I had not heard of functional medicine before reading your post, but in the weird way that the world works at time, my next issue of Counseling Today (member magazine for the American Counseling Assoo) had an article on fm and neurocounseling, which I also had not heard of although apparently this is a regular column.

There's a web site, mindbodygreen.com, which I haven't yet accessed, but the column's author provided quotes from it about the main principles of functional medicine. To me, some of this makes sense, like all our body systems are interrelated and affect each other, and there are some simple strategies that cost nothing and can really help overall health, like practicing relaxation, mindful breathing and getting enough sleep.

But then there's this other stuff, like the tests etc you describe, and neurosteroids, which this articles goes into, and it starts to sound like high-priced gobbledegook.

I have an old friend who developed a fib, and he's been practicing Zen Buddhist meditation for basically 50 years, so if anybody could get this mind-body connection to work, it would be him. But he relies on an anti-arrhythmic drug. I think this isn't a binary kind of thing -- maybe we need all these different types of interventions, and the people to be suspicious of are those who insist their way is right and everybody else is wrong.

I realize this doesn't help with your own decisions, but only you can decide how far down any particular road you want to go. Take care.

My thoughts... look up "functional medicine" on Wikipedia to see what a scam it is, take your afib medicine, eat and sleep well, do all the healthy things we all know about, by a decent pair of sneakers with the money you will save by getting uneccesary tests, exercise, cut off contact with these pseudoscience practioners, if they come after you use your new sneakers to run away...

I meant "buy" sneakers...

Afib a frustrating malady. I confess I new at this . I was diagnosed only 3 months ago wearing a ekg sensor for a month. I had afib primarily at night the doc told me. I am taking Flec 50mg 2 times daily,Xarelto 20mg daily diltiazem 240mg TR suggested by EP. I also began taking CALM Morning and evening. As time goes on I plan to reevaluate this regimen.

This regimen seems to be working for now after some alteration by my own accord.

It seems I almost need to find my own way for med dosage.

For me anxiety plays a major role in Afib origination.

So I am trying to use best medical practice techniques with tweaks for my personal observations.

Hope this doesn't sound too crass, I'm just trying be helpful. What causes your afib food,anxiety,pulmonary,glandular?

You must try and decide on your own.

Good luck to you in your pursuit of a solution.

I appreciate the thoughtful responses.

Nobody knows what's causing my afib/flutter. It seems to be triggered by exercise (it's very moderate. I WALK the dog). Light weight lifting can trigger it. So can yoga/stretching.

At least 75% of my walks ... it's triggered. I can stay in it for days. I tried slowing wayyyy down, and taking frequent breaks. No change.

If I'm sedentary, it's about 75% likely NOT to get triggered.

I've had five adverse drug reactions in my life -- each more serious than the one before. The last was two years ago -- DRESS Syndrome -- near fatal.

I was told by Mayo's Chief of Immunology "not to take another drug unless it's absolutely necessary, to save my life."

I've seen two cardiologists and two EP's. ALL agree: no anti-arrhythmics. Too 'dirty' (known for having lots of side effects). Too risky.

The Metoprolol is largely useless, and leaves me exhausted for a day and a half after taking it.

I also have chemically burned eyes (chronic eye pain). Metoprolol makes it too much worse -- known side effect of most of these meds.

I do yoga, I meditate, I'm not particularly anxious. Pain is a clear stressor, but ... I can't take pain meds.

I've been looking for a safer path, and ... at age 51 ... possibly the underlying cause OF the arrhythmias.

The 2nd cardiologist -- himself -- suffered three episodes of DRESS Syndrome (undiagnosed problem with aspirin). He knows exactly what I'm up against. He told me to drop down to a baby aspirin every few days; no more.

I've said before ... he recommends I try nearly anything else first, but ... as it creeps slowly toward 'persistent' (24/7 afib), I'm going to have to consider either endovascular Maze or ... the full (crack your chest) Maze, and .... at one of the nation's best heart hospitals.

I've been in fib/flutter for the last three days, straight. Really exhausted. Really symptomatic. I've gone to my knees three or four times to avoid passing out.

It doesn't scare me. It's not making me anxious. I just know ... it's inherently not good ;-)

I'm taking D-ribose, L-carnitine, pycnogenol, CoQ10, and a really top notch multivitamin (among other supplements), but ... nothing's stopping the slow march toward persistent.

I tried weeks and weeks of as much Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) as my system could absorb. Nada.

But I simply can't bring myself to spend thousands with this clinic. The very little solid evidence I can find online .... really isn't compelling.

Right now, I'm far more likely to walk away, and risk having missed The Cure, than to hand over thousands and thousands of dollars.

@pacyetep: While I've tried HARD not to be so black/white ... I think I agree with you :-)

Again: many thanks for the thoughts.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Here's wishing you/us all ... NSR ... for life :-)

My mother was in persistent a-fib for a few months. She is 89 yrs. old. Before that, she had a-fib considered paroxysmal for over 20 yrs. My mother was always a supplement person - always on the look out for a cure for all her conditions. Well, about 2 months ago, she decided she would drop all her supplements and just take the meds prescribed by her doctors. I am not sure if this is coincidence or not, but she went from persistent a-fib to an occasional flutter. She says she has not had an a-fib episode since stopping her supplements. I am not anti-supplement, but there are many additives to the supplements that may cause reactions. Some of the additives are considered allergens for many people. In many of my mother's supplements, there is a common additive of magnesium sterate and soy - amongst other things. There are also other ingredients such as titanium oxide that is not good for us on a daily basis. My family is very soy sensitive and now I suspect she is sensitive to this food too - in all its forms. I am happy she is just on the meds prescribed by her cardiologist. Now we can tell if the prescribed meds are actually doing her some good. She is not cured, but her episodes are no longer persistent. I don't know if this is because she dropped all supplements, but I guess we will find out in due time. Just a thought........

@nymima: I'm glad your mother's fib is fairly well controlled. I hope she's in your life -- in good health -- for a good long time.

When mine started -- 15 months ago -- I was taking nothing. Not a thing. I was still pretty shell shocked from the near-fatal drug reaction, nine months before (nobody can rule out that this heart problem is a sequelae OF that drug reaction.....).

I only started on the supplement regimen a few months ago. I wanna' stay with it for a few months, but ... if it's not making a big difference, I'll definitely be stopping it all.

I actually eat a fair amount of soy. I DID see where that can cause arrhythmias for some. I may have to cut that out, too.

Thanks.

If you are serious about stopping soy, please read all food lables. It is in EVERYTHING! It is not a wonder food, but it is pushed as one.

I wish I had some advice about the other treatments you write about. I have lived with my mother's a-fib for a long time, and it has always been about finding her triggers - especially with food. She has found that MSG, sugar substitutes like sucrolose, aspertame etc., too much salt, too much chocolate, and now soy may contribute. She eats at our house a lot and we always cook from scratch because of all the hidden additives in prepared foods. We use Stevia as a sugar substitute, as she is borderline diabetic. Stevia is very safe.

My mother's heart is strong, despite having this condition for so long. I hope you find some answers in other's experience to help you decide. Keep us posted.

David, bummer for you. Of course staying as positive as we can, Im with you on the no meds howbeit by choice, yours not so much. This will enable you to possibly find a new way to control this condition as some have. I dont pay much attention to the critics like "quackwatch" and other negative talk, they have no vested interest or genuine concern for us. They seem to hate anyone who isnt conventional, even Chiros and Naturalpaths who have proven results. Most of the time those who seek natural cures for disease have exhausted all allopathic treatment and only then the Naturalpaths get them in their last months of disease after intrusive poison failed. As for the term "Functional", that is used by anyone from the Cleveland Clinic IFM, to Masseuses. All this means is we are seeking a cure and not treating symptoms, something conventional doctors cant seem to grasp. Absolutely would agree with screening and qualifying any and all treatment, including allopathic, but dont give up the search yet. Keep in mind, supplements take months when taken orally to be effective. I have considered certain ones via IV.

Thanks much, Hawkmn.

Yeah. I hesitated to even post a link from Quackwatch. Their agenda is clear, too.

I'm married to a Nurse Practitioner. Many of our friends are physicians. Some come across just like the Quackwatch group (the only path to healing is ... us).

Others believe there's more to wellness than they prescribe. Some of them even prescribe/push diet/lifestyle changes -- heresy ;-)

I'm sticking with the supplement regimen for a while.

I may also try to work with the Functional Medicine clinic to see if I can treat it like a cafeteria: take the things that make sense to me, but NOT the things that make my Spidey Sense tingle.

I got about a half-day break from the 5-ish straight days in fib/flutter, but ... right on cue ... half-way into my dog walk .... it started again.

Happy New Year, All !

I believe that there is a formal group or organization of functional medicine practitioners and I think they have a certification process.. I have seen integrative docs, naturopaths, and functional med docs over the years and I take a number of supplements. That being said, I have not cured my afib, some of the things have improved my quality of life.

Some of the electrical stuff sounds a bit hokey and I've never run into it before. Mark Hyman is or was the president of the functional medicine assn. that I am referring to. He currently runs Cleveland Clinics functional medicine dept. he has written a number of books, some of which explain the basis of functional medicine.

I would check to see if your practitioner is truly a member of the functional med. assn.

The infrared saunas are supposed to be a great way to detox, just make sure that the one you buy has low emf's. Getting your body's detox pathways working is very important. There is a book called Detoxify or Die which could give you some good info regarding detoxification and detox pathways.