Hello to everyone😊, I have PAF and last Oct my EP recommended I have an ablation. Yesterday I got a phone call to say I am having it done on 6th Oct. It’s quite daunting but I’m ready for a better QOL ☘️
Ablation: Hello to everyone😊, I have... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Ablation
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Eirecara
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BobDVolunteer
Use these links to read our two fact sheets which will doubtless help you prepare and recover.
heartrhythmalliance.org/res...
heartrhythmalliance.org/res...
Hi Bob, do you have any of these for cardio version please?
You don't need a fact sheet for cardioversion. I was scared of it. It was a doddle. One minute I was lying on the gurney talking to the doctor, the next minute I was waking up and talking to the doctor in the room. I dozed a bit, then ate a sandwich and went home in normal rhythm and feeling relieved. I took the next day off to recover from the sedation and was back at work on the following day. It takes moments. I took it easy for a week to let it settle. That's all.
Thank you
Hi Eirecara, hope all goes well for you. Has your AF grown worse?
Jean
Hi Jean, yes, it was happening more frequently and lasting longer. I know I flip in and out on a daily basis. The last disabling bout lasted 9/10 days a few weeks ago. But, I’m sure I’ve had fewer episodes since stopping flecainide and no scary runs which felt like my heart wasn’t beating for many seconds. I hope your feeling well.😊☘️
I've been in constant AF since last November and find it a lot easier to cope with than PAF. I feel totally normal until I do something strenuous. When walking up hills (they're very steep and I live at the top of one), I have to walk slower and stop to catch my breath a little more, but have still done quite a few long walks around the hilly coastline here. It's odd but I feel my heart always behaves better an hour or so after doing something strenuous.
Jean
I’m so looking forward to a hill walk, or by the coast. Anywhere, in any weather will be a blessing ☘️
Good to hear Jean
I always wonder how permanent can be better? If so why do we go through the ablation and strong drugs
??
Rod
I don't know the answer, but my PAF was hideous. It floored me every time for 30 hours at a stretch sometimes or 15 hours on a good one. Heart slamming about in chest. Terrifying. Now I'm in it all the time and take a 2.5mg beta blocker I don't know I have it most of the time. I can't feel it and I don't think it would stop me doing things. The thing that does exhaust and stop me now is my unresponsive hypothyroidism. That's a real bugger.
Fancy pants
Sorry about your hypothyroidism😞
Like you the PAF hit me hard.
How can it be that being in it permanently can be so much easier?? Makes no sense.
How hard did the medics try to get rid if it until you accepted it?
Rod
The medics (as you call them) made almost no effort to stop them. Whilst I was PAF I took no medication until late 2018 when I asked to go onto anticoagulant medication because a friend’s husband had a hideous stroke and scared me. Then I had an episode of AF around end Feb 2019 and it never stopped. I was very stressed at first and that made it worse. I was put onto 2 types of rate reduction at that point, but as no one thought to take me off my BP pill I had a horrible time until I pointed it out to them. The GP sent me to A&E unnecessarily once, but once I calmed down, BP came back up and the BB kicked in I felt much better.
The cardiologist said he’d book me in for a cardioversion that summer and promptly forgot. I finally had it in January of this year. It was successful, but theY had to keep me on the BB because my heart rate was still high. 2 or 3 weeks later I was given an ECG and I was fine. But there were times I wondered. This summer I had another ECG pre cardiologist follow up and I was back in AF. I couldn’t feel it. I have no idea when it reverted. But with the BB it’s mostly fine.
You are not alone in feeling unsure and slightly afraid even, Eirecara. My husband John has now had two - his second was on 28 July this year and he is still recovering from that one, taking things easy and I'm watching him carefully so he doesn't over do things. He feels good and has no regrets about having these procedures. You will feel so much better once your heart is back in normal rhythm so it will be easy for you to overdo things. The leaflets BobD has given you the link to will stand you in good stead - print them off if you can and read them and then read them again. John found the information extremely useful. Good luck for the 6th and I wish you all the best.
Thank you jerseygirl49. Best wishes to your husband ☘️
Every good wish Eirecara, it sounds as though you are well prepared! Just a little word of caution, many feel so well after the procedure that they wonder what all the fuss was about. The problem is they then forget the need to take things easy and overstretch themselves but I sense you will not let that happen. Please let us know how you get on......
Eirecara in reply to
Thank you FlapJack.☘️
Good luck 😊
Thank you Achant1. ☘️
Very good news Eirecara - you are in the best hands in the country. Very best wishes for a better life after your procedure.
I’m confident I am in very good hands Finvola. I was offered an appointment in a private hsptl 2 weeks ago but I refused it because I have faith in Prof Keane. He made a great impression on me at my OP app with him, so I’m going with my gut feeling. I will let you all know how it goes. Thank you. I hope your feeling well.☘️
Hi - I had my ablation two weeks ago last Monday. It is nerve wracking but just try and relax if you can. Remember that the team doing this do them all the time - in fact it’s probably all they do. No sooner are you in than you are out. You will be fine - I promise!!!
I'm in the same situation. Just waiting to hear. I agree and also look forward to a better QOL. Just ask your Angel's for the most benevolent outcome for you to come through this well and for it to keep you well for a very long time, and that the outcome is better than you hope for or expect. Then thank them as if it's a done deal. They come through for me every time. 🥰
Thank you Windoe. I hope you get the app soon.☘️
Hi I am certain that is good news for you and having had ablation #1 in July want to stress the “ be patient” and“ be really gentle on yourself” advice in the factsheets and many replies .
I may need another ablation to tidy up some missed sites but will do it like a shot! My QOL has been greatly improved and touch wood still is improving
S
Hi Eirecara, l hope all goes well for you and l look forward to hearing how you get on. I have been put on the list for a ablation in the Jubilee Hospital in Scotland, unfortunately l have been told l could be waiting for over a year. But apart from going private, which l doubt l can afford, l will just have to stick it out. Wondered if anyone here has any information/experiences regarding the Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.
Eirecara in reply to
Thank you Cowie.☘️
Wow a 12 month wait, i take it your in Eire. I am in England i wonder if the waiting times are similar, i was put on the list a few weeks ago so i have a long wait if so ☹️. I am pleased your finally having it done, i am sure your going to feel much better afterwards. remember what Bob D always says, be patient after the procedure as it can take time to heal but you will get there in the end. Good luck 👍
Thank you😊☘️
Hello, so natural to have pre ablation nerves. I’ve just had my third which didn’t work but don’t regret it. After the second I had two good years and felt better than before and even after this third one which wasn’t successful I feel better than before so don’t regret it at all. Good luck x
I also have had three ablations and am 16 months in sinus albeit with Propafenone. If you've "just had" it, can your heart not stabilize to sinus rhythm with more time or were you told that some signals couldn't be ablated?
Hello, I wasn’t told that it could stabilise just that it hadn’t worked and I had previously been told that the next step would be Pace and Ablate. I’d be very happy if it did stabilise it will be four weeks this coming Tuesday and definitely no better now. Hope you stay in sinus. I did have two years after my second ablation in sinus which was brilliant.
May I suggest you ask them what they couldn't ablate and/or what hadn't work. I find it puzzling that they are so sure that it hadn't worked right after the ablation rather than wait and see , at least for a few months. Have you been given a report of exactly what wa ablated for both your ablations? Also, was it the same EP that did this ablation? Could you not get another opinion?Did they use the latest mapping techniques and catheters? Are you on any rhythm meds now to help the ablation along?
My friend was told the same thing after is first ablation that they could do a Pace and Ablate. Discouraged, he went to Bordeaux, France where he had his second ablation. He is now over three years sinus rhythm.
In terms of myself, my heart was so badly remodelled from being kept six months persistent that although I am in sinus, I still have to take a rhythm control pill for the time being.
What I am merely suggesting, if you will allow me, is to be more informed about what they actually did in order for you to make a more calculated decision for any further step.
Thank you for your interest, I do have the reports and it was explained that it would be difficult because I had been in AF for well over a year due to waiting to be referred and then COVID delays. I think the most modern equipment was used as I was in a top London heart centre. As for anti arrhythmics, I was on amiodarone last time and had horrible side effects. Flecainide was tried while I was monitored in hospital and that put me into a dangerous rhythm. I do agree about being informed but I have every confidence in my consultant.
Hi Eirecara,
I had an ablation last year on the 5th November and I haven't looked back since. I was very asymptomatic when in af and now I have been af free for 10 months. It's great. Just to let you know that it is hereditary, as my father had it and my younger brother has now got it, so beware of this if you have siblings.
It is great to feel well again, so don't worry about the ablation, just think about the outcome, it's well worth it.
Good luck with the op.
Regards Flyer.
Where are you having it done? I had mine in 2013 and never looked back. Be prepared for every eventuality - you might feel great and overdo things too early or feel rough and think it’s failed. Be patient and gentle on yourself. Good luck 🍀
Lallym
Can you please tell me how long it took for you to get over the op?
I am three months post and still bumpy😊
Rod
Hi. It took 5 months. I had quite a lot of af/bumps after the procedure. Then one day I realised a full week had gone by without any episodes. And that was it. So don’t give up hope yet. It can take quite a while. My resting heart beat was raised and took almost a year to return to pre ablation rate.
Good luck and stay positive 🤞🍀
My PAF gradually got worse over 3 years, finally had ablation last year. In first 30 days I had pericarditis, and 16 hours of flutter that had to be cardioverted. All good since, totally worth it. Good luck!
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