I'm recently diagnosed with AF. How does everyone deal with the anxiety? My GP doesn't seem to have the time and my appointments with a cardiologist have been cancelled twice. What are everyone's coping mechanisms
Anxiety : I'm recently diagnosed with... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Anxiety
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How does everyone deal with the anxiety ....What are everyone's coping mechanisms
Like with most things, the more you know, the easier it is to cope and the less resulting anxiety.
An excellent place to start is Dr. John Day's book, The Afib Cure. It should give you an excellent overview on most everything afib, and build a solid platform that you can then expand upon.
But in the meanwhile, I'll just say this.
Afib is a condition that manifests uniquely in each individual, with some experiencing debilitating symptoms like palpitations and fatigue, while others remain asymptomatic and unaware of their condition. And because of this, the right treatment for Jack may not be the right treatment for Jill. So keep that in mind when you read posts and answers here, because they may or may not pertain to your individual situation.
Personally, I was diagnosed with afib almost 40 years ago and only in the last four years did I require any sort of ongoing treatment, or even afib medications. Others have different stories.
Jim
I was diagnosed about two years ago when I went in for a Stress Test. I was cardioverted that day and prescribed meds and given a follow up appointment with the cardiologist. Since then I’ve had an ablation and am taking an anti coagulant and a beta blocker. I believe anxiety caused me to experience some light episodes of afib which is why post ablation I went back on the meds. The anxiety was caused when I failed the eye test trying to renew my drivers license. This has since been resolved. The anxiety over afib was holding me prisoner. I fully understand what you are feeling. At 72 years of age I’m not quite ready to surrender to fear. Do I believe that I will never experience bouts of afib again, no I expect I will. Do I believe one can have a rich life while coping with afib, yes I do.
Go to the Atrial Fibrillation Association website and read all you can about AF. Knowledge is power. I've had AF for about thirty years. It used to come in episodes, which is Paroxysmal AF, and now it's all the time, but I can't feel it.I am not anxious about it, or about my other illnesses including long-term asthma. Losing weight helped both conditions.
As others have said, make yourself as knowledgeable as possible about the condition . You will be able to have a meaningful dialogue with your health advisors then. You will find some excellent literature on the AF Association website.
Try to get yourself as healthy as possible, whether this is cutting out or cutting back on alcohol, losing weight if needed or adopting a more plant based diet.
I've had AF for over 30 years and have been highly symptomatic when I have an episode from the very beginning. I'm no longer anxious. I know what to do when I have an episode and understand what is going on . That's not to say I don't get a bit frightened when my heart rate suddenly escalates to the 200s though but thankfully that is now quite rare.
We've all been there, all 31000 of us on this forum. You're right to be anxious, we all were but the more you know about it the better. Also the more you know the better you will be at working with the medics to get the treatment that suits you.Welcome.
Having an experienced and trusted cardiologist helps - in the early days I had to change mine.
Remove other sources of stress/anxiety in your life to make room for AF concerns which are common to all of us especially when first diagnosed with all the tests etc.
Stay in control by learning a much as possible; this site is so good I rarely go elsewhere.
For a break try and 'leave' your AF dominated world - think deep dive into Nature, grow spiritually and do that thing you always promised you would; the latter proving AF is the gateway to a more positive life 😁!
if you have around £220 to spare it would be a good idea to book an appointment with a private cardiologist. At the moment the NHS has limited capacity in cardiology apart from for serious cases. He or she will answer your questions and advise you on next steps.
I found this site the best place as listening to the people and all the advice I have found my gp exellant to deal with but the anxiety part I dealt with myself and am now fit again and enjoying life at first I was so scared but have found obviously you have to listen to your body and look after yourself my gp has answered any questions I had on exercise at first I was so scared I wouldn't carry a bag of potatoes home from shop that's how scared I was lor but I'm fine now
Two things exercise and breathing properly.
i'm at my brightest after exercise even a daily walk in the fresh air for a few km's helps with frame of mind its the release of endorphins. Also read a book about how to breath its by James Nestor called Breath. Read some reviews.
Breathing exercises and the videos of D Sanjay Gupta on YouTube.
I think a lot depends upon whether or not you are inherently a worrier, if so Af will exaggerate your ‘what if’s’. If this is the case knowledge can be a double edged sword so be careful what questions you ask. Adopting some type of CBT methodology will help you cope - there are plenty of on-line but my suggestion for information about anxiety and how to cop is to head to the Human Givens website first hgi.org and read the blog Anxiety and Dealing with Panic Attacks which explains about anxiety is and looks at coping mechanisms.
If you aren’t inherently a worrier but find you suffer physical symptoms of anxiety - feeling of doom, nausea, sweating, fast mouth breathing then look at methods of biofeedback the most common is breath techniques and any and all gentle exercise routines which focus on breath work - Tail Chi, Yoga, Pilates, Meditation Walks in Green Nature, Cold Water Swimming, Singing or just focussing on stuff that gives you pleasure - pleasure triggers endorphins which counter the stress hormone cortisol which is the most corrosive of the stress hormones.
Know that stress actually enhances your AF symptoms so it is important to tackle the stress in order to cope with AF.
Know that there are many, many people on this forum and throughout the world that live with AF and have done for decades and live full and active lives so can view Af as sometimes life limiting and life changing, often for the better, hard though that may be for you to understand right now.
Know there are treatments but getting to see an Arrythmia specialist, not just a general cardiologist, is important to talk you through treatments and your best options for you. If you can, see one ASAP privately as just having that initial consult will often help enormously. Cost is average £200-£300 and if the person you see works in the NHS you can transfer to their list, you won’t get treated any faster on the NHS waiting list but you will come away with questions answered.
Enroll for the AFA Patient Day - perfect opportunity to speak with fellow sufferers and the best specialists heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Hope some of that helps.
It all helped 🙂 thank you. I'll be looking into the private consult route.
I belong to the inherent worrier group, have done since childhood, nobody abused or misused me - I was just born like it. I've tried everything, but really the only thing that helps me is medication
TracyAdminPartner
Hello, Welcome to the Forum, I am sure many of the members here will welcome you and offer their support and advice, based upon their own experiences. It is natural to feel anxious upon receiving news about a new health condition. If you would like to have a chat or some reassurance, our Patient Services Team are here to help; heartrhythmalliance.org/afa....
You will find a wealth of information on our AF Association webpage, from videos, resources and stories from the heart, should you prefer to explore and find out more about AF yourself, To visit: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa/uk
You are also welcome to join our Online AF Coffee Morning taking place via Zoom this Thursday 18 July at 11.00am. To register an interest and receive the zoom details, please visit: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Kind regards
TracyAdmin
The roots and nature of anxiety differ a great deal. I have been diagnosed by my GP as having suffered with anxiety for half my life and yet the cardiologist I saw in 2019 for atrial flutter told me I had much more likely been suffering undetected fleeting arrhythmias for all that time, and the "anxiety" was an entirely natural response to them. Several here have been told the same.
How odd is that? And who is right? We'll never know.
I have also met people who deny being "an anxious sort". They say things like, "Oh, I don't let it affect me" or "I refuse to give into it". It's one of those strange human conditions that evokes destructive binaries such as "strength / weakness” and “hero / coward". In the family, we have one individual who seems typically anxious but who denies it and blames the cause on her low blood pressure. Others claim to suffer anxiety and even to have "panic attacks" but can be cured by a good film. What an odd thing "anxiety"is!
Cardiac related anxiety is normal and I suspect everyone with a heart "condition" has it at some point. Just how easily negative thoughts enter their minds, how long they persist and what degree of discomfort they create, however, does seem to differ a great deal.
What to do about it very much depends on how much it affects you.
My own experience is that anxiety can be draining and make life hard work. And yet I find that it can quickly reduce with the right kind of reassurance. This might be your situation. This forum will offer a lot of that, although nothing comes close to talking face to face with someone who suffers or, best of all, with a doctor who has thoroughly checked out your own heart. Have you the had an echo or MRI scan, for example? These will likely have shown you that all the anxiety-inducing troubles are in the "safe" part of your heart - the upper chambers, or "atria". that they are caused by mis-firing nerve cells that make this part beat wrongly or chaotically. None of this will affect your future heart health, or cause you to die, however much it might feel otherwise. Those feelings are "anxiety". What is needed is for any anti-coagulation needs to be dealt with and for your heart rate to kept from racing over much and for over long, with something like a beta-blocker or similar. And then there are other treatments such as rhythm drugs and ablation.
So much depends on what do you call "anxiety" and how much is it affecting your daily life?
Steve
Ppiman,
Really useful comment! I found it strange when I first started having arrhythmia and palpitations that they felt just like anxiety. When all my life I'd heard that a panic attack can feel like a heart problem, I found it very strange to find that it also works the other way round and no one ever warns you about that.
I am much less experienced than others, so don't really have advice of my own. I did find it quite useful, though, to realise my palpitations *felt like* anxiety, but actually it wasn't my own real emotion and I could feel a bit separated from it. I had been meditation for years at that point, and I also found that very good for giving me a bit of a sense of distance from my negative emotions. I got that benefit quite quickly when I first started meditating, so it is worth giving it a try.
For me, my first few years of AF were very hard, and it was often extremely uncomfortable with weird symptoms, like that my skin was too tight and all my insides were under high pressure, as well as more usual ones like light headedness. But now I am at around year three or four and it is much more settled. Most of the time I can't even feel the AF, and I don't feel like my level of activity is reduced (I have another chronic illness that greatly reduces my activity level). This seems to be the more common pattern, that it settles down more and more with time, so hopefully you will get more physically comfortable as time passes.
I don’t think I had anxiety about it. I was concerned until it was finally diagnosed after I’d gone to a spa which I wouldn’t have done had I known I had a heart condition. I developed chronic fatigue around the same time as the paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and that became an increasing problem. It was concerning after the lowest dose of Bisoprolol proved too much for me to take daily, but fortunately, when we found a lovely private EP through the AFA, and he had seen me and introduced me to having a smart phone and a Kardia, and then sent a prescription for Flecainide to my surgery for me after I’d sent him a copy of my heart in AF, my paroxysmal atrial fibrillation has greatly reduced and has now virtually disappeared. Anxiety is understandable but not part of the condition! Always rest when your heart starts misbehaving and get advice from an EP, the cardiologists who deal with electrical problems in the heart. Good luck.
As said before breathing exercises are good for anxiety and I have found yoga that uses 3 part breathing very good for dealing with anxiety and stress.
I’m in the U.K. I was diagnosed by paramedic /gp at doctors surgery in feb this year. Hospital (via telephone conversation with gp) asked if I could be managed ‘in the community’, which I am(although at first I felt alone with this!) However referral for echo was requested, which is 29th October! I had dreadful anxiety! I immediately self referred for CBT which I did via telephone/online. It has helped greatly but I’m not quite back to normal yet. I paid for a private cardiologist and had echo privately. All good, no structural issues. He was extremely helpful and answered all my questions. Medications (beta blockers)have been changed 3 times as I couldnt function. I’m now settling down on calcium channel blockers and anticoagulants. 🤞 the anxiety will settle now too. I found a private consult was the way to go. I also made changes to my diet, lost weight (which I’d already started due to pre diabetes), and upped gentle exercise to get back into shape. I was always very active. This has been an unsettling period but it’s getting better and I’m learning to live, albeit a little less manically (which is a good thing) than I used to. Be kind to yourself. Listen to your body. Rest when needed. Eat healthily. Exercise. Meditation Read up on AF as it helps to understand what’s happening. Good luck in your journey.
I'm in the uk too. Your story is virtually a mirror of my own. Although I've yet to speak to a cardiologist, which I will be doing privately. Where did you get CBT from? Thank you for taking the time to reply.
You can apply directly online at NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression. I wish you well. I chose a cardiologist who is clinical lead at my local hospital. He was brill.
I also bought some Loop earplugs (as recommended by a very understanding doctor when I ended up at A&E , which I did on a couple of occasions at the beginning). They help me take the edge off my anxiety as they block out the uneeded ‘noise stimulation’ around me … I had enough going on in my head thru anxiety at the time. I still use them as I find them relaxing.
If you don't already take magnesium you might find a magnesium supplement useful for the anxiety. Some people here have found that it helps their afib . I have not found that but it has helped my anxiety. Even before afib I used to get panic attacks but since supplementing with magnesium they have gone. I have got used to having afib attacks and am now a lot less symptomatic than at first and am able to regard them more as a nuisance than anything else. The suggestions others have made are all excellent though if you have been put on a beta blocker you might find losing weight difficult. You can use magnesium transdermally as well with sprays or lotions and Epsom salts baths.
Hi
But always have a blood test first.
Overdose on magnesium s so risky as on supplements your body cant weliminate it.
Use. foods rich in Magnesium which is natural. Your body can eininate this way.
Watch your meds as some contain magnesium or potasium. Mine do.
Caution is my middle name. I tonly take SOLFARD sublingual 1 nugget 3-4 weekly as I am deficient in B12.
Other folks shuld be at a level f 700-800.
cherio JOY 75. (NZ)
If you restrict your supplementation to the RDA for your sex then there is no risk of overdosing on magnesium. Many people do not manage to get that amount from their diets due to reduced amounts of magnesium in fruit and veg as a result of soil depletion because of modern farming practices. The RDAs are minimum requirements anyway.
l suffer with anxiety. I have had AF for six years and l have found that you do eventually get used to it. At first diagnosis my anxiety went through the roof because it is heart related and, my mind went into overdrive, thinking my life was over. I couldn’t have been more wrong and as l slowly began to understand AF it calmed me down. There are many of us A Fibbers, and some of us have had it for years and are in their 90’s. It is not classed as a “terminal” illness and it is treatable. When l have an attack, l always talk to myself, and remind myself that l have had it before and l will be ok. I do deep breathing which helps because l tend to hold my breath when anxious. Don’t use Dr. Google because that is the road to ruin and will not help you mentally. There is much contradiction and no medical history of the individual, as well as many theories and assumptions. Learn as much as you can about this condition, so that you understand. Read until you drop. This is a great place to be and helped me enormously to overcome my fears and anxiety.
Hi, I find distraction helps me, unless my heart has really banging palpitations. Reading good book, watching a thriller or sleeping and waiting it out. I suppose after 12 years I'm more equipped but that doesn't mean I'm not fed up when it starts. Best wishes
Hi
Life is what it brings.
Accet it.
Be your own advocate or take in another support person.
There is always someone worse than you.
At 70, my world changed with having no meds except for B12 Solgar sublingual nugget some days in each week to an array when
I had an Embolic Stroke - Ischaemic in September 2019
With Rapid & Persistant AF
Within 4 days on a carotid Arteries Scan the young scanner saw a shadow on my thyroid'= Papillary Cancer. Removed the following year early in February.
I had been able to tick off RUSSIA 6 weeks pror with a 12-day river cruise.
2 Aussie older ladies brought te flu with them. 6 days later (probably throug air conditioner in my room I contracted it.
The list was a shock. I couldn;t talk and was told to sing on the first day.
Almost 5 years now I have remnants - talking, swallowing and right hand improving.
Now I have thyroxine in the early AM (nothing to eat for an hour. 125mg Synthroid.
Then my CCB Ditiazem 12omg for controf heart rate
Then later I take my anti-coagulant PRADAXA 110mg twice daily
PM I take BB Bisoprolol 2.5mg for control BP
I did not need to ake decisions on heart re Cardioversion, ablation or arrhymic meds. My heart structure is abnormal.
To keep me positive - if I hadn't had the stroke the cancer would not have been discovered. From there there has been frustration no followup with Stroke and AF.
I remained uncontrolled with H/Rate day of 186.
At 1 year 4 mths I demanded a Heart Specialist. I had 3 24hr heart monitors before change in my meds. I moved forward with an interested PRIVATE H/Specialist and CCB Diltiazem was my control. Within 2 hours of taking this new med for me my heart brat dropped from 156 on Bisoprolol to 51. So 180mg to much. Reduced to 120mg and I have been on the reduced CCB and BB for 2.1/2 years.
Sometimes it is better if you go private with an interested recommended Specialist who wil help you with your anxiety by speaking to you and supporting you so that you are understood.
Please start a norboo with your concerns, detailing how you feel and the many ?s you have the right to ask and be answered.
In the first instance with the Thyroidectomy I refused RAI Treatment and to be in suppressin. My choice.
Do understand that you are No.1 and yu are the CEO to any health plans.
Be on this Forum for our support, whilst we can guide youwhere we have had experience WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
I have a 'normal for me low heart rate avg of 47bpm at Night.
Aoart from when I was not controlled I have no symptoms except for stopping on any exertion to havethe blod circulating fully around my body.
As time goes on I am sure I an sure that you will be heping others with your experiences.
Chin up we leave the anxiety behind as we gain more knowledge in our world.
cherio JOY. 75. (NZ)
When I feel an Afib attack coming on or my heart starts beating out of rhythm, it causes me extreme anxiety. I am the person that is aware and feels every single abnormal beat. I have anti anxiety medication that I take as soon as I feel an attack coming on. I still have the irregular beats but the meds calm me enough that I am not aware of them so much. I am sure that taking an anti anxiety medication during these extremely stressful times has saved me from several visits to the ER.
HiWelcome. As you can read, and as some have emphasized we are all on different journeys with our Afib. That's why you'll find some useful advice on here, although not all it will be directly relevant to you.
But we've all had to come to terms with it. Part of that is getting what information we can; but we also need to work out how to get on with our lives. I've struggled with when I should rest and when I should push myself. Also it can be hard to get those without Afib to understand how you feel. However, there are always folk on here who understand.
Good luck on your journey, see you up the road. CM
I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF a little over 2 years ago, and still haven't seen a cardiologist nor an EP nor a haematologist, despite my anticoagulation concerns (I am over 65) following previous unexplained chronic bilateral subdural haematomas, and learning I had an atrial septal aneurysm (ASA). I have been "treated" by an Arrhythmia Nurse and a newly trained pharmacist. I am assuming my AF is being monitored at arms' length because it does not require urgent intervention, along with the overwhelming demands of others with more serious issues. Reassuringly though, I have just had my second "no action required" transthoracic echocardiogram.
Re your anxiety, you will find it is ubiquitous on the AF Forum, and you have already received hopefully helpful advice. However you might find it additionally helpful to read past Forum Posts about anxiety. To do this, use the HU Search 🔍option at the top of the page. Here are the results for "anxiety" ...
healthunlocked.com/search/p...
Good luck.
You’ve already received plenty of great responses. The creepy crawlies in one’s chest from arrythmia (fib ,flutter or ectopic) always make me anxious and exacerbate the arrhythmia.
A variety of solutions have already been covered above. I’ve tried them all. Here are my top three: yoga & TaiChi; deep diaphragm breathing techniques w the mantra, “it won’t kill me”; and cannabis tea. I grow my own, decarb it in my oven, and drink it as a tea.
Of course in the UK that last one is probably not an option for you.
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