Post ablation 1 month update

[Jajarunner]

Posting this in case it helps anybody out there following my previous two week feedback post.

So I was expecting this recovery to take a while and was pleasantly surprised by how well I felt for the first two weeks of moping about the house. Then I had a couple of days of feeling very poorly (tired and lightheaded) and panicked and got in touch with the Angels that are the Papworth arrythmia nurses. I explained the sort of stuff I had been doing (bit of light stretching, very short walks and easy tasks indoors and out) and, to my massive relief, they told me my approach to recovery was "absolutely perfect" as with all operations/procedures "even heart transplants..." they don't like people to be inactive for more than a day or two.

And that has continued in the same pattern. I can now do practically everything indoors and have also been gradually increasing gentle yoga (is there any other sort?!) plus a few gentle Pilates exercises. That's all fine. I get 2-3 days of feeling good and then 1-2 days of feeling tired so I expect my pacing could improve!

The one thing that I struggle with is walking. I had expected to be able to walk 0.5 - 1 mile each day by week 5 and instead I can only manage that somedays and then nothing for next day or two, plus legs feel very tired and weak during the walks.

It's extremely tedious and I am extremely impatient to do more. BUT I just keep reminding myself that firstly, despite the tiny scar it was major surgery and secondly if I hadn't have been lucky enough to get this ablation now I would have just been fully recovered from my cr*p year (2 nose ops, two stays in hospital with afib, two cardioversions with associated 2-3 month recuperation, two nasty viruses etc) and then I would have had to go in for the ablation and start the rehab all over again.

So onwards and upwards, even thinking of getting an ebike to use during this rehab process (especially as the correct number of bikes to own is N+1 where the number of bikes you currently own is N)....

Stay safe, keep smiling.

[jobristol]

Glad to hear you are doing ok. It’s so nice when you get that reassurance from the arrhythmia nurses, I contacted mine at about 6 weeks, makes you feel so much better! It definitely is a bit up and down with the fatigue for a while, even now 5 months on I still occasionally get it. I’ve actually started a very little bit of jogging in with my walking, it’s not a lot, just 2-4 mins once or twice in a 4 mile walk and mainly on downhills, but makes me feel like I’m getting somewhere! Us runners/joggers are an inpatient lot! Do hang in there, you will get there, just takes longer than we’d like, but worth it! Good idea with the ebike, especially for the uphills. Keep well and let us know how you’re getting on.

[Jajarunner in reply to jobristol]

Oh Jo, thank you for your lovely message. What a tonic you are, you've made me feel so much better and reassured.

Good news about your running (it all counts) and I'll let you know about the ebike saga. Assuming I can find one in stock in the next few decades...

Keep well and thanks again