My Extended Fast to improve my Atrial Fribrillation symptoms

a-fib
(Retta Stephenson) #101

@tdseest,
Tom, I’m so sorry about your Grandmother.

(Cheryl) #102

So sorry for your loss!

(joievawter) #103

Aww, I am so sorry for your great earthly loss in your grandmother. Grandmas hold such special places in our hearts & lives. You have my deepest sympathies and prayers during this difficult time.

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #104

@tdseest thank you for the liverwurst link! It has been frustrating trying to find a non-filler wurst.

(Tom Seest) #105

I’m having 16 ounces tomorrow as a kickoff to my next Fast

(joievawter) #106

@tdseest, how is this condition treating you? Continued improvement? I hope & pray.

(Borgia) #107

Please let us know with an update if you can. It is obvious reading this for the first time that many people are following you, have come to care about what’s happening to you and also want to learn from you. My deepest thanks for the courage you have to try this and for sharing it with us.

A couple of things I learned:

  1. Newer studies are showing that autophagy may be inhibited in the hearts of afib patients, and that may be part of the cause and also the reason it persists. Another researcher has a bit of evidence that the beta blocker, Carvedilol, can help induce autophagy in the heart and thereby benefit afib sufferers (this is my main medicine for afib, and I’m a little wary of its potential to impact my kidneys). Autophagy in afib is a brand new line of inquiry, so the jury is still out.

  2. I find that the Wim (Veem) Hof Breathing Method keeps my heart rate down and my oxygen saturation up. Search for him on YouTube. I credit Mr. Hof with saving my life, at least giving me back the quality of my life. I got off meds, mostly, using Wim’s method.

  3. Overnight fasting for 14-16 hours seems to help keep my heart rate down.

  4. Meditation seems to help, even though I’ve been terrible at it - but have kept on trying for 31 years. Everybody says to do meditation, right? Do they really know? I liken it to the doctor saying, “Have plenty fluids.” It seems a standard, automatic phrase. For me, though, I think there’s at least a little effect in helping me keep stress down and not react to things that would otherwise make me feel stressed.

(Tom Seest) #108

I have managed to post some updates but in other threads. I honestly forgot about this one.

My heart rate continued to get better but I couldn’t get it low enough consistently enough. Ended up with a heart failure diagnosis in September with an Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction of 27. Started taking a Beta Blocker along with my supplements and fasting, and the heart rate continued down and the Ejection Fraction improved.

In February, after 14 months of constant A-Fib, I convinced my doctor to Cardiovert me again, although he was convinced it was a waste of time. I was Cardioverted on 2/27/2018, and I have been out of Afib ever since.

On September 26, 2018, I had two episode of Ventricular Tachycardia for 18 seconds and for 4 seconds. As a precautionary measure, I went into the hospital for 21 hours for a workup. They did another TTE, and a CCTA…My current LVEF is 66, and my cardiologist and EP were amazed because they said there was no sign that I ever had heart failure. No residual scarring of any kind. They couldn’t find any residual valve disorders, leakage or anything. At this point, they are convinced that the V-Tach episode was just a result of stress on that day, and that I just need to continue making my lifestyle changes. My Calcium Heart Score is 58 as confirmed during the CCTA, and there is no significant blockage or significant hard or soft plaque anywhere in my system, which is remarkable given my initial weight of around 600 pounds.

My blood work continues to be second to none, and my heart hormones seem to be settling down again. So, I’m now losing weight again, even with a stressful 70 to 80 hours per week of work.

You can search the forums for some of my other stories as it relates to this episode as well.

Thanks for asking.