart, they send you straight to A and E. so I don’t want to do this unless I have to. I take Bisoprolol 1.25 mg twice daily and have Flecainide as PIP. I would be grateful for your thoughts as to whether this may revert back to sinus rhythm on its own. Though I have a feeling you will say, go and get this checked out! Many thanks in anticipation.
worried in France: Good evening... - Atrial Fibrillati...
worried in France
Since you have flecainide as a PIP one assumes that you have instructions about its use from your electrophysiologist so I would follow those. If you have any chest pain or dizzyness/shortness of breath then go to A and E.
Thank you Bob. No, I don’t have any pain or dizziness. As regards the flecainide, no information was given at the time, just use as pip. I did see an electrophysiologist and was told I didn’t need another ablation .I am considering making an appointment with my consultant at Papworth as they have all my history.
Is your AF beating at a high rate? Jean
Thank you for replying Jean. On standing it is irregular and then at times will be into the lower hundreds. On sitting, it is okay, just the occasional missed beat. I keep hoping this will revert back to sinus. A week seems a long time to be like this.
So didn’t the Flecainide work as a PIP? When I took it that way (100mg) it always ended episodes in a few hours and only very occasionally needed to take 1.25 Bisoprolol if heart rate exceeded 140 twenty minutes after taking the PIP. Of course we are all different and I hope you find a solution that works for you.
Yes, the Flecainide does usually work after about an hour. I didn’t realise I could take Bisoprolol as well. For some reason they don’t seem to like Flecainide here in France but I take it anyway. In England it wasn’t a problem. Thank you for replying. It’s so comforting to know people are here to listen and help.
Now that I take Flecainide twice daily , I haven’t had an episode for well over a year now and no need for Bisoprolol but as we know, we are all different. Hope you can find what works for you.
I am pleased for you Vonnegut. They don’t seem to like Flecainide here in France. But I was given this by my consultant at Papworth. I don’t know whether to go back and see him or continue here. Of course they all have conflicting ideas. It’s confusing. I sometimes think I shouldn’t have moved here, simply because of my anxiety. It’s ruining my life. I hope the councelling helps.
Do try meditation, mindfulness and breathing exercises and take it easy!
I promise I will Vonnegut and thank you!
Good luck and remember
“Don’t panic!”
My husband is taking me down to the town later so I can listen to a performance of the Saint John Passion, and donate for Gaza . You see things could be a lot worse!
You are right of course. Enjoy your day. I do hope it is not raining for you.!
It is raining but I have a brilliant water and wind proof jacket with a good hood and won’t have to walk far!
I certainly understand and appreciate your concerns and lack of desire to go to A and E. Though your concerns and fears are perhaps going to increase your a fib hence a visit to an A and E in France might calm the situation. You should know France is where they developed the ablation process. It was in Bordeaux. So for the most part, they are well informed about a fib. On the flipside, usually you will only be watched over, ECG, for a while to make sure that it is only a fib, but on occasion, they can try other drugs, and since you were under surveillance, you’re in a safe situation to do so. The visit might also give you more information about your current situation. nonetheless, I can certainly sympathize with you and hope you find something to put your mind at ease sooner than later. Best wishes
Thank you Iris. You are absolutely right. France is the centre of excellence for heart problems. I should go and have this sorted and I will be much better for doing so. My first reaction is return to Papworth and see my consultant there but I know that’s crazy really.
En attendant- profitez de votre temps en France! Le AF pourra nous rendre misérable mais il va pas nous touer! Peut-etre un petit saut aux urgences va vous permettre à mieux profiter de vos vacances. Bon courage
Ufortunately Iris my French is not good!
My apologies, In the meantime – enjoy your time in France! The AF may make us miserable but it won't kill us! Perhaps a quick trip to the emergency room will allow you to better enjoy your vacation. Be of good courage- or good luck.
More information will make you more comfortable with the AF
Yes, you are right Iris. I will get this sorted. I wish my French was as good as yours!
Unfair advantage... I married into it!
I have read some of your other posts on here and the British Heart Foundation. You appear to suffer from anxiety, which I've never suffered from, so it's difficult to put myself in your shoes. I take a , to quote Doris Day, "whatever will be, will be, que Sera, Sera" approach to life. You have had 2 ablations, which in your words, " have not worked", and you take a beta blocker, Rivaroxaban, and an aspirin ( but the aspirin not for AF), and Pill in the pocket Flecainide, which normally sorts out your AF.
You moved to France, after having a holiday home there for several years, but this hasn't led to a reduction in your anxiety.
There are several ways of treating AF, and it appears to me, from my 29 years experience of AF, that you need to speak with a specialist, who can help you.
For any years mine was treated a different way, and I hardly had any episodes of AF, and then after 22 years my AF was deemed to be persistent. Now I accept it's permanent It's there every second of every day, though I can't feel it
Nothing can get my heart back to normal sinus rhythm . So I accept that. Permanent AF is not life threatening. I ensure that I take my anticoagulant daily
Your treatment can be improved by a specialist or electrophysiologist. I hope your life in France improves.
Thank you Thomas. It seems you have your AF well and truly under control. Unfortunately mine is debilitating in that it restricts me from doing anything. I am sure the anxiety doesn’t help. I have just started counselling for this in the hope that it will give me a better quality of life.
It would be safest to have an ECG done to see what’s going on if you are on Flecainide but any symptom, please go straight to A&E.
Thank you for your support. I will certainly go to A &E if I experience any pain.
I see in your post you were prescribed Flecainide as a PIP, when it was prescribed I assume the Cardiologist or EP gave you instructions on how to use it?
Just said use as PIP when AF strikes as far as I can remember. Thank you for replying. Perhaps I need more information on this.
You should have been given an individual plan and they should have made sure you understand the plan.
PIP information sheet link api.heartrhythmalliance.org...
Hope this helps, best wishes
Thank you very much for this. I will look at this.
Not sure that everyone gets the "obvious" advice we would all like as regards dosage and frequency of PIP medications. At a major London Cardiac hospital only a few years ago, I was prescribed both flecainide and bisoprolol as PIPs for my pAF, but no dosage or frequency advice was given. I had wrongly assumed the packaging would disclose these details. This Cardiology appt and the prescription advice letter to my GP was completed by an Arrhythmia Nurse. I still haven't worked out a regime that works for me, and I have no further access to Cardiology.🤔 And from Posts and Replies on the Forum, I don't think my experience is unusual, despite the obvious potential dangers of remaining without a plan.
This is a sorry state of affairs. Maybe we don’t ask enough questions.I was told to keep Flecainide as a PIP and just use it when needed.I hope you get sorted soon.
Yes, in the "excitement" of a first cardiology appt about my AF, and knowing nothing about PIPs, you would expect the "experts" to be able to stay calm and offer the needed "expert" guidance. Obviously the pressure of waiting lists doesn't help overstressed staff. And re the Arrhythmia Nurse I saw, I am still waiting years later for corrections re my AF condition contained in her letter to my GP summarising our meeting. I have emailed her at least 3 times and received reassuring replies on each occasion, but nothing has happened. I am reluctant to report this situation to the hospital authorities, still hoping she can "redeem" herself . Certainly not ideal.
Unbelievable. Could you go privately. You may get answers, though you shouldn’t have to. I think you have to make a nuisance of yourself with your GP.
We don’t know what questions to ask at the time that’s why they should tell you all you need to know, Ideally that information sheet should be given to you so you can ask the questions, as ozziebob points out it’s not your fault, this forum and the AFA main website is so informative and we are the lucky ones to be on here learning.
Yes, you’re right. We don’t know what questions to ask . We have to be grateful as you say for this forum.There is much knowledge on here and heaps of reassurance for those of us who need it.
Yes maybe contact their office or send email and ask for a call back as you need information about what dosage for PIP. I’ve seen plenty of people here with stories of how they covert sinus after the PIP, so worth the call
I have found the best way to reduce anxiety is knowledge about AF, to have a firm plan should AF strike including max Flecainide PIP & whether daily is now preferable. Lifestyle changes also help, I use more prayer, immersion in Nature, & breathing better to name just a few.
Have you the many ways suggested here to stop AF yourself. I have used successfully gulping down a very cold drink, listening to slow heartbeat on YouTube and going for a brisk steady walk.
I would catch a train to Bordeaux and have private appointment with one of their experienced world experts.
Thank you for replying. I have just started councelling to help with my anxiety. I do deep breathing, used to practise yoga and meditation, which has all gone to pot since moving here to France. I need to start again as I know it helped. Bordeaux seems like a good idea. I will consider this. Thank you again.
I have been told not to worry and to take an extra bisoprolol (1.25mg) if need be, but you need to be advised medically, really. since each case can be different.
I doubt you'll be told differently, though. There's little A&E will do unless you are highly symptomatic and unstable. They will start with 5mg bisoprolol and put you on a monitor and wait to see what happens. If you are highly symptomatic, well, then you'd not be able to sit it out at home, of course - thus so much depends upon how you have felt in the past and are used to. New symptoms often set my worries off!
Steve
Thank you Steve. I have had my Bisoprolol increased to two 1.25mg. One in the evening and one at night. This was fine for a while but now since last Friday all over the place. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get checked out.
Much like me. I was told to increase the bisoprolol but take care not to let it reduce my pulse too far so as to be symptomatic.
I tend to have a low heart rate anyway so I think I’d be unlikely to cope with much more bisoprolol - and I live in hope it won’t be needed. My overactive mind does tend to see a pacemaker on the horizon somewhere!
Steve
Well, I have one ! It’s to stop your heart going too slow.I think my consultant just gave it to me to keep me quiet!
That made me smile!
Steve
Good. It’s nice to be able to put a smile on someone’s face!
have you tried taking your flecainide daily. It might be thst the medics will start you on 50 twice a day. Also remember bisoprolol is a rate control snd flecainide is a rhythm control do it depends how your symptoms are going
I’m not a doctor just personal experience but you are allowed up to 300mgs I believe of flecainide and as you are only on 1.25 bisoprolol you could take another pill
Having said all that it would be safer to go to doctor or A & E if it is worrying you as stress can make things worse.
Happy Easter snd hope you feel better soon
Unfortunately the medics here don’t much care for Flecainide. I have some from England, so continue to take them. I will look into this.I take 1.25 Bisoprolol morning and evening.I may go back toEngland to see my Papworth consultant. Yes, the stress is a pain. I am now having councelling for this. Heigh ho! Thank you.
I believe that Flecainide is not prescribed as PIP here but daily as only the slow release version is available. I'm sure Lilypocket took it before her ablation. You really need to bite the bullet of getting yourself a cardiologist here so you can get regular checks and a treatment plan rather than rely on going back to England . Your GP will be able to refer you and help you find one that speaks English. In the meantime what are you doing to improve your French?
Yes, you are right. I was referred to a cardiologist here in my town but he is fully booked. I have an appointment with my doctor in a couple of weeks. My French has gone by the board . Moving has taken up most of my time. This is something I need to focus on. Thank you for replying.
I looked up your old posts and noticed that you said you moved 5 months ago. Frankly getting to grips with the language of the country you have chosen to live in should be one of your top priorities. You will find it hard to become comfortable with living here if you do not . We have very close friends who chose to turn their holiday home here into their permanent residence but never improved their French ( which was practically non existent) despite my husband being willing to give them lessons. They realised when having to consult a non English speaking locum GP ( and having to take my husband to the appointment to translate) that they would not be able to cope with health problems here. They felt forced to move back to the UK where of course they are faced with a different problem of actual diminishing services.
I get what you are saying. I do have an English speaking doctor and the consultants at the hospital are all very helpful, with most of them speaking a little English. I appreciate your good advice. I do need to do this. My husband would be mortified if we had to return to England! May I ask how long have you lived here?
We have lived here since Sept 2001. Does your husband speak French? It is not right to rely on having hospital personel who can speak English. It adds to the burden of their job having to do it in a foreign language. This is especially so if you have to go into hospital. I have shared a room with a person who spoke no French and the nurses took a dim view. It was obvious that they resented having the communication difficulties.
I fully understand what you are saying. My husband speaks some French. I am going to address this situation now. You obviously love it here .
We are very happy here and right from day 1 never doubted our decision to move here. But then we did prepare for it for a long time whilst still living in the UK.
I am pleased everything has worked out well for you. We bought a holiday home here in 2016 and have now sold that and bought another house. My husband was desperate to live here permanently. I wasn’t so sure but agreed as long as we were not too remote. We are near friends and our village has all amenities. The house and gardens are lovely and one I used to admire from day one. It then came on the market and we snapped it up. You sound like someone who has their feet firmly on the ground!I on the other hand suffer with anxiety. I am now having councelling for this. Along with learning French and getting my medication sorted, I hope to continue living here. It is a lovely place to be.
I have suffered from anxiety . At one time I was having panic attacks for no reason that I could fathom . This was before the afib started. I have found magnesium supplements helpful though they have not made any difference to the frequency of my afib attacks . But I no longer get panic attacks and the symptoms during an episode are far less noticeable. Did you learn French at all at school?
No, my anxiety started when I was young and consequently missed some schooling. I too have suffered with panic attacks and get them occasionally now. I am pleased they have stopped for you. They are awful aren’t they. As regards the my French, unfortunately the older one gets, the less one tends to remember. It really is a case of getting out there and communicating! Thank you for caring.
The first port of call is lessons and though it is not going to be welcome news learning verbs and their conjugations off by heart. You cannot communicate with anybody in verbless sentences! When my sis in law moved here she got a course of lessons free from the local authority. I don't know if that is still available or available in your area but you could inquire at the mairie .If you have television then get a TNT box to get French satellite tv if you do not have it already. Put it in your kitchen and listen to it when you are working in there. Even though you will not understand much at first it is essential for getting the rhythm of the speech. French intonation is different and it helps you to hear when they finish one sentence and start another. This was one of my biggest problems to start off with. Concentrate on the adverts to start off with! Only watch the news - there are 24 hr news channels here as well. News readers speak proper French all the time without heavy regional accents - unlike ordinary people who slur their words , use slang and interject "quoi " , "donc" and "si tu veux" all over the place- think English people who say "so " and "you know" all the time. It is just not true that you will "pick it up" from being around French people . This is a myth that too many Brits who come here fall for. It only happens with young children who have to go to school for 8 hours a day . If you like gardening buy a French gardening magazine every month and arm yourself with a good dictionary. Start with the captions under the photos. Bon courage!
So kind of you to take the trouble! You have a lot of good tips here. I will certainly buy gardening magazines. I do have a good dictionary and we will look into a TNT box. The accents certainly do confuse us, We couldn’t understand our previous neighbour. I’m not sure if the free lessons still exist. Thank you again. You have been a great help.
I take Flecainide daily, 200 mg. slow release (Apocard retard) and it works most of the time. When Afib breaks through anyway, I add 200 mg fast-acting Flecainide (Tambocor) extra, which usually terminates the Afib in 2 to 4 hours. Works every time.
Thank you for this. Flecainide does seem to work for me. I think maybe I should be taking this on a regular basis. Thank you so much for this. I am truly grateful.
Have you taken your PIP
How thoughtful to check up on me. No,I haven’t. I didn’t feel I needed to. I have an appointment with my doctor soon. But as it’s to do with my heart,I think she will put me in touch with a consultant again. I need to have my medication adjusted and am going back to England soon and am tempted to make an appointment with my consultant there but know I need to get set up here really. I will soon run out of my PIP ,so something needs to be done.
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