Post ablation

[zorro15]

Hello brethren if someone could please help me. I had my first ablation 4 days ago. All went well except uti i got due to catheter. 3 days past surgery i had 2 hour afib episode hr 130s day 4 post procedure from 1am through 4am i had 6 afib events as i was in bed and ended immediately when i sat up. I have never in the few years ive battled afib have a episode that wasn’t while i was lying in bed Thought ablation would handle this. If anyone could give me their view i would surely be grateful

[BobD Volunteer]

Please read our fact sheet on recovering from ablation and you will see this is quite normal. heartrhythmalliance.org/res.... You may find a lot more useful information there as well .

[zorro15 in reply to BobD]

Thanks bobd for taking the time to reply i will go to the site you recommended and hopefully i will find the answers i seek

[zorro15]

Hi bob i read the site you suggested and it was most helpful, but I’m looking for the answer to why is the only time prior and post ablation will afib visit me but only and i mean only when I’m in bed watching tv waiting for sleep Never strikes when I’m out and about and 4th day after ablation all i had to do was sit up on the side of my bed and i went immediately back to rhythm . In 3 hour span went into afib 6 times and corrected each incident simply by sitting up. So afraid to go to bed. EP says normal following ablation 4 days out. Yea for him. Thanks all for listening to me rambling. Hope someone can put me at peace with this

[zorro15 in reply to zorro15]

Bob i have seen in other posts that you do respond to queries from members of our afib family. I can tell from your posts you are most knowledgeable in this area. Good for you. You are a good man bob and i feel so much better that our afib community all help one another out

[afuser in reply to zorro15]

Have you checked your medication that may cause a reaction.

[zorro15 in reply to afuser]

Thanks for your response

[zorro15 in reply to zorro15]

Tomorrow is 7 days since my ablation. I do workout and am wondering when can i return! Is it safe to even walk a treadmill? I know i should be asking my EP but i have been throwing too many queries at him as it is and I won’t see him for 3 weeks

[Moenvk in reply to zorro15]

If I try to sleep on my left side I get Afib. Perhaps try a different position? It was several months before my heart really calmed down after my ablation. Hang in there.

[Spiritji in reply to Moenvk]

Start on the right side then after an hour or some period of time you can switch to the right side and heart stays calm.

Not sure why but it works so check it out.....heart likes us sleeping on the right side!!!!!

[Moenvk in reply to Spiritji]

Yep - sleeping on my right side works just fine. 👍

[zorro15 in reply to Spiritji]

Thank you for responding

[Spiritji in reply to zorro15]

Yes let us know how it goes.......I try and pretend it doesn't matter and try to start sleeping on the left but somehow the heart is not fooled,,,,,,,,,wierd that if you start on the right can eventually switch to the left.........seems even the doctors don't know this just people online!!!!

[Buffafly in reply to zorro15]

Something pressing on your heart? Sorry to ask, but are you overweight?

[zorro15 in reply to Buffafly]

I’m in good shape and i thank you for your reply

[Ianp66]

I had my ablation last April, and had some afib, flutter and other stuff going on for quite a while after the op. Was 7-8 months before the real settling period and now 9 month on, off meds and afib free. Rest as much as possible, take it easy and sleep as much as needed, get some good boxsets, netflix, books, whatever relaxes you, and deep breathing exercises help a lot . It's a slow process of recovery as Bob and others will reinforce, expect this kind of thing for a few weeks / months after.

[CDreamer]

There are several things in your post which may be influencing your experience.

Firstly my experience is that as the fact sheet will tell you - ablations are not an instant relief from AF as it can take up to 3 months for scar tissue to form so many people experience bouts of AF after ablation for a few weeks/months.

Secondly - my experience is that any infection will aggravate an AF episode. UTI?

Thirdly - postural - could be vagal AF - ie your vagus nerve is stimulated when you lie prone - research. It can also be made worse if you eat in the evening- especially a larger meal so ensure you don’t eat anything for 3 hours prior to bedtime & make it a small meal - see if that helps. Experiment with different sleeping positions to see if that helps.

Don’t lose hope that the ablation hasn’t work - give yourself time to recover.

Best wishes CD

[zorro15 in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you for your post

[Dodie117]

I too had most of my episodes whilst lying down. I would suggest you concentrate more on getting better as no one really knows for sure all the ins and outs of triggers and the whys and wherefore. As CD dreamer says probably vagus nerve related.

Your job now is to get better. Rest, try to avoid stress and be nice to your self. I had an ablation in 2013 and it took 5 months for everything to settle down but I have been free of AF since.

Be patient and good luck.

[zorro15 in reply to Dodie117]

Thank you for your reply

[zorro15]

I Want to thank all of you fine people in the afib community for responding to my questions. EP likes to tell me about it but all of you live it to tell me so my ear leans toward you

[Braygirl]

I had to sleep in an armchair with my feet up for over a week...as soon as I tried to lie down, even really propped up with pillows, Afib would kick off!

I also tried leaning forward on a heap of pillows, which was ok until I slid off sideways.... I feel for you! I eventually could lie propped up on pillows, but only on my right side! As soon as I tried the left, immediate Afib!

Sooo weird!

Hope you settle soon.

[zorro15]

Thank you for your reply

[Ianc2]

Try a V shaped pillow. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper. I had an ICD fitted about on the 9th January and the scar is healing well , and the bruising is nearly gone, but the scar still a red/purple colour and is still healing. Give it time!