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.
Hello,
I am new here, and recently diagnosed with afib in November 2012. I am just looking for a group of people who can relate to how I feel. My friends can sympathize and "feel bad" for me, but they don't know how it feels so they can't really relate. I think I might feel a bit better about this if I could speak to others with the condition. I am told I am young to have this so i don't really have much in common with my peer group when it comes to the afib diagnosis. Thanks for reading and I hope to make new friends :)
Angie
I am new here, and recently diagnosed with afib in November 2012. I am just looking for a group of people who can relate to how I feel. My friends can sympathize and "feel bad" for me, but they don't know how it feels so they can't really relate. I think I might feel a bit better about this if I could speak to others with the condition. I am told I am young to have this so i don't really have much in common with my peer group when it comes to the afib diagnosis. Thanks for reading and I hope to make new friends :)
Angie
Cheryl
how high is your HR going during your episodes? I used to stay home from work every time I had an episode... but after I was on such a high dose of the sotalol my HR would stay under 100 most of the time. I learned to go to work with it. It really sucked but as long as I sat as much as I could, I was able to get through the day.
Kelly
Thank goodness i haven't had an episode at work yet! But most of the time right now my HR is between 48-53. I feel kind of out of sorts and am finding that i have an intolerance for exercise which isn't good. I get short of breath way easier than i used to....something i should discuss with my Dr for sure. Is that common though? But yeah anyway my HR is super low now but when i have an episode it is around 150-180 usually.
" I get short of breath way easier than i used to....something i should discuss with my Dr for sure. Is that common though?"
Exercise intolerance is a symptom of afib (because your heart rate goes up more than usual and your heart is working at 70% efficiency).
If you are taking beta blockers, that can make you out of breath. However, over time, people adjust.
petey
I think Dr's don't realize how negatively a fib can impact your quality of life. The episodes are no fun if you are very symptomatic, but the anxiety is worse.
I think your heart rate may be too low, especially if you feel fatigued all the time. Bring it up again with your Dr. It takes some time to find the right meds.
I felt awful for months before I started the sotalol. Nothing kept my HR down during episodes and that makes it hard to function. After a while even during episodes my HR would stay under 100, so I was able to tolerate it easier. But I cannot imagine exercising while in afib. I have to be honest, my exercise level has dropped drastically since the afib started. Now that my ablation is over I really have to get on the stick!
How often are you having episodes and what do you do for a living?
Kelly
I work at a life insurance company in customer service...good times :) how about you?
I don't post here much (though I do lurk and read a lot of the posts). It's a very supportive and knowledgable group. I had my first afib at 37 and I remember exactly how bad it sucked. At the ER the Dr said it might just be a one-off and may never happen again so imagine how bad it felt 2 months later when it did.
Since then I've been doing a lot of reading about it from a lot of different places and have learned a few tricks that help.
Your doctor said your potassium was low and I know for me low potassium is a big trigger. There are complex reasons for this but I find sodium - bad, potassium - good. I'm not saying to run out and buy potassium pills but rather watch the amount of sodium in your diet and try to increase the potassium.
Essentially, less junk food and salt, and more vegetables. I notice you said you drink gatorade and v-8. These both have a fair bit of salt.
As well, I get pvcs after eating, especially if its a big meal or if I lay down. This is pretty common. I've found it very helpful to avoid large meals in general but especially close to bedtime.
These are just a few little things that have helped me. There's a lot more to it but those are the easy ones. (actually things are a little rough right now no matter what I seem to do but the above mentioned things still make it worse). I don't know if this will help you are not but I thought I'd throw it in there for you to consider. When I first had this a few years ago there wasn't a whole lot of helpful advice comimg my way and I'm the kind of person who wants to do whatever they can to fix things myself.
Anyway, take care.
Monty
I am a spordaic poster, but I do read all the post and they have helped me alot. I do not feel alone and the support is very reassuring.
Mek
http://www.afibbers.org/faq.htm
"Eighty-five percent of responders had tried supplementation. The most effective supplement was magnesium glycinate, which had been found beneficial by 48% of those who had tried it. Potassium supplementation (including low-sodium V8 juice) had been tried by 79% of all respondents and found beneficial by 43%. Taurine had been tried by 43% and found beneficial by 32%. About half of those supplementing with magnesium also took potassium and taurine."
petey