Oh yeah! I hate the fish flopping feeling, too! And I also get the pressure feeling. Actually I should say that I used to notice it alot. I take higher doses of meds now and while I still know I am in A fib I'm not so symptomatic.
How long did it take til you converted? How often do you have episodes?
How much atenolol are you taking?

If you have episodes infrequently, ask your Dr about increasing the atenolol, or trying a different med to give you better rate control. You won't feel those symptoms as much. If you are having episodes very frequently it may be time to consider ablation.

You have mentioned the fear of a stroke before, and if that causes you alot of anxiety tell the Dr you want to be on coumadin. Coumadin requires you to be consistent about taking it every day and being consistent with vit K foods, and it requires some monitoring, but for alot of people that is just a once a month blood draw or finger stick. If you feel safer it is worth a little inconvenience.

I also think you would benefit from an anti anxiety med to take at times like these. Don't give up, and don't settle for living like this. Time to see the Dr and work out a better treatment plan. Hang in there.

You should probably discuss all of this with your cardiologist and I personally prefer Coumadin (Warfarin). Its worth it for the peace of mind if nothing else. I go once a month for a blood test and he increased it enough so that I can eat all of the viatmin K I want (because I love broccoli and spinach). Maybe you need to be on a stronger dose of meds to keep your rate down.

Unless you're actually in afib all the time, I wouldn't opt for the Coumadin, but it's a call you and your doctor need to make. Maybe a different med will work to control the afib, and is it afib that you're actually feeling? My EP told me that bearing down, coughing and splashing cold water on your face rarely works with afib but can help with ectopic beats, but what will make the afib worse is stressing. The adrenalin from the fear can cause the afib to be more pronounced. This is what happened to me, a combination of afib and panic attack, which was not a good mix. I would call my doctor and discuss all your fears with him and come up with a game plan that best fits you.
Stay strong!

I am sorry you are feeling so low about this...I never thought about fish which is surprising by my picture...I always thought of kid goats randomly jumping...if the current cardiologist leaves you unsatisfied that everything is being done,and anxious, I would get a second opinion to ease your mind. I agree also with the post suggesting anxiety medication for just these episodes. Your family doctor may help with that as well.

As for the coumadin question, I have been on it for 10 months with no ill effects, and do not mind the finger sticks to check my INR periodically. I have had the ablations, and am now on Tikosyn with Toprol XL and enalapril, but it took four meds and a second opinion to arrive at the right mix to keep me in NSR and it has been 7 whole weeks! I have also met with a "life coach" to help adjust to the new me and let go of the grieving over loss of a simpler life. It could be oh so much worse...don't lose hope! We are behind you!

Hi Shae, I agree with all the posts here, and particularly about the anti anxiety meds. My addition to the discussion would be to try acupuncture, and if you can, some walking indoor on a treadmill or outdoor. I'm in permanent afib, and the diagnosis was like a death sentence. I am now 4 months into my new reality, and coming to grips with it. I'm going every other week for acupuncture treatments now (started out weekly), and I do about a total of an hour light cardio every day.... split up into three 20 minute sessions. It works for my angst... I wish you the best of health.. J

Hi Shae,
Sorry to hear you had another episode. I know the feeling. It sounds very familiar, all of a sudden out of the blue it happens. Well, here are a few things to consider based on my exprience with myself and other people. These are just food for thought that I am putting on the table. They might not apply to you. But, consider them before discarding them. Here they are:

- If you are taking thyroid medicine, pay attention to it. That might cause your afib if your prescription is not correct because your body is changing. It happened to my wife and a couple of friends on Synthroid. Their prescription was changed and the problem went away.

- If you are taking supplements/antibiotic with potassium, that can cause imbalance in your electrolytes. Remember, potassium, calcium, magesium, and sodium effect the heart. For example, I can't take multi-vitamins with 99mg of potassium. If I do, my heart becomes like fish out of water :-) Most multis have 99 mg of potassium. Sports drinks have a lot of potassium. So, watch out. Potassium is an absolute killer for me, if I take anything with potassium, my heart become extremely violent after 15 minutes to an hour. It is only the fortified potassuim and not the potassium in friuts and veggies. I read all the labels very carefully now.

- If you are taking digestive enzymes, those are another items that they give me a fish flop in my chest.

- If you are eating peanut butter (nuts), butter, watch out, they give me and other people afib after a few hours. I know it is hard to believe, but that is the way our bodies work.

The above stuff are very easy to monitor and cut back all together to see if still you get the afib. I know it is hard to understand why they can cause afib, but they do. The good thing is, if your afib caused by them, it is easy, stop eating them. Good luck, I hope you get to the bottom of it soon. Fish flop feeling in the chest is no fun, it can be scary.

By the way, taking the Atenolol did not do anything for me. It sounds like the same for you. So, one cardialogist with common sense and logic, prescribed "propranolol" for me for controlling the heart rate when the afib comes. It is fast acting and lasts only a short time in the body. You take it when the afib shows up. It doesn't let the fish to flop too hard. Atenolol used to bring down my blood pressure too low since I was taking it all the time. Propranolol was a life saver for me.

Hi Jaquri,
I see you mentioned you are going for acupuncture. Please let me know if it works for you. I did it for 3 months when I had my afib. It did not do anything for me. But, I know people are different and hoefully, your body responds to acuponcture. So, I am iterestred to see if it works for you. Then, I can tell other people to try it if they have afib. Thanks and good luck.

Shae, scottzz, is right aabout watching your diet ar any thing you put in your mouth. Some foods, drinks seem so innocent, but can cause big trouble.especially if your body is sensitive. I just found out that tea was causeing me worse episodes of A-fib. I never dreamed that could be so. Also, I have tried acupucture, but it did not work, however, since I am more stable, I was thinking of going back and trying it again. Speaking of meds, dilitizem and tikosyn worked for me. You may have to change meds or keep trying different ones until one works.

Hi Clarap,
Yes, I forgfot to mention that the green tea is another cause for the afib in some people according to one cardialogist I went to. She said actually tea and specially green tea brings on the afib in some people. However, I was okay with green tea, tea in general, and coffee. I used to drink a cup of coffee when I would go to afib. It helped. yes, very odd, but we have to find what works and what does not. The doctors tell you what works for most people. But, it is up to us to find out what really causes the afib. They told me not to drink coffee and take more fish oil. Well, what I found out was, in my case, drinking coffee helped me and taking fish oil caused very bad afib in me. So, you got to have an open mind, try different things until you know the cause for your afib.

Also, after you find the real cause of your afib, YOU DO NOT NEED ANY MEDS any more. you are done, free of the wrath of afib for good :-) Got it? I DO NOT take any meds. I just do NOT eat the stuff that I know bring afib in me. That is all.

Sometimes, try as we might, we never know what triggers an afib episode. You can eliminate most everything that seems to be a trigger, yet still go into afib. The important thing is to have faith in your doctors and take the meds that work for you. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be medicine free, but you can find the meds that work best for you, along with a healthy diet.

Hello Guys,

My Bad Day was yesterday.. and today isn't much better.

Having events 2 Sunday's ago, I was able to get into the DR office last TH (originally scheduled for yesterday). I had a couple of events and didn't want to wait until Monday for a work-up. So last TH they put on the Holter monitor for a 48 hour capture.

Well, went in yesterday and the monitor recorded at least 4 separate events. Granted most were short-lived (10 - 15 seconds), one was longer (20 minutes), and it also captured a V-tac (or B-tac). My cardio-doc (CD) said that wasn't good. Also, during the longest event, i left hand/wrist was totally numb.
Friday I was in the office and a co-worker told me i didn't look good (that was bad enough), maybe I should go home. As fate would have it, the Holter captured an event at that time....

I went in loaded with the arguments to get me off this stuff in six months. Since CD saw some 'events,' it's not open for a discussion. Also discussed (as we've talked about elsewhere) my stroke risk. Not the worst news, but no good news there. (Is there a name for 'un-natural fear of stroke"')

The think that I need to figure out is... am I in AFIB, and the meds are keeping me in rhythm; or, am I NSR and the AFIB is trying to come back. Unfortunately, we can't venture a guess on that now.

Also, i think I'm in AFIB at the moment, but my HR is still below 70. I believe I've learned when AFIB is happening, even on all the MEDS.

So, anyway, thanks for listening... I know this has been 'sinking in' for a while now , but it's _really_ beginning to sink in. I don't like it.

Robert
PS: I forgot to mention that my INR went from 2.4 down to 1.6. That _also_ freaked out the doctor.

So sorry you are so depressed. I have been there and I am on Xanax and a small dose of Zoloft. I also take coumadin which I think helped me relax about the strokes. I fought not to take the comadin at first but it really hasn't been any big deal for me so far. I am on Tikosyn, and metoprolol. Scheduled for an ablation in April. Hopefully this will help lessen the episodes. Since taking these meds my episodes are not as frightening. Atenolol didn't really do anything for me. Make sure you are seeing the right specialist for AFIB. Good luck and remember positive thinking really helps. Sending you sunshine!!!

I too fought going onto a blood thinner. I had been taking aspirin along with Metropol. AF is the only this wrong with me and I had been told that my chances for a stroke were slim. Well last year I had a TIA and I still have some suttering when I speak. I am now on Coumadin and Sotolol.

This seems to be the most frustrating illness - no one is quite sure how I got it or really how to treat it. When I first got it, my cardiologist on the east coast wanted me to have an ablation right away. I put it off because I was moving, but when I moved to CA my doc was not as convinced for me to have an ablation. During this period I had my mini-stroke. I have finally had an ablation and am waiting to see if it's successful.

Bad Day.. maybe yes, maybe no...

Went to the EP dr yesterday... recommended me for ablation. Was kinda expecting that, but not ready to hear that...

Fundamentally, he said that fib-gets-fib... i've had a number of episodes while on tikosyn, metoprolol, warfarin, aspirin... see the post #11 above.n The more episodes I have while on drugs promotes having more episodes over the long term.

Interestingly i saw the report regarding my Holter analysis. Two points: 1.) i had ~ 3 minutes out of 48 hours where my HR was above 140, and 2.) I had 30+ minutes of the 48 hours where my HR was below 50. I kinda think that's the kicker... drugs are working to keep my HR down, but now getting it dangerously low.

Additionally there was some V-tach, and some SV-tach.

On the +++ side, I live in a great place where there is excellent medical care. I have scheduled a FRI AM consult appt. with the AFIB specialist at DUKE Univ. Hospitals. I've read lots about his group on the net, and they seem to have success rates above the generally accepted average plus have a lower 'complication' rate than the national average. I'm kinda excited to hear what he has to say.

My mom (84 yo) says I'm thinking about this too much; it's time to move on and deal with it. But, as everyone knows, "Once you get past 70 yo, then you have the right to say anything and everything you want with immunity!"

I'll say yesterday/today is a draw. For now, I'll take that.

Robert