George - that's absolutely wonderful... non invasive, natural beats drugs and surgical procedures any day! Great news. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have successfully (including mandatory morning testing) titrated down to just the evening dose of 1 tsp ginger. Given where I was 6 weeks ago, this is truly a remarkable, simple and low impact solution for vagal afib. Thanks again Hans!!!by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian, The efficacy of the ginger continues unabated, and I continue to adhere to the morning test schedule (the interests of science have primacy!). The lack of excessive vagal response anytime as well as ectopics during morning testing give me confidence the ginger is an effective agent. For the benefit of others reading this, I want to emphasize that additionally I continue to take 2 graby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, Sorry, forgot your nightly attacks and no window of immunity. That, plus the evidence from you dutifully forcing yourself to adhere to your comprehensive morning test schedule in the interests of science(!), seem to argue for efficacy as you say. Re "All or Nothing" as a lifestyle: how many men recognise this? It's something about Hunters and Gatherers - the intense fby Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Mike, I understand about all or nothing. I've been accused of that... I've been weight stable on my low carb plan for 3 or so years. Originally, I took off 2 1/2 stone that I'd accumulated when I played American football at university. I really enjoy having the ketones as an alternative energy source when I'm keto-adapted. I'm not always super strict diet-wby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, Enjoying your posts. Nothing wrong with your libido! Yes I get the usual indicators of over-active 'vagality'. Cold drinks usually give an ectopic or two. Tripping whilst walking in the rocks on my local coastline will almost always give an ectopic. Sex-wise for me the getting aroused part can often lead to copious ectopics as can post-orgasm. As an unrelated aside, on Xmasby Mikef - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian, My history from 6-7 weeks ago, before I started my pre-bed flec, was no window of immunity (or perhaps 24 hours, depending upon how you look at it). I was getting afib nightly and converting with 300 mg flec. When I did a back-of-the-envelope calculations using a 12 and 24 hour half-life for the flec, I came up with an on-going serum level equivalent to 400-600 mg. Given that, andby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, Unfortunately you may now be in that "window of immunity" we're all familiar with, which follows an episode, thus making it very hard to judge the efficacy of the ginger. Best may be to steadily maintain the doses and timing you were using up to the event (1.5 + .5 ?)??? That way, at least both the half-life effects of the earlier large doses, and most of any "acby Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
Recently there have been posts on a portable ECG using an iPhone <; and afib detection using an iPhone <; I've been playing around with iPhone apps from Azumio. Two have free versions, one is $4.99 US. I believe the afib detection app is based on the same or similar technology. The apps include Stress Doctor $4.99 Stress Check Instant Heart Rate They all use the camerby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, Thanks! Yes, I've consumed some Waller Water as part of my Mg++ intake to help increase pH. I wish you well in the New Year, too! Georgeby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ah, George! Sigh. At least you totally understand the dynamics of the whole process. We can certainly learn from your experiments and I'm loving your success with ginger. Don't forget that when you break your routine with 'foreign' foods, you alter your pH and therefore your voltage which sets up the ectopics and potentially, AF. The Holidays are predictable hazards for afby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well, the ginger did fail after I went off the wagon, diet wise, Christmas day. I normally eat a very low carb (ketogenic) diet. We went to a Christmas party starting around 1 PM Christmas day. Even before we ate dinner around 5 PM, I noticed I was getting a PAC about every sixth beat (most likely from chowing down on carby appetizers). I took some K+, Mg++, taurine and ginger. This did awayby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just before bedtime, I've been drinking ginger/lemon tea with some fresh finely shredded ginger added. I add some honey to the mixture to make it palatable. I've only been doing this for ten days, so it is too early to say if it is helping. My afib has been dead steady at two week intervals +- one day for almost two years now, so I'll know soon enough and will report here. Unforby Glen Breaks - AFIBBERS FORUM
I am 69, tall, medium build; vagal 10 years plus. I take 150mg propafenone at 4pm and 300mg at 11 pm each day. I take 1 teaspoon potassium gluconate and 0.9g magnesium glycinate split into two doses morning and evening. I also take 1 drop of iodine in the form of 15% Lugols. I meditate for half an hour twice a day. I walk 3 to 4 miles a day. I eat SAD mainly, especially at Christmas but I have plby Peter Ohlson - AFIBBERS FORUM
Last night we had dinner about 4:30 PM (very early for me) and then went out. I took my 1 tsp ginger then. At 10:30 PM, when I got prone in bed, my HR was very slow (didn't bother to get an actual count) but regular. I got up and took a heaping 1/2 tsp of ginger. I went back to bed and my HR rectified over a half an hour or so. Woke up early in the morning and HR was normal (60ish). Sby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ok, yes, I'm familiar with all those vagal responses. 64 is good. I've had the idea for years, presumably based on reading, that the Babylonians, while liking the number 12, also sought to divide the day into time units based on the only regular short-term rhythm they had - the human pulse. This would be completely understandable and logical. Hence the 60 - 60 - 24 division of the dby Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
I should note that a feature of my reduced ginger intake seems to be an increased bowel tolerance for magnesium. I'm not sure how much yet.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian, For example, intake of something very cold might (but not always) drop my heart rate to say 38 or 40. This may or may not be accompanied by a lot of ectopic beats. I'd put frozen blueberries in a bit of almond milk and eat them, this could sometimes cause this reaction. Last summer, I helped a friend move. It was a hot day. When done, she gave me a large glass of cold water overby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sorry, also meant to ask: What is/are the "overly strong vagal response(s)" you refer to?by Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, Good plan. And in case there seemed any suggestion to the contrary: no, it's perfectly clear that there's way more than "some" reasoning in your experiments - they, and your reports upon them, are always the most orderly reported on here.by Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, I gave blood last night and my systolic BP was a bit higher, but I am subject to white coat syndrome, so it could be a bit of that. However there usually isn't a lot of white coat for me donating blood. When I took it myself this morning, it was 104/60. This compares with 102/48 on 30 Nov - pre ginger. Pre divorce stress it was usually in the 90's over 50's. My BP dby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, I'm sure there are many watching your potentially very revealing experiment with interest. For that reason, I just mention something you've probably already thought of - just in case, 'cos no-one would want it to fail (or appear to fail), or even just get more complicated, for some overlooked reason. You say: "Several weeks ago, I decided to start taking a heapinby Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
George - since your HR is up slightly, have you checked your Bp as well? (as referenced in the finding that the shogaol content of dried ginger is known to increase Bp)... since you experimenting, it would be useful to know if your Bp is also affected. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Mike, I tried to find information on the half life of ginger. Very little out there. Also, as ginger has many different components, they probably each have different half lives. About the only I saw was this "I had read something that stated in a Danish study, researchers testing the effects of ginger on seasick naval cadets found that ginger pills reduced the cadets' nauseaby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
David S, What brand/size of capsule are you taking please? Congrats on the results and long may it continue! Mikeby mikef - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi George, Interesting. I bought some of the ginger Hans recommends from his store a couple of months ago (having read something either here or in Hans' monthly newsletter), but haven't taken it yet. Your experiences and this thread in general is obviously making me reconsider. The question is, how much of the supplement do I need to take per day and at what times of day? I've jby mikef - AFIBBERS FORUM
After reading the Ginger threads I too am on the ginger bandwagon. Can't wait for spring and the first fishing trip of the year. By then I will be so full of ginger that only suicidal mosquitos will come near. If any do manage to extract my blood, they will likely go down in flames as the Ginger Jitters knocks out flight control . Glenby Glen Breaks - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ian, Great advice and what I would give others. My female friends continually remind me I don't have much of a frontal lobe, so it is advice I don't follow so well. In the storyline of this thread, I did a reasonable job of following it on titrating down the flec. I didn't follow it at all starting the ginger. Besides afib, I have another guide to efficacy - vagal responseby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, "Titrating/minimizing intake to the minimum amount necessary" does seem ideal. But didn't want to suggest rocking the boat in any way. Go slowly.by Ian - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good advice, George - and common sense. thanks for that reminder ~ Barbby Barb - AFIBBERS FORUM