post ablation

[marychris]

hello ,my husband had his ablation monday and is pretty good apart from an episode of what he describes as flashing lines and distorted vision which lasted about 5-10 mins then was normal again ,rang nurse and she said it was visual migraine and happens to some people .on a lighter note Chris would like to go out for lunch on sunday and would it be ok to have a couple of beers ,it has never affected his af . thanks peeps

[Hidden]

all sounds good Mary......don't want to be a party pooper, but why take the risk!!!! Would be a shame to put the procedure at risk wouldn't it? It's not just the drinking, he might think he can do all sorts of daft things after he has had a couple...his ticker will be vulnerable until it heals from it's ordeal.....a couple of drinks can't be that important surely......but your choice....best of luck.....

[pottypete1]

Glad it went OK.

I think alcohol is best avoided particularly so soon after the ablation. It can not only sometimes trigger AF but it also can interact with the efficacy of anticoagulants.

Best wishes to your husband.

Pete

[Bob56]

After I had my ablation I also had aural migraines which take the form of these " squiggly lines" ( to use the technical,term) in the eyes. I wasn't told about the possibility beforehandand and was worried a bit. It is commonplace after the procedure, and your husband might get a few more for maybe a couple of weeks, but it should then disappear completely.

Drinks wise, I would also suggest a bit of caution for at least a few weeks post ablation. The heart has been "atacked" or that's the way it see it anyway and it has a habit of getting its revenge for a while by all sorts of thuds and bumps, even some AF episodes, and alcohol could easily be a trigger.

Don't rush the recovery, take it easy and hopefully in a few weeks he will be back to normal.

[Thumpington]

I had my ablation last Friday and had similar side-effects. I saw squiggly lines for about 10 mins at a time and also had really strange visual effects whereby only the exact point of where I was looking was in focus and surrounding area was kind of wavy focus; so I had to keep looking around to see the whole picture. This was apparent when trying to watch TV but only lasted about 10 mins. I guess I had two or three episodes of this. This only lasted a day or so.

I also had a bad headache for about 3 days of varying strengths, I wouldn't call it a migraine but more like a hangover. These went on day 4. I believe the migraine can be due to the healing of the hole created between the two chambers of the heart during the procedure.

Like the others have said, I would recommend restraint about alcohol. Why put your recovery under stress - I'm sure your husband would prefer not to have the procedure again.

[Ktomoph_]

Oh wow!! That is so comforting for me to read about the visual impairment thing, the squiggly lines - my episode gave me an amazingly clear abstract design to the side of my left eye! I had believed it to be a reaction to new medication given post op, and as the medication was changed and I had no more episodes that was what I believed. I will now look it up, now that I know it is a known thing. My doctor was, as usual, just vaguely amused, almost to the point of not believing me when I told him, but they cannot know everything about everything can they.

[needlestone]

I had the flashing lines migraines off and on for 2 weeks post ablation then gone, never to return. I can drink a couple of gluten free beers and am fine. Other alcohol will bother my heart for a brief period of time.