General Anesthesia

[Jdc7]

My question is, its been 4 days since my ablation and I have been feeling generally cruddy. I have been up moving alot and have been having mild ectopic beats. But my question is how long does it take your body to bounce back from the anesthesia, I was under general anesthesia for 6 hours(my ablation was a lil difficult I heard). But since then I have been having crazy headaches and just generally feeling bad. Could I be pushing myself to fast or is my body just trying to recover from the anesthesia?

[jeanjeannie50]

It may be the result of the ablation itself, not the anaesthetic and it takes a few weeks or sometimes more to get over the procedure. You need to rest lots and accept you are not going to feel energetic or quite right for a while. I've had three long ablations, so know the routine and aftermath well. It can take some people a month or more before they feel fully well again. Your heart has been worked on and now needs to heal.

So don't push yourself and just take things slowly. Do little things and gradually build up as you feel able to do so.

Sadly most EP's/doctors etc are unaware of just how long recovery takes and can sometimes lead us to think we are going to be better immediately. That can happen, but it's rare.

Hope you soon feel better.

Jean

[Jdc7 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

What do you do about the funky beats you feel with afterwards or should that pass also

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Jdc7]

Yes, hopefully, those beats should decrease and then disappear too. After my last ablation I found that by breathing out while bearing down in my chest and holding that tensed position for as long as I could would stop them.

Jean

[Jdc7 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Ok thank you

[BobD Volunteer]

I consider myself to be something of an expert on GA having had circa 20 hours in a three year period for various reasons and can say that it takes WEEKS to shake off all the affects. Brain fog is common, (I killed three kettles in that time leaving them on the stove and walking away) and generally feeling scrambled.It's one reason they tell you not to drive for a week.

That said the ablation is not a minor procedure and our general advice is to do nothing for the first week and not a lot more the second and then gradually build up whilst making sure that you listen to your body and don't push too hard.

Few EPs have had ablations and glibly tell us we will be fine in a few days making us feel like failure when we find. like you, that it just isn't so pother than for a very few young fit people.

Relax, take you time and don't worry about the ectopics etc as this is also common. Migraine aura is another thing they never tell you about by the way.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Absolutely on target.

[Brizzy50000]

I agree with Bob, had mine done 13 days ago i had some bad headaches for the first 4 days with migraine aura, as well as a sore chest and generally felt rubbish, don't push yourself I did literally nothing for 7 days and I am still doing not a lot, ok it can get a bit boring but I'm certainly feeling better now make the most of the rest time.

Hope you feel better soon

[Jdc7]

Thank you for the replies, it makes me feel better knowing others have experienced the same as me. I guess I need to take notice to the signs and slow it down a lil bit

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Jdc7]

My first two ablations were by sedation and there were no migraines afterwards. It took me months to recover from them if I ever did! I felt constantly exhausted by the slightest thing I did and extremely fragile. My third was with a general anaesthetic and mild aura migraines followed the first week, but I also recovered far quicker after that one - almost immediately i.e. no feelings of exhaustion or effects from the anaesthetic except perhaps the migraine auras.

Jean

[SimplySimonUK]

My ablation was 18 days ago. I had the headaches but didn’t have a GA. I’m still getting chest pains and occasional AF and tachycardia symptoms. Messing with the heart causes some unusual after-effects...

[Jdc7 in reply to SimplySimonUK]

I know what you mean, I'm ready for it to level out

[Hidden]

Doctors don't mention this but you have to heal all your internal tissue involved in the procedure too. This means muscle , nerve endings, ablated cardiac tissue etc. This take quite a bit longer to heal than the external sites we can see. So take it easy, don't hurry. It will happen. And post operative pain and discomfort can sometimes mean there is a problem that needs attention but more often than not it is your body's way of saying you're getting ahead of me. Slow down and let me rest. Take care. irina (this from an old retired operating room nurse😋)

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

And people often forget the odd, unexplainable aches and pains that come from lying absolutely still for several hours on a space-age operating table not designed for comfort.

[Gowers in reply to Hidden]

Just read your post from last year & found it v helpful as I'm 2weeks post ablation under sedation