Living With Atrial Fibrillation

1. Marina

   Hi! People,

   It’s been a while but I haven’t forgotten about my fellow A-Fibers. I had my Catheter Ablation on January 26th (Tuesday). My Dr. told me I could possibly have episodes again after, the could be worse than before the procedure & he was right. I have experienced several, post Ablation. I had to go back into the hospital on Feb 7th – Feb 9th. They put me on Amiodarone 400mg a day. 200mg in the am 200mg in the pm along with Coumadin which they kept a close eye on me to regulate my dosage which is a rule for anyone on Coumadin. I was going in every week to get my INR Protime done for the Coumadin. Then a few weeks ago it was every 2 weeks & just the other day I was told to come back in a month. I was put on a Heart Monitor called Cardio Net which is rather small in size compared to the Heart monitor they put me on for 48 hours back in 1997. That looked like the original cell phone. Remember them? They looked like size 10 shoes next to your ear. Anyway, I had one episode on Friday, March 12th, that’s 3 weeks (& the Dr. could see/keep track of the event/episode in his office) the longest I’ve been A-Fib Free since about 2 years ago. The Dr. is weening me off the Amiodarone as I write this. I can Breathe & bend over again. I’ve even begun to incorporate foods in my diet I couldn’t eat before. Of course I still have to be careful with what I eat but I can do a little here & there so I don’t feel deprived. I’ve been wearing the Cardio Net Heart Monitor since Saturday, March 6th & I’m sending it back this Monday, April 5th. YAY! My Drs. predictions were pretty spot on since the Ablation apart from sending me out with no medication immediately after the procedure. He said, “I am the eternal optimist & I thought you’d be fine” but all in all he was right about everything else. I feel Great. I feel like God has given me a 2nd shot at life. I owe it to HIM to make Greater things happen for my life & of myself. I walked yesterday for 1hour & 10mins. My 3month window will be up April 26th. I believe I’m going to be good. I feel like I’m coming back to myself. I can say that healing time is different for everyone. Some may heal sooner than others. My surgery was 7 1/2 hours long minus the 4 to 5 hours for the surgery itself. I guess the rest was coming out of anesthesia. I’m not pushing a Catheter Ablation for everyone but for those of you who would make good candidates I would definitely say consider it. It’s made a huge difference in my life. I don’t know how I let myself suffer with it for so long but “you’re ready when you’re ready” & I’m glad I did it. I have no structural damage to my heart (no enlargement due to frequent episodes which can occur) because your heart is a muscle & when it goes through that kind of frequent irregularity it can enlarge which begins to become a problem for some. I had a gig on the 20th of March & I made it through. I traveled by plane form LA to Austin, Texas. So I’m back to playing my congas & bongos, etc. Slow, Steady & easy. I have to pace myself. It’s forced me to be diligent about taking good care of myself. Everything happens for a reason, I believe. I’ll keep you posted & if you have any questions PLEASE! Feel Free to ask. I WISH you ALL Fib Free Lives…Peace & ❤…Marina ;)

   Apr 3rd, 2010

2. Ann Wyatt

   Well done, Marina. I am glad that everything is going well for you. Part of your healing comes with releasing the fear around the possibility of having an episode. I still have not have an episode and I put my faith in the magnesium which has been working so well for me. Fortunately, I haven’t had to have surgery. The longer you go without an episode the more confidence you will have in your heart doing what it should be doing.

   Happy Easter.

   Ann

   Apr 3rd, 2010

3. Marina

   Hi! Ann…Thank You! & Happy Easter to you & yours too. ;) I wish the magnesium would have worked but unfortunately everything I tried failed so I went with it & it turned out to be something that was good for me. I wish I could’ve just taken magnesium. If only it would’ve been that simple but I’ve suffered with this since 1997 & I strongly believe had I not done this I would have been off this planet by now & you are So Right about part of the healing comes with releasing the fear around the possibility of having another one. I was going through that during this 3 month period & it doesn’t help feeling fear or anxiety because that brings on stress & I notice when I’m stressed I have flutters but I’m so Thankful & Grateful to the Man Upstairs. ;D I say Thank You Everyday & every night when I lay down to rest. I can exhale again accompanied by Peace. What a Gift. I Wish & Pray everyone who suffers with this could have Healing. They will. They just have to find what works for them. Again Thank You! & I’ll see you here on LWAF soon. Peace & ❤, Marina ;)

   Apr 25th, 2010

4. louise edwards

   Hi everyone my name is Louise Im from England and have been sufffering with AF for 15 months very scarey. I have just had an attack this afternoon but took a beta blocker and went to bed but it took a couple of hours to calm down. But my last episode three weeks ago I was in my car and was passing out and had to call the Ambulance. Im seeing Doc Richard Schilling tomorrow in Barts Hos London about ablation. Im totally wiped out by all of this im 55 and need to be working to run my life. My boyfriend is not supportive and my family dont know what to do. I was so stressed today and I think that what brought it on today. Im going for the ablation but very scared.

   Look forward to your replys

   Love Louise

   May 27th, 2010

5. ANN WYATT

   Hello Louise.

   It sounds as thopugh you have a lot of fear around A-fib and this is understandable. It is scary and you certainly feel unwell while you are having an episode. The SA node, which I call the heart’s spark plug sometimes goes off course and the electrical impulses to the heart become confused. This is the time to sit quietly and take slow deep breaths as if you are meditating. Concentrate on a regular heartbeat and will your brain to send this to the ‘spark plug’. It sometimes helps to say to yourself, “tick tock, tick tock” in time with the heartbeat you want. I know this sounds weird but I believe that you can hypnotise the brain into sending the right signal. You are right. Being stressed is the worst thing for you. Look back over some of my earlier comments for ideas about what else might be triggering your episodes. I am a great believer in magnesium, so it’s worth a try. Since I have been taking it, for almost a year now, I have only had 3 episodes.

   Good luck. Keep in touch with us all on this site.
   Cheers, Ann

   Jun 3rd, 2010

6. Ged

   im very interested in how Louise Edwards got on with her ablation with

   Prof Schilling , ive been in AF for about three years now , on warfarin as standard , beta blockers , cardioverted but no success

   Consultant wants to put me on amiodorone and try to cardiovert again.

   Im very nervous about the toxicity/danger of amiodorone , dont know weather to refuse it
   Think im only on it for 4 months

   Thinking of going to Prof Schilling for ablation , hes has very good success rates for ablation , check out http://www.londonafcentre.co.uk

   Any help would be welcome Ged from England

   Jun 9th, 2010

7. mark

   Hi. I am a 56 year old wm I ‘ve had a-fib for about 10 years. I was cardio verted 9 times. Then I had an ablation about 6 years ago. It worked for awhile no episodes for about a yeat then they came back. My episodes now are not as severe as vefore the ablation but I still get dizzy, short of breath and sweat profusely. I stopped drinking alchohol,and try to avoid caffeine but still get episodes. I noticed the last two episodes occurred after or during working extremly hard and wonder if I let myself get dehydrated. I live in sw fl very hot and humid..

   Jul 25th, 2010

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