I nearly missed this one as a lot of other stuff on my mind at the moment.
13th April saw my 3rd year anniversary of my ablation for fib and flutter by the remarkable Dr Sandilands at Glenfield Hospital.
I can't thank him and his team enough for givening me my life back.
I hope they are all ok in these crazy times.
I'd like to thank the people here too for all your advice, help and support over the last 5 years. I hope my little bit of input now and then helps others
Happy Afib free anniversary. Dr Sandilands was my consultant at the Glenfield too. A truly lovely man who really cares about the interests of his patients. Absolutely first class team X
I totally agree, he goes the extra mile for his patients. He cycled in to work on his day off to get me discharged so I didn't have to wait 3 days over the bank holiday.
They have to have a echocardiogram performed before you can leave and as it was a Saturday he couldn't be sure of the wait time, so he ran around the hospital to find a portable unit, came back to the ward, carried out the scan typed up and printed the discharge letter got my prescription and sent me home.
Great anniversary to reach Mike - wishing you many more.
Nice one mate, coming up to 12 months for me in next week's... Long may it reign hope your doing OK in this madness 👍
Great Anniversary Mike.
It’s my 49th wedding anniversary tomorrow.
Pete
Happy wedding anniversary to you both.
It's our 30th this year and we were supposed to be sitting on the shore of lake Como this week to celebrate 🙄
Thank you for the update. You give me hope.
"13th April saw my 3rd year anniversary of my ablation for fib and flutter"
3 years afib free - hats off to you fella. Here's to the next 3 years 
Paul
Congratulations to you and your heart! Always great to hear good news💜
All the best, thanks for sharing, in the process of considering an ablation, mainly so I can get off the drugs, nice to hear a positive story
Andy
Andy - I spent a couple years on the fence deciding whether or not to have an ablation. My Afib finally got to the point where I had 3 or 4 episodes a week.
I’m 5 months post ablation now and also hope to also see a 3 year anniversary, but I would do another one in a minute if needed. There’s still hiccups here and there, but my peace of mind is 100X improved. It’s still probably not for everyone, but if you find a good EP that believes an ablation can improve your life, you’ll hopefully be sharing similar success stories here too. Good luck!
I was a bit different, the drugs made me feel ill and I couldn't bare being in AF , I was begging for an ablation!
Thanks, how did you find the recovery period?
Andy
Not gonna lie - it wasn’t the smoothest. A day after discharge, developed incredibly bad generalized chest pain - pericarditis. One of worst nights of trying to sleep ever, got proper meds after an ER visit and it quickly dissipated. Then, about 10 days later, went into flutter @ 110 BPM HR...felt like minor Afib, not as thumpy. . ice storm kept me from ER until 16 hours later, I got in and got cardioverted.
After that, minor flutters here and there, one 30 minute Afib episode.
Would still do it all over if I had to. My Afib had gotten to the point that it would start if I ate a little too much, bent over wrong, or slept wrong.
I currently eat, move and sleep with much less worry. Left side sleeping as much as I want...
I think recovery is different for everyone, having an EP that was relatively accessible through all the bumps has helped tons. Good luck!
Ok thanks, am getting more attacks despite the drugs so it's looking like it is a route I will have to go down
Andy
My doc did try Flecainide first, it reduced but did not elimate the Afib. I had to also start Eliquis for the surgery. Was able to quit both 3 mos. post Ablation.
Got a decision to make, sick of the drugs, dont really want to take flecainde for years and years for diminishing returns , appreciate the feedback, all the best.
Andy
No pain at all, but energy and fitness levels took at least 3 months to come back to pre ablation levels
Thanks, small price to pay if it works longterm I guess
Andy
So very encouraging and lovely to hear and hope I can follow the same positive route. Keep well. Max
That's so heartening to hear! Ablation? Congratulations on maintaining your well being too.
Yes, ablation for fibrillation and flutter
Congratulations! Happy for anyone who can be afib free! Best to you in the next three years 
Thanks for all the lovely replies, I wasn't expecting them!
Hi, im under investigation for a flutter and a fib too, a long road,ive been having them for a few years now, more regular. I hate the episodes too, and get woken regularly by them. Is it common to have both arrythmias? Great to hear a success story like yours too.
Fairly common, yes. And from what I have read having an ablation sometimes leads to flutter, but flutter is far easier to treat.
When I was on the cardiac ward with AF the nurse pointed out that she could see the flutter triggering the AF on my ECG
I know I’m not the only one who is so grateful for those, like you, who show up back on this thread with such terrific news. All the best!
Thank you for posting your good news. It really gives others encouragement and hope!
Really good to know it does work. Presumably you had Paroxysmal AF not Persistent.? I'm 49 and am in the que to have one later this year or early next as have Paroxysmal AF where I'm told ablations work better than if suffering Persistent AF. Difficult bit is knowing when the heart will change from Paroxysmal to Persistent and clearly getting the ablation done beforehand. I'm only on Bisoporol 1.25mg daily and have flecanide only as a PiP. Other issue is that if the Flecanide stops cardioverting and I have to have a electrocardiovert. I suppose one is enough to focus on an ablation. Cheers, Chris
Well, it was a long road to ablation. I was misdiagnosed originally which meant I had to wait for a cardioversion so in the end I was in persistent AF for 6 months, then AF for varying lengths but only once did I convert without either flec or dcv and it did progress to flutter just before my ablation.
I've been really lucky though and wish everyone could have the success I have.
I still feel worried when I feel an ectopic or have a run of svt though, I guess I know it will fail at some point
Congratulations! To be six months persistent, have an ablation, then 3 years AF free with no drugs is truly remarkable.
I had my first ablation at 6 months persistent also. But, I had to have another two for a total of three in all. Plus , after my third, I have had to take Propafenone to keep me in sinus approaching 11 months now. I tried to stop the Propafenone about two weeks ago but went back to AF 6 days later. I was one of the most complicated cases at the 6 month persistent stage that my world renown EP had had.
You are an inspiration for us persistent folks.
I'm sorry to hear that, I was on bisoprolol for a good while following my ablation until my heart started getting healthier as I started exercising more.
My HR went down to the low 30s so it was decided that I should stop, it wasn't easy though.
Happy anniversary. Good to read.
Hi Mikee. I’m glad to hear your good news. I had my ablation for AF on July 13th 2016. Ten months later I had a 2-1/2 hour episode of Afib that was probably brought on by prednisone that I shouldn’t have been prescribed. So if I can make it to May 5th without an episode, I too will have 3 years! My Dr. Gene Kim and his team were also excellent. I have a little flutter once in a great while, but no locked in Afib. Keep on truckin!👍
Good to hear, it's not long until may, you've got this 👍
6 months AF free
4 months post ablation and AF free
My AF ECG
Update on AF/Flutter Journey
5 years with the AF Association
