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Atrial Fibrillation - who has it (other than me)?


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I have been suffering from Atrial Fibrillation for just over ten years.  It’s a condition where the heart beats fast upto 150 in medicated and irregularly.  For most of that time I have had episodes of a few hours to a few months at various times.  To help put it back in rhythm I have had 3 cardio ablations and 3 cardio versions. However it has been out again for about 6-7 weeks and I was told on Friday that the local cardiologists want to leave me in persistent afib but medicated to keep on top of the rate and also thin the blood to prevent clotting.

Wondering if anybody else has persistent atrial fibrillation and can I ask how you are getting on?

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It's been difficult to avoid making a smutty joke about 'atrial fibrillation' sounding like something I've never tried but I'm willing to give anything a go once ....

However,  I'm better than that!

Seriously, as far as I know, my heart is working fine!! Sounds like something very stressful to deal with though,  so best of luck.

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I’ve had it for about 10 years too.  I woke up one morning with an erratic heartbeat of about 180.  Went to the A&E and eventually they gave me a tablet to correct it.

The rest of the time it eventually rights itself, I’ve found drinking really cold water and an ice cold cloth on the back of the neck can correct an episode within about 10 mins.

My ticker regularly does a series of double or multiple beats or pauses then thumps back into life, but other than being told to take aspirin every day to minimise the risk of a clot (I don’t) I’ve not been given any extra treatment.

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I had it but never realised until I accidentally set myself on fire (misadventure, really silly, don't ask) and ended up in resus at Derby Royal. There the consultant told me I had afib.

I eventually got taken in for an electrical cardioversion which successfully rebooted my heart. 

For the last 5 years I haven't had a problem.

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8 hours ago, Boycie said:

I’ve had it for about 10 years too.  I woke up one morning with an erratic heartbeat of about 180.  Went to the A&E and eventually they gave me a tablet to correct it.

The rest of the time it eventually rights itself, I’ve found drinking really cold water and an ice cold cloth on the back of the neck can correct an episode within about 10 mins.

My ticker regularly does a series of double or multiple beats or pauses then thumps back into life, but other than being told to take aspirin every day to minimise the risk of a clot (I don’t) I’ve not been given any extra treatment.

Interesting to hear your story Boycie, it’s good that you have a handle on it.  Will give the cold water a go, willing to try anything

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5 hours ago, Ewetube said:

I had it but never realised until I accidentally set myself on fire (misadventure, really silly, don't ask) and ended up in resus at Derby Royal. There the consultant told me I had afib.

I eventually got taken in for an electrical cardioversion which successfully rebooted my heart. 

For the last 5 years I haven't had a problem.

Great that it’s worked so well and held off

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I have it.  I’ve been treated with drugs to mimimise it, then a minor ‘op’ to stop it, then different drugs to avoid it, but it came back and after discussion with my consultant I’ve come off meds and live with it.  I can’t say I’ve even thought about it for months until I saw this post.  Happy to answer any questions by pm if you want.  One interesting side effect of one of the meds I was given (Amiodarone) is that if you take it and expose yourself to the sun your skin turns silver…

 

 

Edited by KaiserBillsBatman
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12 hours ago, KaiserBillsBatman said:

I have it.  I’ve been treated with drugs to mimimise it, then a minor ‘op’ to stop it, then different drugs to avoid it, but it came back and after discussion with my consultant I’ve come off meds and live with it.  I can’t say I’ve even thought about it for months until I saw this post.  Happy to answer any questions by pm if you want.  One interesting side effect of one of the meds I was given (Amiodarone) is that if you take it and expose yourself to the sun your skin turns silver…

 

 

Silver, must make a fortune from the peelings when you get sunburnt!

So its permanent afib unmedicated, was there not a concern with clotting of the blood?

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14 minutes ago, Ewetube said:

Multitasking.

Cleaning something with meths in one room, cooking a stew in the kitchen. As I approached the cooker I ignited.

 

Jeez that's horrendous. Harsh to call yourself really silly! We all have those moments where our minds drift elsewhere and we autopilot. Most of us, most the time, get away with it. 

Hope you recovered or are recovering well and don't have to put up with too many knob heads drawing the story out of you! 

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3 hours ago, Ewetube said:

Multitasking.

Cleaning something with meths in one room, cooking a stew in the kitchen. As I approached the cooker I ignited.

 

Thank you.

Now I don't feel half as stupid for putting e-liquid in my eyes instead of soothing eye-drops... twice!  😲

 

 

*true dat... and yes, it did effin' sting!  

 

 

 

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I had wolf Parkinson White syndrome - effectively an extra electric pathway in my heart that caused it to beat when it shouldn’t. Typically I ignored all the signs that I may have some sort of health issue, including passing out on a treadmill, coming off the back of it, hitting my head on a weights bench being sparko for a while. 
 

anyway it got picked up in a free health check at work. The company who did my health check rang me and said “we recommend you make an appointment with your GP as soon as you can but we cannot say why”. Made the appointment, my GP saw my ECG and said “I don’t understand, who said this was a week ago and yet you’re sat here” 😳

Had catheter ablation, where they go in and effectively kill the extra electric pathway (two failed operations and they got in the third time!!) and all is well now. 

I know it’s not the same but since we’re sharing. 

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11 hours ago, SuffolkRam said:

Silver, must make a fortune from the peelings when you get sunburnt!

So its permanent afib unmedicated, was there not a concern with clotting of the blood?

Yes permanent since the cardioversion failed, I take a blood thinner (apixaban) to minimise the chance of clotting.  I dont know what ‘normal’ feels like but my overall health has improved quite a bit as the health pros have tweaked my meds 

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10 minutes ago, Reggie Greenwood said:

Take care and get well soon 

Cheers Reggie.

All I wanted was an asthma test because I've been short of breath and they sent me here!

ECG normal. Bloods done and x-ray to come just to rule anything major out, hopefully. I'll be here a few more hours yet.

Edited by May Contain Nuts
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1 minute ago, May Contain Nuts said:

Cheers Reggie.

All I wanted was an asthma test because I've been short of breath and they sent me here! 

ECG normal. Bloods done and x-ray to come just to rule anything major out, hopefully.

I have to go to old DRI on Monday to get an ECG monitor fitted to wear for a couple of days. Testing for something called Long Q syndrome. Slow return heat beat I think. 
Sounds like you will get the all clear 👍🏼

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1 minute ago, Reggie Greenwood said:

I have to go to old DRI on Monday to get an ECG monitor fitted to wear for a couple of days. Testing for something called Long Q syndrome. Slow return heat beat I think. 
Sounds like you will get the all clear 👍🏼

Similarly I hope things go well for you and there's a non-complicated fix

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