Show all posts by user

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

Quotejmwe29 Carey, I surely didn't intend to aggravate you. Just saying, if an anticoagulant has no antidote, personally I'd think twice about using it. You didn't aggravate me. I get your concern about the lack of reversal agents, but in practice those aren't as life-saving as people tend to think. Major bleeding other than in the brain can usually be controlled surgically,

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Intro and Frustration - 7 years ago

QuoteFibrillator Consult and CT on Sep 21st and Ablation with Natale on the 22nd. Can't wait! Shannon is my current hero. Ask for the suite. Trust me, it will be the nicest hospital room you've ever had. :-) Good luck!

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Hi! - 7 years ago

Quotelibby I'd be ok to travel somewhere. What kind of questions would you ask when researching doctors? I tried to ask about how many a-fib ablations were done per year and success rates, but the lady on the phone scoffed at me saying how important and well thought of the particular doc was. She basically said she didn't know, but that can't be. That kind of response would get

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Iodine? - 7 years ago

QuoteJackieBenefits of Unrefined Salt (excerpted from The Guide to Healthy Eating): • Alkalinizing agent (raises pH in the body) • Balances blood sugar • Helps relax the body for sleep • Improves brain function • Prevents muscle cramps • Prevents varicose veins • Prevents osteoporosis • Regulates blood pressure (if adequately hydrated) • Thins mucous " Can you offer evidence to

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

QuoteJackie I just did an online search and noted a number of reports on this topic so apparently it's still a practice. Of course, the physician doesn't have to buy into that reward system, but it does exist. I know it exists but among the physicians I know personally, they don't think those things are worth their time or compromise of their medical ethics to even bother with t

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

Quotejmwe29 Pirate, from what I see online, there are other anticoagulants that would be a better choice simply because there is no antidote for Xarelto like there is for others. If you start bleeding, there is little or nothing that can be done. Personally, I'd avoid the stuff like the plague. I was helping an older lady that died of internal bleeding on that stuff, thus my interest. Is you

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Hi! - 7 years ago

Quotelibby Thank you Shannon. Lots of good information! It feels so complex. Do you think in the general EP study the doc would weed out if the a-fib is from the right or left side? I read his note. I don't think he went into the left side. There were two catheters in the right and one in the coronary sinus. He didn't go to the left side. You would have seen mention of a septal punct

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

QuoteElanor I was told by the doctor prescribing Xarelto and other meds that I was probably having afib events all the time unnoticed by me. Three years later I finally convinced an EP to let me wear an event monitor. That was a good move because you found that the prescribing doctor was wrong. It's possible you have paroxysmal afib and your episodes are more than a month apart, but I

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

QuoteElanor Thanks for the input. My confusion stems from the fact that ablation for SVT is not performed at the same location in the heart as for afib. So I don't understand how ablation for SVT could relieve me from taking an anticoagulant prescribed for afib. Unless, of course, ablation for SVT is known to relieve afib. But that doesn't correlate with anything I've read. I

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Ventricular Tachycardia - 7 years ago

Quotedenverbiker Sorry for late reply...no sedatives for cardioversion. My choice, my bad I guess. I thought I understood from the nurse I would get some light pacing or shocks or such. So I begged off the sedation. Oops, 100J. Felt like a pro football player hit me from behind with a 20 yard start. LOL... Oops! I once asked my EP to skip the sedation. He just shook his head and said, &

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation, again - 7 years ago

QuoteElanor I'm on my 4th cardiologist. All they want to do is prescribe medication, not discuss prevention. I quit sotalol and the doctor who prescribed. I also quit taking metropolol and flecainide and the doctor who prescribed. I finally found a doctor who would let me wear an event monitor for a month. No afib, but lots of SVT. He says he'll let me quit taking Xarelto if I let

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Beginning of Sixth Week Post Ablation - 7 years ago

QuoteDavrosT I am due to go on holiday for about 10 days on Friday and I'm off at the moment. Was sat on the couch an hour or so ago and had a little run of ectopics for about 5-10 seconds. My HR jumped to about 84 for a while afterwards. Was a bit unexpected so caught me by surprise! I'm going to ask the typical question - considering I'm not at 9 weeks, would any of the above yet

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anticoagulation and again - 7 years ago

Quoteanneh I am also on the 2.5mg Eliquis 2xday but was wondering if it would be bad to just take 1 dose once a day while not having any a-fib? Eliquis has a half-life of 12 hours, so once-a-day dosing means you'll spend half of each day with inadequate coverage. That doesn't accomplish anything positive. QuoteI was hoping that ablation made it possible not to have to use any of t

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Pulse rate? - 7 years ago

I knew the bag of chips comment would draw a reaction. :-) I guess I wasn't clear that I was speaking only of a quick source of sodium, potassium and carbs for runners, cyclists, etc, who might find themselves away from home needing such things. I really wasn't proposing that folks eat bags of convenience store chips on a daily basis. Jackie- We're in complete agreement regard

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Sotalol - for better or worse - 7 years ago

QuoteGaryS We are a study of two. Ha ha! Apparently we are. I think there's something to it too, but I can't figure out what that something is. You know, you can just stop the sotalol and see how it goes. To be safe you should of course discuss that with your doctor first, but it's probably okay to give it a try. Worst case, being off it is worse than being on it so you resum

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Pulse rate? - 7 years ago

QuoteJackie There are packets of electrolytes that can be easily add to water that help. Jackie Or save your money and just have one of those small bags of potato chips sold in convenience stores. Yeah, I know, all the health fanatics just had a stroke, but consider that it has salt, potassium, and simple carbs in one package. For prolonged exercise it's quite possibly the perfect food.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Sotalol - for better or worse - 7 years ago

Sotalol is not known to cause or increase afib. The only arrhythmias it can promote are torsades de pointes and v-tach. One possible explanation is that your afib simply has progressed. Although that's usually a slow process taking months or years, sometimes it can take sudden turns for the worse. QuoteGaryS I have often thought that my afib needed to have a full-blown episode in order t

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Magnesium intolerance & Imodium & arrhythmia - 7 years ago

QuoteGeorge77 Magnesium intolerance is the term used for when someone begins to get diarrhea from a bit too much magnesium. Imodium is an anti-diarrheal over the counter medicine. Yes, I understand all that. I just think using Imodium to counter diarrhea from magnesium is a bad idea. How much and what type are you taking? Either find a more tolerable form of magnesium, reduce how much you'

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Magnesium tolerance & Imodium & arrhythmia - 7 years ago

You were taking Imodium to increase your tolerance for magnesium? Is that a thing people are doing now?

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: New To Aphib - 7 years ago

QuotewolfpackI don't know what causes AF I don't either but the thinking seems to be turning toward an atrial cardiomyopathy we simply don't understand yet. In other words, those of us who were told we have "lone afib" because we have afib but no structural heart disease may have been told wrong. It may be that our heart disease simply wasn't recognized. I think it

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: PAC tamer suggestions? - 7 years ago

QuoteRitva Interestingly sometimes when I seem to go into afib, Ativan stops it after about five minutes. So no need for more toxic things like flec. Five minutes isn't even time enough for the pill to dissolve. You may have found a very effective placebo. :-)

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Pulse rate? - 7 years ago

QuoteFibrillator I understand, my only comment was to say we should not assume someone is dehydrated just because heat is a trigger for them. I wasn't assuming it so much as just suggesting it. I was surprised to find how sensitive my afib is to even mild dehydration, and my EP confirmed that it's a very common trigger for others as well. Mild dehydration is an easy thing to achieve i

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: New To Aphib - 7 years ago

QuoteFibrillator And based on my limited knowledge none of the drugs are really targeting the cause of AFIB (If you can find two EP's who agree on that). It's just a lucky coincidence they sort of work for some. All the antiarrhythmics work by altering aspects of the action potential of cardiac cells. The action potential is just the cycle a muscle cell goes through of charging, firi

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Intro and Frustration - 7 years ago

QuoteMichael777 Okay, maybe I misunderstood my doc. When running through options, I thought he said Flec had to be stopped 1 month before a left atrium ablation, and then never restarted. You misunderstood something. It would be normal to stop any antiarrhythmic several days before an ablation, but not a full month (unless it's amiodarone, in which case it's more than a month). At

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Sudden AF onset after near fainting, feeling like heart stopped - 7 years ago

The name escapes me at the moment but one of the country's top EPs is in Pittsburgh. At UPMC, I believe.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Stomach bloated and uncomfortable - 7 years ago

Quotefraser72 Hi I am new to atrial fibulation and looking for any help I can get please. I am 72 years old and have rheumatoid arthritis and copd. I was taken to hospital after a routine visit to the doctor detected a high and uneven heartbeat. Diagnosed with atrial fibulation. Given new drug abixiban elequis and bisoporol . Waiting on echo scan. Suffering from swollen uncomfortable stomach on

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Pulse rate? - 7 years ago

QuoteFibrillator Heat is one of my worst triggers. More likely dehydration is one of your worst triggers. I've spent years trying to identify triggers and have dismissed almost all of them as false leads. One of the few I confirmed was dehydration, and that was despite thinking I was hydrating adequately. I thought I was but I wasn't. Whatever you think is enough water per day, double

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Sudden AF onset after near fainting, feeling like heart stopped - 7 years ago

What wolfpack said. All of it. I wish I had said it myself so succinctly.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Ventricular Tachycardia - 7 years ago

Always nice to hear a story with a positive ending. Did the ER staff even give you a sedative? Doing a cardioversion on a fully conscious patient is normally only done emergently when a patient is unstable, which it doesn't sound like you were.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Eliquis and ibuprofen - 7 years ago

I don't understand why you're still on Eliquis.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM