Glad to see Carrie coming around out of the bushes.

IslandLuvr,..... don't be silly/crazy you have to stay here and hang out. Seriously!! Please!!!

I still haven't read the thread/post but it doesn't really matter what was discussed at this point.

The important thing is moving forward we all need to try to deal with opposing viewpoints in a reasonable manner. I think,... or at least try to.

It might be helpful if we all start using profanity in moderation when needed, this can be therapeutic although it may also be offensive to some. Lol.

So lets all hold hands now and sing one of Petey's famous balads.

After that, any hugging will be encouraged but optional.

From what I've seen lately there's been alot of it going on between some of the Dudes here on DS. I won't mention any names.

Get a room you guys. Lol.

Peace out.

:)

Carrie, your presence here is invaluable. None of us will have great insight to offer all the time but I think we all bring a couple of things to the forum that are equally as important and that's understanding and compassion. Long before signing up here it was clear to me that you were (and are) a treasured member of DS-Afib. In fact it was the tone that you helped set here that made me decide to join. If that's the impact you have on visitor's here then clearly what you bring to the table is very important and of great value to people like all of us trying to navigate the rough waters of Afib.

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had tougher times lately. I can relate to being baffled by health issues we've been working hard to avoid by taking care of ourselves. I believe that it wasn't a waste of time and that more than likely our hard work made us better able to endure the hand we've been dealt. I'll be praying for better days ahead for you. I sincerely hope that you'll find the strength and good health to realize your dreams and goals.

Please stay Carrie, you're a kind soul. That's powerful medicine with nothing but positive side effects. :)

Steve

Carrie, DITTO! To everything Steve has said in his last post. I treasure you as a friend.

Annette

NO body leaves !!!! We can say what we need to say. That's why
this is the greatest site on DS. You should go on some of the other
sites, you can't say anything without people jumping all over you.
Telling me to fire my Doc and try such and such meds.

This is a wonderful site. I don't remember the one reply that caused
all the trouble. I just let others have their opinions. and I might add
mine.

We need all of you people on here to balance things out. I don't say
things as good as petey and some of the others, But don't leave.

Really glad that you are staying Carrie.

islanduvr----- please stay.

Really hope that everyone will stay with this forum. We need each other. You all are the ones who understand.

I haven't written anything for awhile because my husband recently had a medical emergency, and life got crazy.
D.

I remember the post and thread and very much wanted to respond, but it was obvious to me that it would be no use because to a few there is no changing their views. I have experienced our health care system without insurance and had major medical problems and I can say that its not as easy as going down to your local free clinic or just showing up at an emergency room and everythings going to be taken care of with a wonderful payment arrangement and free meds from drug companies for as long as you need. If you fall below the poverty guidelines and qualify federally, maybe. But there is a large group of people who fall in the middle where our system is really broken. When the thread went political and went into attack mode against the poster, I was a little turned off myself. Anyway, sometimes things get heated in all areas of life, things get said. Lord knows I have pissed off quite a few people. Bygones be bygones. Making up is the best part. GROUP HUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Petey, I'm writing the music for your song. I was thinking of making it like a punk song, along the lines of Iggy Pop. So much better than Precious and Few don't you think?

And to Clane, I am always on this site but do not respond a lot because I really feel like I don't have a lot to offer as there are people who are more experienced with all this. Your experiences with your ablations helped me before my ablation and after. Thank you. I hope to hear more about what your going thru, good or bad. I'm sending flowers your way, Stargazer Lilys. (spelling?)

Oh Carrie, u can offer lots of advice! When I first joined this forumn last year I was just 37. I was feeling very overwhelmed by having afib at such a young age. This forumn help me understand my condition better and allow me to share my experience. Don't worry about scaring people! That's my job! If having 20 trips to the hospital in less than 2 years, cardioverted 3 times, 2 ablations, developing multiple arrythmias and now CHF twice don't scare anyone than nothing will!
Just keep on posting and sharing your experience. It's more valuable than you know!

Detalented-You have had such a tough time! My heart goes out to you! If you dont mind sharing, what brought them to discover the CHF? Were you having symptoms of CHF and they decided to do an echo? You are such a young lady to have gone through so much! Did they give you a reason why your EF was low? Did the echo show changes to the left ventricle that would be lowering your EF? I wonder if it is due to prolonged high HR? How long has it been since your last ablation? I asked my cardio if it is an option to stop the daily beta blocker if I could tolerate the higher rate since beta blocker makes me feel really "off" sometimes and he told me no. He said that he currently has a woman in the hospital that had undiagnosed AF and her EF was 25. He told me she had an HR around 130 for about 3 months and it caused her CHF. He told me that resting HR should not be allowed to be over 110 for long periods of time. I really hope that your heart settles down and you get to put all this heart business behind you one day and feel good again. Thank you for sharing your experiences as it definitely helps us all. There are things so many people go through and knowing how you are coping and what you are feeling teach us all alot! I can say I am very lucky that I never had to be cardioverted but know that many people here have. Please keep us posted on how you are doing and take care, Carrie

Carrie, well back in feb. when I EF was 45% my EP asked me how long I was having such high rates. I told him the first time my heart jumped to 185bpm they lasted about 1 hr. They tried a drug, I forgot the name, that stops your heart for a second or two. That didn't work. They put me on cardizem drip and that help lowered it to 160bpm after 20 minutes and so on until I got below 100bpm. I was in hospital for 3 days. Then 2 days later my heart rate had shot up to 190bpm. This time they had used the cardizem drip right away and was able to get it down. But then my heart entered a aflutter/ tachy beat. I was on a cardizem drip for 24 hrs straight. That didn't help with the aflutter I developed. So after they had transported me to the hospital I had my first ablation at my EP told me if the soltalol didn't convert me after 3 days I would have to cardioverted. They ended up having to cardiovert me. They shocked me 3 times and nothing was successful. I self converted to NSR about 6 hrs later. The TEE they gave me before the cradioversion should my EF to be 45% so my EP had put me on an ACE inhibitor to lower the out put. I had my 2nd ablation June 10, 2013. So Today is 3 months. After the surgery my EP told me i should be very happy with results since he burned a bunch of new lines.Well about 3 days later my heart went in angry mode. I was running 130bpm for as long as 7 hrs. My EP gave mw a month long monitor and everyday I was having mulitple arrythmias. afib, Atach, PVC, PAC, SVT, Vtach, aflutter. I was a mess. So I started noticing a month after ablation my abdomal started bloating, Then my ankles started swelling a little bit at first and then it got so bad I could barely walk becasue I felt like I had pillows strapped to my calves. I breathing was horrible. That was the reason I went to hospital because I was having breathing problems. So that's when they checked my levels and my BNP was elvated. It was 1,824 and normal people have 100 and those with hypertension has 500. So they told me i was having some minor Congestive Heart Failure. so they had gave me lasix thru the IV. They were puzzled about the CHF because my EF was 55%. So my heart muscle was good. About a week ago the CHF started coming back. I think it may have something to do with my sodium intake. I don't know. So my EP has upped my water pill to 7 days instead of 3 days. About 2 months ago they put me on Multaq and increased my metoprolol to 100mg a day and this seems to help with the mulitple arrythmias. But I still have afib and atach moments. I noticed last week when the CHF started again I was having the afib and atach it felt like for hours on end. My EP is going to give it a couple more months to see if it all calms down before he refers me to Okalahoma. That's where the ablation techinique was developed. I'm hoping it all calms down soon. This is really tiring and somewhat stressful.

DetalentedOne: Wow! You have been through such an ongoing ordeal! I like your reference regarding your heart went into "angry mode". So many of us can relate to those terms. You seem very knowlegeable about what is going on with you. I am sure this all is very discouraging expecially going through 2 ablations, which are tough enough on their own. Then, to have things further complicated by multiple arrhythmias and CHF must make you feel very disappointed. You strike me as a fighter, a strong person that keeps seeking solutions. I really hope that it calms down for you soon too. If it is recommended, are you considering another ablation? I was told I would need a 3rd or possibly more as my EP believes my AF is caused by less common areas (other than the pulmonary veins) of the heart that can initiate and maintain Afib. My Cardio recommended Natale since he is the "go to" guy for people who have had prior failed ablations. My symptoms are manageable on rate control so I declined any further surgical interventions and hope it all stays this way. My wish is that you too might reach a place that is manageable without further intervention. I hope the CHF issue gets resolved. I cannot even imagine having my breathing compromised like that and how unwell you must feel when that is happening. I am glad your heart muscle is strong. Hopefully as your rate is controlled and your heart continues to heal, the CHF will resolve and stay away for good. Keeping you in my thoughts and thanks for sharing your experience. I have learned alot from it! Carrie

DeTallented, I totally agree with Carrie's posts. You have been through a lot in such a short time and at such a young age on top of it and my heart really goes out to you. I truly hope things will settle down soon.

I have a question though. You wrote your doctor would refer you to Oklahoma, if your heart does not calm down. Do you know which hospital and doctor? I'm always eager to learn new things and I was not aware of a cardiac arrhythmia center in Oklahoma.

Thanks and wishing you all the best. Heide

Sanibel,
I haven't heard from Island Lover..but I notice you have the same sort of photo icon...are you really Island Lover but you are now using a different nom de guerre? Or maybe it is just Petey changing his photo that has me all suspicious that nobody is who they seem..when surfrat posts a picture of himself with a crew cut (old dudes, YOU remember what this is!), then I will KNOW everything is upside down! NSR to us all...unless we aren't who we think we are!

Bill?

Hi Bill, thanks for the laugh. Guess Petey's new avatar threw you for a loop. I can assure you I'm not Islandluvr and there are many here on this board who will vouch for my identity.
Haven't been around much lately, had all my grandkids visiting over the summer. Also my avatar used to be a flower, but I replaced it last month with a photo from our beach.
Laugh your sense of humor. Sanibel aka Heide