I'm very interested to hear of any methods that you've found that actually stops your Afib and restores NSR.Mine always last 15-24 hours and always returns to NSR while I'm asleep. Flecainide has never improved this scenario and my EP has advised me to stop taking it.
I've read peoples stories on here on many strange and wonderful ways they restore NSR, from splashing cold water on their face to deep breathing techniques. Someone even mentioned the Valsalva Maneuver.
I would love to know what works for you?
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I've had some good results calming bouts of AF using acupressure on the nei guan/PC6 acupuncture point. Doesn't work every time, but give it a try. Plenty of info on how/where/why on youtube & google.
There are a few studies online re the efficacy or not of acupuncture/acupressure and they seem generally positive if not outstandingly so. Most use a combination of three or four different acupoints but they all seem to have the PC6 in common and this is the one that works for me.
I'd love to know if you have any success with this?
I had svt, admittedly not afib, but I found that when my hr jumped to say 160 I could usually reset it by lying on my back and relaxing. This usually reset it within about a minute. Not always easy to find a suitable place to do this though. As time went on it got harder to reset it and I had an ablation. All good since then.
I did reverse it very early once as l could lie down and promptly fell asleep for 15 minutes. I've tried since but unless l fall asleep it doesn't work. And like yourself it's not always convenient!
I had SVT and AFib. I found lying on my back with my feet up against a wall nearly always worked to stop the SVT ( can’t do it in the middle of the High Street though !! ) but that didn’t work for my AFib. Only way my AFib would stop, was to go to A&E and they would always give me a drip, with some medication in it, which stopped it after a while. My Heart rate and blood pressure soared when I had AFib, so I was told to go to A&E, so they could keep an eye on me. I had an ablation for both, last September, so far, so good.🤞🤞🤞
I have very short minor episodes now but find the quickest way for me is to lie down and do 7/11 breathing, in for count of 7, out for 11.If I'm out and about or walking, lasts longer but slow breathing usually works.
One thing we do know is that AF is a mongrel condition. So the conclusion I draw is that the 'cure' is also going to be very mixed and individual.
I made many new lifestyle choices to reduce the likelihood of episodes and reluctantly agreed to take Flecainide. Over 11 years just 2 short episodes one stopped by gulping a cold drink (also have started an episode doing this!) and another by meditating/slow breathing listening to a steady heartbeat on YouTube.
Sorry to say that I've tried just about everything including a cold shower (please don't do it. Not recommended), standing on my head, rolling over on the floor, thumping my chest, deep breathing, holding my breath and 'pushing' etc, etc., but nothing seems to work for me. My AF does peter out eventually, normally at rest, lying down after taking 3.75mg of Bisoprolol at onset to lower heart rate. No anti-arrythmic drugs.
Yes and what works for one doesn't work for another. Incidentally l did try jumping under a cold shower, and like yourself wouldn't recommend it! I had quite a reaction, and it did nothing for my Afib...
So sorry Flecainide doesn’t work for you as it does for me. At first I took it as a pip when 100mg would stop an episode in a few hours and now that I take the same amount twice daily, I haven’t had an episode for ages and am hoping to try to reduce the dose as when I forgot to take the first pill of the day, I didn’t have an episode and was fine without it all that day. How different we all are.
Thanks for that, l will try all the ones that seem to work for some but l suspect you are right, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Flecainide actually makes mine worse. Must be very difficult working in cardiology...
That’s sad that it doesn’t work for you but we are all different and eventually doctors will realise that! Of course, the drugs have come with side effects like messing up my digestion which I guess is also affected by the chronic fatigue I acquired at the same time! But I have made it to 80 and fortunately, my brain still functions pretty well which is more important.
Well done on making it to 80!And as you say there are worse conditions we could have, my mum died 5 years after being diagnosed with dementia, nothing worse than that..
I drank a small glass of freezing cold water and put myself back in NSR a couple of times.! But it may have been coincidence as it hasn’t worked every time unfortunately.!! It’s something you could try though as you never know 👍
You're the second person to say that so l will give it a go, l do always drink a lot of water during an Afib, but never a freezing cold one. Worth trying as you say...
I think I read about someone doing it so I remember thinking next time I have a Afib episode I’m going to give it a go. So I got a bottle of water and stored it away in the fridge ready.👍
A week or two later I woke up in the early hours with AFIB so I lay there for about 10 minutes and went downstairs for my bottle of water and took it back to bed with me. I was still in AFIB, so i sat up and started drinking the water and I immediately went back into normal rhythm after only a couple of gulps. I was over the moon and couldn’t believe it. I thought WOW Iv cracked it.👍
I couldn’t fall asleep after this so sat up reading for hours and stayed in normal rhythm. But a few weeks later I tried the exact same thing and it didn’t work and I just ended up with brain freeze.!!!😡
I still tried it many times after that over the next few years but unfortunately it very rarely worked so I gave up in the end.
Not sure how I would describe my method. It's a sort of 'huff' come cough down into the stomach. Do this a couple of times and it seems to work, Probably something to do with the Vagus nerve.😕
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