I have not been brilliant the last few days. I have been getting very anxious over my high blood pressure problems and it’s making me very light headed and I feel unbalanced. I wish I’d never been asked to stop the Sotalol and this would never have happened. I am back on 60 mg twice a day, but I’ve been told not to take my blood pressure for a week now, because it makes me anxious.I’ve got a roaring in my ears and a feeling of pressure in my head and my near vision seems to have got worse and my husband thinks it could be to do with my ears. I am deaf in one ear and a bit hard of hearing in the other and my husband thinks that’s the cause of my problems.. I’ve been to the GP twice already this week and have another one today. He’ll be sick of me.!!!! I have a hypnotherapy appointment next Tuesday, it helped me when Covid started as I was getting very anxious, but her charges have gone up a lot since then to £120, so I cannot afford more than 1 session now. I don’t know if it will help, but I think I will ask the GP about CBT.
BP and anxiety: I have not been... - Atrial Fibrillati...
BP and anxiety
Hi sixtychick, I'm very anxious over my AF and infact any health problem, 
I hope the hypnotherapy helps, please let us know how you're doing.
Anxiety is awful especially mixed with AF.
K.
My anxiety was caused by stopping my Sotalol heart drug, because it caused my blood pressure to rise to a high level, which entailed a trip to A&E. 111 sent me when I rang them about it.
It is a worry, it plays on your mind, make sure you don't take your blood pressure, try not to think about it, you're on meds so it should be fine. Good luck with the hypnotherapy.
K.
Thanks. I did have an ablation Sept 2023, I was told to stop my Sotalol, although I’d gone from 80 mg to 20,over several weeks, it looks like that’s what proberly caused my BP to rise. I’ve never had BP problems before.I now have to take my BP for 2 weeks twice a day. Yesterday the GP took it and it was 144/ 86, which the GP said wasn’t bad, considering it was taken in th3 surgery.
You’re taking all the right steps by speaking with your GP and exploring options like hypnotherapy and CBT and avoiding checking your blood pressure for a week. It sounds challenging, but by doing these steps, it sounds like you're strong in reaching out and that takes strength and especially resilience.
Thanks. I haven’t taken it for a week, as I saw a GP last week and he said not to. GP I saw yesterday, wants me to take it my BP for 2 weeks and chart it. I’m trying relaxation exercises and a hypnotherapy session next week
Anxiety is pretty common with AF, I've never managed to shrug it off completely after 11 years....so I am no expert 🤔.
That said I manage it principally through walks in Nature, staying active in an enjoyable volunteering space, prayer and new hobbies. Also someone mentioned to me recently that one of the medicinal cannabis products that you can buy over the counter is effective; sorry I didn't make a note of the name and haven't tried it myself but maybe an idea to look into.
Not sure I’d want that.take that. I had an ablation for my AFib sept 2023. I am trying hypnotherapy and relaxation exercises. The GP I saw yesterday, thinks my lightheadedness and balance problem, could be caused by crystals in my ears and has told me to do a thing called an Epley maneuver. It’s horrible, Makes you so dizzy. Still if it works, it’ll be worth it.
I've suffered with anxiety all of my life, but strangely enough AF is not a trigger for me - I get anxious about family flying, or having to park my car in a busy car park, but for some obscure reason AF does not make me over anxious - maybe it's because when I was first diagnosed 8 years ago, the Cadiologist said to me ' AF is something you die with, not from' !
Anxiety is horrible. I have anxiety every so often.although have been fine for quite a while, until this high blood pressure problem started. If I hadn‘t been told to come off my Sotalol I doubt I would have had a problem, as it lowers BP as well as being used for AFib. Anxiety first happened in the 1970’s when my 2nd son was 9 months old and very ill and he nearly died twice. Such a dreadful time we went through.We’re very lucky he survived. He’s 50 now. I got menopause anxiety, about 20 years ago, which is now recognised now. I have had it other times and of course AFib can cause it a bit, but 🤞🤞🤞my ablation worked. I also had bad anxiety when Covid started and it was all doom and gloom and hypnotherapy and relaxation exercises helped.Hypnotherapy is now £120 a session, It’s gone up a lot ,so I can only afford 1session. I shall do relaxation exercises every day, just 5 mins. I did it before taking my BP and it was 122/70. Much better.
You are very lucky with the success of your ablation in Sept 23. It’s now Jan 25th 2025! Congratulations!
I find I get anxious about my ablation failing ( mine was done in Aug 4/8/24)
I’m on Apixaban, Amlodopine & Avorvastatin.
My EP said when I was discharged till Aug 25 that I must do 200 mins moderate exercise per week. BP to stay below 140/80, limited alcohol (I gave it up) & watch weight (mine is minimal).
I do try deep breathing exercises if I think “ I’ve overdone it”!
Good luck with hypnosis. Some folk swear by acupuncture.
Thanks. I know how you feel. I should imagine everyone who’s had an ablation is the same. The success rate for ablation is over 60% and with new pulse field one, it’s supposed to be more successful .I was given amlodipine when my BP was high.It was an awful drug. Made me feel dizzy and just out of it. Horrible stuff. You’re lucky it doesn’t affect you. Sotalol, that they gave me for AFib, does lower your BP which is why, when the EP told me to stop it, my BP went up so high. I’d got it down to 20mg twice a day. I doubt I shall be able to stop that now. I was put back onto 40mg and then 60 twice a day. Now I’ve changed to 60in evening and 40mg in morning. I’m hoping to go back to 40 again.Im on same anti coagulant and statin as as you.Hope your ablation is succseeful.
Hypnotherapy helped me tremendously years ago for anxiety. I went privately at furst but then my GP arranged it on the NHS asthere was a GP Locally who specialised in it. YOu could ask. The best thing was learning to self hypnotise to stop it before it really got going. NO problems now at all. When I had a heart attack 6 years ago, I wasn't even concerned. YOu can control anxiety, you just need to know what works for you. Admitting it is the first step and knowing it will make yoru symptoms worse but it won't kill you .
Glad to hear that. Sorry to hear about your heart attack. How awful for you, but good that the hypno helped. It helped me too. Just wish it hadn’t gone up so much. My hypnotherapist is brilliant. I started going when Covid was starting and it was really scary. She did it by Zoom then.I didn’t know you could get it on the NHS. Don’t think you can in Leicestershire. You were lucky. Just wish she hadn’t put it up £40 .£120 is a ridiculous amount.
If her methods suit you, go for it no matter the cost. Maybe you could work a weekly payment
Anxiety over health is a terrible thing to endure! I hope you find relief soon.
It is . Thank you
There's no real evidence that "hypnotic..." anything is real. It seems it's in the mind, but that won't matter if it works. That cost is far too much though. You might be better with acupuncture which has some evidence going for it (not much), but is surely less expensive (maybe not...).
Anxiety is what you have, though, and you do know this. The books by the late Dr Claire Weekes are truly excellent and offer self-help. Chasing a cure from others - some of them charlatans - can be expensive and usually offers only short-term success.
Maybe your GP would risk giving you some 5mg diazepam tablets to try out when things get bad? You can take 2 if the doctor agrees. No GP likes to give them as in around 1/3 of people who take them regularly, the possibility exists of becoming dependent. That leaves 2/3 who don't but if used only as an "emergency" aid they have been shown to be safe (but not always effective, though - there's no miracle cure for anxiety).
The best way to subdue anxiety is through medical reassurance that you truly are not sufficiently unwell to have to fear it. Realising that "you have been there before time and time again and are still here to worry about it all" is the best way to realise that those years of fears have done nothing but reduce your quality of life - and that it's truly time to put them aside.
Steve
Thanks Steve. Hypno seemed to work for me. Can’t afford more than one session now it’s gone up that much at £120 a session now price though. One session was enough to boost it when I last went, quite a while back. I was given drugs for anxiety in the 70’s. Took me ages to come off it. I went through the mill when my 9 month was son was so ill and he nearly died twice . He was in hospital for over a month. Thats when I first got anxiety. I would not take them again now, unless it really was neccessary.
This time it was caused by my systolic blood pressure rising to over 180 ., when I’d stopped the Sotalol and I knew this was serious and I rang 111 and they said go to A&E in the next 2 hours.I had a hypertensive crisi.s. They put me back on Sotalol and put me on Amlodipine for BP as well. The side effects of Amlodipine were terrible.Made me very lightheaded and I felt awful and couldn’t function and BP was too low., as Sotalol lowers BP, too. so I think I should never have been told to stop sotalol. I am wary of BP tablets now The Dr who did my ablation, should have just reduced it back to the 40 mg as it is now. I’m doing relaxation sessions and will source CBT privately. I can gave it on the NHS, but theres a 6 month wait Hopefully cheaper than hypno. It helps that my BP is back to normal.
I'm guessing the drugs were SSRIs rather than diazepam? That cost for hypnotherapy is a high price for, what - an hour? It's a tough one to deal with - my best wishes with whatever you go with. Anxiety is an unpleasant thing indeed.
Steve
Kardia and diagnosis of AFib
Torn, need low bp for afib but now got glaucoma and need higher bp
Dizziness, light headed and flashes in eyes 2 days post ablation 
AF and BP readings
