Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
To date I have been having an afib episode about once per year. My standard procedure has always been to go to the E.R. and have an electrical cardioversion. I literally would drive to the E.R. and tell them I'm in afib and that I need a cardioversion.
This method has always worked for me but it has always been a pain in the *ss (who wants to spend 2+ hours in the E.R.) and very expensive. My last cardioversion in January was over $4,000!
My E.P. has always encouraged me to try Flecainide. The problem is, he always wanted me to come to the hospital and take the Flecainide in the E.R. so I could be monitored when taking it the first time. This always freaked me out because why would I need to be monitored? Cardioversions may be inconvenient and expensive, but at least they worked for me and never caused any issues I had to worry about....screw the drugs was always my thought process.
Side Note: I had a second opinion from another EP and he said given my age (42) and otherwise healthy heart, he had ZERO issues with me taking Flecainide without being monitored. He said going to the E.R. and taking it was totally unnecessary. Of course this conflicting advice only confused me more and freaked me out. As a result, I have never had the guts to take it. I always opted for the cardioversion.
Well this morning I went into afib. My last episode was in January. I was really hoping I could keep the "once per year" average going so I was pissed that wasn't going to happen. There was no way I was going to the E.R. again and spend another $4,000. Once a year, fine. Twice a year? No thank you.
I poured myself a glass of water and chugged down 300mg of Flecainide and said a prayer (literally). I was home alone so I grabbed my cell phone and had 911 dialed and ready to go in case this mystery drug was going to do something nasty to me. I also called my wife and told her she might want to be ready to come home in case this goes bad. (Side note - the wife was furious at me for doing this). I didn't care. I was tired of this afib crap and I wasn't going to the hospital today. Besides, another EP already told me I would be fine taking it at home so what was I really risking?
I'm SO happy to report that the Flecainide worked wonderfully! I converted in about 90 minutes and had virtually no side effects. The only side effect was I was really tired for a few hours but that could have been from my heart racing at about 200 beats per minute for a few hours:)
This is a game changer for me. For the past 8 years I have had this dark cloud over me. Now that I know I can manage my afib with the pill-in-a-pocket approach (at least for the time being), I feel in control for the first time. It's an amazing feeling. Of course now that I say that, I'll have an episode next month and Flecainide won't work at all...ha ha.
I'm just crossing my fingers that my episodes don't occur more than a couple times per year now and that Flecainide continues to work for a while. If I can ride with Flecainide for at least a couple years, I'll be very happy. If Flecainide fails me sooner than later and I end up having another cardioversion, or I start getting more than a couple episodes per year, I'll be taking the "ablation plunge."
Travis
This method has always worked for me but it has always been a pain in the *ss (who wants to spend 2+ hours in the E.R.) and very expensive. My last cardioversion in January was over $4,000!
My E.P. has always encouraged me to try Flecainide. The problem is, he always wanted me to come to the hospital and take the Flecainide in the E.R. so I could be monitored when taking it the first time. This always freaked me out because why would I need to be monitored? Cardioversions may be inconvenient and expensive, but at least they worked for me and never caused any issues I had to worry about....screw the drugs was always my thought process.
Side Note: I had a second opinion from another EP and he said given my age (42) and otherwise healthy heart, he had ZERO issues with me taking Flecainide without being monitored. He said going to the E.R. and taking it was totally unnecessary. Of course this conflicting advice only confused me more and freaked me out. As a result, I have never had the guts to take it. I always opted for the cardioversion.
Well this morning I went into afib. My last episode was in January. I was really hoping I could keep the "once per year" average going so I was pissed that wasn't going to happen. There was no way I was going to the E.R. again and spend another $4,000. Once a year, fine. Twice a year? No thank you.
I poured myself a glass of water and chugged down 300mg of Flecainide and said a prayer (literally). I was home alone so I grabbed my cell phone and had 911 dialed and ready to go in case this mystery drug was going to do something nasty to me. I also called my wife and told her she might want to be ready to come home in case this goes bad. (Side note - the wife was furious at me for doing this). I didn't care. I was tired of this afib crap and I wasn't going to the hospital today. Besides, another EP already told me I would be fine taking it at home so what was I really risking?
I'm SO happy to report that the Flecainide worked wonderfully! I converted in about 90 minutes and had virtually no side effects. The only side effect was I was really tired for a few hours but that could have been from my heart racing at about 200 beats per minute for a few hours:)
This is a game changer for me. For the past 8 years I have had this dark cloud over me. Now that I know I can manage my afib with the pill-in-a-pocket approach (at least for the time being), I feel in control for the first time. It's an amazing feeling. Of course now that I say that, I'll have an episode next month and Flecainide won't work at all...ha ha.
I'm just crossing my fingers that my episodes don't occur more than a couple times per year now and that Flecainide continues to work for a while. If I can ride with Flecainide for at least a couple years, I'll be very happy. If Flecainide fails me sooner than later and I end up having another cardioversion, or I start getting more than a couple episodes per year, I'll be taking the "ablation plunge."
Travis
Glad to hear it went well (I figured it would I took a quick peek at the end before I finished reading and saw that you were able to finish telling what happened! I love happy endings). Now the big question, what are you going to do with the $4000 you saved? Vacation, new home, new car, new indoor swimming pool or take the wifey out to dinner?
No, honestly, its tough trying to decided what to do when you get conflicting advice from the experts! Im glad it worked for you and hope you wont have to use your pip for another year or so.
Take care,
atp
Travis