Should I just take dh to A+E every time he gets atrial fib & tachy?

[Fluffycloudland77]

Cardio put him on 2.5mg bisoprolol, it’s made it much worse, his asthma now requires two ventolin a month not one & he gets out of breath walking up stairs now.

He’s had a gel scan late July, no results sent to gp.

He’s been arrhythmic from 12:30 last night till 13:30 today. Heart rate 160. Dr is ringing us back about upping his meds which is what’s made him worse to begin with.

What do we have to do to get treatment because we keep getting fobbed off.

Isn’t potassium bad for heart issues?

The potassium in a banana causes me to have an episode

I don’t know, he hasn’t eaten it anyway.

Oh fluffy it sounds tough, work may be a welcome distraction for you?

I would tell him to avoid bananas. First time I was hospitalised was because I ate 2 thinking i was being healthy!

Pot noodles set dhs off.

I think it's the msg in pot noodles ( if it's still used).

Chinese takeaway used to set mine off

Hi fluffy. I can’t add much to the amazing advice you’ve had on here. Just to say though that we have the Kardia monitor for my 11yo dd who has SVT and is awaiting ablation at Glenfield. It’s been brilliant as you can e mail the ecg reading straight to the consultant.

I’m allergic to msg so I don’t have them.

North, yeah kinda but it’s I’d rather be with him incase he needs me.

There’s people leaving work still in nurses uniforms. How can that be sensible at any time

Just seen this thread. I have PAF and Atrial Tachycardia and asthma.

I was told in no uncertain terms I couldn't have beta blockers and I take calcium channel blockers which essentially do the same job but don't affect asthma.
My cardiologist insists I don't need anticoagulation because I don't score high enough on CHADS vasc scale, he reckons the risks can out way the benefits.
I had an EP study which is how the AT was diagnosed but they didn't think I was suitable for ablation.
I've been given a drug Flecanide to take only in the event of tachycardia.

Do pot noodles contain MSG? I avoid it and bananas.

They took him back in last night for observation. I don’t know how much longer they need for the penny to drop that the beta blockers aren’t working.

I need him to ask why he can’t try calcium channel blockers but he’s really weak and beaten down.

Even the gp was suggesting ablation.

I couldn’t take him to the LRI, it’s 22 miles away and Burton was only 8m away.

Why don’t you take him to a decent A&E ? Burton s clearly failing him and you said glenfield is 22k away? It’s one the best cardiology units in the country.

Because he will not agree to that when he’s highly anxious & I’ll be trapped in an enclosed space with a man shouting at me. That’s why.

Well, a different cardiologist saw him today who has said it doesn’t look very good for their department if patients keep attending to A+E from the GP (truth hurts) & their upping his beta blockers to 10mg 🙄 and referring to Glenfield for ablation. Then it all gets a bit confusing and the cardiologist then said Stoke which is odd because stoke on Trent is 43 miles away and in a different health authority. So that’s all I know.

I can visit 6pm tonight with snacks and after my shower I’m going round to get fish and chips because I haven’t eaten properly all week.

So, I need to clarify Glenfield with his team or rather he does because the nurses won’t know.

I’ve ordered magnesium citrate powder because he can’t swallow tablets easily as they get stuck. It’s coming from America as Holland and Barrett are out of stock.

I need to take his normal meds in too because he has vit d and k in the morning.

It's good you can go in and question things. My DH is in hospital at the min and we're not allowed in at all, they sent him home Sunday with an active chest infection seen on an x Ray (he's stage 4 lung cancer) he was 999'd back in Monday with pneumonia. Sometimes they are really slack !

I’m so sorry you’re going through that, can you ring him?.

It’s not natural for people to be apart from loved ones when their poorly.

Has he always struggled to swallow tablets since he was a teenager, or has this just come on in the last few years?
If it has come on then tell the doctors and ask if he might have a problem with his thyroid gland. Sometimes you can get a slow growing tumor in them and it causes the gland to produce loads of thyroxine. That makes you feel shaky/exhausted and definitely causes heart arrthymias. They found mine when I noticed that it was difficult to swallow tablets and I had a golfball sized tumor that was squashing my windpipe. They are mostly not cancerous, so its just a matter of sorting it out so the thyroid can work normally. You can google hyperthyroidism to see more (hyper not hypo)

An ablation 5 years ago changed my life. I no longer live in fear of having an episode. When I used to go on holiday I would pray I wouldn’t have an episode on a flight or in a foreign country. It’s a game changer, but sometimes 2-3 are needed.

@OverTheRainbow88 According to cardiology lots of people don’t mind af at all .

@SeaToSki, started after chemo/radio & although he has a massive goitre there’s no tumour, he was scanned before lockdown and their happy with it. He’s a tall man so the goitre doesn’t look that bad, they asked him earlier if he was hyper.

I haven’t checked bnf online but I’m assuming beta blockers are cheaper than calcium channel blockers. I’m going to ring the pharmacist tm.

BNF prices are not reliable! The paper version is only published 6 monthly or maybe annually now. I don't think the prices are updated between editions- didn't used to be.
Drug tariff is more accurate.

Has he had his TSH levels checked recently? If he has a huge goiter and AFib, he should have his levels done regularly. A goiter is a huge red flag for thyroid, parathyroid and pituitary problems.

Yes his thyroid was checked recently by his thyroid consultant.

Calcium channel blockers apparently aren’t suitable for patients where the sinus node can’t maintain rhythm. But he has valve damage so I don’t know.

Dh is very shocked the diabetic chap in the next bed (who has just had surgery) is mainlining chocolate bars and biscuits. His wife bought in a carrier bag of chocolate bars. I told him this is standard behaviour for a lot of people with diabetes 🙄.

The punchline to this thread was that when out of hospital dh was vaping “but I only take it into my mouth” which is impossible with a gas 🤦🏻‍♀️ So I’ve taken his vape off him & his heart, so far, hasn’t been arrhythmic or tachycardic. Glenfield will see him in January.

The magnesium is really helping. If I forget it isn’t happy the next day.

I am by nature a non violent person but when the penny dropped he was vaping again after being up since midnight with him literally shaking like a leaf I could have cheerfully flicked him on the forehead & called him derogatory names.

Well he’s in Leicester royal waiting for cardio conversion. I took him over this morning, the tachycardia started and wouldn’t stop.

He was meant to have his first consult at the Glenfield via telephone this morning but they haven’t phoned him