afib after cardio version

[wbekim]

had dccv approximately 2 weeks ago successfully back in nsr after 1 shock previous 3 months in persistent afib paroxysmal before approximately 10 years after isolated days of extreme ectopics just gone back into afib which almost certainly will be persistent my problem has always been when missed beats or afib occur which obviously have been and are now 24/7 I cannot get my attention off the horrible feelings of flutters which take my breath away and I dwell on them every waking moment and during interrupted sleep it drags me down and drains me leaving me depressed anxious and totally stressed with either fear or intolerance does anyone else have these horrendous symptoms constantly and have any advice on how to distract thoughts from them other than breathing and relaxation techniques as I consider apart from my reaction to symptoms I am not particularly an anxious person and other aspects of afib do not cause me great concern I am so distressed at the moment many thanks Mike

[mjames1]

Are you under the care of a electrophysiologist (ep)? Depending on your individual circumstances, they may be able to put you on medications which could take care of both your atrial fibrillation and ectopic beats. These are medication's that may not be prescribed by a GP or even a regular cardiologist. They can also offer you the option of catheter ablation.

Jim

[wbekim in reply to mjames1]

Thanks Jim I am under an ep he seems reluctant to prescribe the likes of flecanide or amiodorone despite me evidently having a structurally normal heart as seems to be the case they say condition/symptoms are not life threatening but miss the misery and despair constantly feeling heart fluttering and seemingly struggling with anxiety over breathing that goes with it I think they underestimate the mental stress symptoms play and don’t take into account excessive thoughts when saying it is not life threatening

[OzJames]

you need to see both a cardiologist and EP to understand both perspectives. The mind plays games. Is your Heart rate controlled? Breathing is so important and most of us don’t do it properly. I bought Breath by James Nestor it highlights how important correct breathing is to our bodies ecosystem. I’ve been in and out of AF for 31 years and only this year decided to try Flecainide with metoprolol after my CV end of January. I am on a very low dose of both as I do lots to keep my mind and body in shape. Exercise daily, eat well no booze. I found that my magnesium VitD and coq10 levels were all low so I’ve been supplementing for around a year and I feel great. Doing something positive makes you feel like you’re heading towards a solution. When AF came back in 2022 after many years of sinus I was down so low and thought this will kill me… some months later and I woke up and became my own advocate and tried things. I’m in holding mode considering one of the newer ablation methods

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

If you are taking Metoprolol ask to change to Bisoprolol. Netter for AFers amd Metoprolol gave mde missed beats.

cheri JOY. 75 (NZ)

[maurice2]

yes, get a lot of flutter, missed beats, early beats, sometimes runs of quite fast pulse. Never really bothered me. I do slow deep breathing if things seem a bit too lively, usually this calms things down a bit. The palpitations disappear when I exercise (fast walking mainly). I'm on apixaban because my cardiologist was concerned about the gaps in my pulse being a bit long sometimes. I had afib previously. It's good to find something to apply yourself to, it gets your mind off things like this. I took up weaving and doing up old morris minors