The thread on pain after ablation reminded me. You might find this funny. I did, in spite of the experience.
Before my ablation I was entered into a trial for Dofetilide. After some days and with it not converting me on its own, I was scheduled for a cardioversion. They took me down to theatre (in AF, obviously, and remember, mine was vagal AF so biggest episode risk is from low heart rate) and a young and clearly new-to-it doctor tried to put my canula in.
He didn't manage to do this very well. I seem to remember he got in once but had not hit the vein correctly, so he tried again. Big ouch. REALLY big ouch. So by this time he had hurt me so badly....
.... I converted. They didn't believe me when I told them until they actually checked my pulse.
So I never have had a cardioversion
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Jong1945
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Oh, and another one. I was working in Europe and flying back on a Friday. I had been in AF much of the week, and was still in AF whilst waiting for the plane in the airside departure lounge, and well cheesed off, this was one of the longest episodes I'd ever had, and my episodes were very symptomatic. Now, I'm tall, so I grab the front or a wing exit seat for the legroom. This time I had the front seat by the door.
Walking on my way out to the plane, and particularly running up the steps to the plane converted me (vagal AF).
I was well pleased. I kept feeling my pulse, which I tended to do at my carotid artery in my neck, to be certain. Yup, still in NSR. Yippee. And just as the door closed and the air stewardess sat in the jump seat opposite I unthinkingly touched my neck there again, two fingers.
She looked extremely concerned and asked me if I felt OK.
I assured her I was but didn't go into detail. Poor lass, she obviously thought I was having a heart attack or something,
Anyone else got any funnies to share?
I know someone who puzzled a young doctor after her baby was born. It had been a normal delivery but she had a retained placenta which had to be dealt with under general anaesthetic. Afterwards she was sent up to the ward with all the ladies who had had Caesarians. In the morning the doctor comes round and says 'I'd like to see your tummy' so she obliges and his face is a picture as he searches in vain, his eyes wandering from left to right in disbelief. After a moment he says 'Where's the scar?'
I had a similar thing happen to me, I was due to have a cardio version, a junior anaesthetist tried to put a Canular in my left hand and ended up making a mess of it and it was really painful, my hand swelled and a bruise started to form more or less straight away. Well the whole experience put me back in NSR so I didn’t need to be cardioverted.
One evening I was in A&E feeling quite ill with my heart in AF and racing, it had been like that all day.
A young doctor came to my trolley and said they would do a cardioversion immediately, but I wouldn't be given a general anaesthetic! What, do it without any sedation at all I asked horrified!!! Yes, was the response. Now I'm an old hand at having cardioversions at this hospital in their special unit under a GA. Well, the shock of hearing that put me back into normal sinus rhythm within minutes.
It does make you wonder about the power of our minds.
John, I've had that same experience with the cannula not being inserted correctly by a young doctor while preparing for a cardioversion and yes it hurts. In my case it was left in still not right and they only realised when the anaesthetic started pouring out all over my hand. Unfortunately the shock of the pain didn't return me to normal sinus rhythm, but the cardioversion did.
I had to fast before going to the hospital to have various tests. Nothing to eat or drink that day, the nurse said, and my appointment wasn't until 11am. As I was part of a trial, the trial nurse took me to the blood testing station and sat outside and waited with my husband. Twenty minutes passed and she said to my husband I wonder what has happened? My husband replied my wife has passed out, she always does. Well, the phlebotomist had tried to insert the cannula so many times I had indeed passed out, and she had called for help. I have very small deep veins at the best of times but it transpires that I had been told no fluids in error. I was totally dehydrated and my veins had shrunk even more.
I went into A&E one night with a bad bout of AF. I was on one of those beds in a general area with just curtains between you and the next bed. Next to me was a couple, she was 94 and he was older. I wasn't listening but they both spoke loudly so you couldn't help it. One said to the other something like "We were here last year weren't we? But what was it for, I can't remember". The other one said, "I can't remember either". "Now, what was it, we must be able to remember surely".
After about 10 minutes of going back and forth and trying to remember, and silent pauses, one of the couple suddenly said out loud, "I know what we came in for, I just realised.........but what did they call it..........Oh I remember, they said it was Memory Loss".
I just split my sides at this and afterwards my ECG's were fine and I went home.
So whoever you were that night, I'd like to say thank you.
dear john, ]I bet you get teased about that opening don't you!] well done with the DIY cardioversion, I thinks that brilliant, bet it gave them pause for thought though!!
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