minglee said: "It is a proven fact that 80% of all afib is gut related since the heart is connected to the vegas nerve. "

I was in Vegas. I stayed at Caesar's Palace. With all the drinking, eating, gambling, and illegal activity, I think Vegas is definitely related to afib. A vacation retreat in India would be much better. Ommmmmm petey

Vtackett - Petey has given you some very good advice. You need to progress through things very systematically. Find a good cardiologist and EP. They should begin with medications (either rate or rhythm control or both). Get a sleep apnea study. Eliminate alcohol and smoking and figure out if there are other triggers in your life. If you are overweight, lose the weight, etc. All that said, if your condition does not improve and the frequency of episodes begins to increase, you should consider meeting with an EP who is VERY experience in Pulmonary Vein Isolation ablation. Experience is everything and largely associated with success rate. Basically, you will need to decide what the impact is on your life and measure the risk (an increase in stroke risk) versus the possible benefits (free of afib or decreased frequency). Also, if the frequency is increasing, your doctor may choose to put you on a blood thinner (to reduce stroke risk). If at all possible, I would suggest you get on one of the new novel anticoagulents (I am on Eliquis). Much easier to manage then controlling your INR with Coumadin. Just remember that afib is not life threatening. Many people choose to live with it, others can be controlled with drugs, and others get ablations in the hopes of a "cure". Just take things in steps and you will be fine.

I agree and, btw, I am on Pradaxa with no problems but I probably would be on Eliquis if I was diagnosed a few years later. Pradaxa was the only NOAC at the time. petey

Petey - Why Eliquis over the other NOAC's?

I just mean that it gets prescribed more now that there are 3 options... however, Pradaxa prevents the most strokes. There are down sides. I like Pradaxa and Eliquis because they are twice a day. Some see that as a down side.

Here is an interesting website:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812284_1

EXCERPTS:
Dabigatran- In my view, dabigatran's advantage is that we have had 3 years of experience with it. But its disadvantages include gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, the fact that it's taken twice daily, and the fact that there is a higher rate of myocardial infarction (MI)(?). I put a question mark here because I wasn't sure based on the RE-LY data whether there was a higher MI rate.[6] But in the most recently presented data from Pradaxa use in prosthetic heart valves,[7] there was a higher MI rate (3% vs 0%) than in patients receiving warfarin.
Rivaroxaban- Rivaroxaban's advantage is that it is administered once daily. Its disadvantage is that it has to be given with an evening meal, which is not as convenient as once daily in the morning. There is also an increased risk for GI bleeding, and there are several boxed warnings that raise concern about issues with spinal anesthesia.
Apixaban-The advantage of apixaban is that there is a mortality benefit -- a small one, but one that is statistically significant. The disadvantage is that it requires administration twice daily. It is not superior for ischemic stroke, and we have the shortest experience with this, the newest of the NOACs.
Dosing for Apixaban for AF - The dosing for apixaban is a little different. I shouldn't say it is complex; it is just different, but it is a concern to me because it is not a methodology that is based on creatinine clearance (which is what I was using for the other therapies).
I also think it might be a reason to switch from warfarin if a patient has an ischemic stroke to an NOAC because NOACs have been superior for ischemic stroke (particularly dabigatran).
I have been pushing back on some of these proceduralists and saying that I certainly don't want to make a decision about the safety of stopping the anticoagulant. If you really think it is necessary, we should stop it, but the data suggest that some procedures don't warrant the interruption of NOACs; for instance, colonoscopies, cataract surgery, and dental procedures.
Restarting NOACs- Complete hemostasis in any surgery can be resumed in 8 hours, so certainly the next day you should be able to restart the NOAC. In patients needing venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (orthopedic procedures, for instance), you can begin the prophylaxis 8 hours after the procedure and restart their AF dose sometime later in the second or third day.

Welcome to the club and sorry you had to join. Lots of good people and information here but do the research and talk with your doctors. What works for one does not always work for another. Make informed decisions with your Cardio and EP.

The fear and anxiety does get better with time and if you need help by all means ask your PCP for something to help you take the edge off as needed. For many of us a little help was a life and sanity saver, myself included. Talking to a therapist can also be very helpful, I was lucky and found a good one who worked on some techniques to help me thru the episodes. You will learn to deal with it in time and be able to go on with your life.

Take care!