Health Anxiety. Just looking for some helpful feed back

Hi Andrew, AF is certainly connected to bloating and constant burping,its to do with the vagus nerve being out of sink. Try looking at your diet and cut down wheat products, eat regular small meals with plenty of veg and have fruit for desert or snacks, cut out alcohol or keep to a minimum and don't eat rich spicy food. All this has helped me with my AF. I was diagnosed a year ago and now on constant medication BUT determined it won't get in the way of enjoying life. Good luck Andrew hope you learn to deal with it all.

 

Hi Andrew  anxiety  can cause palpitations.  AF is an irregular heart rate however. When you have palpitations just feel your pulse in your wrist and see if its irregular. Hope you feel better soon. Have you thought of yoga or meditation? Talking to forums like us is a good thing but have an open mind. Af has lots of different triggers so its nots just cut and dried. 

hi Andrew,

?AF appears to be all things to all people. Some people discover their triggers some never do. I tend to agree with Sue1972. Certainly my AF is directly related to a dysfunctional vagal (or vagus) nerve. I used to have heavy and very painful bloating, burping, diahorrea and loud and very antisocial intestinal gurgling. I discussed my problems with a Nutritionist, went wheat free, gluten free, oats free (and much later added sugar free). She also put me on a course of Probiotics and suggested I look at aspects of the FODMAPS diet. 

?My food intake is still very much a work in progress but I have broken the back of the problem and now haven't had an AF event since April 2015. That said, I do get, very occasionally palpitations usually following something I've eaten. Not immediately after I've eaten, often 8 hours or more after eating.

The vagal nerve is a major nerve in the central nervous system which controls a number of organs, particularly the heart and digestive system .... its like an information superhighway between the brain and these organs. suggest you read up on it - also 'Google' vagal nerve schematic diagrams - that'll give you an idea of the power of this nerve - vagal/ vagus means wandering - when you look at the diagrams you'll see what I mean.

?A modified food intake plan is easy to do and not costly and you can do it yourself   - you'll soon see if it works, if it doesn't then the chances are it isn't food which is setting the vagal nerve off.

?Small meals are the go, not eating too late at night, eat slowly. If I ate 5 or 7 fruit and veg a day I'd be in the bathroom most of the day. Hard cheese is fine, soft cheese isn't. Yoghurt is out. Strawberrys and cream is fine - raspberries and cream isn't. No processed food - yet I can eat Macdonalds and KFC, no problem. No thick gravy, best is watery gluten free gravy. Pork is out. Best is white meat. No rich spicy food, and limited Chinese food, be it takeaway or in house. 

?Anyway, that'll give you an idea of the task. But do remember we are all different, but we all have a vagal nerve. It just depends on how it works inside us.

John

Hey Andrew,

I don't have an AF diagnosis, but I'm almost certain I do have it. I too have anxiety with regular panic attacks (had it over 12 years). I also have regular bouts of palpitations. Some days I get 0 - like today, and other days I have them all day every day - like early last week.

My triggers:

1. Anxiety and panic. This always leads to bouts of palpitations

2. Over eating

3. Under eating

4. Soda (Diet Coke, Pepsi etc.)

5. Caffeine

6. Alcohol

7. Cannabis

8. GERD

9. Gas

10. Exercise (although 90% of the time exercise actually stops them)

11. Cigarettes

12. Stress, anger, agitation, irritation etc

13. Lack of movement/being lazy

The list could go on for me.

I find I have bad days, and good days. I have bad weeks, and good weeks. Today I haven't felt any which is actually very rare for me. Yesterday I had lots.

I don't find diet changes help me. I could eat very healthy, or not so healthy, and it doesn't change them. I tried vegetarian diet, vegan diet, fish diet. Nothing changed the frequency of them.

I believe they're related to vagus nerve. As do many others.

Hang in there buddy, these will pass and you'll have lots more good days. They make you feel crappy I know, but they do pass eventually.

Try to keep a record or a log of everything you do per day. Also note times when you get palpitations and how they felt. Note how they make you feel too. Eventually you might be able to spot a correlation between activities/foods etc that sets them off for you.

Diet coke is an absolute no no for me. If I drink even a small glass I will have bad palps. I can put my money and my life on it.