Life after the Watchman Procedure.

Hi all. Just got home from the hospital. Had my Watchman Procedure yesterday. Went very well. Opened my computer to lots of massages and will answer all later tonight (my usual posting time). Right now going for a nap. We all know noone gets a lot of rest in the hospital (lol). More later. Goodnight. irina 1975

[Hidden]

MESSAGES not massages. What a typo!irina1975

Prrobably too many drugs in the hospital!!!

[chrysalis8x in reply to Hidden]

Aw....geeze, Irina.....'bust a gal's bubble' will 'ya now.....'til you popped in to correct, I was headed to Amazon to order a 'massage computer'..... Delighted all went well. Wishing you Chippendale Dancers rather than sugar-plum fairies in your nap-time sweet dreams.

cj

[Hidden in reply to chrysalis8x]

Hi chrysalis8x Continue onto Amazon you may be onto a new 'treatment' and the Chippendales don't sound bad either. Take care.

[Hidden]

looking forward to hearing more irina.....might take you up on the massage, but I think lots of rest would be more benefical!!!!!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Flapjack Balance in everything!(lol)

[BobD Volunteer]

Good to hear you are home.

[seasider18 in reply to BobD]

It is a simple day surgery procedure. My Amplatzer was done late afternoon so they kept me overnight and home by train the next day. It's no worse than having an angiogram.

[Angie06]

Hi Irina, so glad to hear that the procedure went well as I'm also due to have a Watchman fitted and would be really interested to hear how you get on with the follow up and whether they have put you on anticoagulant/antiplatelets for a couple of months. I'm also a carer for my disabled mother and worried that I may need to rest up for a while.

[Hidden in reply to Angie06]

Hi Angie. It;s almost 3AM here in Atlanta. Couldn't sleep so got up and saw your blog. Too sleepy right now to make sense but in the next day or two will give you all the details. I hope yours goes as smoothly as mine. We will have to share details. Much more later in a day or two, Back to bed for now, Take care. I don't think it will affect taking care of your mom. Much less tiring and traumatic than I thought. I did learn some things, though, that hopefully will make it smoother for you. We'll talk in a couple of days.Take care irina1975 (ps my first name is Burma)

[Hidden in reply to Angie06]

Hi Angie. Today I wrote quite a bit on how my procedure went-very well. I accidentally wrote it under replies to a recent post about Watchman question written by wilsond. Look for it there if you like. Afraid my computer skills arenot what they should be! Good luck with yours. irina1975 PS Re followup: All Ihave to do until Feb 28 iscontinue my coumadin with my weekly home testing and dosing through my coumadin nurse. On the 28th/Feb I will have a TEE (TOE in the UK I think. That will seeif the closure is complete and if so I will stop the Coumadin, take a daily (prescribed at that time) dose of Plavix (generic is clopidogrel) plus a 'baby aspirin -81mg daily for 3-4 months, have another TEE later in the year June or July I think. Then if everything looks good stop the Plavix and continue on with only a daily baby aspirin. That's it. Done! Re resting after the Watchman. They kept me overnight. I needed no pain med, felt fine. This past week I was re-hospitalized for the flu. But now I'm homeand I have had no limitations at all from the Watchman. All my aggravation of this week came from the flu. The onlylimitation I've been given is not to use my left arm too strenuously-no heavy lifting and no raising my left arm overmy head. (Like when you dry you hair) This just to give your body time to build tissue to cover the mesh and help completely occlude the opening between yout atrium and the appendage, They said don't lift anything heavier that 10 pounds (about a gallon of milk). I had general anesthesiaand woke up afterward feeling fine. A slight sore throat from the anesthsia tube. Gone in a day or two.

[James_GA]

Hello Burma,

I am in Georgia also. Just south of Atlanta. Where did you have your procedure at? I just started going to the Emory AFIB clinic. I was diagnosed with AFIB in October 2017 and just had my 1st EP visit 2 weeks ago. I'm interested in and hoping your procedure works to help you.

[Hidden in reply to James_GA]

Hi James Keep in touch. It's good to know there is someone near me. You're at a good place-Emory University Clinic. I had my Watchman Monday (2 days ago) at Piedmont Hospital Atlanta (on Peachtree Street). When I looked online to see who near me was doing it I had a choice between Emory and Piedmont. I would have been comfortable at either hospital. However I have been a patient at Piedmont for years and all my docs are here. So it made sense to stay put. My EP here at Piedmont Heart Institute performed an AV node ablation and Pacemaker in 2016 and I have done very well. I do my own INR's at home and had no idea there was such a thing as a Watchman. My friend, Lena, who is also my Coumadin nurse told me about it several months ago. I was moaning to her about being on the Coumadin and she mentioned it. I saw my EP and asked him just after Thanks giving if I was a candidate. He walked me down the hall to the EP who does them here. The rest is history as they say! Was evaluated, felt very comfortable in the EP's abilities and now it's done. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Certainly a procedure is not always the answer to medical problems but I really wanted off all blood thinners. I'm still tired but am happy I'm on the the other side side of the mountain (and starting to wean off Coumadin which should take about 6 months-maybe less. Here is my regimen: Stay on Coumadin with weekly INR's done at home for 4-6 weeks. Then a TEE (TOE in the UK) is done to see how the opening between the left atrial opening and the Left Atrial Appendage is healing. When it is sealed over I will be switched to a combination of Plavix and baby aspirin (81mg). Then in a few months another TEE will verify the closure is complete. At this time I come off the the Plavix and continue on just baby aspirin indefinitely. One thought I had( not based on any scientific facts) is that because you are recently diagnosed with a-fib you docs may want to try other treatments/meds before considering any procedure. If this is the case, don't be discouraged. A-fib journeys can be winding, trial and error journeys-esp at the beginning. I was diagnosed with a-fib in 2011 (am currently 73) and I would say to you: Learn as much as you can, be as involved in your care as much as you feel comfortable with. And stick with this blog. Most of what I know about my condition I learned here and the knowledge obtained has, I believe, helped me make the best decisions for myself. From others' post, you'll also get a clearer idea of what questions to ask your docs. And share your own experiences. They will help others. (I AM wordy! (LOL). Take care. irina1975

[James_GA in reply to Hidden]

Hello Burma,

I'm glad to hear you are doing good. I'm new to the AFIB diagnosis and this is my current situation:

55 years old

No symptoms - I diagnosed myself in October 2017 using the Alivecor after my brother in law had an AFIB related non recoverable stroke.

Currently taking Metoprolol and Eliquis. Metoprolol has slowed my heart to a Resting heart rate of approximately 62 bpm according to my fitbit. My heart rate was beating at a very constant 140 bpm which I didn't seem to notice prior to taking Metoprolol.

My EP's plan is for me to follow up every 4 months and to not try to get my heart back in rhythm because we don't know how long I have had constant AFIB. Metoprolol has my heart rate very good and Eliquis to protect against clots.

I recently found out that the stroke that my mother died of was probably due to AFIB after doing some investigation.

My brother, who is 4 years older than me and in excellent health, has a rapid heart rate. He swears he doesn't have AFIB, but is being treated with Metoprolol.

So far I have no problems taking the Eliquis, so I my DR. and I will see how long this treatment plan continues without problems.

I had never heard of AFIB until recently. I really like this blog and the people that I have talked with.

Sorry, as I have been lengthy also. Keep us posted how you progress and good luck.

[Hidden in reply to James_GA]

Hi James_GA. Your situation has a lot of similarites to my journey which began in 2011. T have a lotof info I want to share with you . I had to go back to the hospital a couple of days after being discharged from the Watchmen because I came down with the flu. Just got out t oday and still feel tired. Give me a couple of days to feel better and less tired and I'll post you again. I do want to say that I'm glad you're being cared for by an EP and second. There are worse ways to live with chronic afib than with an ablation, etc. I'm 73, had an av node ablation and pacemaker insertion in Nov 2016, and just had my Watchmen. I'm fine and made my choices because for my the side effects and ups and down of some of the cardiac drugs wasbecoming too much. Again, this is what worked for me. We are all different. But I have never been so stable as I've been since the ablation, Details to follow in a few days. Living with afib can be comfortable and fairly easy. Take care irina1975

[James_GA]

I hope you feel better.