When I am uncomfortable with what my Dr. tells me to do, I get a second opinion.


'

eddie im in the same boat as you most likely you have intermitting afib People in this category have a normal heart rhythm the vast majority of the time. Episodes of atrial fibrillation are relatively brief and infrequent. my cadriologist says it wouldnt serve no purpose of putting me on heart meds because they are so far inbetween i have been in sinus rythm 2 months with no meds i would say take a baby asprin to be on the safe side but if you want the acurate info ask for a holter moniter and get a 3d echo gram to rule out heart disease and rule out the trigger mines was caffeene i stop drinking cafeene never had a problem since if your is stress then you gotta learn how to control it dont worry bro you will be ok i was scared like you 2 months ago when i came out here these people on here will school you better then your doc ha ha stay blessed

I went and got an ablation as fast as I could!

Ditto on the second opinion. I've run into a cardiologist that told me no-one uses flec. anymore and that it's old school stuff. Lol. I missed your post about non-drinker. This might be a lone incident and thru/via proper tests and evaluation, i'm sure you will be given the right advice moving forward. Most of what I've seen is cases that are with no history and the people are healthy, the individuals usually get 'scrips involving beta blockers (metoprolol, etc.) these are heart rate adjusters and low impact for most. That said everyone is differerent and I'm not a Dr. Good luck! - Tom

THANKS every one had stress test and ecery thing was perfect the whole test was a a plus...doc said I should still stay on meds for few meds..do no why ,, I wana get off them...

Hi Eddie,
I read your post and thought I was reading about myself. I'm a chronic worrier as well. I have let fear rule my life so I am now trying to do things to help control the fear. The folks in this community are fantastic and very supportive. I was 35 when I had my first Afib attack. I was kind of embarrassed because the doctor said I was so young to have AFib, but after joining this support group, I am realizing that AFib episodes happen to people of all ages. It is possible you will not have another AFib episode because you are a healthy person. The best thing to do is to learn techniques to reduce your fear and anxiety. People in this support group have given me a lot of wonderful suggestions. I pray this is your only occurrence of AFib. God bless.

When I went to the ER in May of 2010, I was diagnosed with AFIB. They kept me for a couple days and I left with a 'scrip for metoprolol. I had a followup appt. with a PCP (the wife of the hospital Dr.) a few days later. At that time she told me I would be on this medication, for the rest of my life. When I left her office I was totally devastated. I don't like taking pills. In any case I eventually saw an EP, and he evaluated the entire situation and in October, wanted me to stop taking the med.s. Unfortunately, a few days later I had an episode, a PIP was administered at that time of flec. (@ an ER) and I resumed NSR in 30-45 minutes. I later told him I thought I should ween off the med.s/metoprolol (maybe) further down the road. I've been on this medication ever since. But that said, there have been times when I ran out and did not take it for several days. I didn't die and I'm not sure if I really need to be on them all the time at this point. But they do seem to help most of the time - I guess. Once you establish a repore with an EP, they will listen to you and try to steer you in the best direction for your own gig. IF they are a good EP,.

For those of you concerned about stress and anxiety, there is a growing field called Cardiac Psychology. These psychologists focus specifically on such issues. If you cannot find a cardiac psychologist, you migt benefit from a Health Psychologist. They can be found in universities and some medical centers.
http://www.apa.org/about/division/div38.aspx
They focus on practical measures rather than general psychology, childhood issues, etc.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_psychology
http://www.apa.org/pubs/videos/4310771.aspx
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/06/cardiac-psychologist.aspx
http://www.apa.org/search.aspx?query=cardiac%20psychology
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Mind-Practice-Cardiac-Psychology/dp/1433810131
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3485582/

A bit more on this area:
http://www.health-psych.org

If you contact them, they may be able to provide a referral in your area.
Also:
http://www.health-psych.org/EducationConferences.cfm

Hey Thomas *hands on hips* but smiling......Flecainide IS one of the oldest anti arrythmics around....and why is that ? Cause it works. And when it works its an amazing drug. Does it work for everyone ??? Uh Uh ....cause nothing works for everyone. There are a whole bunch of us *old school* peeps on here who havent had an episode in longer than we can count thanks to that old old drug :)
In my opinion being one of *those people* if your doc offers Flecainide to you , you owe it to yourself to give it a try....if it's not the med for you ....move on. Best of luck to all of us always ! jan

thanks nurse..please ad me ad me as friend...thanks

No convincing me of the efficacy of Flecainide. What I shared however, was yet another example of a medical professional making a questionable remark. Since, 2010 (unfortunately) I've heard some real winning off-color remarks. No ones' perfect. Hence, seek the advise of a 2nd or even 3rd opinion. I had some mis-guided nut bag nurse tell me late one night in the ER that I would "not" convert to NSR. She then left her shift and went home. There have been many positive and memorable moments though with outstanding staff. One came in the form of being given a series of "banana bags" hooked up to an IV. This is what they were called and I had never heard of such a thing. Funny stuff.

Very. Interesting posts from everyone, as usual. This is sn awesome site with such wonderful people - has helped me a lot:)

Eddie I sure hope things are getting better for you. Stress is my worst trigger, so know how you feel. I also hate medications,
I had. two very bad incidents. First one in March of 2013 and 2nd. In Sept.2014. Both resulted in hospital stays All tests fine. They had
Trouble getting my h.r.down & heart yo NSR. They changed my medsto Sotalol. And put me on sertraline 100mg. I also take warfarin. I Have bee a-fib free for over 1 yr. We moved from Co. To Fl. : a few months ago. We had to change ins. Because our ins. Co is boy Fl. Having trouble finding Des. The cardiologist said my ekg was good and offered to let me stop Sotalol and do PIP with Rhymol, I got scared and on the Sotalol still. It is working so I sm apprehensive.
I see him again thurs. Will discuss. I do still get a few skipped beats.
Take care and good luck with your ablation.Hope ur marital problems are better, too.
Hugs and stay positive:)
Christine

Sorry about the typos! I am on my Kindle. I need to use my computer instead! The main thing is that my 2 episodes were both in 2013
Not Sept. 2014. Was 2013.

Welcome to Afibland Eddie. If you have had one afib episode and the doc has.prescribed powerful drugs - and you are not comfortable taking them and they make you feel lousy, ask the doc questions. Does he think you are at risk going into Afib every week? How does he know that?