So far, my afib is once a year or less (knock on wood) but severe (last time I ended up in ICU) due to tachycardia and low bp. My heart flops around like a big fish, I am short of breath, have chest and jaw pain and so on.

Even with afib once a year, my original doc pressured me to do blood thinners, and then the hospital doc told me to go home and forget it happened! I was happiest with the doc in the ICU who did an echo to make sure I had no clots, because the episode lasted 7 hours, longer than usual.

It sounds like you could use an EP. Do you have access to one? It also sounds like your afib has become more frequent relatively quickly.

I hope you find help! Have you identified any triggers? Mine is eating after 5. And I drink low sodium V8 for potassium. Who knows what helps. I only take diltiazem when I have an episode but I carry it around.