Re: Trigger Foods

August 4, 2004

Trigger foods for me are chocolate, anything with caffine in it,

tea, sugar in anything...and alcohol. I miss chocolate so much,

that is my favorite.but it will put me in a fib in about 30 seconds.

August 4, 2004

In a message dated 8/4/2004 6:58:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

sellmak@... writes:

> I haven't found any for me,

> but I'm going to cut out dairy for a while to see if that's causing

> me problems. I've also cut out chocolate, alcohol, and high-calorie

>

Kirk,

Unfortunately you may have to cut out dairy for quite a while to see if the

elimination has any effect. Cutting dairy really worked for me and reduced my

afib to nearly zero compared with the previous years when I was in afib 50

percent of the time. However, it was a long, drawn out process for both Angus,

the person who suggested dairy elimination, and me. For Angus, it took about

seven months after he quit dairy before his afib episodes stopped. For me it

took nine months before afib stopped, and for both of us, our afib worsened

during those months right after stopping dairy. We also developed other

problems which seemed to be a remanifestation of health problems we had suffered

before. I was very discouraged about four months after quitting dairy when my

afib worsened and would have stopped if Angus hadn't encouraged me by telling me

that he had gone through the same process. He had quit ahead of me, of

course, so he had reached the afib-free state while I was having the worst of

the

problems. So the dairy elimination strategy is a gamble and hard to follow

through on, but if it works, it is really worth it. You have nothing to lose

because one can survive very well without dairy as long as one takes calcium

supplements. I have been off of dairy for more than three years now, and tests

show that my calcium level is fine. Good luck to you and plan to give the trial

at least a year before giving up.

in sinus in Seattle

August 5, 2004

Thanks, . It looks like patience is the key to becoming a-fib-

free, whether it's eliminating dairy products or letting an ablation

scar develop.

> In a message dated 8/4/2004 6:58:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

> sellmak@o... writes:

>

> > I haven't found any for me,

> > but I'm going to cut out dairy for a while to see if that's

causing

> > me problems. I've also cut out chocolate, alcohol, and high-

calorie

> >

>

> Kirk,

> Unfortunately you may have to cut out dairy for quite a while to

see if the

> elimination has any effect. Cutting dairy really worked for me and

reduced my

> afib to nearly zero compared with the previous years when I was in

afib 50

> percent of the time. However, it was a long, drawn out process for

both Angus,

> the person who suggested dairy elimination, and me. For Angus, it

took about

> seven months after he quit dairy before his afib episodes stopped.

For me it

> took nine months before afib stopped, and for both of us, our afib

worsened

> during those months right after stopping dairy. We also developed

other

> problems which seemed to be a remanifestation of health problems we

had suffered

> before. I was very discouraged about four months after quitting

dairy when my

> afib worsened and would have stopped if Angus hadn't encouraged me

by telling me

> that he had gone through the same process. He had quit ahead of

me, of

> course, so he had reached the afib-free state while I was having

the worst of the

> problems. So the dairy elimination strategy is a gamble and hard

to follow

> through on, but if it works, it is really worth it. You have

nothing to lose

> because one can survive very well without dairy as long as one

takes calcium

> supplements. I have been off of dairy for more than three years

now, and tests

> show that my calcium level is fine. Good luck to you and plan to

give the trial

> at least a year before giving up.

> in sinus in Seattle

>

August 5, 2004

I've found the same thing, and that's what's lead me to thinking that

my a-fib originates in my intestines. I think that the intestine is

stretched a little more after a large meal, which exposes part of the

Vagus Nerve, which initiates my a-fib. When I'm in a-fib, eating a

large meal will sometimes push the food from an earlier meal past

that point in the intestines, and a couple of hours later the nerve

has settled down to where I can convert. My cardiologist and

gastroenterologist both scoff at the idea that the intestines are

triggering a-fib. If I understand how the Vagus Nerve is structured,

it's a bundle of nerves coming from throughout the body, and the

strand originating in the intestines attaches to a specific part of

the heart, which is triggering a-fib. If there was a way to trace the

nerve from the intestines back to the heart, I feel that it would be

easy to kill that nerve, but medicine hasn't gotten that far, yet.

> > What trigger foods put you into a-fib?

> Hi Kirk, you might also like to consider quantities as well as

specific

> foods. I've been unable to find any specific food that causes me

trouble

> but if I eat a large meal late in the day it can bring on an

episode.

> (I've also discovered that a large meal can terminate an episode if

I've

> been in AF for some time)

>

> As my AF has got worse I think this sensitivity to eating has

increased.

> (The quantity of food required to cause a change has got less and

the

> time of day is not as important) Fortunately, both triggering and

> terminating sensitivity have increased.

>

> -

> D

August 5, 2004