Well.....I had my Cryoablation yesterday ! The procedure took 2 hours......I had local anaesthetic for the groin, and the 2 sedatives, Midazolam and Fentanyl in the cannula, which were supposed to make me a bit woozy but relaxed, so I didn’t fidget !
Unfortunately, those sedatives completely knocked me out, my BP plummeted, and my heart stopped for an instant, and my EP says I was “completely unresponsive “ ! They had to give me something to restore it and get my BP back to normal ! The next thing I knew, was she was rubbing a cold flannel or something on my face , and she was talking to me.....I didn’t know where I was , or what had happened !! She says I had a very bad reaction to those 2 drugs 😱
The ablation was then completed as normal thank goodness !
I then had to flat and still for 6 hours in Recovery, before being moved to the Coronary Care ward.....two of the nurses took it in turns to press extremely hard on the dressing on the groin wound, to aid the recovery of that area.
After the 6 hours were up, I was encouraged to get up and go to the loo.....easier said then done 🙄
Had a rubbish nights sleep.....the EP decided it was best if I was kept in overnight, in the light of what happened during the procedure .....I was constantly being monitored as you would expect.
My EP has put it down on my records about the Midazolam and Fentanyl, so that I won’t be administered those in future procedures.
I was discharged this afternoon Thursday Oct 15th.
I’ve been warned that I may still have some AF episodes while the heart is healing and the scar tissue is forming . I will have a follow-up appt in 3 months time. If my AF has successfully been controlled as a result of the ablation, my EP says it may be possible for me to stop taking the Sotalol.
However, I will be continuing with the Apixaban for the next 3 months at the very least, as the stroke risk still remains and as already acknowledged by so many wise people on here.....I am happy to stay on the medication indefinitely anyway .
I hope the warts-and-all bits of my post don’t frighten anyone .....I just want to be honest .
My road to recovery starts now ......I will be taking it slowly 😊
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bookartfan
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Great news book, shame about the hiccup but fortunately it didn’t impact on the procedure. Now it’s nothing more strenuous than pressing buttons on the remote. It’s good that you were “officially” made aware that you might get a bit of AF so at least you will be aware......all the best!
O K now repeat after me. "I am going to do nothing for the next week and not a lot more the week after other than read the Recovering from Ablation fact sheet three times a day". .
Oh dear but at least you are still with us! Do as Bob says and take it very easy as remember your poor heart has had nasty things done to it so is recovering and will be doing so for many months. Good luck 🍀
My husband has been amazing - who knew he could make such good soup and schedule my medication with such finesse. I am feeling absolutely rotten (day six post ablation) but I am optimistic that my AF has been put on the naughty step and won’t rear it’s ugly head again. I am a little jealous you were done in 2 hours, I went through to theatre at 12pm and never woke up in recovery until 6.10pm? Keep in touch as we can compare notes 😌
So you had a GA I take it ? I’m really glad mine was with a local anaesthetic actually.....I didn’t fancy being asleep ! Although I might as well have been, after the bad reaction with the sedatives 😱
Today, I feel like I’ve been kicked in the chest by a very large horse ( no disrespect to horse lovers !)
I could do with getting this huge dressing off my groin wound, even though I know the wound underneath it will be tiny ! Nurse advised me to gently remove it in the shower, and not try to pull it off “dry” , as it will hurt like hell 😱
Yep, all gone now ! I managed to cut it off in stages, and can now see all the pretty colours in the bruising 🙄 It felt good to have a shower first time since last Tuesday ! I’m following Bob’s advice and doing nothing apart from reading and watching TV . I had a bit of heartburn on Thursday, one of the side effects I suppose, along with general exhaustion.
What about yourself ? Are you still feeling rotten ??
Good I am pleased your getting on ok, it’s difficult doing nothing. I made the mistake of going downstairs in the early hours when my husband was asleep last night to get a glass of milk, and every pot and kitchen worktop was filthy. I got rumbled and sent straight back upstairs but it’s all I can think about now.
Pain wise I have figured out a very comfortable way of doing nothing. I am essentially in a flying position with loads of cushions underneath me. Knees on the bed and body diagonal. The pericarditis really hurts if I lay down normally so my husband being an engineer came up with a solution. So as long as I don’t move more than needed I am a lot better than a few days ago. He is just not so good at cleaning up the kitchen, we have small children so he is going well overall poor thing. We are all well fed and watered so I’ll let him off.
A week on now and all the bruises have fully come out in my groin and on my wrist but not really bothering me. Just makes me wonder what the inside of my heart look like 😖
Oof ! The pericarditis sounds unpleasant 😫 sounds like your hubby is a good ‘un though, like mine .....I’m staying out of the kitchen, and letting him get on with it....I know the mess gets clearly up at some stage 😉
But of a problem with constipation at the moment.....just checked the first aid cupboard......found some years old Dulcolax, which I promptly threw away.....I never take out of date tablets for anything 😱
Great you are home, now do as Bob said -NOTHING 1st week then just as the song goes "a little bit more" you have been through a lot so be extra nice to yourself.❤❤😀💐💐💐🙏🙏
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Update from yesterday's ablation.
4 month post ablation ep visit yesterday 
Ablation feedback from yesterday
My experience, 8 weeks post ablation 
Ablation - all done and dusted 😁
