I have permanent af and recently had a cardioversion that only lasted 3 min.s. I'm on meds to try again. The cardioversion was not nearly as bad as i thought it would be and I'm ready to try again. My ep said if this doesn't work I could try an ablation but if i have no symptoms i could take the meds i was on initially for the rest of my life without a problem. The constant med switching is the hardest part for me, but it's a reality that different meds work for different people and you just have to keep trying them till you get it right.
The headache could be your meds or stress. Stress in the beginning is understandable. It's a slap in the face to get this diagnosis. But hang in there, you'll be surprized in a couple months how well you're handling it. Tell your Dr. about the headaches and let him decide how serious or not it may be.

thanks shanti ma , i was diagonsed about 3 months ago and i am on
warafin along with blood pressure med such as metropol .
the funny thing is i dont get any symptoms of a fib .
like i feel nothing is wrong.i dont get any kind for me to worry except that i am told that i have a permanent a fib .

thanks for replying

Ray, Buddy,
If you don't feel your A Fib, you are one of the lucky ones :-) Feeling it is horrible, I have been there. It was like a fish floppying in your chest and at any time it might jump out. Plus the feeling of sort of passing out and being dizzy. So, count your blessings, man.

To make your mind at ease, my mom has been in permanent A Fib for the past 15 years. She can't feel it either. But, her pulse indicates she is in A Fib all the time. She is on blood thinner (Nattokinase), Deltaziam, and Metropololol (spelling?). She is 86 years old and still is active, goes shopping, walks on treadmill a mile or so every day, and enjoys life.

Based on that note, just take your meds, enjoy life, and your family. It could be a lot worse. Hopefully, one of these days you will find the cause for your A Fib and you will be all right.

The headache probably is the side effect of one of your meds. Also, sometimes when I have too much of oily stuff like avocado, potatoe chips, or corn chips, I get a very bad headache in the back or side of my head. I take a couple of Ibuprofen to knock it out, and of course I cut back on oily stuff.

Good luck,
Scott

thanks so much scott , just reading your mail i am feeling better .I am told that due to always high blood pressure i have the afib .and now i have the one that is permanent .
i have been told to have cardioversion but at the same time doctor said that it may come back and that that is not a cure in other words there is no cure .
i have begun to xcersie on treadmill and will try to loose weight which i am at 245 and 5 feet and 11 inches.
i am on dioxogen ,lisinopril and metropolo (spelling not sure ) my age is 51 .
in any case thanks so much for making me feel better .

kindest regards
ray

Ray, it is very scary, especially in the beginning. I have constant A-Fib. I started almost 13 years ago with the death of my husband, he was 49. It was on constant at first and I had three cardioversions. Finally I said enough as it would not stay in rhythm. I could tell when it went out of rhythm in the beginning, now only at night with the exception of occasionaly. I take Coumadin, Atenolol, and Lisinopril. (please forgive my spelling) I get dizzy and winded and cannot walk many stairs...Not a good candidate for ablation .....but I am living a good life. Not exactually as planned, but not too bad either.I try to stay focused on life and not my A-Fib, it drives me crazy when I do. Educate yourself and live as good a life as you can. Good luck to you.

thanks carole , i am on lisinopril , warafin and dioxgen and sometimes it is not easy thanks for your kind words

Ray: I have asymptomatic, persistent afib. Diagnosed 7 months ago. I am on rate control (Bystolic) and Pradaxa (blood thinner). If you are asymptomatic and heart rate is controlled, that is what most doctors recommend. There IS a debate though about whether ablation is a better way to go then meds. My feeling is that drug comanies favor meds and SOME doctors that do ablations etc favor that route. From all the reading I have done it appears that electrical cardioversion is a waste of time if you have persistent (you a using the term permanent, which means you CAN'T be cardioverted, so I think you mean persistent) afib and that ablation must be done by one of only a few centers that have had success with persistent afib. HOWEVER, it seems there might be a chance that almost all persistent afib people that have ablations go back in afib eventually, even if 10-15 years later. Find the source of your afib... mine appears to be sleep apnea. -Pete

OK, I have kind of a different take on this. I'm one of the lucky onces that don't feel my a-fib, but it's a 2 edged sword. If I had felt it I would have sought treatment right away, rather then a year later simply for fatigue and dizziness. Whether you feel it or not, the damage is being done. It can be a prerequiste to congestive heart failure and many other things. I've also had a cardioversion that lasted 3 days. I'm not on sotalol, and have been for 2 mo., preparing for another cardioversion/and or ablation. The meds should give you more help in staying in sinus rhythm if that's how you decide to go. Myself, if I haden't had open heart surgery, I would have opted for the mini-maze, but you still have to jump through all the insurance hoops first. Cardioversion for me was a breeze...I don't remember a thing and then I woke up feeling fine, and shortly afterward went home. There was nothing scary about it, nor did I feel a thing. Even though I don't have the rhythm problems, I am fatigued and dizzy, so I'm truly not asymptomatic, and I want it gone. It depends on how you are feeling with the a-fib is the bottom line. My quality of life is impaired with it. Good luck to you. I take Warfarin and sotalol.

That should have read I AM ON SOTALOL:) I also just had a sleep apnea test and will be going on C-pap within a week or so. I'm giving myself and my body every chance before the next cardioversion and/or ablation. The fact that atrial fib can lead to congestive hear failure is scary to me, because I lost my Mom to it. I want it gone. There is a cure...but it requires someone who knows how to do the min-maze procedure...and that depends on where you live. Ablation can be a cure, but it usually takes more then once for most people. Cardioversion is not a cure, although it puts you in sinus rhythm,l and a pacemaker after having the AV node destroyed is not a cure either. Good luck to you.

I thought afib only led to congstive heart failure if you aren't rate controlled... in other words if your heart is beating so fast for so long. If anyone has different facts, let me know and I'll get the ablation line.

I believe if you have an option to have an ablation, take it. For me, I have been on 4 different medications (currently sotolol), none has stopped the episodes and they again want me to change to a different one, more toxic and with nasty side effects. I have already decided not to take the amiodrone.

I had one ablation in March and my AF is back. I have an appointment this week with my EP and will see if it is too soon to have another ablation.

I personally think more should be done to AF, rather than to live with very dangerous medications and to live in fear of this leading to something else. I have already had one stroke (TIA) which has left me with a small stutter and I certainly don't want another.

Although anything done to your heart is scary, I am fortunate to have an EP and a hospital close by that is up to date on ablations, etc. My next ablation will be a cryo-ablation and I have been reading a lot about it and how more successful it is. This is an article I sent in taken directly from my local hospital's publication.

www.dailystrength.org/c/Atrial_Fibrillation_AFib/forum/12643875-cryoablation-information

Take care, Joan

Oop, a typo -s/b

"More should be done to cure or stop AF, rather than...."

I have permanent afib and don't feel it. I had congestive heart failure and was in the hospital and that's when they told me I could not have an ablation but I can control it with meds. I take Diltiazem, Warfarin, Metoprolol. Cozaar and Furosomide. My beat has been down to 60 for 2 years now and I feel wonderful. I walk a mile every day and go to the gym 6 days a week. Exercise is actually good for it. I was very scared at first but then I read up on it and its not something that will kill you. I never got CHF again so, so far so good. I changed cardiologists when the first one would not take me off of Digoxin and I suffered from terrible side effects for a year, and that's my recommendation. Be sure you have a good doctor. This one is really wonderful and knew just what to do. Good luck. Carol Miller

Whether you are rate controlled or not you still have atrial fibrillation. It can, not always, lead to congestive heart failure. My Mom started out with A-Fib and it turned into CHF. I'm trying hard to get an ablation, but I don't seem to be a choice candidate either because of an enlarged left atrium. I cannot stand the meds though, and another cardioversion seems a wate of time, because I won't get off the meds anyway...and they are making me feel horrible. If you are a candidate for ablation I would definitely go that route. Good luck to you.