| Name | Don S-ddstebbins@adelphia.net |
|---|
| Location | Utica, NY, USA |
|---|
| Age | 63 |
|---|
| Diagnosed condition | Atrial Fibrillation |
|---|
| Years with condition | 14 |
|---|
| Frequency of episodes | Varies widely- recently went 18 months without an episode- then 5 episodes in month. I ate food with MSG or drank wine with sulfites on several occasions. |
|---|
| Duration of episodes | 12 hours minimum, 86 days maximum; typically 36 -48 hours;several episodes of 3 days |
|---|
| General health | Good , non-smoker, drink alcohol in moderation |
|---|
| Current state | Had electric cardioversion on Oct 9th after 86 days-in NSR so far-on Toprol and Coumadin |
|---|
| Triggers | The underlying cause now seems to be a molybdenum deficiency which leads to sensitivity to sulfites and MSG. Usually the immediate cause is a bad dream or something else that startles me - but this occurs only after I have ingested sulfites or MSG. I quit caffeine and alcohol for awhile, but the attacks continued. After eight years I finally correlated the episodes with meals containing MSG.
I recently made the connection with sulfites and molybdenum deficiency. Adrenaline attacks may may brought AF on in a few instances when I was very agitated because of fear of developing AF. These ended when doctor prescibed Prozac about 3.75 years ago. |
|---|
| Preventions | Taking vitamin and mineral supplements containg molybdenum
Avoiding sulfites and MSG under its various names(natural flavor, hydrolyzed protein, sodium caseinate, etc.)
Exercise seems to prevent AF from occurring, and sometimes
seems to bring me back into normal rhythm, but only
after I have been in AF for 12 hours or more.
Episode beginning July 2003 did not convert. Needed electrical cardioversion on Oct 9th. |
|---|
| Current medications/side effects | Prozac - drowsiness in the afternoon. Difficulty in
getting out of bed in morning. Some signs of lower
bowel irritation
Coumadin- no side effects
Toprol - no side effects
Calcium/Magnesium Supplements
Molybdenum supplements
Magnesium may reduce the effects of MSG |
|---|
| Past medications/side effects | Lanoxin - no serious side effects, but I seemed to be
less prone to getting out of breath when I stopped taking it. |
|---|
| History of surgery | None |
|---|
| Future plans | Try to avoid restaurants with MSG in their food.
Increase amount of magnesium supplements.
Petition FDA and Congress to take MSG off the approved food additive list. Avoid sulfites |
|---|
| Personal comments | I think anyone who develops AF after eating should consider
MSG and sulfites as possible causes- molybdenum deficiency leadding to these sensitivites should also be considered.
AF seems to run in my family. My mother and her sister both
developed it after age 70. My mother suffered an AF related
stroke at age 84. The AF had not been diagnosed before the stroke. My nephew developed AF in his early 30's. |
|---|
| Check list |  acebutolol | amiodarone (cordarone,pacerone) | anisindione (miradon) | | atenolol (tenormin) |  aspirin | azimilide | | bepridil | betaxolol | bisoprolol (monocor,emconcor) | | bretylium | bucindolol | carvedilol | | cibenzoline | dicumarol | digitoxin | | digoxin (lanoxin) | diltiazem (cardizem) | diphenylhydantoin | | disopyramide (norpace) | dofetilide (tikosyn) | dronedarone | | encainide | esmolol (brevibloc) | ersentilide | | flecainide (tambocor) | gallopamil | ibutilide (corvert) | | lidocaine | mibefradil | metoprolol (lopressor,toprol xl) | | mexiletine | moricizine | nadolol | | phenytoin | procainamide | propafanone (rythmol) | | propranolol (inderal) | quinapril (accupril) | quinidine (quinaglute) | | sotalol (betapace) | tedisamil | timolol | | tocainide | trandolapril (mavik) | valsartan (diovan) | | verapamil (calan,isoptin) | warfarin (coumadin) | asthma | | diabetes | GERD/acid reflux | hypertension | | hypotension | hyperthyroidism | hypothyroidism | | adrenergic | vagal | familial | | idiopathic/lone | paroxysmal | permanent/chronic | | atrial flutter | cardiomyopathy | CHF | | PAC | PVC | SVT | | syncope | bradycardia | tachycardia | | heart block | myocardial infarction | rheumatic heart diease | | sick sinus syndrome | stroke | WPW | | electrical cardioversion | defibrillator | pacemaker | | ablation | bypass | maze | | Male | Female | |
|
|---|
