Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

[Guest guest]

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

I am 56 and I have had episodes of Afib every now and then since I

was in my early 30's (May 10, 1981...I remember my first). My bigger

problem is PVCs which I have almost on a daily basis. Generally

only a few but at times hundreds a day. Caffeine and similar

stimulants are bad. Alcohol too. I have also flirted with obesity

on and off. I had gastric bypass surgery in December of 97 and lost

a lot of weight..some of which I have regained. Through it all my

heart remained the same not getting better or worse though a touch

of apnea does seem to make it worse. As a result I sometimes sleep

in a recliner with a small fan facing me. I sleep better upright

rather than lying flat out and I don't choke awake. I read where

the fan gives enough positive air pressure to help releive the

apnea....but who knows. I take an adult enteric coated aspirin and

that has been enough plus the fish oil is supposed to keep the blood

thinner. Good luck.

> >In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking

Magnesium

> >and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

> >capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are

also

> >recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

> >thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day.

Not

> >sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

> >(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in

for a

> >few hours and converted on my own.

>

> Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the

answer to

> that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the

early 90's

> with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the

other was

> from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

>

> I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly

kicked into

> high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the

cardiologist

> next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-

hour Holter

> monitor test I took last week.

>

> The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a

different

> reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch

chest

> expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m

wondering if I

> am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up

watching

> TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

>

> Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on

Coumadin, but

> I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have

diverticulosis,

> hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious

arthritis and use

> acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely

affected by

> Coumadin.

>

> Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

> appreciated. Thanks in advance.

>

> Betsy, Tewksbury, MA <BPolglase@c...>

>

>

[Guest guest]

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

Betty - I believe that your age has nothing to do with whether you can find

competent treatment or not! I've read many studies that indicate that people

over 75 have had successful ablations, so all is not lost! What does your own

cardiologist say about it?

Both my parents have afib (mom 77, dad 78) and get good treatment. My mom has

been in permanent afib for years now, and controls is well with verapamil. They

are extremely active as well... they volunteer at several local organizations,

go dancing, play tennis weekly, my dad plays pingpong and they travel

extensively... they are currently considering a walking trip through Morocco!!!!

The only reason they may not do that is that my dad has two fake hips, and is

not sure he can walk that far.. nothing to do with their hearts!

Please don't dispair because of your age... you're a young woman, and with the

right medical help, should be able to control your afib quite nicely!

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

Betty - I believe that your age has nothing to do with whether you can find

competent treatment or not! I've read many studies that indicate that people

over 75 have had successful ablations, so all is not lost! What does your own

cardiologist say about it?

Both my parents have afib (mom 77, dad 78) and get good treatment. My mom has

been in permanent afib for years now, and controls is well with verapamil. They

are extremely active as well... they volunteer at several local organizations,

go dancing, play tennis weekly, my dad plays pingpong and they travel

extensively... they are currently considering a walking trip through Morocco!!!!

The only reason they may not do that is that my dad has two fake hips, and is

not sure he can walk that far.. nothing to do with their hearts!

Please don't dispair because of your age... you're a young woman, and with the

right medical help, should be able to control your afib quite nicely!

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

Hi Betty - my mom takes verapamil (and others) to keep her rate low, and is

blessed that she is able to control it well.... her low (sleeping) rate will be

in the high 40s and during the day will push 60. At those rates, afib is quite

tolerable, if not " silent " . She feels it most after she's exercised or does

alot during the day.. she'll be a bit more tired, and her heart will be more

sensitive... mind you that she's in permanent afib, so she's not worried that

she's going to go INTO afib, but too much work will cause her heart rate to go

higher, or her afib to sort of pound harder... be more noticable....

other than that, it doesn't effect her much at all! Dad is on Tambocor and

hasn't had an event in a long time... it is unclear to me how his afib

progressed to the point where he was put on antiarrythmics.... I think because

of his age, his cardio was a little faster to put him on big guns... he has

alot of fatigue from the drug, but the doctors all say that his energy is good

for a man his age... grrrrrrr......

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

Thanks Stef; Kind of you to send such an encouraging message. Does your

mother take meds for her AF/ How does she keep it from interfering with

her life? Betty

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Quarter Acre Orchids

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 3:04 PM

To: AFIBsupport

Subject: RE: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Betty - I believe that your age has nothing to do with whether you can find

competent treatment or not! I've read many studies that indicate that

people over 75 have had successful ablations, so all is not lost! What does

your own cardiologist say about it?

Both my parents have afib (mom 77, dad 78) and get good treatment. My mom

has been in permanent afib for years now, and controls is well with

verapamil. They are extremely active as well... they volunteer at several

local organizations, go dancing, play tennis weekly, my dad plays pingpong

and they travel extensively... they are currently considering a walking trip

through Morocco!!!! The only reason they may not do that is that my dad has

two fake hips, and is not sure he can walk that far.. nothing to do with

their hearts!

Please don't dispair because of your age... you're a young woman, and with

the right medical help, should be able to control your afib quite nicely!

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

Hi Betty - my mom takes verapamil (and others) to keep her rate low, and is

blessed that she is able to control it well.... her low (sleeping) rate will be

in the high 40s and during the day will push 60. At those rates, afib is quite

tolerable, if not " silent " . She feels it most after she's exercised or does

alot during the day.. she'll be a bit more tired, and her heart will be more

sensitive... mind you that she's in permanent afib, so she's not worried that

she's going to go INTO afib, but too much work will cause her heart rate to go

higher, or her afib to sort of pound harder... be more noticable....

other than that, it doesn't effect her much at all! Dad is on Tambocor and

hasn't had an event in a long time... it is unclear to me how his afib

progressed to the point where he was put on antiarrythmics.... I think because

of his age, his cardio was a little faster to put him on big guns... he has

alot of fatigue from the drug, but the doctors all say that his energy is good

for a man his age... grrrrrrr......

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

Thanks Stef; Kind of you to send such an encouraging message. Does your

mother take meds for her AF/ How does she keep it from interfering with

her life? Betty

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Quarter Acre Orchids

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 3:04 PM

To: AFIBsupport

Subject: RE: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Betty - I believe that your age has nothing to do with whether you can find

competent treatment or not! I've read many studies that indicate that

people over 75 have had successful ablations, so all is not lost! What does

your own cardiologist say about it?

Both my parents have afib (mom 77, dad 78) and get good treatment. My mom

has been in permanent afib for years now, and controls is well with

verapamil. They are extremely active as well... they volunteer at several

local organizations, go dancing, play tennis weekly, my dad plays pingpong

and they travel extensively... they are currently considering a walking trip

through Morocco!!!! The only reason they may not do that is that my dad has

two fake hips, and is not sure he can walk that far.. nothing to do with

their hearts!

Please don't dispair because of your age... you're a young woman, and with

the right medical help, should be able to control your afib quite nicely!

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA

[Guest guest]

Hi Betty - my mom takes verapamil (and others) to keep her rate low, and is

blessed that she is able to control it well.... her low (sleeping) rate will be

in the high 40s and during the day will push 60. At those rates, afib is quite

tolerable, if not " silent " . She feels it most after she's exercised or does

alot during the day.. she'll be a bit more tired, and her heart will be more

sensitive... mind you that she's in permanent afib, so she's not worried that

she's going to go INTO afib, but too much work will cause her heart rate to go

higher, or her afib to sort of pound harder... be more noticable....

other than that, it doesn't effect her much at all! Dad is on Tambocor and

hasn't had an event in a long time... it is unclear to me how his afib

progressed to the point where he was put on antiarrythmics.... I think because

of his age, his cardio was a little faster to put him on big guns... he has

alot of fatigue from the drug, but the doctors all say that his energy is good

for a man his age... grrrrrrr......

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

Thanks Stef; Kind of you to send such an encouraging message. Does your

mother take meds for her AF/ How does she keep it from interfering with

her life? Betty

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Quarter Acre Orchids

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 3:04 PM

To: AFIBsupport

Subject: RE: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Betty - I believe that your age has nothing to do with whether you can find

competent treatment or not! I've read many studies that indicate that

people over 75 have had successful ablations, so all is not lost! What does

your own cardiologist say about it?

Both my parents have afib (mom 77, dad 78) and get good treatment. My mom

has been in permanent afib for years now, and controls is well with

verapamil. They are extremely active as well... they volunteer at several

local organizations, go dancing, play tennis weekly, my dad plays pingpong

and they travel extensively... they are currently considering a walking trip

through Morocco!!!! The only reason they may not do that is that my dad has

two fake hips, and is not sure he can walk that far.. nothing to do with

their hearts!

Please don't dispair because of your age... you're a young woman, and with

the right medical help, should be able to control your afib quite nicely!

Stef

Betty Flannery wrote:

_____

From: AFIBsupport [mailto:AFIBsupport ] On

Behalf Of Betsy Polglase

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 9:03 AM

To: AFIBsupport ; AFIBsupport

Subject: Re: Copper supplements? Taurine?/NEWBIE

Hi; This is my first letter to the group and I thought I would start out by

responding to a few of the e-mails. I read one that thoroughly depressed

me. It more or less said that someone over 75 probably couldn't do anything

to improve AF. Hope is very important and I sincerely hope that is not the

case. Is there anyone out there who is also 75 or so? I have just begun

to take magnesium (the kind where you dissolve the magnesium in tonic water)

and fish oil.

I was interested to read about your thoughts on shallow breathing from

abdominal weight and leaning over compressing the lungs when watching TV or

reading. Very interesting. Because I often get AF when leaning back on

some pillows and possibly falling asleep. I have a pace maker for a very

slow pulse and take Atenolol, warfarin and Lotensin for bp 140/70. I am now

in a 5 day bout of AF(the longest so far) but I have always self-converted

and hope I do this time too. I am afraid the attacks are getting very close

together and lasting quite long but maybe I can do something that will

reverse some of the frequency and duration. Any thoughts gratefully

received. Betty

At 11:38 AM 11/9/2005, zipwls01 wrote:

>In addition to my meds (Atenolol & Flecainide) I am taking Magnesium

>and Fish Oil Capsules. 500 mg of Mag twice a day and 6 grams (6

>capules) twice a day. I have read where Copper and Taurine are also

>recommended by some nuritionists to treat recurrent AFib. Any

>thoughts? I was thinking of taking 2.5 mg of Copper once a day. Not

>sure about the Taurine. My doctor recently put me on Pottasium

>(gigantic tablet) after hospitlization for AFIB. I was only in for a

>few hours and converted on my own.

Hi -- I'm a newbie to the list and would be interested in the answer to

that one, too. I landed in the emergency room twice back in the early 90's

with bad A-FIB. Once time was traced to low potassium, and the other was

from too high thyroid medication (I'm hypothyroid).

I have had only spotty problems since, but the A-FIB suddenly kicked into

high gear a few weeks ago, and I have an appointment with the cardiologist

next Wednesday after three episodes of " atrial flutter " on a 24-hour Holter

monitor test I took last week.

The sleep apnea discussion is of great interest to me for a different

reason. I have scoliosis in my spine and have less than a one-inch chest

expansion because of it. I'm also fairly overweight, and I " m wondering if I

am getting a bit of hypoxia when sleeping and partially sitting up watching

TV and not able to breathe as fully and deeply?

Also - I suspect that the cardiologist will want me to go on Coumadin, but

I'm very leery of doing that. At 70 years of age, I have diverticulosis,

hypothyroidism, and type II diabetes. I also have serious arthritis and use

acupuncture once a week. All of these things may be adversely affected by

Coumadin.

Any thoughts from any one an any of these things? Any input much

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Betsy, Tewksbury, MA