It sounds hokey, but as soon as my heart does a little flippety flop, I force myself to take a deep breath immediately. Sometimes that makes it correct itself. It's probably a PVC or PAC episode, really don't know. One of the times I was so scared and inadvertently held my breath, the episode went on for a long time and felt like a fib. But I didn't have a monitor on, so really don't know.

Doesn't hurt to try to take the long deep breaths.

Good luck!

Dehydration was what set my afib off in the first place ages ago. So I drink LOTS of water. Also take 2 Chelated Magnesium capsules and some Potassium Gluconate. That usually helps put things right for me.

p.s., I LOVE your description of heart being a little brat!

Angie,

The same thing happened to me a couple of days ago. It was after I had eaten a big meal and had cherry cheesecake for dessert. I don't know if the flip flops were from the meal, the cheesecake or because it was a stressful day, or a combination of all. I was told that the cheesecake could have been a trigger, but who knows. I was just waiting to go into afib, but thank God I didn't. I noticed if I stretched out and was not in a sitting position it was better. Even before I got afib I noticed my flip flops were worse after eating.

I know it's so hard not to panic, but think happy thoughts and try to keep yourself occupied. Our brains need to be deprogrammed. LOL

Mary Ann

If I go into afib or are about to go in ( I call that preafib) my EP's instructions are to take 50mgs of Flecainide.

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. It could be that I'm just not feeling well but me being the worrier that I am....of course I expect the worse. I have been under a TON of stress lately. My brother had brain surgery and so I have been staying with my mom and brother to help her care for him while he recovers. Working from home during the day and helping him at night so barely any sleep....and not to mention work is super stressful right now so I am sure any complications are from stress. And interestingly enough there could be some dehydration involved. I seem to drink more water when I am at work than when I am at home. Just trying to relax and chill out right now....and I took a little nap as well.

And yes when my heart isn't cooperating I call it a variety of names lol

yeah Steve I need to talk to my EP about something like that. I was supposed to have my EP appointment 2 weeks ago but my brother had his surgery on the day I was supposed to see the EP. When I called to reschedule they said as long as I felt ok I didn't need to come in. At the time I felt great. I really just think its been all of the stress and no sleep....I hope.

Stress and lack of sleep are a nice recipe for palpitations and a fib.
Deep breathing is sometimes helpful for me, I also take an ativan when those flip flops start, and I take an extra flecainide. Sleep or being very quiet and calm helps me too.
You've got alot on you plate right now. Try to find time to take care of yourself also.

Stress is a big trigger for my flip flops Angie.

I hope all goes well with your brother and he recovers quickly and completely. God Bless.

Mary Ann

Hi
This sounds just like me and I am on 100mg flecainide bid right now.
I try and take deep breaths and seem to do alot of coughing when an episode starts.
I also take a lopressor 12.5mg to keep the rate down
Good luck hope you have a afib free day soon
mek3

I hope your brother is doing well and you're under less stress.

When I go into AF, usually at night, I to sleep thru it but with frequent visits to the bathroom. For me it seems the AF causes dehydration rather than the other way around. The next day I just continue on with my regular activities and plans. The episodes 2-3x/month last 8-24 hours before converting to NSR. My symptoms are mild. Just Irregular HB and fatigue. Coming out of AF I usually feel a flash of lightheadedness. Then I cough. I'm not sure if the cough does anything but in ER when suggested by the nurse it worked. I haven't tried the PIP yet. My approach is "less is more". I just go with the flow and so far so good.

I've had some success with meditation /relaxation techniques and have learned to limit myself to small meals . The combination of those two things have cut my Xanax use to nil and cut down my wonky times significantly. To eliminate jumbo jumbo just concentrating on your breathing for five or ten minutes works as a relaxation technique...the web of course gives all the info anyone needs on that front...hope you get relief one way or another .

I relax and try not to think about the afib episode that I know is coming since it's pretty predictable. I I usually get a slow heart rate that misses and does extra beats about a day before I can into afib. I use to have my pulse meter with me at all times but not anymore. I go about my life and if it hits me when I am doing something like shopping, fishing, hiking and so on, I just slow down and try to do some breathing excercises. Seemed like when I was obsessed with it, it made it worse. Also for some reason beta blockers and anti-arythmics mades it worse too. Everyone is different though.

Angiebanie,
Absolutely, positively, you should not wait and suffer. You hould take a 20mg "Propranolol" to get rid of the fish flop (reduce the rate) at least.

Propranolol is a 1st generation beta blocker, which is different from the new ones like Atenolol and alike. Propranolol ONLY lasts for 6 hours in your body. So, it does not bring down your blood pressure too much. All other beta blockers are designed to last 24 hours. So, they might bring down your blood pressure too low.

A cardio doctor gave it to me about 11 years ago as PIP. It works great every time. It is very cheap too.

Please ask your doctor for a prescription for it. It must be the fast acting version.

Also, do NOT eat stuff like nuts (peanut butter, almond butter, cashews, etc), candy bars, cheese (cream cheese, cheddar, and etc), fish oil, and stuff with butter (cookies). They are all very strong triggers for a lot of people. The afib happens hours after you eat these items and NOT right away.

Taking the pill is only a bandaid when the afib starts. You should try not to get the afib all together.

Of course, stress and lack of sleep can be very strong triggers too as marikay and others mentioned. So, you have to find your triggers. It is a challenge, but it can be easily done. You just have to be serious/diligent about finding your triggers.

Stop eating all of the above for a few days. I can assure you you will see improvement. That is a promise in your case :-)

Scott

I had a short AFib yesterday morning before I ever got up. Not like I had a lot of stress or a big meal then! Sometimes coughing helps smack my rebellious heart back in line. I ran to this site to find the encouragement I needed to continue on. Thanks everyone.