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Medication, also is there a link between Gluten and AF ?

Posted , 10 users are following.

john84040
john84040

Hi ,

i`m male 51 and have had random episodes of AF for at least 15 years, each episode not normally lasting more than 24 hours. When i was first diagnosed with AF i was advised to cut out all the usuals, caffine, alchohol , keep myself hydrated etc..i did all this but AF episodes still randomly occured . At first i was put on sotalol but that didnt work.  i  was then put on flecinide and my symptoms did improve but overtime they gradually got worse again . i was then added Bisoprolol to the Flecinide and this made a big difference.  Over a few years i started to notice that my symptons would return soon after the pharmacy had inrtroduced a different brand of meds. I mentioned this to my GP but he quickly dismissed my observations as he said all the brands had the same amount of the active ingridient.  My pharmacy was more understanding. Over time i  worked out which certain brand worked best .I also have the same problem with both the medications . At the moment everything is good but last week my pharmacy informed me the brand of bisoprolol that works fine for me is no longer available. i know from past expeiriences that when i have changed over to a different brand then my episodes of AF will return.

 At the moment i have 28 days supply of the good one but from past experiences i know what is coming.

  I read recently that all meds have the same amount of the active ingredient but they allow a 20% margin .As in the past when i change to a new brand i`m now expecting the sympoms of AF to return. If they do return then im going to go back to my GP and ask him to slightly increase the Bisoprolol to compensate for the 20% magin  because if it`s true it could be the loss in 20% that`s making the difference.

  I`m no expert but i cannot think of any another reason why changing over to a new brand would make the Af return.

i  would also like to add my expeirence with Gluten and AF with the hope it may help someone. Even though i`m on meds i have still been having random episodes of AF. After having three episodes in one week I decided to trace my diet back and  i realised  that wheat was major trigger and so was cheese. So as an experiment i whent on a gluten free diet. I have to say i have never felt so good and my symptons vastley improved. I,m fully aware without the medication  i`m  certain i would go into AF.  Since i`ve cut out wheat my symptoms have 90% improved .I used to drink beer but i had to stop because it was triggering the AF but now since Ive realised it was the wheat in the beer that was triggering the AF i can now drink cider or red wine with no AF, all within moderation of course. I mentioned this to my GP but he quickly dissed my wheat observation as he said he`d never heared of the wheat connection before. . In the past going out for meals or takeaways would have trigger AF but now since gluten free my episodes have stopped . Most places can accomadate Gluten free Indian food is normally gluten free apart fom the nan bread.

When i look  back to my teens i did have random episodes of a fast heart rate and that was diagnosed as panick attacks.

  Looking back now i`m convinced it was the wheat intolerence that was triggering the fast heart rate because im not an anxious person. The upshot is i,m now on flecinide and bisoprolol,. i keep myself hydrated, i have no caffine not even decaf , no cheese, im also on a gluten free diet and i have to say it has took me years of AF episodes to get to this stage. I do get episodes but they mainly happen after i have let my my guard down against the triggers mentioned.

  I hope my obsevations that i have had over the years will also help someone with the same condition

john.. good luck.

3 likes, 40 replies

40 Replies

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  • jess101
    jess101 john84040

    Posted

    Hi again John,

    That's the good thing about these Forums, it's sharing information which just might make a difference to someone else.  I see the range of Gluten free foods have grown in recent years so you're not alone in having problems with it. I read we have only been farmers for 10,000 years, not long in the scheme of things, and our bodies aren't designed for living on bread (cakes 🍥🍰🍺 and everything else we love!) and that's why we'll always have problems as we eat more and more of this type of food. I'm sorry it's been such a long road for you to finally find what's been triggers all this time and hope you can enjoy some better health in your future years

    Jess x

    • john84040
      john84040 jess101

      Posted

      Thanks Jess,

      The thing with AF is it stops you in your tracks . With me my episode doesn't last normally more the 8hrs so I go to bed with my iPad and try and distract myself. My sister has the same problem but her heart ratte goes upto 180 bpm and she needs the hospital., Mine jumps around around 120bpm so I can just bare it and I just ride it out because I know it will go back into sinus. Since adding bisoprolol my heart rate is around 64bpm, we're as before it was always around 80s Bpm and i never felt relaxed. Feel great now.

      couple of years ago it was happening more or less ever time I consumed something and I had no choice but go to the hospital. That's when I started to quiz my diet and I then realised everything I ate that was triggering AF contained gluten. That's when the cardiologist added bisprolol to the flecibide. Feel great now but every now and then and tgluten sneaks into me and even though im on ends it still triggers the Af.

      My sister is on flecinide and bisoprolol and since the bisoprolol was added she's not had one episode since, that was roughly 18 months ago.,by the way she does eat gluten with no problems whatsoever .

      Thanks again you're right if the slightest information helps someone then that's fantastic

      Thanks Jess,

      Johnx

      goes a lot higher and had to go to hospital.

  • marco
    marco john84040

    Posted

    I convinced myself and my GP (which wasn't easy) that there was a connection between my bp med, Candesartan at the time, and my afib. My GP switched me to Bisopropol and afib episodes have reduced in number. When I pointed out to my GP that every bp he'd prescribed (including Ramipril that I believe started me on my afib journey) had palpitations as a side-effect he shrugged and said do you want high bp with the risk or afib. So I would urge anyone with afib taking meds with palpitations as s side-effect to get them changed.
    • john84040
      john84040 marco

      Posted

      Hi Marco,

      I fully understand what you're saying . This is where it's start to get weird lol

      I too have had palpitations and feeling run down . This happens with both my meds , Flecinude and Bisoprolol . It took me years before the penny dropped . I get my monthly meds from the same pharmacy . What I noticed was I would start to get palpitations on certain brands but I would be fine on other brands , even though they are the same drug just different brands .

      I worked out what brand suited me and what brand didn't.

      My doctor said I was talking rubbish as all the active ingredients are the same . yes he's correct but all the compounds are different.

      It could be you're allergic to a certain brand with a certain compound . A different brand you could be fine.

      Luckily for me over a long time I've managed to sort the good from the bad.

      At the moment my pharmacy orders me every month the same brands of meds. I few months ago they gave me a different brand by mistake . Instead of going back I decided to risk it. Sure enough a couple of days later the palpitations returned backing up what I had already told the doctor , who had dissed me.

      The pharmacy happily replaced them for the tried and tested ones . Now everything is ticking over fine.

      There is a but ....

      Last week my pharmacy informed me in future they cannot get me the tried and tested bisoprolol anymore.

      I know when I go on the new brand there is a very high chance of palpations returning.. I did read they put the same amount of the active ingredient in each drug but with a 20% margin. If this is true then it could be the 20% margin that makes the difference. I'm going to ask my GP to up the dosage slightly and see if that helps. If this doesn't work then it's definitely a reaction to something that is in the compound.

      You couldn't make it up , I go to the GP with Palpatations etc and certain brands of the drug they give me give you palpitations.. lol

      You're right Marco if you get side effects then try a different brand.

      Thanks Marco hope you get you're bp sorted ,

      Thanks again,

      John.

    • jay7196
      jay7196 john84040

      Posted

      Hi John thankyou for all this info collected on your post .. I am on Amiodarone, still get rattles once a month or so. I have never liked bread or cakes so that was no problem to cut them out. So, the Benadryl stops the AF, I will be asking for that now, as at the moment I crush a pill and wash it down with very cold water. I can see no reason why mine starts but I know when its coming as I have to get to the bathroom asap ! This AF is a great nuisance, now I cant use hayfever pills as they interfere with the drug I have, so I sniff and itch

       daily -. HUH. 

    • Mazza44
      Mazza44 jay7196

      Posted

      Jay, you will need to check then if you can have Benadryl as it is an antihistamine, Marie
    • frank61666
      frank61666 Mazza44

      Posted

      To everyone thinking about the benedryl uses for (certain) types of aifb - please note that I am the only one to report that it prevents afib episodes and then stops an episode if one starts.  No one else has reported that yet, so it is possible that I am unusual in my causes and symptoms of afib.  In other words, it might not work for anyone - but I would like to know if anyone has gotten it to work for them. In general, benedryl is safe and effective, otherwise in the USA it would not be sold for anyonje to take over the counter.

      Frank

    • john84040
      john84040 jay7196

      Posted

      Hi jay , 

       if your still having rattles then you should go back to your doctor. It could be your medication just needs tweaking. We own the condition it doesn't own us. 

      Eveyone is is different,  daily flecinide and bisoprolol works for me.. I would Definatley ask your doctor because what you're on at the moment isn't working.you still have plenty of options available.  

      Also so when you next have an episode trace you're diet back over the last 24hrs. Things that give me palpitations are caffeine that's in things like, tea, coffee, even decaf sets me off, fizzy drinks,, chocolate, not sure why but cheese, Some chineese food can tigger palpitations, alcohol, cold and flu remedies are full of caffeine, all these things give me palpitations . As I've mentioned before a major for me is wheat even though my cardiologists has never come across this before.Also Dehydration and exercise is another.if you do suspect wheat then I suggest you google gluten intolerance diet , things you can and cannot have. You will be surprised how many things do contain wheat., 

      It it could just be one small thing that is giving you AF. . All I know is with the right meds and pinpoint thing that may have triggered you're AF.

      . I'm sure eventually you will be in charge of your condition . 

      I to have the same feeling before AF kicks in. I think the toilet thing is the  body going into fight or flight mode . 

      Thanks jay, from my past experiences with AF I know you will soon get it sorted , I too was many many episodes averaging 3 times per month and now I virtually have none. First you need to get your meds and try to pinpoint the triggers. 

      Good luck Jay ! 

      Thanks take care, 

      john.

       

    • jay7196
      jay7196 Mazza44

      Posted

      Thankyou Marie, so thats anoother one not for me .. I see ads on UK TV, Prevalin nose spray, I think I may ask someone to bring some over for me, they say that is drug free ? 
    • Mazza44
      Mazza44 jay7196

      Posted

      Hmmm not sure, my sister uses that she's ok on it. However I've heard there is eye drops around that have beta blockers in which affect patients so I'm always aware of anything that isn't ingested can still enter the bloodstream somehow 
    • Mazza44
      Mazza44 frank61666

      Posted

      I am a nurse and work with a colleague who takes antihistamines to relax her anxiety when flying so I believe there could be some truth in it ... However long term use of antihistamines can prolong QTC so I'd always be wary, marie 
    • frank61666
      frank61666 Mazza44

      Posted

      You make a good point - I would not recommend long term use of benedryl, so that seems to be the challenge; how to get the benefits without being on it for too long.  Thanks.  Frank
  • ana36
    ana36 john84040

    Posted

    Hi John

    As an AF patient  I sympathise with what you go through.

    Thankyou so much for this I have had AF for the past 3 years and my doc is not really open about any suggestions I may have.  Truthfully I do not think he even knows.  I am in my thirties and there was a time that I hardly ate any wheat, bread, flour pasta etc..It was just because i was a hot summer and I just stayed with fruit veg and salads.  No sugars or poccessed foods, which I rarely eat anyway. I did notice my AF did not return but now I am back on wheats its almost constant.  I was reading articles how harmful wheat is.  I will try this, thanks for the help! take care. smile

    • john84040
      john84040 ana36

      Posted

      Hi Ana ,

      Thanks for your understanding reply..

      That's interesting what you say about your symptoms with wheat as they're similar to mine .

      Sorry for late reply as I've not checked in for a while .

      The reason I've checked in today is I've just had an episode of Af that lasted 8hrs .

      I can always pinpoint a trigger for my AF. Yesterday it was dehydration , normally I keep my fluids up but I was on the go all the time and simply let my guard down with hardly drinking . My fault but we are human .smile

      .

      Since I was added the beta blocker my episodes are bearable . Before the Beta blocker tbe episodes were more aggressive . Yesterday I got in after rushing all day at 7pm. As I relaxed Af was triggered and I knew it was dehydration. Episode lasted 8hrs . I'm more or less on top of the triggers but now and then I let my guard down such as .. One to many alcohol drinks or wheat creeps in my diet , dehydration , too much salt normally in takeaway food . Cheese sets me of also . .. It's not all doom and gloom as indian food is gluten free apart from the nan bread , I have cider instead of wheat based beers . I try not over do the alcohol consumption because to much alcohol is a trigger... In my case unfortunately it's everything to In moderation

      .. It's not all doom and gloom as indian food is gluten free apart from the nan bread , I also have cider instead of whet based beers . I try not over do the alcohol consumption because to much alcohol is a trigger..

      I'm fully aware if I wasn't on meds I would permanently be in Af . Its just working out what's the right medication coupled with the triggers ..I do appreciate everyone is different and you have to do what works best for you .

      Thanks for sharing Ana and I hope everything is ticking along fine for you :-)

      Much appreciated ,

      John.

    • john84040
      john84040

      Posted

      Ps sorry about spelling and botched up reply, this iphone has I mind of its own ;-)
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