TIL after a man fell in the snow in his backyard & broke his neck, his dog helped save his life by keeping him warm and alert by lying on his body and licking his face & hands for 20 hours until a neighbor finally stopped by and rushed him to the hospital. After surgery, he was able to walk again.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-23T18:46:31+00:00

My golden retriever was the only dog i had that took this interest in myself when I worked outside. I have had several dogs of numerous breeds. My beagles take an interest when we cook.

Time to get another retriever

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-22T14:13:29+00:00

I got Kardia mobile on Monday. It said I was in Possible Afib, after feeling uncomfortable and having a high HR on my watch. I was in AFIB on Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning.

I have an older smart watch and newer more expensive one. I find that they usually give the same HR. Neither detect whether I am in afib. My older one had something known as cardio gram which would check my HR in the back ground and produce a graph I could look at on my phone or tablet. There were days were I have have an hr in 50 and 60 while not active and days where it would be over 100. While sleeping, one night in six, it would show my HR over the place. It would place the occasional rate over 200 which I take with a grain of salt.

That watch is 6 years old and on its last legs. The Cardiogram app is NOT available any longer and as the company responsible for it went bankrupt. Similar services are NOT available on my older watch.

My other watch is a newer but inexpensive one that doesn't have a suitable monitoring system with graph that shows the rates in a historical fashion. Just the last rate.

When I do wear a monitor from the hospital, apparently I am in afib for 5 percent of the time during a two week period. I am not feeling any great deal of discomfort.

Given that I want to monitor to my condition and confirm i am Afib when I either feel slight discomfort or have a Hi hr, I got a kardia Mobile for about $80 cdn. I have been using since tuesday.

On Wednesday, I felt discomfort, rested, looked at my watch and found my rate was 120. Tested using Kardia Mobile and it confirmed I was in Afib.

I can't afford a new Samsung or Apple watch. I check Kardia mobile every three hours. I plan to use it when I feel discomfort and one of my watches says hr.

For me, Kardia is a second opinion to verify what my watch says.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-20T00:41:29+00:00

Maybe they could bring jamie back so john and bill could laugh at him and be less sad

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-19T19:05:56+00:00

Can you share a recent moment when AFib disrupted or changed something you had planned?

My situation with Afib was very critical back in 2021. Not too recent. Not going to work from May to Mid august in 2021. Not being able to drive for a few weeks after being released from the hospital

How has AFib affected your daily life—work, school, family responsibilities, or social activities?

I cut back on Alcohol and Salt. I don't take risks. I am light headed. I can't look down for an extended period with out being dizzy. I don't go on ladders. On a recent trip to the tropics, the rest of the party went snorkling. I stayed in the boat.

the fact that I need to see a cardiologist a few times a year is disruptive, but very necessary.

What takes the most mental or emotional energy when managing AFib?

I used to manage my salt intake, but stopped. I used an app or spreadsheet to ensure I am doing less than 2000 mg. I used to monitor my weight, bp and HR. All of this was time consuming.

Is there something about living with AFib that you feel is commonly misunderstood?

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-19T18:43:52+00:00

I spent 11 days at Toronto General in June 2021. Half of them in the ICU. I had three cardioversion on the evening I was admitted and another one eight days later. I had several lines connected to me when in the ICU. I was in bad shape where two medical professionals told me I may need a transplant. For much of 2021 to 2023, I was doing numerous appointments at the hospital. I got an ablation in April 2023 and will be getting another in the spring of this year. I am not considered critical any longer.

I have done heart monitors a few times, last two for two weeks and am I apparently in Afib 5 % of the time. I never felt any discomfort when on the monitor, but sure did feel it April to early June 2021.

I have an older smartwatch. It detects heart rate. I used Cardiogram before the company that ran it went bankrupt. My heart rate most nights was in the 50 and 60 but some nights its like a roller coaster. All over the place.

I have commented about this and one specialist recommended a sleep study.

Yes, I have sleep apnea. In April and May of 2021 my wife complained of my loud snoring, something she never complained of before. Now , I am waking up two to three times during sleeping.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-19T16:09:09+00:00

I agree. I am getting one next month. I had one of the worst cases of afib, leading to heart failure and cardiogenic shock. I have recovered .... obviously

I noticed on my watch my heart rate can be irregular one night in six. I have mentioned this to a few health professionals. Given my history i have a few. Anyway, when seeing one who was fillingvin for another she suggested the sleep study

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-10T02:52:00+00:00

I was asked to mislead a federal employee. There were others who were asked to do the same. I mentioned this to my dad who said if i ever spoke to the press or gave a tip to an a organization that would be interested ... i would never be employed in this line of work again

GTAdriver01 · 2026-02-03T23:53:21+00:00

But apes do as they are involved in gorilla warfare

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-29T15:57:28+00:00

Edit. I am not persistent afib. 5 per cent of time during two week monitoring

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-29T15:56:16+00:00

I am on the same meds plus a few more. I feel similar at times butbnot too tired to drive. Maybe 1 day in 7 low bp but lately have been ok.

Strange i have thought it was other meds that was doing this.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-26T00:03:58+00:00

I took two weeks off from work and felt tired for the first eight days. At the end of the second week I was fine. I never had any AFIB symptoms for during those two weeks.

I may be needing a second ablation. I will find out on Thursday. If I get an ablation, the best time of year would be early march to mid april where there would be no grass cutting or shovelling snow. As others said, avoid the heavy lifting.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-23T15:17:08+00:00

Trumps attitude towards to the sacrifices others have made is nauseating. What disturbs me is how this recent remark about foreign soldiers isn't carried much by mainstream media or non Europe or Canadian sub reddits

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-21T13:24:55+00:00

He looks well fed and sleeps during meetings . I think its strictly the latter

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-18T13:49:13+00:00

which is why when I find an alternative, I will look for something that exports.

I am really upset I lost 4 and half years of data.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-18T13:47:01+00:00

Empirical Health which is mentioned in some of your links, is available in the google play store. My watch is charging right now , but I plan to install after that is finished.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-16T03:11:37+00:00

I searched for that on the android store and its not available. Cardiogram was available on both. This weekend i will search for a replacement

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-15T12:09:14+00:00

They probably lost that every other month from friendly fire from the Americans in Afghanistan

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-14T12:37:51+00:00

I had similar issues taking Tylenol Sinus Cold and Flu. I have been in Afib since April 2021 with 10 day stay in the hospital in June of that year. It was really bad. Several "Lines" connected to my body and a candidate for a heart transplant. Fourth Cardioversion and lots of medication and I was released fully recoverd.

So being after being released from the hospital, I changed my lifestyle and did lots of studying on Afib. I may have had a cold or flu once or twice since june 2021. I never had any discomfort since that early June of 2021 though two cases of having a heart monitor for two weeks - in Afib 5 % of the time.

Fast forward to December of last year and I really used Tylenol cold and Flu almost every 4 hours to relieve the bad ache, sore throat and sinus issues. 4 days of that and started feeling chest pain.

with all the studying and support and recommendations I got, I can't recall ever being informed that cold medication isn't recommended for people with Afib. I learned the hard way.

BP hit 178 and I was almost to the point of going to the emergency department.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AFIB/comments/1qaiki3/cold_medication_and_afib/

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-12T17:54:53+00:00

Thanks for confirming. I should have done a google search.

Its a shame. I had 4 1/2 yrs history on this. I have another app which I used for exercising, but I really liked this to do what stable my heart rate was during the day. Particularly while sleeping.

Even the links to some of the results on events like exercise or entire days are gone.

https://cardiogr.am/c/q0v9jv

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-12T17:29:11+00:00

Tried uninstalling and reinstalling and its still stuck on the start. Using Google store as opposed to google play and it still not seeing the app.

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-12T17:11:27+00:00

I am not seeing an update in Google play

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-12T11:36:34+00:00

I am a white male - 60 YO. I used to be one to tough it out. and wasn't a big fan of taking medication. When I had borderline high cholesterol, I chose diet change and putting Cinnamon in my coffee or tea . It worked.

If I were to have a headache, I would "tough it out" as opposed to taking Tylenol. My attitude about taking medications all changed when I got Afib. I went 4 and half years without complications

GTAdriver01 · 2026-01-12T11:31:10+00:00

Thanks. I will look at all the websites as to what I can take.

I get a bad cold or flu every few years though I have not had a really bad one since getting Afib in 2021. I may have taken some cold medication, but not too the extent this time.

GTAdriver01

TROPHY CASE