New Member and Fears

My name is Chris and I am a new member.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2018 08:09PM by cmleidi.

Sorry to read about your problem and the stress it causes you.
I'd try to find a 'holistic' medical practitioner. Probably too many variables to deal with here? While your tests show everything is normal it may not be normal for you or they haven't looked at all the possibilities (most likely) - obviously there is a problem.
Best wishes, Joe

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cmleidi
I had a stroke in the hospital at that time which the doctors ignored despite my complaints before and after stroke.

Why do you think you had a stroke?

Hello Chris - Welcome. Very sorry to read your story. Where are you located? I agree with Joe that if it's possible to consult with a 'holistic' or functional medicine practitioner, that would be a useful next step to rule out what may have been missed with standard testing.

Stay connected to us here, as it's a great support group as well as source of reliable information for assistance.

Best to you,
Jackie

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Carey

I had a stroke in the hospital at that time which the doctors ignored despite my complaints before and after stroke.

Why do you think you had a stroke?

I am assuming because of the atrial fib but I have no idea and I have not been given one. Since the doctors didn't heed my warnings/complaints, they shirked responsibility when the stroke was discovered so I never got a clear answer. I've only had doctors talk to me about the results.

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Jackie
Hello Chris - Welcome. Very sorry to read your story. Where are you located? I agree with Joe that if it's possible to consult with a 'holistic' or functional medicine practitioner, that would be a useful next step to rule out what may have been missed with standard testing.

Stay connected to us here, as it's a great support group as well as source of reliable information for assistance.

Best to you,
Jackie

Thank you Jackie and Joe. I live in Akron, Ohio. I have seen so many doctors, but they just say the same things no matter how I explain/present my history and symptoms. I feel like a Peanuts cartoon character who makes noise but the doctors don't hear what I'm saying. When they can't explain something I'm experiencing (hot flashes for example), they say, "This is your new normal."

Carey's question is apt. If you did have a stroke (what were your symptoms) i'm certain that doctors would prescribe an anti-coagulant at a minimum.

Cmleidi,
First you must know all of us have fear even after years of afib and other weird rhythm stuff. This forum is extremely helpful when you feel bad, so use it to comfort yourself. I like the holistic idea but the first thing I would do if I was you is see about something for anxiety. The anxiety associated with this is terrible. Fear begots fear! Afib and all its buddies feed on fear. Definitely need to figure out and follow up on the stroke issue. Wear the monitor but I would request a two week zio. Wearing from fri to sat prob won't tell you anything.
Tim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2018 01:10AM by tsco.

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Joe
Carey's question is apt. If you did have a stroke (what were your symptoms) i'm certain that doctors would prescribe an anti-coagulant at a minimum.

I'm on eliquis right now. I guess I should have made that clear. I was having headaches and I think I had small TIAS before the stroke which I let them know about (flashes of green colors and then feeling dizzy and unbalanced). I didn't have the typical symptoms so they wrote it off since they were more concerned about the heart problems. The stroke I had August 2016 has been confirmed by MRI's. I had it while in the hospital but it took a month for someone to notice and listen to my complaints. It also adds to my panic about the atrial fib episodes.

I'm on carvedilol, bumex, spironolactone, eliquis, entresto, and pravastatin sodium (as a precaution).

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tsco
Cmleidi,
First you must know all of us have fear even after years of afib and other weird rhythm stuff. This forum is extremely helpful when you feel bad, so use it to comfort yourself. I like the holistic idea but the first thing I would do if I was you is see about something for anxiety. The anxiety associated with this is terrible. Fear begots fear! Afib and all its buddies feed on fear. Definitely need to figure out and follow up on the stroke issue. Wear the monitor but I would request a two week zio. Wearing from fri to sat prob won't tell you anything.
Tim

Thank you Tim. I do have a lot of fear and anxiety. I know it's a big part of all of this. It's been difficult to find someone who works with heart and/or stroke patients, but at this point, I think I just need ways to cope with anxiety so I'll see who is in network with my insurance. I find sometimes listening to binaural beats on youtube can help me.

You are on two diuretics, Spironolactone is a potassium sparing diuretic, Carvedilol is a beta blocker used for heart failure as diuretics can be as well. Are you still in chronic heart failure? That can make you feel tried.

liz

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Elizabeth
You are on two diuretics, Spironolactone is a potassium sparing diuretic, Carvedilol is a beta blocker used for heart failure as diuretics can be as well. Are you still in chronic heart failure? That can make you feel tried.

liz

As of july, I was a few point away from being out of chronic heart failure designation. I've had two EKG exams in the last month and they were ok. I had a test where they took a picture of the heart and that was fine (don't know the name but it was like an EKG). I've been told I'm in proper sinus rhythm even after I've had atrial fib incidents at night. I feel like I'm being a bit of a nuisance responding to everyone but it has calmed me a bit.

I listen to the binaural Sounds also. Anything like that is beneficial. I've had Zoloft for years now. It was a huge help for years I assume it still helps....not sure. But you def need something to ease that anxiety

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cmleidi
I've been told I'm in proper sinus rhythm even after I've had atrial fib incidents at night.

How do you know you've had afib incidents at night?

Chris:

Sorry to hear about your struggles. You're not alone! I always tell people knowledge is power so if I were in your shoes I would first want to know exactly what's going on to ease my mind. Getting a heart monitor is a great first step. However, you might want to ask for an event monitor if the Holter monitor doesn't catch anything. Holter monitors will continuously record for 24 to 48 hours depending how long your doctor prescribes one. An event monitor, by contrast, doesn't record continuously. It only records when you "hit the record button." The advantage of an event monitor is that you can have it much longer - typically 14 to 30 days.

Since you seem to have your events at night, an event monitor might not work unless of course you happen to wake up and catch them. If you find that you have all of your events at night and you're not able to catch them, then I'd consider the Zio patch as someone else has recommended in this thread. Here is a link to learn more about it:
[irhythmtech.com]
*The Zio patch records continuously for 14 days so it works just like a Holter monitor but for much longer.

I would not be afraid to be bold with your doctor. The more "authority" you have over your health, the more responsive your doctor will be. If you go to your doctor "weak" and just allow him/her to call the shots, you're likely not to get the care you want and deserve. So if the Holter monitor doesn't catch anything, no worries. Just make an appointment with your doctor and when you sit down with him/her just tell them you'd like an event monitor now. If he/she won't, go to another doctor!

The other thing you can do as others have mentioned, is consider natural or traditional methods to address your anxiety. Natural methods would include things like yoga, mediation, prayer, supplements, etc. Traditional methods would include prescription medications. You'll have to decide which methods work best for you.

By getting your anxiety under control in the time being AND finding out what's going on with your heart (i.e. heart monitoring), you should be able to put your mind at ease and get more control of things.

I wish you well. God Bless.

Travis

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Carey

I've been told I'm in proper sinus rhythm even after I've had atrial fib incidents at night.

How do you know you've had afib incidents at night?

I wake up and I feel my mind racing and I'm out of sorts. I check my heart rate, and it's usually over 105.

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cmleidi
I wake up and I feel my mind racing and I'm out of sorts. I check my heart rate, and it's usually over 105.

A heart rate of 105 could be perfectly normal if you're feeling anxious. You need to either get your doctor to prescribe a monitor or buy a Kardia device yourself. You can't diagnose afib based on a modestly elevated heart rate.

Chris - another consideration for your early morning elevated HR - it might be that you become hypoglycemic by the time morning arrives. I have personal experience with that.

Depending on the timing of your last meal and what you ate or drank, if not sustaining enough, it can promote hypoglycemia (low blood sugar/ glucose) and the symptoms of that can include increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, confusion, feelings of anxiety and can also result in arrhythmia.

If your last meal contains starchy carbs, sugar or alcohol, those can help promote the hypoglycemic reaction which results when you're without additional food for many hours ... as we do when sleeping. It's the initial sugar spike and then the eventual crash and reaction to that crash that causes the symptoms.

Solutions include... eliminating those items completely and eating plenty of protein and healthy fat... such as olive oil or coconut oil or raw nuts like almonds and walnuts. Also, if you eat your evening meal relatively early... like 6 pm.... then have a protein and fat snack about 30 min to an hour before bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night in a hypoglycemic 'panic,' you can eat a protein snack. Plain organic, full fat, yogurt (no sugar or sweetener)works well if you consume dairy.... as does plain, organic no sugar, full fat Kefir.

My doctor who diagnosed the hypoglycemia connection to my nocturnal afib suggested both the late snack and keeping a carton of the appropriate yogurt at the bedside to eat and then get right back to resting. That worked well since I realized I went too long between meals and wasn't eating enough protein for that last meal.

I also took my evening dose of liquid Omega 3 fish oil at bedtime which also contributed to eating something sustaining.

Jackie

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tvanslooten
Chris:

I would not be afraid to be bold with your doctor. The more "authority" you have over your health, the more responsive your doctor will be. If you go to your doctor "weak" and just allow him/her to call the shots, you're likely not to get the care you want and deserve. So if the Holter monitor doesn't catch anything, no worries. Just make an appointment with your doctor and when you sit down with him/her just tell them you'd like an event monitor now. If he/she won't, go to another doctor!

Travis, thank you so much for all of the help and the suggestions. It means a lot to me because I don't get much advice or help from the doctors or people my insurance pays to help me. The people on this forum have been more helpful (with special nod to you and Jackie) in a week than they have.

I think a big problem for me is that my readings will be fine when I go to the doctor's office, but then my out of office life does not match the positive results. I think they see me as a hypochondriac or someone overstating what is happening. I discuss ad nauseam about my symptoms and it feels that they just write me off. I think you're right that I needed to be more forceful and less polite because a lot of these doctors have their typical schtick and they don't deviate from it. My last visit with my cardiologist was ten minutes. He looked over my meds, listened to my heart, and said, "All good. See you in June." This was after I had told him what I felt was wrong with me.