My apologies I missed that
.Shes been weaned off them now anyway so doesn't matter. It was purely intrigue.
Atrial Fibrillation - any decent forums?
- Thread starter Joebob
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My apologies I missed that
.Shes been weaned off them now anyway so doesn't matter. It was purely intrigue.
You should look for a book called "at last a life", it really helped me with my anxiety more than anything else I tried.
Rationally that makes perfect sense, however I wasn't feeling all that rational at the time, just worried - actually kacking it would be a better description!
I'm pretty sure the cannula was fine, seemed to go straight into the vein in the back of my hand nicely (they can never find a vein in my arm, I would make a crap junkie!). I do take diazepam for anxiety and I know that I have built up a tolerance to it, so maybe that's it?
Associate
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That's probably why, if you take diazepam (or any other benzodiazepine related drug) it will cause tolerance. Benzodiazepine tolerance goes up very quick and very high in a short amount of time. Also if you drink a lot of alchohol it has the same effect as it hits the same parts of the brain.
The drug builds up in your system making any other benzo feel (to your body) like your next dose so it needs slightly more. This is a crude explanation though, there's a lot more to it.
Diamorphine also gives you very vivid dreamstates as you are in between sleep and being awake. You'll also feel like you've been hit ny a truck the next day as its been subduing your pain sensors/nerves.
The drug builds up in your system making any other benzo feel (to your body) like your next dose so it needs slightly more. This is a crude explanation though, there's a lot more to it.
Diamorphine also gives you very vivid dreamstates as you are in between sleep and being awake. You'll also feel like you've been hit ny a truck the next day as its been subduing your pain sensors/nerves.
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Caporegime
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Rotters,
I may have not worded my post correctly.
I know vt/vf can cause damage. What I meant was that If it doesn't occur, and you simply remain in AF or revert to sinus, then there is no damage to the heart.
I may have not worded my post correctly.
I know vt/vf can cause damage. What I meant was that If it doesn't occur, and you simply remain in AF or revert to sinus, then there is no damage to the heart.
I was diagnosed with af over a year ago and was prescribed Flecainide which was okay for a time. At the time of being prescribed Flecainide I did ask the doctor (twice) if there were any side effects and he said none.
Six months later I suffer several Flecainide induced Sustained Ventricular Tachycardias, so much for no side effects. The ECG traces were like perfect sine waves rather than the usual heart beat. Ended up in hospital for a week and having an angiogram. That was an unpleasant experience mainly because the nurse did fit the canula properly and I couldn't have any sedative. Turned out the SVTs did do damage to the heart.
Now on Bisoprolol and Ramipril and these have sorted the problem, not had any attacks of af (touch wood). Was on Amidarone too but was taken off it quickly because of the side effects.
Six months later I suffer several Flecainide induced Sustained Ventricular Tachycardias, so much for no side effects. The ECG traces were like perfect sine waves rather than the usual heart beat. Ended up in hospital for a week and having an angiogram. That was an unpleasant experience mainly because the nurse did fit the canula properly and I couldn't have any sedative. Turned out the SVTs did do damage to the heart.
Now on Bisoprolol and Ramipril and these have sorted the problem, not had any attacks of af (touch wood). Was on Amidarone too but was taken off it quickly because of the side effects.
Firstly, I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, cardioversion isn't something they I'd like to have done.
The only thing I would add to this is that the internet is a very scary place when it comes to medical advice - don't take everything at face value. OcUK forums have a great member base and I would trust their views over other Internet forums (as I've been here for ages), but I would NOT trust anything on a forum over the opinion of a medical professional that you can see and speak to face to face (at a huge tertiary centre like UHCW no less). People love to post their bad experiences, which are perpetuated by others posting about their experiences or their friends or family experiences. It's the same with tech product reviews that we should all be familiar with being a technology forum, people are quick to criticize. A quick look on the BHF website appears to have a couple of AF support organisations which may be of some use.
Good luck with your ongoing treatment. I hope you get it sorted.
The only thing I would add to this is that the internet is a very scary place when it comes to medical advice - don't take everything at face value. OcUK forums have a great member base and I would trust their views over other Internet forums (as I've been here for ages), but I would NOT trust anything on a forum over the opinion of a medical professional that you can see and speak to face to face (at a huge tertiary centre like UHCW no less). People love to post their bad experiences, which are perpetuated by others posting about their experiences or their friends or family experiences. It's the same with tech product reviews that we should all be familiar with being a technology forum, people are quick to criticize. A quick look on the BHF website appears to have a couple of AF support organisations which may be of some use.
Good luck with your ongoing treatment. I hope you get it sorted.
It's amazing how common this is, I've had cardioversion twice, once in 2001 and once in 2007 both time under a general anesthetic. The first one I really felt something, and my heart rate went up to 200 BPM so I caused an ambulance. The second time was very mild and because I wasn't sure when it started I had to go on Warfarin for ages before they would do anything which was very harrowing going around with mild AF for a few weeks. Since being prescribed flecanide after that incident it has brought it completely under control for me, it has literally changed my life because I'm not worried about going into AF all the time anymore. I went into AF again in 2010 and the tablet got rid of it after about 10 minutes! Tiredness, stress and alcohol (even a session a few days before) seem to be my triggers.
It's that common though that the guy who sits opposite me has it as well, although he's not had to have cardioversion yet. Really try not to worry about it, you'd be surprised how many people have this issue. As mentioned bear in mind that most people won't even post on the internet about it unless they have a really bad experience.
It's that common though that the guy who sits opposite me has it as well, although he's not had to have cardioversion yet. Really try not to worry about it, you'd be surprised how many people have this issue. As mentioned bear in mind that most people won't even post on the internet about it unless they have a really bad experience.
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Soldato
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Are any of our AF sufferers undergoing anticoagulation therapy ?
Do you mean warfarin? I've been on it for about the past eight weeks or so as they won't even consider Cardioversion unless your INR count has been stable (between 2 & 3) for at least three weeks - took a while to get mine stable!
. Solidly around 2.3 now but I'm coming off them 
. No more lightheadedness.
Soldato
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I hate googling medical stuff so may i ask what the symptoms are?
I know what you are saying about the internet being a scary place & I completely agree with you about the OCUK forums. I try not to go anywhere else, if I can help it. This forum is always my first port of call and, I hope, will be for many years to come.
I guess what I'm looking for is reassurance that I'm not about to drop dead at any second... not really (well, I sometimes think this, but that's just my old friend anxiety at play again - seems to have popped his ugly head back up again after being diagnosed with Afib, which is a real shame as I had just about beaten him down after a battle which lasted over ten years!), but given the lack of any kind of information or advice I received from the NHS I just want to know that I'm not alone ans that what I experience is normal for the condition.
These seem to be my triggers too. I'm not drinking any alcohol currently as I found out the hard way that it doesn't mix with Amiodorone - I felt really ill for a whole day following a night with after about 4 glasses of red wine!
I did google ay possible interactions beforehand but I guess no warnings being returned does not mean it's ok to go ahead - lesson learned.
The symptoms of Afib (Artial Fibrillation)?
You generally have two main types; Paroxsymal Afib and Persistent Afib.
Paroxsymal means that you get an irregular heartbeat which comes and goes from time to time, persistent means you have a permanent irregular heartbeat.
Put simply, the upper Atrial chambers of the heart fill with blood and then pass that blood down to the lower Ventrical chambers to be pumped around the body. The rhythm of both of these areas of the heart are controlled internally by their own nodes.
In Afib, the upper chambers are receiving disruptive electrical impulses from an external source, i.e. through a vein or such like, and are more or less fluttering rather than beating in time to the lower chambers.
The symptoms, other than feeling your pulse and seeing it's not regular or sometimes feeling like your heart is trying to beat it's way out of your chest cavity, are that you feel tired a lot more easily, you get pain in the chest and sometimes the arm too - which is scary as those are the symptoms of a pending heart attack. If you get those symptoms get to A&E pronto!
I have persistent Afib and I could best describe my symptoms as to like being at altitude - if you have ever been up a mountain, skiing for instance, then you will know that the thinner air makes even walking up the stairs more difficult. From what I read Afib causes the heart to be between 10-20% less efficient.
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Caporegime
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I'm on warfarin too.
Due to my congenital heart defect my inr has to be kept at 3-3.5. It also helps as if I need a cardioversion, I can have it straight away rather than waiting or have a TOE, which I don't like.
There's a new drug under development apparently that doesn't need the regular checks that warfarin does.
Due to my congenital heart defect my inr has to be kept at 3-3.5. It also helps as if I need a cardioversion, I can have it straight away rather than waiting or have a TOE, which I don't like.
There's a new drug under development apparently that doesn't need the regular checks that warfarin does.
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Primarily warfarin but sometimes rivoroxaban or even aspirin. 2-3 is the most common INR target range for all AC therapy but some have as high as 3-4. It depends on quite a few variables.
Do any of you Afibbers do regular exercise? I used to go jogging quite a bit and I really miss it. I actually completed a marathon two years ago, so my heart was fine then.
I find that if I go for a run, or even a brisk walk now though it triggers an Afib episode!
I find that if I go for a run, or even a brisk walk now though it triggers an Afib episode!
I used to go running but I ended up buying a running machine. If I go downhill quickly instead of limping half way back I can just crash on the sofa in a few steps.
Weights is a no no now would hate to try and get dizzy and drop them on me. Hopefully that might subside when I'm off the blood thinners.
Weights is a no no now would hate to try and get dizzy and drop them on me
. Hopefully that might subside when I'm off the blood thinners.