Upcoming ablation on 24th Oct how long am I likely to be off work?

[Teresaw40]

Cardiologist said about 1 week but ive seen that others have been off longer? Confused & also i havr stairs into my property will this affect my groin healing? Get breathless going up & down them as it is, any helpful answers are greatly appreciated. I'm also very nervous about it. Teresa

[Kaz747]

What sort of work do you do Teresa? Return to work can be very individual depending on your recovery and your job. If you sit at an office desk all day you should be able to go back to work sooner than if your job involves a lot of manual work, walking or heavy lifting.

[Teresaw40 in reply to Kaz747]

Hi Kaz I am a home carer so lots of manual work involved x

[Kaz747 in reply to Teresaw40]

Is it a Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI) ablation for AFIB that you are having? I previously had 2 ablations for SVT which weren’t too bad to recover from (I had 1-2 weeks off work) and my EP said that the PVI and atrial flutter ablation that I had recently was a lot more intense and would take a lot longer to get over.

[jennydog]

First, don't be nervous. It's not that bad.

I didn't have a problem with stairs or groin healing but everyone is different. I had no bruising and the entry holes were tiny.

There are ablations and ablations. Some take an hour or so and some take 5 hrs plus. It depends on the problem. A GA will take longer for recovery.

Return to work is difficult to predict. It depends on your type of work. One week sounds optimistic. 2 would be better but you need several months of taking - it - easy to aid healing. Only you will be able to judge but you must not push yourself.

Best wishes for a successful outcome.

[Teresaw40 in reply to jennydog]

Thank you x

[Hidden]

If you have an occupational health department at work they should help you get the right time off work taking in to account your general health and your need to get as much rest as possible after your abation.

Alternatively you could ask your GP to write to your employer or give you an extended sick note.

Looking at your previous posts I would suggest a month at least would be reasonable. Overdoing things too soon puts the success of the procedure at risk.

[Teresaw40 in reply to Hidden]

I am on a zero hour contract with a private care company so sick pay will prob be very minimal 😫

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Teresa, I've had three long ablations and for the first two I needed to have a good two weeks off work afterwards and still felt drained for several months (I had a job that was mostly desk based). For my third, and I don't know why this was, I felt better immediately and had no groin bruising or tiredness. Are you having your ablation carried out with sedation or a general anaesthetic?

Jean

[Teresaw40 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Hi Jean,

The cardiologist said sedation as I'm nervous about lying still for so long

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Teresaw40]

You won't know much about what's going on whether under sedation or a general anaesthetic. You'll be fine.

[Teresaw40 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thank You x

[BobD Volunteer]

If you go to our website (AF Association) there is a fact sheet on recovery where we say first week plenty of rest with no long walks and only one flight of stairs and second week start to build slowly and listen to your body. A week off work it totally ridiculous and just shows that EPs seldom have experienced ablation themselves. Personally I think a month minimum unless you are young fit and stupid or work from home and can spread your work as to how you feel. You need to prepare your employer as to the unmeasurable nature of your recovery and must not be bound by specific dates as we are all different and recover at different levels. Just because you do not have a giant zip up your front doesn't make it a minor procedure.!

[Teresaw40 in reply to BobD]

Thank you BobD,

I value your reply immensely & I will just have to go with the flow regarding work, I had said maybe a couple of weeks to my employers but if I'm still not ready then I will just have to take more time off. My health is more important & I'm 45 so definitely no spring chicken! I have so many aches & pains as it is & I have only 1 flight of stairs from front door into my hall so hopefully will manage them no problem. I will take it as easy as I can & like you say everyone is different.

Teresa

[grandmadogs]

I had an ablation under GA. I think I was slightly unusual as it took over 5 hours. The bruising was from my groin to my knee but only looked spectacular and did not hurt at all. It might have been more than most as I got a chest infection so was advised to walk quite a bit. The three wounds in the groin healed within days and were no problem at all. All in all nothing was really a problem but as others have said we are all different and you need to listen to your body.

[Maril1]

I had an a pvi ablation op lasted about 5hrs so I was the only one out of a group that had to stay in overnight. The specialist nurse had told me at the pre op to take a week off .As a manual worker on shifts I took a month off but soon realised I returned far to early when I saw the Ep next he said 3 to 6 months for the type of ablation I had had.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Maril1]

As we explain in our Recovering from Ablation fact sheet it takes three to six months for the heart to fully heal but that doesn't mean you need that long off work. Depending on your work (manual/sedentary ) and your pre ablation level of fitness it could be a month or even slightly less but it is vital to listen to your body and not overdo things which is why it it important to have that conversation with your employers.

[Drummerswidow]

I didn’t take enough time off work. If I was you I would take two weeks off if you can and see how you go. Like others I felt quite drained afterwards but everyone is different. I did see my GP afterwards and was told to take 3 weeks off!

[rvotvtlady]

Hi Teresa, I'm a 47 Yr old female and pretty fit prior to both ablations. I felt fine after both ablation. They were about 2.5 to 3 hrs. I did not really feel tired, apart from after procedure but that was due to the sedation and the fact I got up so early for the op. I was back at work after a week but felt I could have gone back after a few days. I had minimal bruising but my leg was a bit achy and I had a bit of aching in my chest. I think it all depends on the individual. My job is desk based but I was out walking within a few days. Having said that, I was pretty fit before, just all depends. Good luck 🍀

[Alfieros]

I’m having my cardio ablation on the same day. All the best to us!!

[Teresaw40 in reply to Alfieros]

Good luck for yours too alferios x

[jedimasterlincoln]

Average time for me has been 4-6 weeks. The first time it was longer because I had a bleed from the entry site which resulted in bruising from my old man to almost my knee and I struggled to get around as it was on the side that has a dodgy knee anyway.

Occupational Health were good to a point, but gave unrealistic expectations of how long I'd need before I came back to work (2 weeks).

This was despite them being aware of my clinical role in Trauma and Orthopaedics, 12,5 hour shifts, manual handling, load moving, mobilisation, 5-10 miles a day distance.

GP has never had any problem keeping in touch and certifying longer if needed, and has agreed on occasion for the job I do in the place I do it, 2 weeks is inadequate. And after all four ablations - there is no way in hell I have felt anywhere near ready and safe and fit to return to work at 2 weeks.

My recovery has tended to go the same way each time. Doing absolutely NOTHING for the first week, slightly more than nothing the second week, and then being sensible and gradually doing a little bit more every week for the next 2/3 weeks. Only once have I been completely stupid and stood in the kitchen painting... for a couple of hours a day... after 3 weeks ablation and I absolutely regretted it in the days that followed. Never again.

Normally my Occupational Health ask for a mix of clinical and none clinical duty, gradually increasing hours over 4 weeks phased return. In reality, I've maybe done one none clinical shift the first week and the rest have all had clinical responsibility. And unfortunately its the nature of the beast that when you're at work, in uniform, you are treated as fully fit and pushed accordingly by the vast majority of colleagues.

As has been said though, everyone is different. Even the post-op guidance on the British Heart Foundation has said 2 weeks is about right for a return to normal activity. Well, again it all depends on what your normal activity is.

If you are retired or semi retired with your only weekly activity being a walk to the shops for a paper once a day and a trip to Waitrose for the weekly food shop then you're probably OK to go back to "normal"

If you're employed full time in a desk job with relatively little exertion, take a car or public transport to work, and don't have too much stress in your job then again, 2 weeks is probably OK to go back to normal.

If you're in a highly manual and/or highly stressful job which requires 10-12 hour days, and/or a walk to work, lots of moving and handling, working outdoors as a builder/landscaper, or being a professional sportsman or being exposed to stress like a stockbroker, school teacher, or Manchester United manager then no, 2 weeks isn't enough.

Speaking from NHS experience - you can ask for "reasonable adjustments" ie no solo working, some hours reduced, some hours "out of numbers" where you're present but not counted in the official staffing figures so able to take more breaks and stay away from more manual and stressful work. Obviously it's up to the employer to decide whats reasonable, and for you to ask and make your case directly or with a union.

I've had a lot of experience of this over the last 5 years, and Vonnieruth on this forum has also been there more recently. Let me know if there's anything I can do to support/answer questions.