Connect
← Return to Anyone with occasional Afib NOT on a blood thinner?
Discussion
Anyone with occasional Afib NOT on a blood thinner?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Jul 22 7:50am | Replies (97)Comment receiving replies
Regarding "curious what you do for your afib.", I have given my story before, but I had afib episodes that were serious between age 14 to 21. I then read in a news column someone who had same symptoms as me, and the DOCTOR said some people are extremely sensitive to caffeine and that it was the CAUSE for them.
After testing back and forth, I gave up coffee and never had a serious episode after that UNTIL at age 75, now in Costa Rica and discovering the coffee here which is pure and not like in the US, I had no problem. BUT a few months ago, a store started carrying Haagen Daz COFFEE ice cream, and not thinking, I had been eating it, because I LOVE it. BUT in short time began feeling heart flutters sometimes, and then a major one with my heart pounding irregular. It scared me, and I went to bed, and got to THINKING and realized it was made in the US with coffee from the US. I immediately STOPPED eating it, and have no minor or major episodes.
Quitting TOTALLY caffeine IS sufficient for me. I tell on this blog my story in case it may be the same for others. If they have already ELIMINATED all caffeine and still have problems, then they need another solution. But after my experiences when I had them ALL NIGHT sometimes, and now have NONE. I will share in case it may help others. And the last time I had an episode, I had eaten only 1/4 CUP coffee ice cream and 3 tiny pieces of dark chocolate.
We all have different band wagons we get on. Yours is to post something positive about cardiologists etc etc. I have nothing positive to post, as from age 21 to now 75, the few times I went to a doc about something, they did not help. Only one that did was a Gonstead chiropractor which helped with several health problems. You can post your successes and I will post mine, and people can decide what is best for them.
Replies to "Regarding "curious what you do for your afib.", I have given my story before, but I..."
Connect
Just to be clear, I am not posting positively or negatively about cardiologists. I want to recount that 10 years ago a cardiologist wanted me on blood thinners after one episode of afib and I declined. A year went by before I had another episode. Sometimes two years. Another cardiologist in the hospital said to go home and forget it happened. This extreme discrepancy was disturbing but forgetting about it was more in line with my thinking.
I have not been followed by cardiology because I did not want to be in a position to again decline treatment. Over 10 years I have only seen cardiology in the hospital or to get results of monitoring done by PCP.
In the past year I had more episodes than usual and also ahd COVID which affected my heart, so I decided to see a cardiologist. The first one thought I needed an ablation. That is going from zero to a hundred. She referred me to an electrophysiologist who was more relaxed and said if he had done an ablation on someone who then had the frequency of afib that I have, he would consider it a successful ablation. He also gave me "pill in a pocket" diltiazem and Eliquis to minimize side effects and target afib only when it was happening.
I have been in the ICU with an episode and always with an ambulance. Now I am going to try to stay home if I can. I consider this cardiologist "just right" after dealing with the two extremes. He is the first who I would actually see for following after 10 years.
My CHADS score is 2 due to age and gender. The technically calls for anticoagulation so one doc will prescribe anticoagulation (less liability) and others will say that without high blood pressure, diabetes etc. my risk is low. If bleeding risk from meds and stroke risk without meds are equal, basically, I think a good doctor will let me choose after giving me all the info needed.