Phrenic nerve palsy after ablation.

[Margewhit]

I had my second ablation 3 days ago, I had an x-ray and echogram afterwards and it says results are suggestive of phrenic nerve palsey, I am very breathless even walking, I feel in worse health than before ablation. Has anyone else suffered this and what was the recovery like? :0(

[zetagirl]

Hi Margewhit, I'm sorry to hear that. My Mum has Phrenic Nerve Injury, received during an ablation and the next day she received a Pacemaker. I found this site and this site helped my diagnose this 6 mths later (not the Dr's, Cardiologist or EP which was very frustrating.) I'm sure you can search my name (Zetagirl) and see where I poured my heart out to this fabulous group. So it all happened for her July 2017 and yes she is 50% improved but still has bad days. The breathlessness is still quite obvious with her but in saying that she has good and bad days. They say the nerve can take up to 2 yrs to repair itself and most of the time it does. FYI: She also had the AV Node Ablation too!

I see you say the results are suggestive, maybe you should take a sniff test to confirm. Try to hook up with a Respiratory or Lung Association too for tips and tricks. I wish you all the best and I can confirm you are on the right site because these people on here are fabulous - or as we would say down under - the ants pants! Good Luck.

[Margewhit in reply to zetagirl]

The hospital did do a sniff test and it showed right sided nerve damage, I guess I'm still hoping they've made a mistake but the breathlessness is making me realise I do have it, I also can't lay down, sitting up at night is necessary. I feel reassured it will heal eventually but I need to return to full time work in the next 4 to 6 weeks and am worried I won't be able to. 😔

[Fastbeat]

I had phrenic nerve damage while having ablation 2017 it has healed now but took just over 6months ,i was told to be patient as it could take a long time up to 2 years, so hope it will heal soon for you.Best wishes.

[Margewhit in reply to Fastbeat]

Hi, what were your symptoms while you had it and did the vreathlessness improve much in the first month? Thanks for ur message 😁

[Fastbeat in reply to Margewhit]

I was short of breath,unable to lay down in bed,had to be propped up with pillows,difficuty with walking and stairs or inclines awful.I just tried to relax ,rested a lot and it gradually got better.My EP informed me what had happened before i left hospital and he saw me a couple of times in the first few months to check on it with fluroscopy xrays and all is well regards phrenic nerve now.

[Margewhit in reply to Fastbeat]

That sounds very reassuring, thanks for your message, it's early days for me so I will rest and see if I improve.

[tcpace]

If you search this forum using the phrase "phrenic nerve" you'll find a lot of very helpful (and reassuring) posts. I can only go by my wife's experience - it persisted for about a year before it resolved. One day she noticed a "pins and needles" sensation in her chest at the level of the diaphragm and next time she had an X-ray not long afterwards, the lung was back to being fully functioning. Here's hoping yours will resolve quickly - it's just a matter of being patient and adapting to the breathlessness by pacing yourself.

[Margewhit in reply to tcpace]

Hello, thanks for your message, I have an xray in 3cweeks to check on it, the right hemisphere of the diaphragm was higher than the left on xray wednesday (day after ablation). I can hardly manage the loo and back, am sleeping upright, have this odd cough and can't get a full breath. Life will not be easy like this if it takes so long to repair itself 😭.

[tcpace]

That's how it was for my wife in the early days but she gradually improved as time went on but things only got really better once the problem resolved. It might be worth having a chat with your EP but I don't there's a great deal they can do. There are procedures they can try (such as plication of the diagphragm) but I wouldn't contemplate resorting to invasive procedures until you've given the nerve time to repair itself. Incidentally I have heard of people running marathons with only one functional lung! Amazing how the body can adapt when challenged. Anyway, best wishes for a quick recovery.

[Margewhit]

Thanks so much, all advise and info is greatly received as I had no idea I would be like this after ablation, the ablation appears to be successfull so it's just a case of recovery now 😊

[Rhspw]

I’m so sorry you have this issue! It’s a total pain and very frustrating! My husband had it after his first ablation. Was breathless a lot and had a cough. The cough lasted about 4-6 weeks best I remember. Breathlessness gradually improves but it is slow! The first few months seem to be the hardest until your mind and body get use to it. It took his phrenic nerve a little over a year to heal.

[Margewhit in reply to Rhspw]

Thanks for your reply, y ablation was a week ago today, it's very unsettling not being able to get a proper breath in no matter how hard I try. Was your husband able to lead a fairly normal life while he had phrenic nerve palsy? I need to be able to work full time in the next 4 to 6 weeks :0(