Ablation

[Glue]

Had an Ablation on the Mon 9th Oct. Heart feels very still. My groin bleed for three days shopped by Fri. My biggest concern is a soar throat that gets worse everyday. So painful today I can't get a good deep breath.

[Ktomoph_]

Hi Glue

Hey good to hear your heart feels so still. Good way to put it.

yes, my groin area entry cut decided to open up 8 hours after ablation. was fitted with a 'ball and belt' device for 12 hours and not allowed to move from prone position - to stop it as I was on blood thinners. Hope yours has healed well now.

The throat is also a recognised problem because of the breathing tube during op.

Sipping ice water or sucking on the children ice pops if you like them is supposed to help - but apparently not citrus flavour.

I am also assuming you have taken pain killers too.

You could always call 111 to check with a medical professional if all is as it should be.

[Glue in reply to Ktomoph_]

I wasn't given pain meds. I will always believe my groin opened up because I was supposed to lie flat for 12 hours not moving my legs or bending my knees. I was on board with that and I tried my best to lay flat and not move. The nurse gave me Flormisaride 40 mg water pill and I still had 8 hours that I was supposed to lay flat still and straight . I asked her what am I to do when I have to go pee because surely will with 40 mg water pill. I only take 20 at home . She said well it's ordered and you have to take it or you can refuse. I said well I'm not a doctor so I'm not going to refuse if he feels I need it. I said it's just that it's double my dose and I'm supposed to lie still. I was told my EP doctor doesn't use catheters because of fear of infection. So what was I to do the water was coming and I had to go . I filled a bedpan 4 times. Each time they took it out it spilled on the pad below and on me. More moving because the pad had to be changed. That was the most ridiculous part of my whole experience. The idea was I had to roll from one side to the other side and that is impossible if you are to keep your legs still and flat. The moving was a total contradiction to my doctor's orders. I had to keep explaining to the tech that came in that I am not supposed to lift my legs. I was surprised to learn that most of the tech's that came into my room had no clue as to reason I was in that hospital bed. When I casually ask what training have you had I was told oh I haven't had any training except here on the job I'm learning as I go. There is definitely a communication problem in most hospitals and that can lead to serious complications for a patient. I hate to complain further but when I got into the bed in my room after surgery they had forgotten to inflate my bed . About 3 in the morning after I had laid on a hard surface for hours including the whole 12 hrs of my lay flat don't move time, ' what a joke', I asked that someone take a look at my bed because it was so uncomfortable and I felt I was setting in a hole on a hard surface. The tech then noticed it was flat and pushed a button that made it hard as a rock. After about an hour she came back in and push the button again and it went down a little so I could at least rest on it. That didn't last long and it slowly went back down and made noises as it tried to inflate again and again. She said it only has two settings flat and maximum . I said there has to be an in-betweenand I asked if someone could please just fix it or change out the bed they said they would put an order in to maintenance and when I asked how long that would take they said probably tomorrow. I said well I will be gone tomorrow and I just wanted to sleep tonight. Now that I could get up I asked if I could just sit in the chair for the rest of the night. My groin started bleeding more so I had to get back in bed. Needless to say I did not get any sleep. I will never go back downtown to the Jacksonville heart hospital again . I think all in all my ablation is working so far the only problem is this very sore throat and shortness of breath if I do exert myself. It felt good to vent to all of you about my experience. Now I'm finished with that. LOL

[Ktomoph_ in reply to Glue]

...Jacksonville!...Florida?

Gosh. Actually it didn't occur to me that you may be somewhere else in the world!

I am in England...so it probably didn't make any sense to you about calling 111..?

But the ablation procedure would still be the same.

Poor you. How uncomfortable and probably very distressing. I think we all have tales to tell about our experience in hospital, some good and some bad.

Its good to get it out of your system!

best of luck and health for the future.

[Glue in reply to Ktomoph_]

I could tell by the conversation I was speaking to people in England it was very refreshing. I had planned on going to Paris and traveling across the English Channel to London but so far I haven't got there. It is definitely on my bucket list. I'm feeling better after my trip to the hospital they quieted down that horrible cough and did a couple of CT scans to make sure my voice box wasn't damaged said I would have to see an ENT to look down my esophagus. I'm on steroids for the next 5 days after having intravenous steroids at the hospital. I'm not looking forward to wait gain I know prednisone can do that it has done it in the past. Thanks for your interest look forward to seeing all of your posts about all the beautiful people in other parts of the world . All having the same problems I have. I guess you might say we're all in the same boat. Let's hope for smooth sailing ahead.

[Luisa1987]

Hi i had mine on the 18th Sept and was just the same as you. I put it down to the TOE i had when they did the ablation. Day after i came home went into AF fro 24 hours and had loads since BUT they arent as bad as before. Rather than pounding they are more like a shaking fluttering in my chest that makes me breathless non the less. The sore throat has gone though, but the echo did discover i have two leaky heart valves.

[MJ17]

I had my ablation on Sept. 26th. It hasn't been smooth sailing, to say the least. My throat ws horribly painful for days but that has totally gone away. My biggest problem is that ever since the procedure I am suffering from Ocular Migraines almost daily. Some people has reported having them, but it is very scary because I don't know how to get them to stop. I guess next step is going to be neurologist. I feel like I swapped one problem for another. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

[Glue in reply to MJ17]

I know sometimes you feel like you're on a roller coaster. Just take good care of yourself and listen to your heart. I would definitely go to a neurologist about the migraines.. A person who's never had a migraine has no idea of how a person suffers. I found that in the middle of the night when my heart was beating 165 for hours I would become fearful and it would become worse. Try not to let fear take over. My sister-in-law told me of something that worked for her she said she put both of her hands on her heart and just held it and said peace peace and meditated and that helped her. I think the blood pressure goes up when we're fearful and effects atrial fib. I pray you get the help you need.

[Glue in reply to Glue]

Sometimes I get dehydrated from not drinking my water and that triggers atrial fib. They often tell me at the hospital I'm dehydrated and then I think why didn't I drink the water. Caffeine can also be a trigger for me and red meat. I am diabetic not high numbers but each time I gain a few pounds I would notice the palpitations and then the racing. We are each unique and need to keep track of our triggers. I tell myself everyday I need to take care of my health needs because only I can do it. Thanks for the help here on the forum I hope you feel better!

[MJ17 in reply to Glue]

Thank you so much.

[greg35 in reply to MJ17]

Hi MJ I had an ablation in May this year I also had Aura migraine for about 1 month went to the Dr and was told this can be a side effect they did go away but always get it checked out anyway, even if its just to get reassurance, hope all goes well for you going forward.

Best wishes Ingrid

[MJ17 in reply to greg35]

Thank you! That makes me feel better!