Greetings everyone. I've read through several threads here and I'm very impressed by the kindness, compassion and support you offer to each other. I look forward to sharing information and ideas with you. Like so many here my journey with AFIB has been a difficult one but I feel better now than I have in 15+ years. Treatments are improving and more and more Physicians are gaining the skills necessary to improve the quality of life for AFIB patients.

Yesterday marked 6 months since my catheter ablation to treat my paroxysmal AFIB. With the exception of a few minor arrhythmias within 8 weeks of the surgery I have otherwise been AFIB free. My story is similar to many who have struggled with this unwelcome guest in our lives.

My AFIB started when I was 38, in a couple of weeks I'll be 55. I've been a very active person my whole life and always kept in shape, mainly running 10 - 12 miles a week in the years prior to diagnosis.

In the beginning anxiety was my main symptom, the sensation was strange and frightening but in time I came to grips with it. Once I knew it would pass and my heart would beat on I was ok with the help of a daily beta blocker(metoprolol) and 325 mg aspirin. I tried for a very long time to identify the triggers for my episodes and I kept a log of each episode and the length of the episodes. I eventually abandoned the search for rhyme and reason with my AFIB and accepted it as a condition that I would just have to deal with the best I could. I did eliminate caffeine(I sure miss that good cup of morning Joe) and for about 9 years I was able to cope fairly well.

Then things changed gradually. My AFIB became more frequent and the episodes lasted longer. Instead of hours I was starting to string together days. The worst part was that I went into AFIB every time I would lay down to sleep (if I wasn't in AFIB already). I was sleeping on average of 2-4 hours a night for 5-6 years and there were many nights I didn't sleep at all. Many times I would go to work with one to two nights in a row of no sleep and surprisingly I was able to function decently. The brutal cycle of no sleep causing more AFIB and the AFIB not allowing me to sleep had now become the norm. I was now in AFIB 60-70% of the time. As bad as things were I was still dead set against taking an anti-arrhythmic medication, mainly in fear of the side effects and thought of hospitalization to start the drug.

In July of 2011 I suffered a TIA. I don't like the term "mini-stroke" because I don't see anything mini about being paralyzed and unable to speak. My CHAD score was as low as it could go and yet I still had the TIA, aspirin was obviously not enough. This event changed everything, and was a huge wake up call. I realized then that I had accepted my condition to a fault. I essentially coexisted with it as it slowly started to choke out my quality of life and nearly worse. I reached a point where enough was enough, I wanted to be able to do the things I enjoyed and I wanted to sleep again.

In the past 10 years I have been blessed with the treatment of an amazing electrophysiologist and the finest physician I've ever known. Together our plan was to try and wait for the ablation procedure to become less risky since it was in its infancy at the time I was diagnosed and I was young and in good physical condition. My EP was one of a few leading pioneers in the field and I asked him back then if he would be my surgeon if it came to that and he said yes. 6 months ago he made good on his promise and today I can lay my head on the pillow and night in a quiet room and hear nothing but the normal sinus rhythm of my heart. It's like a sedative, I had forgotten what it was like to sleep for 6 hours in a row. Words cannot describe.

I've rambled long enough, and I apologize for that burning sensation in your eyes. :-) I'll be happy to give more details on my experiences and ablation or help in any way that I can. I hope that knowing my story will give those struggling some encouragement and hope for better days ahead. Best wishes everyone.

Steve