Guest guest Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 In a message dated 8/21/2004 8:12:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time, xavierboy2002@... writes: > I am afraid to eat,drink or do > anything. I have also noticed that I can't get the hiccups with out > my heart having a problem with it. I have to right away find away to > get rid of them or my heart starts acting funny. That has never been > a problem in the past. I don't know what to eat anymore because I am > afraid that anything I do eat will make me sick. I can't afford not > to eat becuase I am already too thin. I am just so sick of it all. > Michele, I am so sorry you are having so much of the same kind of trouble I have had. Like you I never had a problem and could eat anything at any hour before afib. Now I must be very careful. I have found several strategies that help. One is experimenting with various foods to find out which ones are causing more gas and hiccups. Now I eat a very limited diet with no fruit, sugar, salt, or additives. Apparently it is a healthful diet because blood tests always show my blood to be in very good shape. Also, I am careful about my posture while eating. I have found that if I don't keep my body straight, that is, if I slouch, I have the kind of problems you are having. At night if my stomach is showing signs of problems, I do not lie down to sleep, but sit propped up in bed. Often the problem passes and I can finish the night lying down. Actually this doesn't happen very often any more since I gave up dairy products, but about three years ago I was sitting up to sleep virtually every night. I never eat when I am under stress because I have found that causes problems. On the other hand, sometimes if I have not eaten for a long time, eating a small amount and drinking a warm beverage, even just warm water, will actually help. Finally, I take anti-gas tablets, called Simethicone. There are many different brands of anti-gas Simethicone tablets, but I take Mylanta. The Simethicone helps to break up the gas. Sometimes none of the above helps, but that situation is becoming much less common. The same lessening of symptoms has happened to my brother who is in permanent afib. About 15 years ago before his afib was diagnosed, he, too, was at the point where he could eat almost nothing. His stomach gave him horrible problems, probably due to his extremely fast resting pulse of 180. Since he started taking Digoxin and Atenolol, his stomach has grown progressively calmer. Now he can eat and drink almost everything, so I am hoping that will be the case with me. Remember that these problems will not necessarily last forever. I think you do need to rule out the heart as a cause of your stomach problems, though, as it was with my brother. If your pulse rate is not adequately controlled by medication, that fast pulse alone could cause stomach problems instead of the other way around, as was the case with my brother. If your pulse is normal, the problem could be caused by gas pressing on the lining of your heart, according to my primary care physician, although my doctor brother disagrees with her. I think she is right because, like you, I have so many times had afib begin with the hiccupping and excessive gas. I'm sure you will be able to solve or at least improve this problem as my brother and I have done, but it may take some time and attention to what you are doing and eating. Best wishes, in sinus in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 but I am not freaking as much and I just keep on with my meds and try to relax. I am not one any meds at the moment. My Dr is away and I wm waiting for him to see if there is something I can take since I am STILL nursing. I am just wondering how much these meds will make things better or worse. It really scares me! Michele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 but I am not freaking as much and I just keep on with my meds and try to relax. I am not one any meds at the moment. My Dr is away and I wm waiting for him to see if there is something I can take since I am STILL nursing. I am just wondering how much these meds will make things better or worse. It really scares me! Michele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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