Ablation done!

[val757]

Hi all

Thanks to all the positive posts on this forum I felt brave enough to undergo a cryo ablation at St Thomas's in London on Friday. I opted for this at a relatively early point because although my AF episodes were not very frequent they were very symptomatic resulting in me being carted off to hospital twice.

After a one night stay due to having a general anaesthetic, and hearing Big Ben almost next door going 'bong' every hour, I'm back at home recovering and trying hard to follow BobD's advice to do nothing for the first week and not much more for the second. The ablation itself seems to have gone well, although only time will tell I guess, but I don't react very well to general anaesthetics so I'll do whatever is necessary to try to avoid having to go through it again.

I'm now, hopefully, looking forward to coming off or at least cutting down on the medications that have had such an effect on my life, although I accept I will have to keep taking the Rivaroxaban.

So thanks to everyone on this forum, especially Bob whose comments have encouraged me to go ahead, and for anyone who is worried about having an ablation I would say that my actual experience was far less traumatic than my worries.

Best wishes to all and good luck to anyone currently waiting for or considering an ablation.

Val

[jennydog]

val757 Don't be discouraged if you have some AF episodes in the next 6 months. Your heart has had a traumatic time. I didn't feel my heart for 6 weeks post-ablation but do have runs of eptopics and occasional mild AF now. We're all different!

Thank you for such a positive posting.

Very best wishes.

[mass70 in reply to jennydog]

Its now 4 weeks since my cryo ablation and I am having various AF episodes which is very worrying and not very nice. I had no attacks prior to the ablation for maybe 5 months so this setback is not what i expected. Will this settle down or have i wasted my time. Feeling helpless.

[jennydog in reply to mass70]

mass70 It's very early days for you and you must be patient. Some people need a second ablation whilst others can cope with radically improved, although not perfect, outcomes.

A second ablation is not an option for me due to fibrosis caused by radiotherapy. I use flecainide as a pill in the pocket and this gives me confidence. My AF is now much milder and I am concentrating on improving my lifestyle. I take a Magnesium supplement, I'm careful with my diet and I drink only caffeine-free tea and coffee. My worst trigger is stress so I'm concentrating on staying calm.

[Barry24]

Hi Val,

Well Done and wishing you a speedy recovery.

Regards

Barry

[wendicarro]

Well done! Take it easy now!!

Wendi

[Jay10]

Glad all went well, relax and take things easy.

Jackie

[PhyllisK]

Well done Val, I had my ablation in 2015 and, fingers crossed! my heart is behaving itself. Take care of yourself. Lots of self pampering for the next couple of months.

Phyl.

[higgy52]

That's put my mind to rest, got my Ablation on Thursday at Glenfield,

Thank you for your input. you've put my mind to rest,

Had back tooth out few months ago that was really pain full,

Good luck