Enjoyed reading the information on your site. I have Afib and not really Having to much luck with the Doctors. ( just making them richer with no real answers) I sing in a band every fortnight and find it starts after a Gig when i am at home in bed. Doctors have prescribed me with Metropolol and Flecanide which slows the Heart rate and i normally come back into normal rythum in about 4-6 hours. I have been reading up on the Flemeton Herbal Product???. Would be really great to find some answers without worrying about what your eating or drinking thinking it may trigger it off.

Regards, Greg

I do tend to visualize a successful show (closing night was great!) :)

It’s all a bit hit and miss, isn’t it? Dehydration is certainly a factor, so I calculate it in my efforts to stave off A-fib. I have only had 1 episode now in 5 and a half months. If you do take magnesium, try to get the orotate because it is more easily absorbed by the body. Only take 2 tablets a day even though it says 4. I take mine at night with plenty of water. I also take half a fluid tablet to ensure that I get rid of the fluid that I drink. I believe that a build-up of fluid around the heart can be the cause of A-fib but you need to have a talk with your doctor about this. Codeine in pain killers is another trigger so I’d stay away from it. I think it would be helpful to check the labels on all foods to see if the preservative 220 (sulphites) is in them. This is deadly for A-fibbers.

Louise, it would be good if you could do some meditation before you go on stage, particularly if you do this often. Remember, your thoughts create your reality, so they say, so you don’t want to attract your A-fib.

I wish you luck. Keep contributing to this site because there are plenty of people out there to help you.

Ann

I was diagnosed a year ago- after having increasing frequent episodes over about a decade (attributed by docs as palpitations with menopause, wore an event monitor for a week when I had no symptoms so I wasn’t diagnosed- I just stopped caffeine which helped). Eventually a-fib became weekly before having a big event while driving on the freeway that landed me in the ER and CCU (I’d had an OTC cold remedy that day which seems to have triggered it). Ironically I was on my way for a sleep apnea consult, a condition I suspected I had and figured was contributing to my heart rhythm problems. I’m also hypothyroid, female and 56 years old.

I’ve been on lots of drugs that didn’t work or made things worse. The absolute worst for me was metroprolol- made no difference to the a-fib attacks in frequency, intensity or duration, and made me clinically, and finally suicidally, depressed. It snuck up on me over time so I warn everyone on that drug about the potential for depression (which my family doc says affects about 1/3 of people on the drug from his experience). I’m now on Multaq, approved by the FDA last Aug. widely used in Europe for a decade or so. It’s wildly expensive ($238/mo at Costco) and not covered by my insurance, but for me it’s worked really well.

However, last night waking from sleep in the night, I had a significant episode like I haven’t had on this drug- close to fainting, the whole enchilada- which tells me my heart rate was way up there (it was fluttering so fast I couldn’t get beats). The only thing I can attribute the episode to was having taken a supplement with ginseng in it for a few days. Anyone else have difficulty with ginseng? I’ve also started taking Hawthorne in the hopes that I might back down to one Multaq a day (half price would be good!) in the future.

Known triggers for me are caffeine, too much chocolate, too much alcohol, too much food. I can only attribute one episode to stress. Since on Multaq the episodes have been infrequent and less severe (130bpm or less) and don’t last all that long. I’d sort of lost track of feeling that specter over my shoulder all the time. Particularly worrisome because I’m on stage tonight and worry about the “what if’s” during a performance. I’ll up the water and potassium for sure!

I am grateful for any additional advice anyone can offer.

I’m sorry you are having such difficulties with A-fib. A doctor showed me once how he gets his heart back to normal rhythm by pressing on the artery just under the jaw. You can feel the heartbeat easily there. He holds his breath for about 20 seconds and releases the pressure on the artery. It’s worth a try. Also, the fear you carry around causes you to be really stressed and this doesn’t help. When you go to hospital with A-fib you are generally given magnesium so it’s obviously OK to take it yourself. For what it’s worth, try taking some on a regular basis. It takes a few days to build up in the body and it’s good for you anyway. The heart needs magnesium to regulate the beat, support the heart muscle and keep blood pressure down. As we get older, we become more deficient in magnesium so it makes sense to take it as a supplement anyway. My cardiologist was very interested and is putting some of his patients on it.
Read my replies on this site to see if there is anything there that you think might help you if you are looking for natural ways to help yourself.

Good luck and stay in touch.
Cheers, Ann

Pam

By now you would have read that I am a real believer in magnesium. You do get magnesium from green, leafy vegetables but maybe not enough. I was heartened by the interest my cardiologist took in my success with magnesium orotate. He said he was going to put one of his other patients on it. Always discuss issues with your doctor because many of them are starting to look at the bigger picture. It has long been a practice to give people with A-fib a dose of magnesium when they go to hospital. As we get older, we tend to lose much goodness from our bodies and the fact that the soil we grow our food in is depleted these days doesn’t help. I still take a mild tablet to keep my heart beating normally, but it is only since I started taking magnesium as well, that the A-fib has stopped.

Good luck.
Ann

P.S. Check out the food you are eating for preservatives, especially 220 and also alcohol for the same (220). Deadly trigger!