May you get effective guidance with your new EP. Glad you don't have to wait too long for appointment!

Hang in there. Be sure to write stuff down that you to discuss and also want answered by your EP. 99% of the time we all feel intimidated when talking to our Doctors, especially when it has to do with a new bizarro disease/condition such as AFIB. I've learned (by default) to ask way too many questions. This is a good thing. But it's taken me some time to get to this level. - Tom

Phillip,
It is definitely hard when the stuff gets into your head...I know some folks here have had some good suggestions in the past...yoga, etc. I am sure they will post here shortly. I always admire the folks who can just be SO positive. The ones who say that this is bad, but it will NOT ruin their lives. I try, but am one of the ones that when there is a flutter or a little lightheaded feeling, it is "UH OH!" I wish I had an easy answer for you, but it is a difficult situation. Hopefully your new EP will have some answers for you. Good luck and God bless.

Bill

I'm fairly new to this (6 months) so I'm not nearly as well versed as some of the others on this site.... but i don't know if those particular symptoms would be typical of afib...(?) . Maybe just anxiety? I can personally relate. Right now i take a pill daily to deal with the anxiety .... but i find that as i get more accustomed to living with this crazy disease, i get a bit more comfortable...so i'm sure that one pill will stop for me. But the angst still ebbs and flows depending on the day.....

That just doesn't really sound like afib, but it also sounds like something more than just anxiety. Although anxiety sure can do weird things, granted. I truly hope you can get answers and resolution to these unnerving events.

I am grasping to find explanations for reasons to how I feel during these episodes. I have been trying to find correlations to anything that could trigger these. Saturdays episode began moments after I drove past a clinic and thought to myself "I wonder how far the nearest hospital is?" I fretted over that for a few minutes and then all the symptoms started. That is one reason I wonder about anxiety. The episode ended back at the hotel after my wife, who had a few samples of wine ;-), took my mind off it. Then all was fine. It's strange.

I want to get back to activity but the other day I went walking and decided to step up to a light jog and within 30 seconds of jogging was in a-fib with hr of 140. Tried to walk it off and finally gave up. About 45 min later I converted in the shower. Activity is the cure for me for feeling blue. And if I'm not active then I don't know what to do. Did I mention that I own and teach at my Taekwondo gym? No activity is difficult for me to get used to...and having to tell my students that I need to sit while I tell them to train is hard to take as well!

Thanks for listening. Here's wishing NSR for all!

Phillip,

I can relate. My episodes come at the crapiest times, usually when I want to sleep. Or after a long day at work. I'll be sitting in my recliner trying to relax and boom it starts. Usually getting my mind off it helps me get out of it. Sometimes when I'm reading these posts or writing a post my mind focuses on it and I go out of it. I'm in it right now and have been for over an hr now. Sucks! And I had such a good day.

cody

Well , it worked. I got caught up reading the posts and I wasn't thinking of the flip floping in my chest and now I am out of it! Crazy but it sure feels good!

cody

The similarity/symptoms between anxiety/panic attacks and AFIB is uncanny/nearly identical. Always subject of course to the individual (IMO).

Hence, I should say "can" be nearly identical. I went thru a period of hardcore anxiety/panic attacks over the course of 16-18 months many years ago. Long, long before I ever experienced AFIB.

The distance between my last anxiety attack and my first/onset AFIB gig was over a decade. There's no question the two can be linked. But for some I contend that they are very, very different from one another.

I ended up in the hospital for a few days with an anxiety attack on one occasion, but at the time I was also extremely dehydrated. At no time during my hospital stay were there any heart irregularities in my EKGs or in any other extensive testing.

Stress for me does not seem to be a trigger for AFIB.

Once I understood what anxiety/panic attacks were and how I could deal with them, I never had another one.

AFIB on the other and is a totally different animal and once it gets going it's way different in stopping it.

I actually wish I was back to only dealing with the anxiety attacks 'cos they became a piece of cake to deal with compared to this stuff.

All the best moving forward. - Tom

In my case afib can beget panic attacks and panic attacks can beget afib, it takes awhile to know the difference and learn to control the panic so the afib is not quite as bad, a xanax can be helpful when it is really tough and you need a little help. Talk to your doc about that.

Oh sure! here we go again with the Xanax! Lol.

Where do all of you people live anyways?

Xanax, Ativan, Lorazapam, etc. is nearly impossible to get a 'scrip for! At least in my expansive neck of the woods.

I've tried for years to absolutely no avail. PCP, NP, EP whomever.

It's hopeless. One PCP told me I had to see a Shrink and go thru all sorts of stuff to get a 'scrip.

"Yup, I finally decided to write a book.

" Shark Fishing, Atrial Fibrillation and one mans' never ending pursuit to get someone to write him a 'scrip for Lorazepam.'

When I get this published DS members will receive a 10% discount.

;)

Can you still write, with the remaining fingers -g-

@ Paul: I will use Dragon Dictate speech software for my first draft. ;)

I've joked around on this subject a lot!

But I'm not joking at the same time.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that any qualified health care provider/expert - would not consider adding an ativan-ish supplement to be used as a kind of PIP with those that have experienced severe anxiety/panic attacks in their medical history.

I had one PCP here in FL whom I was to referred to see by a cardiologist (her husband) in the hospital, actually laugh when I brought up this subject and said she doesn't write 'scrips for amphetamines.

Ridiculous.

I'll send you my Doc's name in Fl I didn't even ask for the Xanax. He knows the stress I'm under. That was 3 years ago and I'm still refilling the script.