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.
Hi everyone -
I had my CPAP titration last night and it was very hard to get used to. The sensation of air pressure opening up my airway was really wierd and uncomfortable. It was hard to sleep with a full face mask on. I am concerned that I will not be able to tolerate it because I couldn't wait for them to take it off of me. I'm sure other people who have a CPAP may have felt that way the first time they slept wearing one. I am still having PAC's although they go away sometimes, usually they go away later in the day and then I get them again in the morning and the whole thing starts over again (the anxiety, the panic and the thoughts that my life will not return to normal). I am now trying a combination of L-Arginine and Magnesium with meals. This combination seems to slow down my heart rate and calm me down. I just want my life to return to the way it was a few weeks back where I didn't really have to do anything special to keep my heart from having PAC's! It's very frustrating! I am angry that I keep having these things because they give me such anxiety and because I feel terrible when I have them. I am afraid I won't be able to function at work because it's hard to concentrate when I have them.
I can't believe how good I feel when my heart beats without having any PACs because I feel I am back to my old self again. I get this terrible anxiety when I have PAC's and I have occasional thoughts of not wanting to be alive and deal with this anymore. I hope things will get better. I keep asking God for his strength.
Erik
I had my CPAP titration last night and it was very hard to get used to. The sensation of air pressure opening up my airway was really wierd and uncomfortable. It was hard to sleep with a full face mask on. I am concerned that I will not be able to tolerate it because I couldn't wait for them to take it off of me. I'm sure other people who have a CPAP may have felt that way the first time they slept wearing one. I am still having PAC's although they go away sometimes, usually they go away later in the day and then I get them again in the morning and the whole thing starts over again (the anxiety, the panic and the thoughts that my life will not return to normal). I am now trying a combination of L-Arginine and Magnesium with meals. This combination seems to slow down my heart rate and calm me down. I just want my life to return to the way it was a few weeks back where I didn't really have to do anything special to keep my heart from having PAC's! It's very frustrating! I am angry that I keep having these things because they give me such anxiety and because I feel terrible when I have them. I am afraid I won't be able to function at work because it's hard to concentrate when I have them.
I can't believe how good I feel when my heart beats without having any PACs because I feel I am back to my old self again. I get this terrible anxiety when I have PAC's and I have occasional thoughts of not wanting to be alive and deal with this anymore. I hope things will get better. I keep asking God for his strength.
Erik
My pressure number is pretty high (19) but that too is something I got used to and can't do without. It took me a couple of months to get into the rhythm of doing this. But my point is, I did get used to it, now it's just as much a part of my routine and life as anything else.
Best of luck to you in this.
As far as the anxiety...it can be horrible. I was so on edge when I was first diagnosed with a fib that my PCP gave me some ativan. Your cardiologist or EP probably won't want to prescribe. Make an appt with your family dr and be honest about how anxious you are and ask for some anxiety medication. It can be addictive so only take it when you really need it. It may help calm those PACs right down.
Things will get better. Keep the faith.
Thanks for the responses. When you tried the cpap on the first night, did you have a lot of coughing the morning after? Did your lungs and nose feel a little sore? Did your stomach feel bloated? Just wondering if I am the only one. I am definitely going to ask my doctor for some more alprazolam. It helps, but I just don't like feeling drugged and you're right, I don't want to get addicted to it. I would rather find some relaxing exercises. I guess the hardest part is that my heart condition seems to be changing for the worst and it's frustrating because my cardiologist can't give me any ways of getting rid of the pacs short of going to an antiarythmic med. I don't even know if the maze surgery will help.
I did find that my breathing was harder than usual when I first got up - I figured since my high pressure (19) was helping me breath during the night, in the morning it was all up to my lungs again. That too went away after awhile.
I am also somewhat new to the cpap, having started about 2 months ago. My sleep apnea caused me to have vivid, scary dreams that would wake me up with a deep sense of fear bordering on panic. Sometimes I would actually have a panic attack - try going back to sleep after one of those. At this time I would also have hard palpitations and often go into afib. I guess all this was caused by O2 deprivation but it was very unpleasant and convinced me to do something about it. The cpap was difficult to get use to but after a couple of months of use I would not go back to sleeping w/o it. As was mentioned earlier, some people just can't wear the mask or deal with the air pressure and have to quit, like my wife who wore one for 6 months before giving up, but for me it is the lesser of two evils and I'm glad it helps me. Give it some more time before giving up Good luck.
Thanks for responding to my posts. I pray that you're right and I will get used to the cpap after a while! Happy Easter to everyone!