High D Low Calcium Protocol

I am 4 months into the High Vit D and Low Calcium protocol that Steve Carr outlined. I see no reason to stop it at this point since it makes sense to my brain, and the results are good but not overwhelming. I have had 3 episodes during this time - 38 days, 47 days, and then 35 days apart. All of those are on the good side for me - my average is around 30 days more or less, and 3 in a row is a promising correlation. But clearly it does not appear to be a full on solution for me - at least at this point. (I will add that my afib use to be alot more frequent and I have somehow managed to lessen the frequency over these past 9 years, though I can't point to any one thing that I attribute that to other than stress awareness/reduction).
I will give another update down the road.
One thing to add is that I finally managed the courage to take 75mg of flecainide as a pip solution this morning (6 hours after it started). I'd never taken it before - having heard some bad stories - so I went low dosage.. My afib stopped about 2 hours later, though that was within (on the low side) of the normal conversion timing for me. Next time I'll try it shortly after the afib starts. I know 75mg is alot lower than recommended for PIP, but I'm interested in finding out if it works. I'll let you know that next time as well.
Ralph

Ralph,

Do you know your average daily calcium intake and your current serum vitamin D3 level?

I haven't checked my D level in a couple of months but I have reason to believe it is still in the high 50's given my D intake. My calcium remains around 400-500mg per day, which for me is simply the elimination of dairy and calcium fortified foods. I'll check my D level again after things get a bit closer to normal out there.

Ralph - check your local water records - I was getting more than my calcium target just by drinking the water! I now only drink filtered water - Zero water and a large multi stage filter under sink.

Jealous of all of you folks that can turn off AF so easily. I've tried nearly everything and so far only ECV worked for 3 days. But happy for you too. Congrats for finding the solution that works for you.

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NotLyingAboutMyAfib
Jealous of all of you folks that can turn off AF so easily. I've tried nearly everything and so far only ECV worked for 3 days. But happy for you too. Congrats for finding the solution that works for you.

Hay NLAMA,

If you are eating Natto you are getting 100+ grams of calcium. That amount of calcium doesn't help when on the high d low calcium protocol.
I don't want to stop eating natto so that protocol is not for me, high D supplements puts me into afib, as does too much magnesium.

BTW it's not been easy for me to turn off afib. It's still not completely off.

Colindo - I'll be a SOB - soybeans ? calcium? yep,

That's it for me and natto. Holy schmokes. It's almost as bad as covid and carbs - sneaks in everywhere.

Llama,

I got that wrong, I said 100+ grams and I ment 100+ milligrams.

I read it as 100mg so no worries.

Not a 100% solution for everyone. I had my streak of 14 months in NSR broken last night with an episode at bedtime after connecting a CPAP.
I did not use the RAMP, so its possible the pressure was the culprit. I will be checking my D levels this week. The PIP of 300mg of flec worked in about 3 hours. Never has failed.

Another update - another episode on day 26, which is not encouraging for this protocol (my average is about 30 days, and I had a few that exceeded that when I started in December so I was feeling hopeful). I had my Vit D checked just a few days before and it was 61. My calcium intake is very consistently in the 350 - 500mg range (I had my water tested months ago when I started this and it isn't very high and is incorporated in my daily intake estimations). As it turns out there isn't much to do really except avoid dairy and fortified calcium foods. I don't eat much processed food so that isn't hard to do.
I'm going to stay with it for another cycle or two, and if the results are similar I'll experiment with adding in a little dairy and see what happens.
One thing that has felt clear to me from the beginning of this journey is that one size doesn't fit all. I was hoping it fit me here, but probably doesn't.

On a positive note, I took 75mg flecainide this last time and it converted my episode in about 75 minutes. By far the shortest episode I've had in a few years. I'm hopeful that is all I need to make my more or less monthly afib into a 2 or 3 hour affair instead of an 8 or 10 hour one.