Went down for my cryoablation at around 1330. Went under general anaesthetic around 1400. Came round in between the recovery room around 1630. Now back on the ward.
Was initially cold but warmed up now. Feel like someone punched me very hard in the breast bone, but otherwise fine. On codeine for the pain. Confined to the bed for another 2 hours (until the leg is safe to move - due to the rush [typo edit: I mean risk] of bleeding because of the Rivaroxaban).
Had a cup of tea and a couple of v stem ginger biscuits.
So far (but of course too early to say) not even experiencing the ectopics I was experiencing before I went down.
Fingers crossed.
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Zozzy
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Should have said "risk of bleeding" rather than "rush of bleeding" ... there was no rush
I'm still on Rivaroxaban and expect to stay on it for up to 3 months. Pain in my chest has now subsided, and have eaten a meal (was starving due to fasting until 1600).
Wonder how I'll feel when the codeine and paracetamol wears off.
Good news Zozzy. For my first. I woke up in a large puddle of blood and had to have a femstop (big G clamp on my groin due to "leakage") so understand rush of bleeding even if you didn't have it. Rest now,
I was initially puzzled by 'femstop'! I thought it must be a device designed for female anatomy but then realised that it was femoral. Is this a new invention?
First time I had an angiogram in 2001 I had a very nice young nurse pressing on my femoral artery for an hour after the procedure.
No I had mine in 2005. Mine was a large conical shaped plastic blob on a giant safety pin thingy which was strapped over and under me by thick bandages in such a way that the cone was pressed hard onto the entry wound. It is a long time ago but I recall it was on for about four hours.
After my angiogram in Feb which was radial access, they put on a plastic wrist band which was inflated and over a few hours the pressure was released. Unfortunately after they told me I could go home, I was dressing and zipping up my trousers when the wound burst open. Being an artery rather than a vein as in ablation, the result was quite spectacularly messy! Several more hours with the plastic wrist band later I finally was allowed home but to this day there is hardly any discernible pulse in that wrist.
I had the wrist band with my last angiogram in 2012 and fortunately without your experience. However twice after having a cannula removed the wound bled. Last time when still on warfarin I gone to the toilet before leaving A&E and at first thought that I was peeing blood. It made a right mess of my shirt and trousers.
After having the Amplatzer fitted in April they put a stitch in the wound that they took out after about five hours. I much preferred the student nurse with her hand on my groin.
They took the Femostop off at midnight (around 9hrs after the op) and so far so good, no leakage.
They have me on continuous ECG and woke me every 3 hrs to check my BP, blood oxygen, and pulse. Bp is a little low (for me), blood oxygen is fine, and HR is a little high (for me) but they don't seem to concerned.
They keep making me drink water and pee (in a bottle) to try and bring my BP up a bit. 14h of fasting before the op and the overly hot room seeems to have dehydrated me. But as a runner, I'm used to being dehydrated so don't really notice.
So far, I haven't felt any AF or ectopics, but I'm normally asymptomatic unless I'm exercising or lying awake in bed and have spent most of the last 9hrs asleep.
The pain in my chest has gone, as has the pain where the cannulas went in. No pain at the femoral artery either, so currently no pain at all unless I yawn or cough (small chest pain). But am still on 2 paracetamol every 6 hrs.
I was discharged this morning, about 19hrs and a comfortable night's sleep after the ablation. The codeine wore off after 4hrs and the chest pain never came back - although I'm still taking 1g of paracetamol every 6h as a precaution for the next couple of days.
The femoral artery has held up and I feel no pain there or in either wrist where the cannulas were. I feel tight in the chest when I yawn, sneeze, breathe deeply etc. and have been told not to let that cause me to breathe too shallowly: to minimise the risk of chest infection.
My HR, in the mid-70s while testing) remains a tad higher than usual, and still no AF or ectopics ... It's early days, so not counting those chickens, as I've been told it's normal to expect some ectopics and even some further AF until the scarring is complete.
I have been advised to try to stay off my feet for 4 days (til Sunday) then gentle strolling only for 1 week (until next Thursday) then walking for another week before trying to run (talking pace only). Then build up the running slowly.
Hi Steve , hope your still feeling well, Ime having cryoablation in the morning. Can I ask were you had your procedure done if you don't mind me asking ?
Here's a update at two and a half weeks since my ablation ...
I've been keen to get back to running and honestly thought it would take an iron will to hold off for the minimum 2 weeks that my consultant recommended. However, I'll admit that I haven't felt up to it until now.
It's not that I haven't felt well or that my recovery was poor. Quite the contrary, I'm very pleased that my femoral has healed well without issues or even any bruising. Also the feeling of soreness in my chest subsided by the middle of week two. And whilst my resting heart rate has been a little higher than it was pre-ablation, that hasn't caused me any issues, and interestingly hasn't seemed high when I've not been at rest.
I guess my "not feeling ready" has been down to a gut feeling that my heart and lungs wouldn't cope with the stretching that a run would require.
Apart from a brief episode in week 1 which vanished as soon as it appeared (within 10s) I haven't noticed any AF. I have felt plenty of ectopics, but I know that's to be expected (I had plenty before too) so I haven't let them worry me.
The only symptom that bothers me is the headaches. I'm not someone who normally suffers headaches, so this is tough to get used to. I had quite severe ones for a couple of days just under a week after the ablation and whilst I've not suffered any quite so severe since, I'm still getting them almost every day - usually after in the afternoons for a few hours.
Yesterday, two and a half weeks after my ablation, I ran my local parkrun. I decided to take it very easy, so kept my HR below 145 (that's slow for me by the way - my HRmax when running is over 195) and jogged around with a friend, chatting all the way, and thanking the marshalls (I can't normally find the breath to do that during a parkrun). I was really pleased to find that I could run the whole 5k without stopping or walking at what felt like an extremely comfortable (and normal for that HR) pace. I am really happy to have completed the run in my slowest ever time (by quite a margin) of 36 minutes - with no issues during or after.
So my rehabilitation starts here. I plan to try and do two more similar paced runs this week and then if all goes well then at next week's parkrun I'll up the pace to 150 bpm. If I keep increasing it by 5 bpm per week it will take me another 8 weeks to get back to a decent pace, and of course, I'll slow down the moment anything feels wrong.
I think I will take the opportunity to try to chance my running style a little - to try to get more onto my mid-foot and to work on my flexibility (boards have nothing on me).
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that sounds an excellent result so far.
Back in A&E last night! 
I'm back...
I'm back
Af back again
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