A fib

[kman]

Ended up in the hospital monday night with a racing irregular pulse, it would go up to 160 and down to 110. I called the doctor they said come in and I ended up spending almost two days in the hospital. It took around 14 hours to get me to "convert" back to a nomal heart rate. after which they just kept me on drips and monitors, I got out this morning at 11.
I thought I was doing so well, at that point my biggest concern was when can I drive again and then boom it just nailed me, a humbleing experience to say the least. I am now on 200mg of amiodarone twice daily and am off all other meds except aspirin. Doc suggested I layoff caffine and to just hope it doesnt return. how common is this? first the lung which I was told was common, then the tape reaction which I found out was more common than I would of thought, now A fib which Im told is pretty common, any other common stuff I should prepare for? Kman

 

[Cooker]

Sorry this happened. It is very common. Many of us have gone through it. It may never happen again.

 

[Ross]

Much more common then most would like to admit. I think nearly all of us have had at least one round of it. Mine hit me 8 weeks after surgery for 2 days them subsided and never returned.

 

[Bina]

Kman, I feel bad for you also. You are hitting all the road bumps real quick.
Remember to pace yourself, avoid caffeine, chocolate, salt.....it all adds up.
And the big one: avoid stress.....Ross has started a "peaceful" slide show thread, enjoy it.

 

[Karlynn]

Please be sure you read about the side affects of amiodarone. It's a serious drug that knocks out arrhythmia, but also can do some nasty things. Just curious as to why they put you on a "drug of last resort". Is this not your first episode with A-fib?

 

[kman]

Karlynn, My first and hopefully my last, and yes I was told this drug has nasty side effects but not that I had any options, I will talk to my cardiologist and see what they think next week, the biggest problem with Kaiser seems to be that no two depts ever talk to each other.
Thanks for the information . Kman

 

[donnamarie]

Sorry you are going thru this Kman! I bet it was a scary experience. No one wants to go back to the hospital! Hope it's smooth sailing from here on out.

 

[jgibson]

Hate that for you Kman

Hate that for you Kman

Ended up in the hospital monday night with a racing irregular pulse, it would go up to 160 and down to 110. I called the doctor they said come in and I ended up spending almost two days in the hospital. It took around 14 hours to get me to "convert" back to a nomal heart rate. after which they just kept me on drips and monitors, I got out this morning at 11.
I thought I was doing so well, at that point my biggest concern was when can I drive again and then boom it just nailed me, a humbleing experience to say the least. I am now on 200mg of amiodarone twice daily and am off all other meds except aspirin. Doc suggested I layoff caffine and to just hope it doesnt return. how common is this? first the lung which I was told was common, then the tape reaction which I found out was more common than I would of thought, now A fib which Im told is pretty common, any other common stuff I should prepare for? Kman

Sorry to hear about you having to go back into the hospital Kman.

My heart more or less did the same thing last week. Started having heart rates in the 130's and 140's. Felt like things were all over the place. I went into the hospital and the next think I knew I was staying for an extra 48 hours. The good news is that the medication they put me on has done the job and I haven't had any issues with heart rhythm since.

You should be fine Kman.

Take Care.

 

[Adrienne]

I've read that something like 30 to 40 percent of heart valve surgery patients get A-Fib the first month or two after surgery. I think it is because the heart is still inflamed, etc.

 

[JAJ99]

KMAN,
Sorry you had to go back to the hospital. I'm wishing you smooth sailing from here on out!!!
Jean

 

[doberman]

Sounds scary but during the few weeks after surgery I had similar bouts fo racing pulse, it eventually went away, it is freaky though. Not sure if this helps but I had all sorts of strangeness going on with my body after my OHS, from seeing sparks, eys crossing etc. it all went away, (hopefully never to return)If you can, try not to worry about it all too much.

 

[tcopel]

Yep..its the pits for sure, having to go back in the hospital after going through such a big surgery. As a lot of us here on VR, I had 3 episodes of afib after my surgery. One episode 3 days after, then about 2 weeks after and the third, about 3 weeks after. After the third episode, I was placed on a relatively new antiarrhythmic called Tikosyn. It doesnt have the side effect profile as amioderone. While the potential side effects of this medication is fairly infrequent, the consequences are high. The plan, as with amioderone, is to continue for a short period of time, then come off. The inflammation generated by the surgical procedure should subside by then.
While having afib can be dishearting, dont be too discouraged as this is fairly frequent and shouldnt impact you health or life. You should do well.