I did it again. Like last year, I forgot my afib-freedom anniversary! Typical guy, right? Always forgetting the anniversary…lol. It was just a little over two weeks ago that marked the third year of me being 100% free of any atrial fibrillation (without any drugs) since my ablation on March 5, 2015. I can’t believe it’s been three years already. It seems like just yesterday I was in the blanking period. Time sure does fly by.
I know I’ve mentioned this many times in past blog posts but for me the cloud of afib has never gone away. You would think by now I would never think of afib. You would think it would be completely behind me. While it has certainly gotten a lot easier to “move on,” a single day doesn’t go by where I think to myself, “Is this the day my afib returns?” or “If my afib returns today, how am I going to handle it?”
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t dwell on afib and it doesn’t consume me. I just have passing thoughts about it at least once or twice a day. I envy those that are cured of their afib from an ablation and then never think of it again. They just move on. How do they do it? I wish I knew!
What Drives Me To Maintain this Blog (and to Continue to Help Afibbers)
Maintaining a popular blog on atrial fibrillation doesn’t help get over the fears of afib. People I talk to through this blog always ask me, “Travis, why do you continue to maintain this blog and help people with afib when you’re cured? Are you ever tempted to just let it go and move on?” I’d be lying if I said no to the latter question. There have been times where I have contemplated just letting this blog die on the vine but I just can’t do it.
Why? I feel this is my calling from God and that it’s the least I can do for Him for watching over me and for blessing me with so much in my life. This is what drives me to maintain this blog and to continue to help other people battling afib. It’s a higher calling.
I just wish I could do more than maintain this silly blog so I could truly help people. I’d rather be the elite-level EP I always tell people to look for when considering an ablation, or a multimillionaire philanthropist so I could give money to people to be treated by an elite-level EP. Heck, I’d be happy just being a doctor so I could be more qualified to help more afibbers. It’s when I start thinking about these things that I get discouraged and contemplate hanging it up.
What keeps me going, however, are these verses from Romans 12:6-8:
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” -Romans 12:6-8
I’m no theologian but my interpretation of those verses is that we are all blessed with certain gifts. God wants us to make the most of these gifts. My gift might not be being an elite-level EP, or any doctor for that matter, but I am blessed with the gift of serving and encouraging so I must make the most of those gifts. If I can serve and encourage through this blog then that’s what I’ll do!
I’m Free of Afib (for now) But My Health is Far From Perfect
I’ve been blessed to be free of afib for three years now but I still have my share of health struggles. It’s one of the joys of getting older. Slowly but surely the wheels start falling off, right?
Actually, my health struggles are minor compared to some of the stories I read from the numerous emails I get through this blog. I consider myself very fortunate and blessed. I have it pretty good but my health isn’t perfect.
Diet Struggles
I continue to struggle with my diet. You would think that as an afibber I would be living this totally clean lifestyle and would be adhering strictly to one of the recommended afib diets. Quite the contrary! If I detailed what I ate in a given day you’d be shocked.
Until recently, here are just some of the things I would eat on a typical day: 1-2 full-size candy bars (always chocolate – I LOVE chocolate), 24-32 ounces of Coke, fast food for lunch (usually McDonalds), several handfuls of chips, some sort of ice cream treat, and usually something “unhealthy” like pizza or hamburgers for dinner. Oh and on Fridays and Saturdays I always have one to two cocktails (always vodka and 7up).
You would think with a diet like that I’d be in constant afib or maybe even dead. Well that has mostly been my diet since I was a teenager. Surprisingly, I’m not obese. I’m overweight, yes, but not obese. I’m 5’11” and weigh 190 pounds. All my blood work checks out perfect year-after-year. My blood pressure also has been perfect every year. In fact, my blood pressure runs on the very low end of normal!
I know what you’re thinking; it’s my train wreck of a diet over the many years that led to my afib, right? Well I suppose that’s possible but I don’t agree. I still contend afib is strictly a genetic condition. My dad had afib and several in his family had afib. I think I was bound to get afib no matter what. Now I would agree that my diet probably led to the early onset of afib (I was 32 when I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation), but I think given the genetic history of my family I was destined for it.
It’s taken a long time but finally at the age of 45 I have gotten tired of eating like this but it has been incredibly difficult to change. I’m literally addicted to sugar and fast food. There is a running joke in my family that dad is on the “hummingbird diet.” Like a hummingbird, I need a constant intake of sugar to function! I literally don’t feel normal unless I have a steady flow of sugar (or fat) in my diet. And as crazy as this sounds, my palpitations are at their worst when I attempt to “eat clean.” When I maintain my trashy diet, my heart is as calm as can be. Go figure.
I don’t know if you caught it, but a few paragraphs ago I said I ate this way “until recently.” What happens from time-to-time, and I’d say every eight years or so, I’ll get a bout of acid reflux. Shocking, right?
Well I came down with one of these bouts last week. These acid reflux episodes will last weeks and sometimes months. It’s awful. So now I’m doing my best to eat better and I’m implementing all sorts of natural remedies to treat it. I may write about these natural remedies in a future post depending on how well they work.
These acid reflux episodes are always a blessing in disguise as they tend to put a break on my out-of-control diet. They force me to eat better and that’s what I’ve been doing the past few days. We’ll see how things unfold in the coming weeks and months. I just hope this acid reflux subsides sooner than later as it hurts right now even to drink water!
Why am I being so open and honest about my diet? I think it’s important for fellow afibbers to know that they don’t necessarily have to radically change their lifestyles to live free of afib. If you are ablated by an elite-level EP, it’s possible you’ll be able to maintain your usual lifestyle no matter how bad it is. I’m living proof of it.
Don’t get me wrong, a smart person would absolutely modify their diet and lifestyle to some degree to increase the odds of the success of their ablation but it might not be absolutely necessary. I content you certainly don’t have to radically change your life after a successful ablation. Again, moderate, yes, but switching to eating all organic and eat nothing but fruits, vegetables, and lean protein – probably not necessary…just my opinion.
I’m also open and honest about my diet struggles to show you I’m not unlike you. I’m not living this perfect organic-eating, “clean” lifestyle. I’m human. I’m imperfect. And like you, I struggle with my diet.
Insomnia Struggles
The other struggle I’ve had over the years is battling sleep maintenance insomnia. I’m happy to report this has actually gotten better. I can sleep through the night now at least one or two nights a week. And the other nights I don’t sleep through the night, I’m able to get back to sleep fairly quickly without taking any drugs or supplements. I wish the ratio was reversed – sleeping through the night five days a week and not the other two nights – but I’ll take whatever progress God blesses me with!
I still only get about 5-6 1/2 hours of sleep every night but that’s all I need to feel good and function at my best. If I get more sleep than that I’m usually groggy and out-of-sorts. My sweet spot is 6 1/2 hours of total sleep. I always have to say “total sleep” because as I mentioned, I usually don’t sleep 6 1/2 hours straight as I always get up once in the middle of the night.
Again, we are all wired differently so don’t listen to those gurus or articles that lecture you that you must get 8 hours of sleep or you’ll suffer all kinds of dire consequences and die young! It’s simply not true.
We all have our optimal sleep requirements. For you it might be eight hours and for some of you it might be four hours. Interesting side note, Sam Walton, the found of Walmart, slept four hours a night his entire life! He was obviously widely successful and lived a fairly long life. He died at age 74 from bone cancer (and not from atrial fibrillation or some other heart condition).
Next Steps
I always like to end my personal blog posts with “next steps.” My goal right now is to get my diet and acid reflux under control! That’s my #1 priority. I gained all the weight back I lost last year so I’d like to lose it all again and get back to 175 pounds. That means I have to lose 15 pounds. With strength from Christ I should be able to control my diet enough to meet that goal by June 1st. I just hope my acid reflux subsides by then as well!
I’m going to continue to write for this blog and try to help as many afibbers as I can!
God Bless and I wish you all the best of health!
I do sympathize with you, Travis, and all you who are plagued with A-Fib so young! I got into race-walking, working out and bicycling in my 30’s and continued it throughout my life and remained heart healthy until I hit 80! And then after a particularly strenuous session of exercising, I had it!
I couldn’t stand the idea of medication, so I scheduled an ablation as quickly as possible. It worked beautifully for two years but now it’s back so I’m faced with the problem again. It’s not really keeping me from my race-walking or working out, although it’s harder and I get more out of breath. I refuse to cut back much on my physical endeavors. It’s just a way of life for me. If it kills me, it kills me! I must decide whether to have another ablation or what! And my doctor is so wonderful, but so in demand and so busy!
Travis, I do so appreciate this website! Thank you, thank you. It’s so good to read other’s stories and to know I can share mine.
Donna:
Thanks for your kind words. I admire your determination to just “live your life” and let the chips fall where they may. You have a great attitude that all of us can aspire to have. I wish you the very best!
Travis
Congrats Travis! I’ll be 3 years AFIB free on 4/30/18. I started reading your blog prior to my ablation and you answered some of my questions, which helped me get through my ablation. It’s hard to believe we’re now 3 years post ablation. Continued NSR!
Best,
James
James:
That’s fantastic! Congratulations! Here’s to many years of NSR!!
Travis
Congrats! It is sad that once we got afib, the fear is there for life. It is very desperate to see the mainstream medical industry deem afib as incurable. Only this single word ‘incurable’ is enough to drive millions of afibbers into daily anxiety and depression, as there seems no hope at all. I think afib affects us more in a mental way than a physical way. It sucks to have this condition at a young age. Keep up your good work and hope you will not need to deal with afib anymore.
Li:
I agree with your comments that it’s unfortunate that the medical industry tells people there isn’t a cure. While it’s true there may not be a “true cure,” you can still live a perfectly normal life with afib IF you get the right treatment (i.e. an ablation or surgical procedure by an expert EP).
And yes, it does suck getting this at such an early age…although it could be worse. A good friend of mine is just 47 and is battling stage 4 colon cancer. I consider myself lucky to “only” have afib at my age.
God Bless!
Travis
Hi Li
The “mental struggle” was my biggest fight with AFIB and especially when I was first diagnosed at 23. Later it became easier to handle it but only after therapy, medication for a while, wise doctors, support, sport, fitness and lots of prayer.
Congratulation on your anniversary!
Thanks for being so honest and helping all of us. Life without AFIB really is wonderful (AFIB free for 4 years) and I too can say Praise GOD! Hallelujah.
Keep up the good work! On some of the facebook groups, people say that their doctors say AFIB cannot be cured. I don’t believe it.
What is your opinion? Maybe a post about it?
Janco
Hey Janco! Four years…that’s fantastic!
Regarding your comment about a cure, it’s an interesting topic. There isn’t a doctor alive that will say there is a cure, which is curious to me because if you have an ablation and then you no longer have afib, isn’t that a cure? For some reason doctors will say no. I honestly don’t know why that is. This would make a great topic for a blog post for sure! I’ll put it on my list but this may take a while as it’s hard to find a doctor or anyone with knowledge on this topic to explain why exactly there isn’t such thing as a cure for afib.
I personally believe there is a cure but I don’t know how long the cure lasts. I’m closely watching people I know that have had successful ablations and have been afib free for 10+ years. If these people go 20 years without atrial fibrillation after their ablation then I’m ready to say there is definitely a cure!!
Travis
Thx Travis
I believe I’m cured! halleluja!!
Will be waiting for that post from you, but will also do my own research.
Keep up the good work.
Janco
Thanks Janco!
Travis,
Congratulations on your 3 years free of A-Fib. Steve always says others don’t appreciate how wonderful it is after an ablation to have a normal heartbeat again. (Always aim for a cure and don’t settle for a life on meds.)
Request: Would you share your story with our readers at A-Fib.com?
We just published our 99th story! The length and format are up to you. You may want to browse our ‘Personal A-Fib Stories of Hope’ and look for a format that suits you. Go to: http://a-fib.com/a-fib-patient-stories/. You can read more about contributing Your A-Fib story at: http://a-fib.com/contribute-your-atrial-fibrillation-story-to-a-fib-com/.
You could be our 100th story! Let me know if you are interested.
Patti Ryan
A-Fib, Inc., editor of A-Fib.com and publisher of ‘Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure’ by Steve S. Ryan, PhD.
BTW: The article you wrote for us on the AliveCor Kardia was excellent and well read (http://a-fib.com/2016-update-alivecor-kardia-review-by-travis-von-slooten/)
Thanks Patti! I’ll be more than happy to share my story. I’ll contact you privately. Say hi to Steve for me!
Travis
Hi Travis– wonderful message straight from your heart. I always appreciate how honest and open you are on this blog and chuckle too when I read about loving that chocolate– I switched to dark since I am addicted to milk chocolate and now I love the dark too so really have to watch that– especially watching TV and wanting a “snack” Carrots just don’t do the trick!! My biggest problem is getting back to working out even a little. I was always so terrified when I had the AFib to do much at all except go to my job every day that I stopped my workouts and now that middle section and these arms( do men get these jiggly things??!!)just don’t want to cooperate. Being A Fib free at this point after the ablations is wonderful, just haven’t gotten into that mindset again about doing more than walking my dogs 1-2 miles a day. I thank God that I can enjoy each day and be in nature and know that there is that supreme someone watching over each of us on our journeys. Thanks for sharing the bible verse too and I am going to keep that to remind myself of what my gifts are and to use them. Have a blessed day and Congrats on your 3 years AFib free!!
Thank you Travis, for your experiences you’ve had over the years with A-Fib.
I have had it, for 10 years, not all the time, just sometimes two to three times a year. It would stay for 5-10 hours, then I’d be normal again. Last summer it started and it never stopped. I ended up in the hospital and I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.
I am now on more medication to keep the heart rhythm down and it has changed my whole life. I don’t know whether my parents had A-Fib because they never talked about their health problems. So like you say, it is probably genetic for sure. I am too old to have an ablation surgery as I am 87 years old. I do read all articles on A-Fib whenever I can so thank you for sharing your story with us.
Marion:
Thanks for sharing your story. How are you doing today? Has there been improvement with your heart failure?
I wish you the best of health!
Travis
Your honesty is so refreshing, Travis — it’s one of the things that is so endearing about you! None of us is perfect, it’s true. But please don’t diminish the enormous good you have done for us fellow A-Fibbers. The valuable insights I have gained from your blog have helped me, and I’m sure many others, to live with this disorder. I look forward to all your articles and podcasts and I would really miss your blog if it was gone. It’s like no other A-Fib blog out there. (By the way, your recent post from Ilona was exceptional!) Wishing you continued healthy heart rhythms and a happy anniversary!
Dora:
Thank you for your kind words. I’m blushing:) I wish you the best of health and may God bless you!
Travis
Your desire to serve is so much appreciated! Thank you for that your shared information and shared experience. Congrats on your three year anniversary!
I follow a blogger, J. D. Moyer, youngish [mid 40’s?] guy who shared info as an aside on his gastric reflex helps. You might search him online and see what you think. He’s a pretty pragmatic, not too wordy writer. He has a side bar w/topics so you can find what you want to check out. Also a ‘real’ writer, looking to be published and seems to be making progress. Thanks again! I have found your site so important for me.
Susan:
Thanks for your kind words. And thanks for the tips on J.D. Moyer’s blog. I found this particularly post written by him. Lot’s of good stuff in his post that I need to look into. Thanks for the tip!
http://www.jdmoyer.com/2017/09/25/gastritis-healing-tips/
Travis
I appreciate your calling and also sharing your “ real self” with us. Keep on keepin on!
Thanks Lou!
Travis
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