Time off after ablation

[howesgilly]

Just a quick question. How long am I supposed to take off work after ablation ? Awaiting a date and need to get my head round it and pre warn my work. It's not incredibly physical but can be a bit stressful.

[BobD Volunteer]

Technically you should be fit to work after a week but I would suggest two if possible and no lifting for a month. You are not permitted to drive for 48 hours of course.

That always assumes that there are no minor complications like bleeds or such.

Bob

[howesgilly in reply to BobD]

thanks BobD - so much differing scenarios on line. Depends when it is as was told 5 months waiting list so would work out just before christmas so if all goes to plan i can return and just see less patients so my working day is slower and may be able to tweak working hours around the holidays.

I work in a GP surgery so in the right place if I bleed ha ha - and the carpet is red !!

[PeterWh]

It also depends on what you have done during your ablation, your particular circumstances and as Bob said your groin. When I had my ablation done my consultant said no driving for a minimum of 7 days. Also with the groin you have to think could I do a full blown emergency stop? You may also experience some wavy light / flashes lines in your eyes (particularly if your septum was punctured) so would affect driving. I was also told a minimum of two weeks off work but that a month off can be the case. I certainly wouldn't have been able to go back to work after two weeks - but then I had reverted to persistent AF before that and I have moderate to severe leakage in mitral valve as well.

[PeterWh in reply to PeterWh]

Also see Wendy's post re hospital comments on 1 week being too short healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

[BobD Volunteer in reply to PeterWh]

DVLA say 48 hour no driving but it used to be 7 days. In my view not enough but thems the rules, or were last time I looked. Go to DVLA website and check as things do change regularly. When I had my prostatectomy I asked when I could drive and the doctor told me when I could practise an emergency stop without screaming in pain. ha ha. funny man. That would be three weeks then.

[CDreamer in reply to BobD]

Depends upon whether or not you have a GA? I was given a letter saying I could not drive for 7 days by the hospital.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to CDreamer]

November 2014 DVLA update. You do not need to tell DVLA if you have catheter ablation You must not drive for two days following the procedure.

Can't find anything about GA but it used to be 24 hours when I had a tooth out under GA years ago.

Remember what I always say about facts having a finite life. I used to tell people that having AF meant a report to DVLA but now you only need to fill in H1 if it causes distraction or blackouts.

Always best to check these things when you need to.

Bob

[CDreamer in reply to BobD]

Agree - this was hospital advice - nothing to do with DVLA Bob.

[PeterWh in reply to CDreamer]

If the hospital says 7 days (which is in itself a MINIMUM) then that overrides the DVLA minimum of 2 days.

People mustn't forget that if you do decide to drive sooner than what you have been told and then you are in an accident then you may NOT be insured even if the accident is 100% someone else's fault.

Once you have an accident that involves any form of personal injury to any party then the case will automatically be in the hands of the insurance company's lawyers and that may well mean access to medical records. If lawyers and insurance companies can find a way out of not paying they sure will!!!!

For information someone who I used to work with was 100% to blame for an accident but the other driver had arm in plaster. My work colleague put this on his accent report form. My colleague ended up paying nothing and keeping his no claims bonus in tact because the other (innocent driver) should not have been driving. The other driver was prosecuted (colleague had to give evidence) and ended up being banned.

[howesgilly in reply to BobD]

I know about driving...Just got licence back after 3 months after an incident of finding myselfo n the floor having bitteny tongue. Turns out I fell out of bed and knocked myself out courtesy of the dog stretching on the bed at 0400 in the morning!!!

However spent good few conversation on phone with dvla. They give fab advice.

[PeterWh in reply to CDreamer]

The key thing is that whatever period you are given that is the MINIMUM period not actual period.

I had sedation for my ablation but was told 7 days.

If I had been told 2 days then NO WAY I could have done a full emergency stop on the 3rd day. Don't forget the day of the procedure does not count as a day.

As my comments above I think that the period varies from person to person depending on their condition, consultant to consultant and also hospital to hospital.

When I had my eye operation last year for correcting a squint I had a GA and the form I had to sign was no driving for 24 hours.

[Moonstone56]

Hi

Just a thought for you. I was told 5 month waiting list but then got a letter saying that it was in 2 weeks time !!!

I did nothing for the first week after and then started to increase walking shopping driving times. It depends on how it all went and how you feel after. Be aware they put a catheter in...... I was in alot of pain. Nothing is set in stone so just put you first and work second.

I feel so much better now so all was good.

[jennydog in reply to Moonstone56]

I didn't have a bladder catheter. I would not have agreed to one as the one I had after my first son was born caused trouble. Neither did I have a TOE. I had no difficulty in the groin, just 2 tiny holes like ear ring piercings. They had used ultra sound to locate the veins.

I think that my ablation took 3 hours. I had a general anaesthetic - that is key to recovery. A GA means a longer recovery time as it takes up to 6 months to clear your system and leaves you feeling very tired.

I felt able to drive on day 4 ( they said 2 days )

Best wishes

[Moonstone56 in reply to jennydog]

I didn't know that they were going to do catheter. Quite a shock. It seems no 2 ablations are the same even to the care before and after. It's really to just go with the flow and do what your body and your doctor tell you.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Moonstone56]

Lets clear this up shall we? Catheter describes a thin tube. Ablation uses a catheter to gain access into your heart via a vein in the groin usually to do the burns. A very few people have a urinary type catheter fitted but this is very rare where ablations are concerned and I haven't come across many people who have catheter ablation who had to have a urinary catheter. I had one for a month after my prostate operation but that is completely different.

[BobD Volunteer]

Seriously there are members here who went back to work after four days. We are all different!

Bob

[Hazz15]

I needed about a week and a half after my ablation. My op took longer than expected and they had to go in both sides. The bruising was very painful for me. But then I know people who were fine after 3 days. Id say definitely at least a week though!

[Vony]

Some people are lucky enough to go back to work pretty soon. Some people during the EP study and ablation, however, are found to have much more complex arrythmias and the recovery time can take a lot longer. Many people on this site seem to have straight forward AF so the ablation and recovery is easy enough. For others with more complex arrhythmias it can seriously take months especially if in lengthy episodes with the added dynamic of the heart healing from ablation. It is all so individual.

The best person to discuss this with is your EP as he or she knows your medical condition best and will be able to estimate the time frame for you. This forum can only give general answers and advice based on personal experience which is so vast as we can see.

Best wishes. I hope life and working life will be much easier for you with successful ablation

[01maxdog]

I had mine on Thursday and I'm taking 3 weeks off . But I'm on my feet for 8 1/2 hrs a day running around an airport terminal ! We are all different . I have no sick note yet even , just made an appt with my GP to organise that . Thank god I didn't have the bladder catheter , I was sore for days after the last one I had . And was told no driving for 48 hours . Well that's the last thing I want to do , way too much stress on the M3 !

Lisa

[howesgilly]

Thanks everyone. Will plan 2 weeks and go from there on how ablation goes. I am fit and healthy and go gym regularly and haven't had prolonged af for ages just the odd few sob occasionally so hoping will be straight forward. I don't have to worry driving as can get a lift to work if needed.

Only other concern is travelling home. I am on barts London waiting list and live in Lowestoft Suffolk so will be a long trek home post procedure.

[PeterWh in reply to howesgilly]

I too am under Barts

[CDreamer in reply to howesgilly]

I hope you have someone to drive you home? I live in Devon and cannot remember much about the drive home from London. I certainly could not have managed public transport.

[Barry24 in reply to howesgilly]

Hi Howesgilly,

Hope you don't mind me asking, but why St Barts for your ablation?

Kind Regards

Barry

[howesgilly in reply to Barry24]

I don't know. My cardiologist referred me to another cardiologist at a bigger hospital and he does them at barts as need to be at a hospital that could do open heart surgery. To be honest thought I would go to papworth as that's the nearest for other cardiac surgery...think it's just his preferred place and he has the contract with them.

[Barry24 in reply to howesgilly]

Good Morning Howesgilly,

You are going to a "Centre of Excellence", one of BodD's recommended hospitals for ablation treatment, so you are in good hands.

Best Wishes

Barry

[howesgilly in reply to Barry24]

Great to know thanks

[BobD Volunteer in reply to howesgilly]

You should be accompanied as well if at all possible. Many hospitals will not allow you to go on public transport alone after ablation Why not ask about possible car service. I live in Devon and had my three ablations in London. For my first they arranged a car to take me home but sadly I had complications and missed my slot by a day so had to arrange a relative drive over and take me home. The other two my wife drive up and back in a day to collect me.

Bob

[howesgilly in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob.my husband will drive me there and back anyway as I won't go to London alone.

[PeterWh]

One thing that I have just thought of (after reading the various responses and Bob's comment that we are all different) is that I was told that those in Persistent AF take longer to recover than those in Paroxysmal and the longer your procedure the longer the recovery (probably in part due to the fact that the arrhythmias are more complex).

Also the non driving period is only 24 hours for a general anaesthetic!!!

The key is also the groin and being able to do a full emergency stop. If you can't then you shouldn't be driving (that goes for many other things not just AF). Some years ago I knew someone who had pulled an Achilles tendon and they went into the back of someone because they couldn't stop quickly enough. They got a large fine and an 18 month driving ban and afterwards insurance went through the roof for a long time (I think four or five years).

[Julie10051]

hi I'm on the waiting list for ablation after a study. I have paroxysmal AF, but also supra ventricular tachycardia, the EP is looking to try to work on both, has anyone else had this experience of the two conditions and ablation?

[Rellim296 in reply to Julie10051]

Yes. I didn't know I had AF until the day of the ablation. They gave me a copy of the notes which said I had gone into AF during the procedure. My heart had been feeling weird (but not the usual fast palpitations) the day before. I'd dropped my beta blocker on their instructions a couple of days earlier.

I haven't had SVT since. It is hard to say how successful the ablation was because I started to take flecainide the same day. It was as if a magic wand had been waved and my heart was steady and regular for the next three months - until the flecainide was halved and a few days later I was in AF. Quite irregular, whereas before I had just had a fast heart rate every now and then.

[Julie10051 in reply to Rellim296]

Thanks for that, I have had AF since I was 25, medicated since 41 and now SVT in the last 12 months, SVT causing the most trouble I think. I was on Flecainide for 9 years and it mainly worked a treat, but then it stopped working and the super rapid rate got everyone worried, now beta blocker, warfarin and ablation !!

[Rellim296 in reply to Julie10051]

That combination sounds good. Hope you don't have a long wait for the ablation.

[aargabrit]

I had my ablation Wednesday and I was cleared to work this coming Saturday. Every body responds to anesthesia and recovery differently and my metabolism is fast and I usually heal quickly anyway. I also work in a salon so not much stress and no heavy lifting.