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Living with Atrial Fibrillation: What are Your Experiences?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 20 hours ago | Replies (68)Comment receiving replies
4 years ago I went to my Internist for a 2-year check-up (82 yrs. old), a Physician Assistant saw me. At the end of the appt. she sent me to "imaging" for an EKG ... diagnosed - A-Fib. The P.A. immediately put me on Warfarin, & told me to come back in a couple of days to "talk-about A-Fib". The Practice kept calling-cancelling & re-scheduling the appts., ... finally I called a local Cardiologist for an appointment to learn more about A-Fib, & see if I could get Warfarin changed, by then I was having TERRIBLE Side Effects! 3+ months had passed since the initial diagnosis. The Cardiologist advised me she couldn't change a prescription another Dr. (Phys. Asst.) ordered! I called the Dr. of Internal Medicine & told them I NEEDED an appt. A.S.A.P., they asked "Why", then said 'No appt.s available for 3 months, go to an ER"... So I got in my car, went into their office & asked for my files. I told them I would find a New Dr. if they wouldn't see me about a prescription one of their P.A.'s had ordered.
When I saw the Cardiologist I asked her to refer me to a New Internist, & we got that Prescript. changed.
Over the next 2-1/2 YEARS I was referred to 5 more Dr.'s or Phys. Asst.'s, each would change what a previous Health Professional had prescribed ... all together 7 Dr.'s or P.A.'s, 7 Diagnosis', & 7 different Prescript.'s - ALL of the Med.'s resulted in Severe Side Effects: 4 blood thinners, 2 Prescript.'s for high blood pressure & a Very Bad reaction to Iosvue 370 Dye injected for a 3-D CTA. At that point I HAD HAD ENOUGH!
Not only did I stop taking Prescripts., I've stopped going to Doctors! It Frustrates me that when I was diagnosed 4 years ago I had NO awareness (NO symptoms) of A-Fib ... 3 years of being referred by one Medical Professional to another, 2-1/2 years of dealing with TERRIBLE Side Effects to Every Medication prescribed, I'm Very Much Aware I Have A-Fib, but I Feel The Medical Profession has "bounced me around like a Tennis Ball", put me thru A Lot of Pain, Confusion, & Misery with all the TOXIC Med.'s ... My Body & I NEED to De-Tox. (find a "New Normal"?) & start all over.
When I feel I Need Help, I'm Leaving Town & going to a Major City Heart Clinic such as Rochester - MAYO CLINIC, ST. LUKES in St. Louis, or CLEVELAND CLINIC.
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Margaret - Your story and other similar ones are exactly why I do not run to the doctors for checkups or treatments for what I may or may not have. The only difference in my story is, after one bad experience, I did not continue, but read the handwriting on the wall and read, read, and read all the info I could find.
For me and irregular heartbeat, I quit coffee, colas, and anything containing caffeine. And increased my drinking of water. I rarely feel any irregularity and lasts maybe 5 seconds. I do not need to have a test to tell me I am okay. I do get a blood test about one time a year from a lab and examine it as you don't need to be Einstein to figure it out. To me, getting tests when I feel well at age 76, is like taking your car to a mechanic because it hiccups once in a while. They do their dance with a calculator and dollar signs in their eyeballs. My late husband who was an honest mechanic told me that people have their engines often replaced when the solution is to tighten a gas cap and clear the blinking warnings. Being dumb is not a virtue. One customer insisted that the air be removed from her tires and filled up with fresh air once a year because her late husband did it his whole life. Let that sink in.
Your story reminded me of a co-worker when I was in my 20's. I listened to her complain of UTI's and horrible treatments she had every 2 or 3 months. After a few years, I asked her if she ever ate any fruit. She said No. And never any veggies either. I had watched or heard what she ate at lunch every day and was just junk food.
One Friday, I went and bought her some time released Vitamin C and some fruit. On Monday morning she ran to my desk and told me that I had helped her in 3 days more than doctors had helped for years.
Take my stories to heart or leave them. Life is made up of choices. Unlike doctors and drug makers, I do not earn a dime for relating my experiences.