Something Has to Give!!

[MeganMN]

Ugh. I am so tired. My Atrial Tachycardia is in full swing and the last few medications have been a flop to try and control it. I wake up constantly all night long with fast rates. I am so tired and just feel completely run down. I see the EP on Thursday but we are running out of options. I am waiting for him to tell me that we have nothing else left to try. If I could just sleep, things would be so much better..... The goofy Atach happens mostly at night, although it is beginning to happen more and more during the day. Sorry, needed a whine. I'm just exhausted.

[BenHall1]

Hiya MeganMN,

I can't offer any comfort with the AF, mine is now highly controlled and for the most part doesn't trouble me.

I can offer my sympathies with tiredness though, mine is from pain ( of a damaged and arthritic left shoulder ) ...its now 04.00am GMT and am just scoffing some pain killers. I have managed to get through the night ( for once ) and have had about 7 hours sleep ........ so it's been a pretty a good night by my standards however, my tiredness and nightmare horror issues are also compounded by medication I am taking (Edoxaban ) as an anticoagulant. These issues will be dealt with by various healthcare professionals in the upcoming week (hopefully ) - mind you it's taken so long to get an appointment with these guys I've almost forgotten why I made the appointment in the first damn place 😂😂😂

All I can do is to wish you well and hope that you can get some sleep. By the way, have you ever considered that maybe, possibly, diet is contributing to these night time events.

Good wishes.

John

[Ennasti in reply to BenHall1]

Atrial tachycardia is not the same as atrial fibrillation. Atrial tachy is a regular sinus rhythm but over 100 beats per minute. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular, somewhat chaotic beat and can occur lower than 100 beats per minute.

[BenHall1 in reply to Ennasti]

I was just commisserating with tiredness ... is all. Not the atrial stuff.

[CDreamer]

Do you know what your HR is when asleep? What is it exactly that means you cannot sleep with HR because I found I got used to it and learned to ignore. I also had Pulsile Tittinus which is what kept me awake so I played AudioBooks which acted as white noise and hey presto - fast asleep. Trouble is 10 years on I can’t sleep without and now I have Tittinus period! If you aren’t sleeping, that’s horrible.

Have you tried Lifestyle changes - especially relaxation and breathing exercises? Is your tachycardia only at night? If so have you tried changing your position and raising the head of your bed very slightly?

Have you been screened for OSA - obstructive sleep apnea?

I do empathise because until you can sleep you will find you cannot recover.

[MeganMN in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for the reply! My rhythm issue has always been at night, but not necessarily when I am sleeping. I am a night owl but the rhythm starts by around 5pm, peaks around 1-2am, and slowly gets better by 6-8am. I have tried so many, many things. I have tried to journal about diet, changed lifestyle, food, coffee, etc. I have tried supplements, cardiac meds, sleeping pills, herbal supplements, etc. I was screened for OSA and did not have it. I cannot sleep because the Atrial Tachycardia (SVT) is just so intrusive. My heart pounds out of my chest and I wake up constantly with an acute awareness of it. My heart rate is all over the place but tends to peak at 1-2am. I get rates up into the 150s just laying in bed. Here is an example of what my monitor looks like. My heart rate is all over the place.

SVT

[MeganMN in reply to MeganMN]

Every time those early beats happen, it is with a thumpity thump, so it wakes me all night long. Much of the time I am in bigeminy

Bigeminy

[MeganMN]

Here is the plot map of my heart rate. You can see his high it goes at night. I am running a marathon in my sleep.

Heart rate plot

[MiniMeGreen]

Being in your place, I would go to Randall Wolf in Houston to see whether you're eligible for the MiniMaze.