Morning All.
I went for my 3 month post Ablation check yesterday at LGI. I have done really well, so far, no AF and, apart for tiredness, seem to be recovering well.
I have been advised to now stop taking my apixaban, as, I was told, I was in more danger of bleeding than having a stroke.
I am 50 years old and have no other health issues, other than AF.
I just wonder what your thoughts are on this?
Thanks for reading, as always.
Mandy.
If truely you have no other co-morbidities IE a CHADSVASC score on zero and only went on anticoagulation for the purpose of having the ablation and recovery then he is right to a point. Sadly so very few of us fall into that category so keep on taking the tablets.
Thank you Bob.
ChadsVasc score 0 - it would be your choice. Depends upon whether or not your EP would count being Female as 1 point = advisory.
I can only relate my own experience as I pushed to cease a/c therapy after ‘successful’ ablation & 12 months AF free aged 58. Reluctantly my EP agreed. 18 months later I AF returned - much improved - but I couldn’t get back to the GP for a a/c prescription fast enough!
How do you feel on it? What would make you feel more comfortable - continue or cease?
I do think EP opinion varies on this subject and feeling anxious either way is going to exacerbate stress which maybe should be avoided?
I was given a Chad score of 1, for being female.
I don't seem to be having any un wanted side effects from taking these tablets. No bruising or bleeding. I think I would be happy to carry on taking them.
I will make an appointment with my GP to discuss, I think, as now I have had a procedure I would feel anxious not taking them.
Thank you for your help.
I wonder if there is a particular reason why the doctor feels you would be in more danger of having a bleed. Is there a history of internal bleeding in your family as this could influence your decision. No one likes taking anticoagulants but most fear the alternative more. Only a decision you can make and not an easy one.....
Thank you. I think I knew, yesterday, what my decision was, but wanted to see what you guys thought. I truly value opinion on this site.
I am waiting for an ablation so am pleased to hear of your success story. Unfortunately much as I would like to come off my apixaban after my first successful cardioversion I was told that because of my age I would be kept on them. Shame because I have had to come off NSAID's which were doing my neck and back so much good. I don't drink (much) barely 3 small glasses a week and try to exercise as much as I can with all my other complaints. Hope you continue to go from strength to strength.
Thank you and I do hope yours all goes well. Please keep in touch.
It isn't just the Apixaban, NSAIDs and AF are a bad combination and still to be avoided in AF even if not anticoagulated
Bother!
I feel your pain! Don't know whether it's psychological but since knowing paracetamol is my best go to option I need it less and it works as well for a lot of things as the Anadin extra I swore by and had to give up ( caffeine paracetamol and aspirin nope!)
Knees are another story of course.......
NSAIDs might be helping pain caused by inflammation but in the long run they are not good as they have been shown to be heart unfriendly drugs.
I know I had been taken off all the ones that did make the chronic pain better, first voltarol, - diclofenac then co-proxamol and now all of them because of AFib. Its unfortunate as nothing else works for my pain and consequently I get very little sleep which also is not good for my health either.
I understand . I suffer from chronic pain too. Perhaps fortunately I have never been able to tolerate NSAIDs as they upset my stomach. I thought co proxamol was a mixture of codeine and paracetamol. My GP has just prescribed me a mixture of paracetamol and opium powder but I am reserving it for days when the pain is at it's worst. I often do not sleep well as the pain is worse at night.
Yes I was taking codeine and paracetamol separately while in hospital for my knee op and for about a week afterwards but the GP put me on co-codamol - also had a bottle of oramorph - oral morphine which lasted the first few weeks. GP will not prescribe more for a while anyway - don't want to get addicted.
I too recently told to stop eliquis. CHADSVASC score 0 so bleed supposed to be greater risk. Told will need to go back on at age 65.
I have a score of zero so went off them after 3 months too.
Since you are so young, this might help you stay out of Afib:
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After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer. If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt??
Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer
Thank you Rick for all this information. It is certainly worth trying. Anything to keep AF at bay.xx
That is very useful information. Thanks for that
3 months post ablation
3 months post ablation
3 month post ablation consultation 
3 months post ablation 
Post Ablation 3 months
