Had a cryoablation on the 26th Feb and I must admit I am now seriusoly doubting whether I should have bothered. My AF was relatively well controlled with Flecanaide but at 49 years old I did not want to be taking these drugs for the rest of my life so took the decision, having spoken to two EP’s, to have an ablation.
First few days after the procedure were ok, a bit sore and a few ectopics but felt pretty good. After about day 4 the AF episodes have started and I now seem to spend as much time in AF as I do out of it. Currently about 8-12 hours per day, prior to the procedure I would get AF once every few months. Flecanaide doesn’t seem to touch the sides at the minute and am thoroughly p####d off..
I know I am in the so called ‘blanking period’ but has anyone else had an ablation where their AF got worse post the procedure before ultimately getting better?
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Uttled00
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Yes, I overdid things in the first few days after my 1st ablation and ended up in Acute Cardiac Care for 4 days. I had a second ablation a few weeks later which gave me 3+ years free of AF.
Have you been in contact with your Arrythmia clinic?
Can understand why you would be pissed off but it is still very early days. I notice from earlier posts you have made references to “rigourous” exercise albeit a good while ago, but are you sure you have not done too much too quickly which is an easy trap to fall into if you are feeling well.
If Flecainide is not helping, I think you should contact the hospital and make them aware. Sometimes the tissue around the pulmonary veins can be irregular and it’s not uncommon for the balloon used in a cryoablation to miss small sections of the veins . This would require a second RF ablation to ablate the missed areas but it’s far to early to know if this has happened. Hope things begin to settle soon.......
Agreed. You need to contact EP/arrhythmia nurse. Are you taking an anticoagulant?
I’m so sorry to read this Uttled00, having taken the brave decision to go through the ablation to feel the way you do now must be really awful and very worrying.
I haven’t had my ablation yet so I can’t comment on that but I have spent many many hours reading lots of post ablation stories on this forum and I have read quite often that people really can feel crappy and things seem to get worse in the initial recovery period while the heart recovers.
Does the AF feel the same as your previous episodes before your ablation, same rate, length etc? If it feels in anyway different that might be a good indicator that it is healing rather than worsening of the condition.
Hopefully you have been given a number to call if you have any worries , an arrhythmia nurse or the secretary of the EP, might be a good idea to check and see what they think?
I hope things settle down for you really soon, I’m thinking of you and sending get well soon wishes 😊
Perhaps in time you may well feel that it has been a worthwhile step, especially if this is a final fling and your heart will settle. Some of us have quite wild AF in the early days and then it subsides. Maybe your EP will be annoyed if it has not done the trick and will make an extra effort to sort the situation for you - or refer you. I imagine quite a lot will have been learnt during the procedure and whilst it is obviously not at all satisfactory right now, there may be benefits to reap.
Had you not gone ahead, there could be a feeling of failing to take opportunities on offer.
In reply to your question. 3 weeks after procedure AF returned with a vengeance, very aggressive the EP called it. Every 5 days or so lasting 36-72 hours. But unlike others on here this failed to settle down and 3 months later I needed a 'top up' procedure. Nearly 3 years free.
I know how you feel. Had my ablation is January and after two weeks started having SVT. Need second ablation end of March to try and clear that up. Meanwhile taking Topral, Lisinopril, Ampolodine, Xarelto, and Flecainide to manage. Feel like a zombie. Sometimes wish I just stayed with the Xarelto and BP meds and lived with it.
Another name for Topral is Metoprolol which is a beta blocker prescribed for rate. When I was first diagnosed, my GP immediately put me on it at 25 mg if I remember correctly. I had the same reaction as you -- a zombie plus I felt life wasn't worth living anymore. Apparently it is also contraindicated with vagal AF and can make the AF condition worse. That is what happened with me. I barely had any palpitations pre metoprolol ; post it, palpitations were jumping out of my chest. The next time I saw my GP,I told him I wasn't taking it anymore.
Lisinopril and Amlodipine are both for high blood pressure. Strange you are taking both. Flecainide is your rhythm control and Xarelto is your anti-coagulant. I have taken all of them at different times, but it was the Metoprolol that really did me in.
Lisinopril wasn't doing enough so they added Ampolodine. It brought down my BP almost immediately. My understanding about Lisinopril is that it also helps protect kidneys(?). Not sure which one of these medicines affects me the worst. Might just be a combination of all of them. Only reason that I agreed to a second ablation is the possibility of getting off some of these. Tired of being tired.
Hi, I do feel for you. I had my 1st ablation on Oct 15th last year, within half an hour of coming round from the anesthetic I went into AF. Everything is a bit hazy but I was in hospital for 5 days. After they put me on amiodorone, things settled down enough to allow me go home. Since then my heart still goes into AF once or twice a week with episodes lasting upto 15 hours. I'm 49 too and live on my own so it does really get to me... I'm now waiting for a second ablation which I'm hoping will be soon. I agree with what the others say, have a chat with your arrythmia nurse. Im sorry I can't be much help but you're not alone in how you're feeling. I hope things improve for you soon x
I had an ablation 7th Feb, been in/out since and they started me on Flecanaide, I'm still going in/out without any pattern that I can discern! I'm hoping it'll settle down as the heart heals and the scarring develops. I'm testing with my Kardia morning, noon and evening as follows and logging it into Excel (which doesn't seem to paste very well!)
I went into 5 days of AF 2-3 weeks post my first ablation which were far far worse than pre ablation.
My EP kept saying "nothing in the first 3 months is of an significance whatsoever"
it stopped after 5 days but after another few weeks I went into short periods of Atrial flutter which became permanent after 2 months.
Second ablation for that 3 weeks ago and so far so good and supposedly 90% chance of full cure for both.
Here's hoping.
I cannot believe I was not given prior warning that AF episodes can in fact be much worse in the 'blanking period" or that there was a chance I could end up with flutter as a result.
The EP took 5 days to get back to me when in severe flutter to let me know it was of no concern.
Dear All - thank you for your words of wisdom, experience and support it is all very much aappreciated.
Have spoken to my EP today and while he thought the amount and severity of the episodes was unusual, he wasn’t overly concerned even to the point that he believes it’s due to the heart healing from being swollen through the ablation process. He remains very positive that the ablation was successful and just need to get through the next few weeks.
Ive been really interested in this post as I have my first ablation soon. Thank you for sharing your experience and being so honest, it is really helpful. Hearing what has happened to you and others that have been in the same situation will really help me when I’m recovering, especially if it gets a bit scary at times.
I’m wishing you all the best and I’m really hoping that as you heal the success of the ablation will start to make you feel so much better. Please keep me updated , take good care 😊
I, m in the same boat as you, had cryo ablation 3 weeks ago and have so far had 11 episodes, far, far worse than prior to the op,to say I'm peed off doesn't come close. My surgeon will have a lot of explaining to do when I catch up with him on March 3rd.
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