Any one else with the same diagnosis !!!
What are you taking !!!
Do you have any side effects from the drugs or are you okay !!!
Regards Ken.
Hi Ken,
Do a search on the discussions for Atrial fibrillation and Bisoprolol and you will get a lot of our problems. Of course no one posts on successful treatments:-)
Ken, I was diagnosed with AF in November 2011 but after a few 'episodes' this diagnosis changed to paroxysmal AF (ie comes and goes). I was given Flecainide and Warfarin and am not aware of any side effects. After one episode in 2012 I was prescribed Bisoprolol (though I'm not convinced it was necessary). I haven't had any further episodes since Jan 2013 so the drugs must be working! I do have moments of tiredness during the day which some people attribute to Bisoprolol though I tend to think its probably getting up early to play golf! Overall nothing to complain about.
I have written a few comments on here but not really learnt much. My husband has atrial fibrillation. He has itall the time but never has any symptoms. I think the stress of being diagnosed with it and not getting any proper feedback has stressed him out! They say he doesn't need to take anything as he has no other problems (previous heart problems, diabetes etc) so his risk of a stroke are less than 1% . What no one has explained tome though (my doctor can't talk about my husband's problems...data protection etc) is if he has constant a fib,(his heart has slightly enlarged due to the extra work it is doing) and when he plays squash his heart beats at 200bpm, then surely his heart will wear out due to it....won't it? He plays squash because they say he can, even though the consultant said 200bpm was worrying! I have given up because husband gets mad with me and my doctor advised me to back off. So I have backed off, if he wants to kill himself playing squash he can!
Hope he is well insured and has a good pension to provide for you:-)
There are many other discussions on this site as I said to Ken
There is much information if you Google for it. You can set up a Google alert to get a weekly list of new information on line. The British Heart Foundation publish a series of booklets on about twenty cardiac conditions. They can also be downloaded in PDF form.
You should insist that your husband lets you accompany him to his doctor and consultants appointments. I knew two Guys who played squash with undiagnosed cardiac conditions who died relatively young.
A condensed article from a web site to show him:
The circumstances surrounding 60 sudden deaths (59 men, one woman) associated with squash playing are described. The mean age (SD) of those who died was 46 (10.3) years (range 22-66 years). Necropsy reports were available in 51. The certified cause of death was coronary artery disease in 51 cases, valvular heart disease in four, cardiac arrhythmia in two cases, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in one case. There were only two deaths from non-cardiac causes. Forty five of those who died had reported prodromal symptoms, the most common of which was chest pain, and 22 were known to have had at least one medical condition related to the cardiovascular system during life, the most common of which was systemic hypertension (14 subjects). Those dying from coronary artery disease had a high frequency of risk factors. Some of these deaths might have been prevented by appropriate counselling of players after prospective medical screening, which would have detected most of the patients with overt cardiovascular disease and some of those with subclinical coronary artery disease.
Thank you Derek. Very much! When I even mentioned the problem i was made to feel like a wicked scaremonger and he wishes it had never been diagnosed ( by accident due to a chest infection last winter). I have googled it but it doesn't talk about his condition (that is permanent a fib that doesn't have symptoms and that doesn't need treatment). I have had enough of the abuse that I get which is making me very depressed...and he is depressed too. We just now are so stressed that we've split up, it was just unbearable!
Hi Ken I was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter in September last year and prescribed Warfarin in various doses plus 5mg Bisoprolol plus 40mg Simvastatin for my high cholesterol. I have had a few side effects but don't know for sure which medication may be causing this. I am on a waiting list for an Ablation but at the moment I am not sure if I should go ahead with this as I have not had a reoccurrence of AF and at my age (78) I am wondering if it is the best thing for me. I play golf four times a week without any real problems. It is interesting to note that I was originally diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation at first but changed later to Atrial Flutter. My only real problem at the moment is getting a good nights sleep. My other observation regarding medication is the wide variations between those prescribed for other AF sufferers. If you trawl through these forums you will see what I mean, which can be confusing. Perhaps you could mention this to your GP and see what response you get. Regards Derek (Joiner)
Thanks Derek for the information.
I am seeing my GP this coming week, so it will be interesting to see what he prescribes for me. So far I have had no indication that anything was wrong, but had last week an ECG as I volunteered for a trial and my AF was then discovered.
I am well armed as my wife is on most of the druggs that have been discussed, gradually I have with her GP and Cardiologist managed to get rid of some or reduce the dosage.
Regards Ken.
Hi Derek the joiner, can you tell me why you have trouble getting a good nights sleep? Do you know? Is it your condition, the drugs or the stress of it? Lynn
Hi Lynn - One thing I am certain of Lynn is that before I was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter in September last year I had no sleep problems whatsoever. The causes are somewhat confusing but after reading about the side effects of drugs on various Forums, I feel it is the medication that is to blame. I am not stressed out and not having had a recurring AF incident, I have reached the conclusion that it must be the medication. I am trying to get my GP to have a rethink about it as my sleep pattern is steadily getting worse. Regards Derek
My GP once offered me sleeping pills. I said no thanks, I have enough problems already.
I was told I had atrial fibrillation some 7 years ago and was on Warfarin, Tildiem300 and occasionally digoxin. A few months ago I was in hospital with 155 bpm pulse and after the usual ecg I am told I have A.Flutter and now been prescribed Flecanide. Your post has given me some hope that this Flecanide will help. I tried the beta blocker Bisoprolol recently but had to give up as it nearly stopped me breathing! Hated that med and would not want to take it again.
Hi Derek,
I was diagnosed with AF (not sure the difference between AF and Atrial Flutter? - my heart rate doesn't go that high but feel dreadful with nausea/palpitations/dizziness) a couple of months ago and after various changes am now on aspirin, Bisoprolol 7.5mg, and Atorovastatin 40mg - have several side effects and still have episodes of AF. I'm beginning to feel the side effects are worse than the AF symptoms! and am tempted to ask my Cardiologist to start reducing my doses. Concerning your sleep problem, Derek, I researched magnesium - most people are deficient and this can cause heart rhythm problems - I take a supplement now and this also helps sleep patterns. May help you?
Hi guys, I have been on here previously talking about my wifes Bisoprol, but now it's me.
I have just been diagnosed with atrial flutter and as I understand it is the lesser evil of the two flutters.
I have no symptoms at all and only found out after having had a blood test. i already take for high Blood pressure which is under control Atenolol 100mg - Doxazosin 12mg - Ramipril 10mg, none of these has given me any side effects.
Two weeks ago I saw the practise nurse who said I need to take Atorvastatin 20mg because I was at as I was on facture 30, I took these for a week and felt really bad nearly passing out during the evening, So I stopped them and it took a few days before I felt right again. If you don't know surgeries receive payment for pushing specific drugs and of course statints have been on the news a lot lately. Statins are used to lower Cholestral and reduce the risk of a stroke.
Getting back to me, I saw for the first time my Cardiologist who has put me on Warfarin which I am yet to take as I could not get an appointment to get the prescription, he has put me down for a Cardioversion at the end of the year to get my heart back in sinc which he said is 90% successful, so we will have to wait and see.
Regards all Ken.
Hi Maggie34838
If You want to find out more about the difference between AF and Atrial Flutter you might find the following helpful although a bit technical- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartRhythmScreening/print?id=5213044 or http://www.bostonscientific.com/lifebeat-online/heart-smart/atrial-arrhythmias.html
Regarding my side effects from Bisoprolol and Warfarin I have reduced my Bisoprolol from 5mg to 2.5mg and so far I have not had any problems with my blood pressure or another episode of Atrial Flutter. I will bear in mind your comments about magnesium. Last September I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation when it first occured but it was later that my consultant changed this to Atrial Flutter. He based this on my ECG results which showed a different pattern on the printout when compared with Atrial Fibrillation. I found the above references a big help in understanding these differences. Hope it helps you. Regards Derek (joiner)
I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation / atrial flutter in my early 20's, I am now 43. I was in permanent atrial fibrillation for almost 2 years, Now I get episodes of AF very rarely. I take Flecainide, but I also found that taking vitamin D3 (1000 ui), 4 to 6 pills twice a day has alowed me to cut my meds in half and I have never felt better. My Dr tells me vitamin D is safe to take at this rate. He is also trying vitamin D3 on his other AF patients. Dont take vitamin D3 before you go to bed, It will keep you up all night.
Hi Darcyb71, what a highly interesting and encouraging message! I have been an AF sufferer for some 7 plus years and now I'm 79 I have lost count of the attacks I've experienced over that period. My cardio has set me on Flecainide (50mg twice daily) and seems to be better than all the other meds I've been on. BUT this vitamen D3 seems to be a glimmer of light at the end of the AF tunnel. I shall definitely be looking into this now that you've reported your success. What made you start on this vitamin? Any more info would be interesting.
Cheers, and thanks.
Does it keep you awake or have you getting up to the toilet?
I was taking 180mg of Diltiazem twice a day, and 150mg of Flecainide twice a day. Now I only take 180mg of Diltiazem once a day, and 100mg of Flecainide once a day, Cutting my meds in less than half. I started taking vitamin D3 because I was told by my Dr that 4000 to 6000 iu of D3 can reduce your chance of getting sick in winter. Throughout that winter my Atrial Fibrillation seemed to be gone completely, and I even started reducing my meds because I felt so good. I didnt realize that it was the vitamin D3 that was helping my Atrial Fibrillation until spring when I tried to stop taking it. I have also found that when I do go back into Atrial Fibrillation, 2 more D3's and Im back in normal within 20 min. I have been doing this for over 6 years now with great results.
It keeps me awake all night, But now that you mention it, I often have to go to the toilet at night also. I do try not to take it after 6 pm.