Cardiologist said the diagnosis is…………..

Posted by 1gratefuldawg @1gratefuldawg, May 10 8:01am

Afib flutter 100% of the time. So I am on Eliquis and Metoprolol and headed for a shock in 4-6 weeks.
Doc didn’t have me make any lifestyle changes which was good. Liked the doctor he has similar sense of humor. He also apologized that other EKG’s were missed diagnosed. He showed me on both the Mayo and my KARDIAmobile tracings how to recognize the flutter and you have to zoom in a bit.
I’ve had house payments that were less than 1 month of Eliquis.

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mm501 | @mm501 | 6 days ago

Also, the drug companies usually offer discounts. Here's the page for xarelto:
https://www.xarelto-us.com/xarelto-cost/en/

lilymarie | @lilymarie | 6 days ago

In reply to @dj0751 "I am 73 y/o man, just happened to one day tell my PCP that while I..." + (show)

@dj0751

I am 73 y/o man, just happened to one day tell my PCP that while I was at work as a mental health therapist my heart rate had accelerated to 130 bpm and continued all day, but I was able to work, undisturbed, focused and then at the end of the work day the hr returned to normal. I have had similar experiences MAYBE 3 times in my whole life. My PCP referred me to a cardiologist just to be on the safe side. I went through some tests - STress test, echocardiogram, EKG and at the end of the day had a holter monitor put on my and was told to wear it for 7 days. I went home, read the instructions to press the red button if I notice anything in my chest going on. An hour after I got home from the testing (which wore me out - tired) I noticed my HR going up and it kept going - up from 90 bpm to around 130. I got a call almost immediately from God knows who, telling me she was monitoring the activity of the monitor -with an emergency code blue TONE IN HER VOICE "You have AFIB and I CALLED IN A PRESCRIPTION YOU NEED TO TAKE FOR YOUR PROTECTION! That bothered me - scared me. Then I remembered: Because I was told the day before to stop all use of propranolol, I had an aha moment, realizing for 36 hours I had not taken it! (btw if had been rx 30 years ago only for migraine prophylaxis). So I took my propranolol and within a few minutes my hr reduced to normal, thank goodness, right? Anyway , went to the followup and that is when I felt I was treated like a lab rat and the cardiologist only reviewed the results on the computer screen. No eye to eye, no empathy, reassurance or asking if I had questions - just kept telling the nurse what to type, including "AFIB". Then he walked out of the room as he told the nurse to tell me to take xarelto and amodirone (sp?). Nurse asked me to pick up the rx and I refused due to have been scared sh*tless of the side effects, and i was not yet convinced I had AFIB. I am going to a second opinion with all my printed results in hand. For the heck of it I asked my pharmacist how much the xarelto cost and it was $1750 for 3 month supply. Big pharma is not my friend. I have medicare advantage. Even at a discount it is not affordable. What do middle class and other income limited/deprived people do? So I am needing to trust aspirin and propranolol. How many others have gone through similar experiences? Please weigh in.

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Wow. I got heartburn just reading your woes. I am so sorry you are going through this. Very stressful stuff. Firstly, I am speaking from personal experience but that is all I have to offer. My experience with Afib was quite different than yours and everyone seems to have their own definitive experience. I hope someone else can chime in with some reasonable ideas. I am 73 and had a friend drive me to ER some 20 years ago and my heart rate was 265 bpm; a serious case of afib. Amiodarone saved my life and once I was stable (still in hospital after 3 days) they switched me to a new blood thinner, Eliquis and Multaq and something for angina. Years later, lots of time at cardiologist as I had already stroked twice (cardioembolic) the multaq stopped working. They had no choice but to give me amiodarone daily which I was on until my ablation a year later. I wish I had done the ablation years sooner as it really seemed to help and I was able to get off the amiodarone. Unfortunately, now it is that I have supra ventricular tachycardia, post afib, Stage 1/2 congestive heart failure, and PVC's; the cardiologist says I have 3 choices: go back on the amiodarone; continue to come to ER when things go south and get blood work done, or ignore it.
I'm not much help, am I? I have opted to not do the amiodarone again due to such bad side effects. I have challenges with GP and Cardiologist as well and am considering looking for a new cardiologist. I can go on but, I think it won't help much as our stories are somewhat similar but obviously different too. The weighing of which way to go is on my heart (literally) now and reading stories like yours (and others) helps me to process for myself, so thank you for sharing. I wish you all the best on this leg of your journey. Hang in there...

abob | @abob | 6 days ago

Per my pharmacy, Afib dx makes Eliquis less costly.

margaretfriel | @margaretfriel | 6 days ago

In reply to @noisylungs31 "Be your on advocate! You are living example of this attitude. I applaud you for your..." + (show)

Noisylungs, Good For You, No one knows your body as well as YOU.
Toward the End of my A-Fib "Freight-train-Wreck", I was at the Country Club one evening, noticed one of the local Dr.'s & his wife ... when He went to the bar I took the opportunity to go over & speak to him.
First I apologized to him for "talking Shop" while we were not in his Office, I just wanted to pose 1 question to him, Very Off The Record, & as a Friend, Not As a Patient, also added, IF he chose not to answer I would Understand. (His response, "Shoot!"). As briefly as possible I told him about cycling thru 7 drugs, NONE of which my body could Tolerate, & finally the Last Dr. I saw advised me to take Low Dose Aspirin. Then I added: "As you know my career was in the field of Business, NOT in the Medical field. It Just Seems to me Big Pharma Must be rewarding Dr.'s or their Practices or Both for prescribing patients these Horribly Toxic & Expensive Drugs. I'm reluctant to asking Dr.'s who are treating me because I'm guessing they have an answer that would either be vague or just refuse to answer. He Agreed. Then there was a pause (I'm Sure he was deciding WHAT to say Next. He Looked me Directly In The Eyes, crossed his arms over his chest & very slowly said, "Ethically I'm Supposed to answer No!" as he was emphatically Shaking His Head YES!
Here's my thought: "That's My Story & I'm Sticking To It!"

margaretfriel | @margaretfriel | 6 days ago

In reply to @mm501 "Diltiazem helped me, too. I was on it prior to 2nd ablation and felt much better...." + (show)

After I was diagnosed with A-Fib I too was prescribed Metoprolol. My Cardiologist said it was to lower my High Blood Pressure even though I told her I have "White Coat Syndrome" & brought her a small calendar I'd filled in each day with my blood pressure scores, almost ALWAYS Normal. Her response: "Those Home Blood Pressure cuffs aren't accurate, you need to go to a Drug Store or Clinic to have blood pressure taken. At my next appt. I brought in a list of Side Effects that were the result of Metoprolol, & told her now my blood pressure cuff was registering Very Low numbers, asked her "What Do I Have To Do To Get Off THIS Pharma.-Poison?" She changed the Prescription to Diltiazin(?), & Oh Guess What, once Again - Mulit. side effects. Next Appt., Once Again she changed the Prescription to A New Drug. A Week later I saw my GP, & told him about my problem with all the (?) Blood Pressure Prescriptions. My Dr. asked, "Are You Married To That Cardiologist?" ... "NO" .... "You May want to consider finding a New Cardiologist." He suggested a couple of names. I followed his suggestion & find a new one who is So Much More Understanding. Now all I take is Low Dose Aspirin.

mm501 | @mm501 | 6 days ago

I like that "are you married to that cardiologist?" In my case, it was my PCP who didn't want to stop the blood pressure med, even though I told him about dizziness and light headedness. I had to quit it on my own and prove to him that my blood pressure was still low. And he still started writing a refill prescription and I objected.
What is it - ego? - that makes them persist,?
I'm divorcing him, by the way.

dj0751 | @dj0751 | 5 days ago

In reply to @lilymarie "Wow. I got heartburn just reading your woes. I am so sorry you are going through..." + (show)

thank you for your reply. God bless you

dj0751 | @dj0751 | 5 days ago

In reply to @mm501 "I like that "are you married to that cardiologist?" In my case, it was my PCP..." + (show)

Not ego........it's fear of lawsuits perhaps.

margaretfriel | @margaretfriel | 5 days ago

In reply to @mm501 "I like that "are you married to that cardiologist?" In my case, it was my PCP..." + (show)

If You Read my 'post' prior ... when I had a conversation with a Dr. Friend at the Country Club one evening (Out Of His office, in a more relaxed, "Un-Official capacity = White Coat OFF) ... He Gave Me a very "Candid answer" when I asked about Dr.'s writing Prescriptions. My Post was in response to "noisylungs31" immediately before writing about all the Blood Pressure Meds I was prescribed & Didn't Need.
Best Of Luck to you ... Isn't it a Shame we Patients have to "Shop Around" for Dr.s' as if we're looking for a "Used Car"? Sometimes you find a "Winner" ... sometimes you get a "Clunker".

noisylungs31 | @noisylungs31 | 4 days ago

I can affirm the observations about the "business" of medical care. Often solutions offered to patients are prompted by monetary gain. A complete knee replacement fix offers greater compensation than periodical injections. Too many patients are ushered into surgery too soon.
A patient reports symptoms, doctor prescribes med but harsh side-effects could detract from quality of life. Perhaps even cause another medical issue which would demand an additional prescription.
We have rich resources (like this blog) at our keyboards to do our "homework" about conditions and treatments. Thanks to all who sponsor such sites and all those who participate through sharing.

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