Hi all, i had my first ablation on the 10th of november it worked for 4 days then af again. Been feeling even worse in af than i did before,even had to call ambulance as couldnt breathe so they ended up calling me in on thursday the 26th of november to cardiovert me. Ive been in nsr since and i know its only been a couple of days but should i still feel ruff as i do? Im def in nsr as i have alivecor to check my ecg. My heart feels so fragile at the mo, i cant even go over a speed bump in the car without this strange sensation in my heart, it feels like a strange shudder in my chest and my heart feels like its not in place and it is rattling around in my chest sometimes. How long will it take me to feel 100 percent again like i did before i had af? Im in nsr and thought id be feeling pretty good now? What is the recovery time for ablation and then a cardioversion a couple of weeks after? Just want to now how long i got till i start to feel better as there so many things i want to be doing but cant at the mo as dont feel well enough?????? Also im a single dad who lives on my own with two children i have to care for.
Now in NSR but still feel ruff, - Atrial Fibrillati...
Now in NSR but still feel ruff,
Hello, I can totally empathise with you . I has my 3rd ablation nearly 6 weeks ago under a GA and to be honest it's only the last week that I have started to feel 'normal' and felt able to start to return to work despite being in NSR most of the time. I do at times flip into ? AF for short periods still but it does settle. I did seem to recover more quickly from my previous ablations. I think you just need to rest as much as possible and let your heart heal , I know that is easy to say and more difficult when looking after children ( at least mine are away at uni). Don't be hard on yourself you will get there I just think that sometimes we expect our bodies to more when actually it's still healing . Look after yourself and I will be thinking of you.
Hi Steve, no wonder you are finding it hard to recover with children to care for! I don't know how old they are but even little ones can be given a small amount of responsibility and I hope you have some help.
I have been told it takes up to three months for your heart to settle after a couple of weeks of blobbing out too which it seems was not possible in your case. Everyone is different, although I believe some people feel good quite quickly you have had a bad start so you really need to be as kind to yourself as possible. Think of it as an investment in your future health if you can.
Best wishes, Julia
Steve as we have said before it takes AT LEAST three months for the heart to heal after ablation. OK you don't have a big zip up your chest but your heart has had some pretty serious knocking about in there so give it time. Sounds like you need some help coping with all this upheaval so why not speak to your doctor. Maybe some home help for a week or three to ease the stress? He might be able to write to social services on your behalf. My wife is a carer and you don't need to be old or ill to get help.
Bob
Hi Bob, my mum has been poping in but shes getting old now so feel a bit guilty also gf been popping over but she has her own place and own kids to look after so sometimes feel im a bit of a burden on them. When i tell people about how rubbish i feel im sure they think im making it up, i then start feeling sorry for myself too as well as feeling in pain. All this has really taken a toll on me but it is ok and i have got a supportive family. ill give it 3 months so that will be the begining of febuary and hopefully i should be ok buy then, just thought id recover a lot quicker than everyone else as im younger, even most stories of the older people having ablations seem to be active and walking around the shops in the first week. Oh well 3 months i shall wait and hopefully i will feel much better and this AF will do one!
Try and relax a bit even though it is not easy to do so. Also contact EP or their secretary to let EP know in case EP wants to do a cardioversion (believe in many cases they don't - mine didn't). Just because you are younger it doesn't mean that it will heal quicker than an older person. In fact in some cases it can make it worse because it has more strength to fight!!!! Don't forget AF is a real mongrel affliction with many heads and it's and medicines reaction with our bodies is so variable. Keep your chin up!!!!
I guess recovery depends on what type of oblation one has. Get the Dr. to explain everything thoroughly. My Dr. drew the nerve circuits & marked what he did to them.
But, I do not understand whether all the cases I am reading of are to oblate nerve pathways or circuits only.
Maybe some are referring to oblation of blockages or such in arteries. I'm not very informed as few had this done when I did. It was only a recent medical breakthrough.
There is nothing worse that being in the darkness. One's imagination goes crazy. so, do ask your Dr. to explain exactly where your condition is at.
Blessings, to your dear little children too.
hi steve, I thing just give ur self more time to rest my be looking after the childrens give u bet of stress, I was going to ask for ablation as I have app on January , but after what I heard I really don't know what to do ////////////////
Don't be frightened of an ablation karim. I have had 4 since 2007 and my life quality is far better than pre ablation. I still get small periods of Af especially when I'm ill with something else. But it's short lived and usually manageable. As for Steve everything that I would have said is said by the wise folk above. Good luck guys
Karim im sure youll be fine, most people i read about are out and about the first week or so. I suppose it depends on the person. I Also take sotolol 80mg morning and night
hi steve hop you are better now , even after ablation we still need to take medication , all life or for a limit period / thankyou
hi steve just need to know how you doing hop you are much better now
Hi yes im getting there thanks, im still in nsr, every day i get a little better ive noticed, i was walking around house a bit today thinking pains gone? Then about an hour later i had a twisting pain under my heart, its quite strange, i still get out of breath a lot especially climing stairs, but the pain is starting to fade for a little while, then ill get a sharp pain in chest just to let me know its there 
im still not 100 percent and wouldnt feel comfortable being out on my own yet but am getting better each day hopefully , thanks
Support all the above. Reach out for help with your kids. Someone to entertain them, hot meal, tidy home up a little, will make a big difference. Do you have what you need so you don`t need to drive for a while?
Yes i have got help but like doing things myself and worry about people running around after me. Having all this has taken it out of me mentaly and physically.
How well I know!!!! And then, with 50 years before the breakthrough even came through, people wondered why I turned to God for comfort!
Amazingly, while in the state for all those years, & been told it was all psychiatric by many Drs., In fact the only people who believed me, were those had this 'Godly" love & insight.
What amazing progress we now have in medicine, and my!! How some of us prayed for it!!!!
I just wanted to chime in too as I feel like you need all the support you can get right now. You are just a few weeks out from your ablation...still in the early, early days and your heart has taken a beating (pardon the bad pun) and it really needs lots of time to heal. To echo all of the above, you need some help right now , some family or friend to help with the children so that you can get plenty of rest. I too went back into AF just a couple days after my ablation and needed a couple of cardiofversions to get back into NSR so I know how scary that is and what it all takes out of you.
So please take advantage of every possible offer of help that you can get and take care of your healing heart. They may call it a procedure, but it is heart surgery. The best chance for long term success of your ablation comes when you recover gently and manage your health and stress well after.
Thanks for ya nice message. The only way i can describe the pain is as if you could imagine a balloon in my chest with a stone inside it that is my heart, and that stone has to sit in the middle of the balloon without touching the edges and when i move about sometimes or just sitting here it feels like the stone is banging on the wall of the balloon, it feels like its really brused and strange when it does, thats why i feel that ihave to sit still, i went out in the car and we went down a road with speed bumps and god did that hurt, it was really strange kind of pain. Just wondered if you or anyone else felt that pain or anything simular after ablation? sorry about the wierd explanation but was only way i could describe this odd feeling?
I think that is a great description and your heart IS bruised and you can't put a balm on it, so all you can do is be gentle with yourself as you recover. I did feel lots of weird feelings like that after my ablation but never put it into words that well.
Ok so its not just me then lol, glad im not going mad and you felt something simular too
Steve I think we all understand that we AFers feel our hearts far more than others do. It can be quite difficult to relax when we feel every little bump but the important thing to remember is that it isn't fatal, just a bit uncomfortable sometimes. I always thank AF in fact because it taught me to move on with my life and make the most of every moment, so that when the cancer came along it only freaked me out for a couple of days before it was just one more irritation to deal with AND BEAT!
I'm still here!
Bob
Steve, never doubt your own experience. What you feel is what you feel. However, you do need to question how you interpret things. You're stressed out about your kids, mom, gf, etc., but there's nothing you can do about your condition besides take care of yourself.
My Rx: quit stressing out. That's right, relax about those things you can't control and whatever you want to do but can't. Accept what you have right here and now and let go of what you don't have.
It sounds easy, doesn't it? It's not. But I'm speaking from experience. I have an autoimmune condition that prevents me from doing what I used to love, including all kinds of outdoor activities, music, and even dating. It's tough but I manage, one day at a time.
My other Rx: learn to meditate. It stabilizes the mind such that you can get a better perspective on your stresses, frustrations, and other issues. They won't go away but you can approach them mindfully.
Hope you are soon feeling well Steve, take it easy.
Im 36, af was discovered more than a year ago but sure ive had it longer, i used to smoke 30 a day and started when i was 14. I have now quit smoking 5 months ago but vape every chance i can.I used to be a big binge drinker but cant now as triggers my af bad the next day. I never was a great lover of tea and coffee, but now im enjoying the occational cup of tea, im not obese nor underweight too.
Yes i have had echo ultrasound, blood tests and ECG, also i got alivecor to test ecg myself tests come back normal. I definately want to try the magnesium supps. Seems a few people off site are taking them and recommend, will have to see if i can get some at tesco , do you recommend magnesium then? Your probably right maybe im vaping too much but was also like that when i was smoking thats what made me give up smoking and switch to vaping.
Felt much better before my Ablation
AV Node ablation and still being in AF
2 weeks post 2nd ablation and still in NSR 
