Thank you so much, EVERYONE, for your outpouring of kindness and prayers and thoughts. I've posted what the professionals think this sudden A-Fib was about in this comment below:
Hopefully, they are right that this was a one-off. It's bit risky to test that, but the doctor thought the risk of testing it was better than the risk of going on to unnecessary heart meds for the rest of my life IF this was a one-off.
I have had AFib off and on for the past 6 years. The first time is the “scariest” because it’s something new. After stabilizing my heart rate with meds during my initial 3-day hospital stay, I had electrocardioversion (a 10-minute procedure that shocks the heart back to normal rhythm, done under general anesthesia) 30 days later. It’s a wonderful out-patient procedure, non-invasive (the shock pads are stuck to the front and back of the chest). You enter the room in AFib and walk out 30 minutes later in normal rhythm. My heart stayed in normal rhythm for almost 4 years, until I stupidly overdid it physically — moving furniture, appliances, and heavy boxes like a young buck. A second cardioversion a few weeks later returned my heart to normal rhythm.
Remember that AFib per se is not usually life-threatening. Yes, it increases your stroke risk (by less than doctors imply), but a blood thinner will mitigate that risk. You could theoretically live a good, long life in AFib as long as you keep your heart RATE in check (resting in the 70s, max 120) with drugs. No more digging ditches and carrying bags of concrete as if in your 20s. I bought a smart watch that displays my heart rate in real time. After a few cardioversions they’ll want to schedule you for the next step, ablation, a minimally invasive procedure, but you’re still a decade away from that.
I wish you well, David, and look forward to your return to “normal” life.
Thanks for the hopeful words. So far, the heart-stabilizing shot they gave me is holding, but my blood pressure has gone insane at 199/110. Don't know if that is just a rebound effect from the drug they injected that took my heart rate and blood pressure all the way down to normal, now that I'm past the 24-hr period where that drug wears off ... or if something new has gone wrong.
Hope you are feeling better. I have had continuous A-fib for 25 years but don't notice it and get by with a calcium inhibitor (Diltiazem,) and blood thinners. (Apixaban). My cardiologist says I am very lucky. My brother, on the other hand, has had many episodes like yours over the years and finally had a Watchman implanted in his heart and is doing much better. My son also had a cardiac oblation for A-fib last year and the procedure has reduced the number and intensity of his episodes. I hope your doctors can scope out the proper treatment so that you can get on with your life without interruption.
Because I discovered my A-fib over 20 years ago and because my continuous A-fib didn't cause me much distress and treatments were not very sophisticated I didn't take any action to disrupt it. As a result I have experienced a thickening of the heart walls and enlargement of the atria which will probably do me in one day. Treatments are much better now so if you can stop the A-fib with treatment, in the long term your heart will thank you. A good book on the subject 'The A-fib Cure' by Day and Bunch.
Thank you very much, Jim. It turns out that my doctor and a pharmacist both agree that what PROBABLY happened was I took a long-expired Metformin pill, and Metformin becomes unstable after its shelf life (I thought it would just be weaker, but it is the stabilizers that become weaker and break down). That places a heavy burden on your liver to metabolize it. Then I took my usual 1,000 mg of Magnesium glycinate that I take to sleep, which also places a heavy burn on your liver to metabolize that much, even though your heart likes magnesium. Then, because the unstable metformin caused me a lot of stomach discomfort, I took a shot of this one particular brandy that works like no other to get rid of the gas from your stomach (no idea why, but my wife and I each discovered it is amazing for bloating and gas), and that placed an additional burden on my liver to metabolize the alcohol. At which point, my overloaded liver stopped putting out the sodium(?) the heart needs because it had too much else to focus on, so my heart freaked out!
The A-fib began just minutes after the large dose of Magnesium glycinate and the brandy chaser. So, it felt to me like a reaction to what I had just taken.
That's the theory we're running on now. So, it may be a one-off. My doctor said, before going down the road of starting heart meds and blood thinners, let's have me wear a heart monitoring patch for a couple of weeks and see how stable my heart really is or isn't. But, if the theory is wrong, I'll may to go to emergency again to have them shut the A-fib off again.
Before I knew why I took gasps ... it worried me. The unknown. Heart ablation solved mine ... stayed awake for it ... that warm feeling was not alarming, because the doctor informed me well. Stay safe.
I too have Afib. Seems to be quite common. Didn't even know I had it until I went to the skin doctor for some skin cancer surgery about 4 years ago and my heart rate was 130. They tried shocking my heart to get a normal rhythm, said it worked, but it only lasted a week or less and $18,000 later for a 15 minute procedure. Now basically just control it with meds and blood thinner (Eliquis) which is also high dollar. Don't let them jerk you around and do some research on it, Good luck, my friend.
David, don’t worry about us and don’t rush it, we’ll be waiting here patiently for your next substack. Your message and thoughts are too valuable to lose so take care of you. Prayers headed your way!
Thank you so much, EVERYONE, for your outpouring of kindness and prayers and thoughts. I've posted what the professionals think this sudden A-Fib was about in this comment below:
https://open.substack.com/pub/thedailydoom/p/sorry-no-daily-doom-for-today?utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=199427877
Hopefully, they are right that this was a one-off. It's bit risky to test that, but the doctor thought the risk of testing it was better than the risk of going on to unnecessary heart meds for the rest of my life IF this was a one-off.
Thank you so much, folks, for you kind thoughts.
--David
I have had AFib off and on for the past 6 years. The first time is the “scariest” because it’s something new. After stabilizing my heart rate with meds during my initial 3-day hospital stay, I had electrocardioversion (a 10-minute procedure that shocks the heart back to normal rhythm, done under general anesthesia) 30 days later. It’s a wonderful out-patient procedure, non-invasive (the shock pads are stuck to the front and back of the chest). You enter the room in AFib and walk out 30 minutes later in normal rhythm. My heart stayed in normal rhythm for almost 4 years, until I stupidly overdid it physically — moving furniture, appliances, and heavy boxes like a young buck. A second cardioversion a few weeks later returned my heart to normal rhythm.
Remember that AFib per se is not usually life-threatening. Yes, it increases your stroke risk (by less than doctors imply), but a blood thinner will mitigate that risk. You could theoretically live a good, long life in AFib as long as you keep your heart RATE in check (resting in the 70s, max 120) with drugs. No more digging ditches and carrying bags of concrete as if in your 20s. I bought a smart watch that displays my heart rate in real time. After a few cardioversions they’ll want to schedule you for the next step, ablation, a minimally invasive procedure, but you’re still a decade away from that.
I wish you well, David, and look forward to your return to “normal” life.
Thanks for the hopeful words. So far, the heart-stabilizing shot they gave me is holding, but my blood pressure has gone insane at 199/110. Don't know if that is just a rebound effect from the drug they injected that took my heart rate and blood pressure all the way down to normal, now that I'm past the 24-hr period where that drug wears off ... or if something new has gone wrong.
David-wow thanks for letting us know. So glad everything checked out OK. No rush getting back to writing. Somehow I don’t think t
he ‘doom’ will be leaving anytime soon.
PS. Just wait until you get to 70+. It gets way better. Haha. Eric V.
Hope you are feeling better. I have had continuous A-fib for 25 years but don't notice it and get by with a calcium inhibitor (Diltiazem,) and blood thinners. (Apixaban). My cardiologist says I am very lucky. My brother, on the other hand, has had many episodes like yours over the years and finally had a Watchman implanted in his heart and is doing much better. My son also had a cardiac oblation for A-fib last year and the procedure has reduced the number and intensity of his episodes. I hope your doctors can scope out the proper treatment so that you can get on with your life without interruption.
Because I discovered my A-fib over 20 years ago and because my continuous A-fib didn't cause me much distress and treatments were not very sophisticated I didn't take any action to disrupt it. As a result I have experienced a thickening of the heart walls and enlargement of the atria which will probably do me in one day. Treatments are much better now so if you can stop the A-fib with treatment, in the long term your heart will thank you. A good book on the subject 'The A-fib Cure' by Day and Bunch.
Thank you very much, Jim. It turns out that my doctor and a pharmacist both agree that what PROBABLY happened was I took a long-expired Metformin pill, and Metformin becomes unstable after its shelf life (I thought it would just be weaker, but it is the stabilizers that become weaker and break down). That places a heavy burden on your liver to metabolize it. Then I took my usual 1,000 mg of Magnesium glycinate that I take to sleep, which also places a heavy burn on your liver to metabolize that much, even though your heart likes magnesium. Then, because the unstable metformin caused me a lot of stomach discomfort, I took a shot of this one particular brandy that works like no other to get rid of the gas from your stomach (no idea why, but my wife and I each discovered it is amazing for bloating and gas), and that placed an additional burden on my liver to metabolize the alcohol. At which point, my overloaded liver stopped putting out the sodium(?) the heart needs because it had too much else to focus on, so my heart freaked out!
The A-fib began just minutes after the large dose of Magnesium glycinate and the brandy chaser. So, it felt to me like a reaction to what I had just taken.
That's the theory we're running on now. So, it may be a one-off. My doctor said, before going down the road of starting heart meds and blood thinners, let's have me wear a heart monitoring patch for a couple of weeks and see how stable my heart really is or isn't. But, if the theory is wrong, I'll may to go to emergency again to have them shut the A-fib off again.
I hope that solves the problem for you.
So far, it does seem the one-off theory from the above combo is correct.
Before I knew why I took gasps ... it worried me. The unknown. Heart ablation solved mine ... stayed awake for it ... that warm feeling was not alarming, because the doctor informed me well. Stay safe.
Feel better. Get well. Best wishes, David.
Oh no! Just rest and take a knee. It’ll all still be here when you’re ready. The universe is telling you to slow down…
I too have Afib. Seems to be quite common. Didn't even know I had it until I went to the skin doctor for some skin cancer surgery about 4 years ago and my heart rate was 130. They tried shocking my heart to get a normal rhythm, said it worked, but it only lasted a week or less and $18,000 later for a 15 minute procedure. Now basically just control it with meds and blood thinner (Eliquis) which is also high dollar. Don't let them jerk you around and do some research on it, Good luck, my friend.
David, sending you best wishes and prayer thoughts for a quick and complete recovery so that you
can return to doing what you do best.
Rosemary
David, don’t worry about us and don’t rush it, we’ll be waiting here patiently for your next substack. Your message and thoughts are too valuable to lose so take care of you. Prayers headed your way!
Hang in there. I'm 80, had first AFib event 8 years ago. Scary. They'll probably put you on eliquis. The events come and go. Sadly, no cure
Prayers 🙏
David, you are a blessing to many~ your dedication and pursuit of truth. Prayers for your heath and well-being.🙏🏻