Re: Is fib like falling off a horse, and afraid to get back on?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2004 6:10:14 AM Central Standard Time,

james@... writes:

Hi Guy,

if it's a slow heart rate that's a problem at night wouldn't a med that

relaxes you add to the problem? It may be worth double checking with your

doctor and pharmacist what any medication is likely to do to your heart

rate before taking it. Almost all of my problems happen at night too but

my rate is usually very low before the trouble happens

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi

You make some good points. When I am in afib at night, I can feel and hear my

heart all out of sync which makes me nervous and I have a hard time getting

back to sleep. When I was in constant afib the first 6 mo. I finally got used

to it and could sleep, mainly on my back. I hear my heart much more when I put

my ear on the pillow. Actually i seem to be doing better since I started

taking my meds just before going to bed. This includes atenolol which lowers the

heart rate but I think the procedure is helping. I sometimes take an extra

atenolol in the morning if I am still in afib.

Thanks for the input

Guy

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/15/2004 9:56:26 PM Pacific Standard Time,

mandyofca@... writes:

<< I wonder if anyone has the problem of having a fib attack at a

certain time of the day or night, and then getting fearful when that

time comes around the next few days? Mine seem to come always at

night, when I relax in bed, and I am becoming afraid to go to bed.

>>

Oh, yes, Mandy! My afib episodes used to happen most frequently at night,

and like you I became afraid to lie down to sleep. In fact, even though I have

had almost no afib for the past two years, I still begin every night by

sitting propped up in bed before I lie down! Only after I assess my heart and

stomach situation, assuring myself that I have no PVC's that used to lead to

afib,

do I lie down. I have been doing this for at least three or four years now.

Three years ago I would begin the night by sitting up in a chair to sleep

because I was having so much trouble with afib starting the minute my head hit

the

pillow. Usually I didn't actually go to bed until about 2 or 3 a. m after

sleeping in the chair for about two or three hours. This wasn't a very restful

procedure, but it usually did prevent the afib episodes that would start when

I lay down.

Then a friend gave me a special pillow-like device which allows me to prop

myself up in bed, a warmer and more comfortable situation than sitting in a

chair all night. However, if I were still having problems with afib, this might

not be a good solution because I usually wake to find myself lying down but

have no memory of transferring from the sitting to the sleeping position.

Because sitting up all night really did help me to avoid afib episodes, I

probably

would go back to sleeping in the chair if I were having trouble with afib

because that would make it impossible for me to lie down unconsciously after I

fall

asleep.

I think whether or not you continue to sit up to sleep depends on whether it

helps you to avoid afib or not. If afib starts anyway while you are sleeping

in a sitting position, I see no point in avoiding the horizontal position. If

sitting up to sleep helps to avoid afib, as it helped me, then I would do it.

My philosophy is that I do whatever I have to do to avoid afib, even if it

is not the most comfortable or normal route. Another alternative might be to

experiment with various degrees of propping yourself up in bed. For example,

sleeping with your head and shoulders propped on three pillow might be as

effective as sitting up.

Good luck,

in sinus in Seattle

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2004 5:49:38 AM Pacific Standard Time,

danley7@... writes:

<< I stop eating after 6:00

P.M., I don't eat anything after 6. It seems to have helped >>

Mandy,

I forgot to say that I also do not eat after 4 or 5 p.m. usually. I have

found that if I eat late in the evening, I often wind up after going to bed with

PVC's that used to lead to afib for me. It seemed that when I would go into

afib at night, the main cause was stomach problems. However, my continued

stomach problems over the past two years have not been causing afib as they did

previously. Also, my stomach problems have improved greatly in the past two

weeks since I started taking Acidophilus. (I continue to start every night

sitting up, though. Phobias don't die easily.) For you, however, it could be

the

anxiety about afib itself or a slower heart rate when lying down that leads to

afib.

in sinus in Seattle