Living with Atrial Fibrillation: What are Your Experiences?

This is in response to the 1st "Heart Rhythms" entry (above)... 4 years ago (age 83) I was diagnosed with A-Fib. Over the next 30 months, (2-1/2 years) Cardiologists & Cardiology-Physician Assistants kept prescribing various pharmaceuticals, almost immediately I'd begin to have multiple debilitating Side Effects to Each & Every One of them ... when I'd go back to the Cardiology practice, the Cardiologist or P.A. would pass me on to another P.A. or Cardiologist who would write a New Prescriptions. Finally 2-1/2 years & 7 different Prescriptions (plus 7 different Dr.'s or P.A.'s later) ... Not 1 of the Prescriptions "worked", All of them resulted in multiple debilitating Side Effects ... the Last Cardiologist I visited told me to STOP Everything & let my body find Normal. At that Same time that last Cardiologist referred me to a Cardiac-Surgeon (Medical Professional #8). He ordered a 3-D CTA, which required an injection of Vsovue 370 dye. The Cardiology-Surgeon Assured me there would be No Side effects to the CTA. He was correct about the CTA - it was the Vsovue 370 dye that was So TOXIC. That little procedure literally put me in bed for the next 5 days with Severe side effects. Over the next YEAR side effects to the dye would come & go ... from time to time my fore-arms & lower legs felt like they were Sunburn'd while my hands & feet were NUMB (essentially No Feeling ... walked like a Robot & difficulty picking-up objects such as a fork to eat). Thankfully the arm/hand & leg/foot reaction would come & go ... it wasn't Constant. The 3-D CTA was 14 months ago, it's been 3 months since the last reaction, so hopefully it's run it's course!
I'm aware my heart isn't operating Normally, I'm No longer dealing with 'Laundry-Baskets-full' of Side Effects from Toxic Pharmaceuticals, however I'm AFRAID to go back to Cardiologists ... I feel like they've done more Harm than Good. When I told my Internal Med. Dr. that the last Cardiologist told me to STOP All of the heart-Prescription Med.'s that I'd been taking, my Internist suggested I take a Low Dose Aspirin at least every other day ... maybe about 4-5 days a week ... (If I miss a day now & then, not to worry). Frankly I feel better than I've felt since initially being diagnosed with A-Fib 4 years ago. When initially diagnosed I had NOT A CLUE I had A-Fib., the EKG was just a regular part of the 2-year check-up.
A few Friends & family members say they're concerned that I'm not taking any med's for A-Fib but I tell them, "quite frankly, when I was taking those med.'s I was afraid They Might KILL ME Before the A-Fib would/could!"

Ablation???

Tell your doctor you want to try ablation.
If the doctor says no, go and get another opinion. You should not have to live with AFIB. Sometimes we trust our doctors to much, and it is our right to get the best treatments. Hugz and best to you.

No, but if you are consuming ANY caffeine, stop. Also, could be from vax if you got it.

Wonderful!! And thanks so much for thinking to report back about your experience. As scary as an arrythmia is, many of us who suffer them aren't all that keen on people fiddling with our hearts while we're 'out like a light.' It reads and sounds complicated, and the stats for success aren't as good as open heart surgery generally is. So, for you to report back honestly about your experience is very helpful, and I really appreciate it. I wish you clear sailing through to your Holter and beyond.

I am female, 76, and was diagnosed with Afib 2 years ago after being tested for sleep apnea. Got the CPAP machine, but I had no issues with Afib. In fact, doubted I had it because I never felt it. Fast forward to this year, I’m suddenly having Afib episodes lasting from 1 hour to 8 hours, heart rates up to 150. I was diagnosed with scoliosis a year ago. As it has started to affect my posture more and more, my Afib is kicking in more and more. Has anyone found any correlation between Afib and scoliosis? I know scoliosis can actually displace organs if severe enough.

Message for gloaming,
Just an update about my catheter ablation. It was done via Radiofrequency method on March 4th as an outpatient. On April 1 st I was fitted with a three day holter and will get the results May 1st. My heart surgeon phoned as a followup and is pleased with my progress this far. He wants me to stop my beta blocker Sotolol in one month and see how it goes and if no palpitations then good but if I get any signs of arrhythmia I can always go back on that pill. He will phone again in three months to check on me and in the meantime he will be in touch with my cardiologist to compare notes. My energy is back and I’m feeling good - touch wood. I only had 4 episodes after the surgery and one was starting and then stopped - a good sign. My pulse reading yesterday was 71. I’ll let you know what the holter reading was when I find out. I already feel my quality of life is improving each day. 😊

Thanks, but none of your advice fits this particular situation. It is a genetic issue confirmed by a study at the Mayo Clinic. (Read about LPa)

GDCM - Of your relatives that had heart problems, were they 1) overweight? 2( did they eat a lot of cheese, ice cream, beef, bread, sweets, margarine, processed foods such as chips etc?
3) Did they eat FRESH vegetables and fruits? 4) Did they stretch and walk outside daily?

I am 76, and take no meds. But I make sacrifices to have good health. I had to give up coffee and anything containing caffeine which eliminated fast and irregular heartbeat, , most dairy, eat very little processed, no canned fruits and veggies, few sweets. I stretch a bit and walk daily up and down steep hills.

My goal is to live in good health, and God willing a long life, but without pacemaker, stents, meds and not spending my life in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals. Reflect on your habits and those of your relatives to see if there are changes you can make and possibly not need those scary treatments that benefit the docs and drug companies, but may or may not help you. If you follow the habits of the average American, it is not an enjoyable path.

72M. I've had AFib for at least ten years and probably longer. I recorded six episodes in 2016 lasting one to 8 hours. The number of episodes grew gradually, and the length of each episode also grew, which is the common path for AFib. In 2024 I had 59 episodes, each lasting 20+ hours. I was never on Eliquis until this year. I started Metropol late in 2024 after an ER visit. Finally, I got tired of living like this and had a PF ablation in Feb 2025. I had to go on Eliquis to have this procedure. The procedure was pain-free and caused me absolutely no issues. I got up and felt like nothing had been done. I wish I had done the procedure long ago. I'm still on Eliquis and will likely be forever due to my CHADS score. I've had eight episodes since the procedure, one lasting about five hours and the rest lasting minutes. They said I might still have some "transient" AFib for up to three months (to May 20, 2025). I've been AFib free now for over a month, and I've been pushing my exercise and lifting more and more (a trigger). Heading out to have a few beers this afternoon (another trigger).