Ablation last Tuesday...thx and exercise thoughts

[Jmc43]

I had an ablation last Tuesday morning, and am in the first week of recovery. I feel very good, and — except for one — have had no sides effects so far. I have no palpitations or missed beats, the entry wounds have almost completely healed, the modestly sore throat got better the next day, my heart rate is only mildly elevated, and so on. The only side effect I have had is the migraine aura...I have had three of them so far, just the aura, no headache. They last about 20 minutes and then they are gone. The last one yesterday was less severe and was gone in 15 minutes. But I want to call out the “Recovering from Afib...” info sheet here, is it has been so useful, especially in alerting readers like me to possible side effects. Without some warning, I would have really been bothered by the migraine auras, and they would have caused me a great deal of anxiety. I have had them in the past, but usually only once or twice a year at most...to have 3 within a week would have been startling. So thx very, very much for those responsible for that invaluable information sheet.

Now I am trying to figure out my recovery strategy, as I know we are all a bit different. I am 76, but very active — 2 mile fast walks 4 to 5 times a week, Tai Chi, lots of golf, and so on. I know I have to ease into it, but I feel ‘normal’ right now. So I am going to begin longer walks, not speed walks but regular walking, and some Tai Chi. I did some of this yesterday and felt fine before and after. Not sure when I can begin golf again, but will probably putter around the practice area this week. Would appreciate hearing others’s experience with exercise during recovery. I have read some posts, and as usual, find them useful.

I know ‘listen to your body’, is good advice, but not sure what that means around exercise. Does it mean if you push too far, you get fatigued? Palpitations? Something else?

[BobD Volunteer]

Glad the found the fact sheet useful. Listen to your body means just that. If you feel tired then stop and rest. A general rule regarding exercise is that you should be able to do it whilst carrying out a normal conversation. If you can't then you are going too hard. Second week is the dangerous time as you feel good but are so long from proper recovery. Keep it simple and easy for a while longer. Three months is not long and it is far too easy to ruin it all by over doing things.

[Jmc43 in reply to BobD]

Both the ‘before’ and ‘after’ were very helpful, thx. As was your post in March when I first raised questions about an ablation that was scheduled for May. I did postpone it because of the pandemic but glad I did it last week. And your listen to your body advice makes sense, thx. It is what I use normally, guess I should have realized it would still apply 🤣🤣

[SpritzerAce]

Glad to hear day. Speedy full recovery to you n

[CDreamer]

Sounds as though you have done really well. Gentle walking should be good, be very careful with Tai Chi or anything where you would be bending and twisting for a few weeks, yoga exercises did for me in recovery and I always ended up with a bout of ectopics.

I found swimming the best all round recuperation exercise. Slow and steady does it.

[Jmc43 in reply to CDreamer]

Thx for the advice, and I agree. Your experience with yoga is interesting. My impression is that yoga is more strenuous than Tai Chi in certain ways, and perhaps that caused the ectopic bouts. I have found that in Tai Chi there are different sequences that, all of which, when healthy, are very helpful. But some may be too strenuous. Anyway, I tried 10 minutes of the more gentle moves yesterday, and I was fine. Sort of like meditation in motion. I guess I will stay in that kind of area, and maybe progress carefully over the next month. I also ventured out for a careful 10 minute walk, kept my BPM between 60-70, seemed fine after. I guess the challenge is finding the right balance between no movement or exercise — which I don’t think would be good either — and going too fast. Again, thx for your thoughts!

[CDreamer in reply to Jmc43]

Hi - it was any motion which twisted or when/where I bent down which applies to both Yoga and Tai Chi - I have done a lot of both but ceased doing much Tai Chi because of muscle weakness due to a neurological condition and as you say, it does build but also requires a certain strength. Go well.

[Jmc43 in reply to CDreamer]

Thx for the clarification. And the strength element of Tai Chi is subtle but present. The first couple of times I took lessons and watched the instructor, I said to myself, ‘oh, that looks easy’. Ha! Will need to monitor this. Not many moves that don’t involve either twisting or bending (or looking up). Yesterday was ok but only 10 mins.

[Morzine]

Last Tuesday isn’t very long in the terms of recovering.....do what the others have said....slow and steady.....

I felt fine soon after mine but I still took it slow.

I did find when I pushed myself my body said “whoah” and I felt totally knackered...so it’s just not worth it......

Golf sounds a bridge too far right now, it’s a fair old battering your heart has had but as we can’t see it or feel it we forget it’s suffering and needs to mend.

Well done for feeling and being so active I can imagine u r eager to get those golf clubs out!!

Sue

[Jmc43]

Thanks for responding, and it was helpful to hear that you could tell when you pushed too far. It is something I will definitely pay attention to, how tired I feel after some activity. You are correct about golf...I put a call in to my EP to get his opinion about when I might consider playing again. Of course, my wife said that it should shouldn’t be a problem as I spend a good deal of time in the woods puttering around, looking for my drives. Not very supportive of her...🤣

[Gowers]

Aura it seems is quite common - I had this day after 1st ablation. Have had them more frequently since the 2nd ablation in February (3 in a week) - i posted about them on here & had really good response & advice. Yes, the fact sheet is very helpful

[Jmc43 in reply to Gowers]

Thx for your reply. When I first had an aura experience 40 years ago or so, it was quite disturbing. Went to the doc, and he diagnosed it, said that if I took two aspirin or Tylenol within 20 minutes of having the aura it would lessen any migraines that might follow. I may have had a couple of these a year, followed the advice and it always worked. Probably only had a couple the past 5 years. That is why I would have been alarmed to have 3 in a week following the ablation, and why the info sheet was important — plus comments from people like you. Didn’t have any headache, and haven’t had one in 4 days, so they may be receding. And in my case, like others, they seem to be triggered by flashes of sunlight.

Stay well!

[Gowers in reply to Jmc43]

My 1st aura came out of the blue when I was expecting my 1st child. I was walking downstairs in our house & suddenly realised I had a blind spot in my one eye followed by zig zag lines that looked like lightening. I was terrified at the time & thought I was going blind. like you have had these auras with & without a following migraine for over 40 years! & following 2nd ablation I have 2-3 in a week but, thst was a few weeks ago.

[Outtheresinger]

I often suffer up to 12 hours after the deed. After my ablation I felt so much better than before so I embraced what I thought was a gently increasing exercise programme. I walked and cycled moderately and felt pleasantly exercised BUT AF hit me hard overnight. I didn’t make the connection at first but then I could see that exercise brought on AF but just not whilst I was exercising many hours later. The same thing happens when I drink alcohol. Gin and tonic at 6:00pm means AF at 2:00am! Realising this time lag has altered my behaviour and so no more AF! Just keep track of what you are doing and any subsequent symptoms and beware the time lag!

A week is very early in your recovery I would advise always doing less than you think you can achieve for at least a few months. Wishing you a good recovery!

[Jmc43 in reply to Outtheresinger]

Very good point about the time lag. Will keep that in mind. Did two shorter exercise walks yesterday, mild, BPM around 70 (normally 55), and 15 minutes of Tai Chi. So far, so good. Plus, just getting around more and being a bit more active made it easier to sleep. When I was doing very little, I wasn’t tired, found it hard to sleep. It’s always something...😅. Stay well!