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.
Hi folks. Been lurking a while, thought it might be time to introduce myself. I'm a 37 year-old male, been struggling with arrhythmia since my mid-twenties. I was so apprehensive about doctors in general that I didn't see a cardiologist until my early 30s. Did an event monitor, and she told me I had PACs and not to worry about it. She gave me 25mg of metoprolol and sent me on my way.
Over the years, my arrhythmia got worse, to the point where my old cardiologist gradually increased my dose to 200mg/day of metoprolol. During that time, I hadn't used any monitors, and they could never seem to catch the arrhythmia on ECG when I would go in for checkups.
Three days ago, after a 24-hour Holter, I was diagnosed with A-Fib and SVT, on top of the PACs. Like many of you I'm sure, I totally freaked out about this. The way I used to keep myself from going nuts when my heart started flip-flopping was by saying, "it's just PACs, they can't hurt you". Now that that's out the window I've got to develop a new coping method. I used to be a pretty heavy drinker. Since this diagnosis, I've stopped drinking all together.
My new cardiologist has ordered a thyroid panel, which none of my other doctors did. He also ordered a sleep study to check for sleep apnea (my wife says I snore like a wildebeest so that's likely).
I'm in the beginning stages of my A-Fib treatment, so I was wondering if I could get some advice from some of the folks here on what to expect from sleep studies, and any encouragement from folks whose A-Fib is well-managed or even cured (is there such a thing?).
Over the years, my arrhythmia got worse, to the point where my old cardiologist gradually increased my dose to 200mg/day of metoprolol. During that time, I hadn't used any monitors, and they could never seem to catch the arrhythmia on ECG when I would go in for checkups.
Three days ago, after a 24-hour Holter, I was diagnosed with A-Fib and SVT, on top of the PACs. Like many of you I'm sure, I totally freaked out about this. The way I used to keep myself from going nuts when my heart started flip-flopping was by saying, "it's just PACs, they can't hurt you". Now that that's out the window I've got to develop a new coping method. I used to be a pretty heavy drinker. Since this diagnosis, I've stopped drinking all together.
My new cardiologist has ordered a thyroid panel, which none of my other doctors did. He also ordered a sleep study to check for sleep apnea (my wife says I snore like a wildebeest so that's likely).
I'm in the beginning stages of my A-Fib treatment, so I was wondering if I could get some advice from some of the folks here on what to expect from sleep studies, and any encouragement from folks whose A-Fib is well-managed or even cured (is there such a thing?).
I feel my episodes are 'managed'....but, it is a one day at a time deal IMO....it is liable to change any day. But, today, I am good.
You can still chant " it is only afib, it is not going to hurt me" as long as you have a treatment, a plan for when it pops up and have no risk of stroke through whatever means you and your Dr. choose.
Best of Luck with the Sleep study and all of the other tests!
~Carol
And congratulations on stopping the booze. My EP says it's the # 1 trigger for A Fib that he sees. You'll see other major health benefits, too.
Yes, it's hard to come to terms with this weird condition.
What helped me was finding this site, and then getting a referral to a good EP who took the time to explain all the treatment options for my type of A Fib.
Best of luck to you, and please keep us posted.
D.
I tried for a long time to figure out the triggers for my various arrhythmias, to no avail. Sometimes alcohol would trigger them, other times it wouldn't. Sometimes all it took was getting out of bed in the morning and my heart felt like a phone book in a dryer for the rest of the day.
It was nothing for me to sit down and polish off 6-8 beers in a session, so I'm hoping that the further down the road I get from that, the better off I'll be.
You didnt say if you are on anticoagulation or not. If not, you might want to discuss this with your doctors; stroke IS a real risk and not something you want to mess around with. Just sayin.
It sounds like youve got good doctors and you are motivated so Im sure you will see results!
Good luck!!
across the pond (atp)
200 mg of metoprolol sounds like an great deal of drug (yet everyone is different). When I started on that drug, I was on 50 mg and my heart rate went to 38 at rest and my ankles swelled. Had to cut the pill in half to get to 25 mg. You might want to get an Oximeter to make sure your rate stays within reason (under $50.00 on Amazon).
I may take a while for you doctor to come up with a proper treatment plan. Alcohol is a trigger for many of us. Sleep apnea is also a major cause. Good luck with your journey, we're here to help.
I know how you feel. I'm fairly new to this "club" but I am so grateful for the wonderful support and advice from those on this site, they all are wonderful and I thank God I found this site, it really helped me and showed me I was not alone.
Congratulations on quitting the drink. I know it is hard but you can do it.
Cody