Fatigue after ablation

[Sweevil]

Six days ago I had an ablation and today and yesterday I have had extreme fatigue lightheadedness and muscle weakness. On days three and four I had ocular migraines with bright lights and impaired central vision. This fatigue is very unexpected. My heart rate is in the 70s in my blood pressure is normal. Thoughts?

[jeanjeannie50]

I'm afraid that all sounds very typical of how we feel after an ablation. So I'm sorry to say that it sounds perfectly normal. We say for the first week rest, then do little during the second, gradually building up to short walks when you feel ready. Whatever you do, do not push yourself to do too much. Your poor heart has taken a battering and needs time to heal.

That fatigue will hit you out of the blue many times as you recuperate, but if you are overly concerned at all please talk to your GP.

Jean

[Sweevil in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks Jean. I’m sitting in the ER Now as my nurse suggested I come. I think the heavy arms did it. Chest tight, head hurts, tingly down arms to fingers and light headed. Faint and low blood pressure so in a wheelchair. Did labs and ekg so we’ll see what’s next. Did not want to come but nurse strongly suggested I should.

[lovetogarden in reply to Sweevil]

Good the nurse referred you to the ER, not fun, but best to allay your fears and get checked out. That said, it sounds quite normal from what I’ve experienced after ablations too. Not surprising how tired one can be after they “mess about” with your heart. I also tend to get ocular migraines, so I get those after ablations too. I now know just to sit back and enjoy the light show! Hope you get the a-ok to go home soon!

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Sweevil]

Hmm, you didn't mention the heavy arms or tight chest. So I guess that may have started later. I would have said go to hospital too. Yes, always best to seek medical advice from a medical professional with those symptoms.

Let us know how you are in the morning please.

Jean

[Buffafly in reply to Sweevil]

How did you get on?

[BobD Volunteer]

Read this please. It is not unexpected by those in the know.

heartrhythmalliance.org/res...

[Sweevil in reply to BobD]

Thanks so much for this info. It should be standard for all. Surely was surprised by the eye light show and the extreme fatigue. Getting. He led out at ER now at nurses strong suggestion. I think the heavy arms led her to err on side of let’s not take chances. Thanks again.

[Hidden in reply to Sweevil]

I was warned by the helpful fact sheet on this site. 7 days in I had the strangest ocular event that lasted 20 minutes. The first week I was tired, felt better in second then suddenly crashed, felt like lead. Good luck!

[thejepo]

All sounds normal to me also - I had migraine aura also and often fell asleep during conversations 😀

[Sfhmgusa]

I had very similar symptoms post ablations, for the first week and much of the second it is really important to rest and do as little as poss. I’m sure after 2-3 weeks you will start to feel the benefit.

It has often been said here that the absence of a big scar can make us fort get this is a big event for your heart

[CDreamer]

Fatigue is quite usual but should improve week2 and as Jean & others said, rest and recuperation and take things really slowly and gradually. They didn’t tell you this did they?

Muscle weakness isn’t usual so if it doesn’t improve within a few days then maybe do ask for investigations, especially if you start getting blurry or double vision. That is what happened to me, I kept expecting things to improve and they didn’t. After 6 weeks things were no better and other symptoms developed so although fatigue on it’s own isn’t unusual and will clear, muscle weakness is not usual, not should extreme symptoms persist for more than a few weeks.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and long lasting NSR.

[Challiefan]

I had my second Ablation almost 4 weeks ago. My migraines started on the night of the procedure, and lasted a couple of days. I've had none since. Paracetamol knocked them on the head. Very strange occurrence - vision disturbances, and a queasy feeling, but no headaches.

Heart pains, but hey, that's hardly a surprise. The most spectacular injury was my bruises. Black and huge alongside my gentleman's bits, and only now just about faded away. Bruises on my arm as well, but again, that's hardly surprising

Not too much tiredness, which is good. I've been back at work for almost 2 weeks, and I'm feeling a bit better every day. For me, the downsides are a small price to pay for what was quite a major 3.5 hour procedure.

Good luck with your recovery. Hopefully all the nasty side effects will disappear before you know it :).

[Sweevil]

At my EP nurse’s suggestion via phone, I came to the ER yesterday about 3:30 pm. Since then, I’ve had EKGs, chest X-ray, head CT, bloodwork galore, and will have a nuclear stress echo this morning. My Trop number is concerning. They want to be sure I did t have a heart event as that signals heart damage. Well, I’m thinking the freezing in the ablation caused damage and may be the reason the number is high. It’s now about 8 am. Headache from lack of sleep and more but my chest tightness, fatigue, and muscle weakness are gone. Also gone is my carafatei was on to coat my esophagus. It is a puzzle whether that might have been the cause of many of my symptoms. The last time I took it was before lunch yesterday where after I was a limp noodle with chest pressure and wooziness and heavy arms and by supper time I felt completely normal yet there I sat in the ER waiting for a bed. The beds are filled with COVID-19 patients btw. I spent the night in a holding room on the back side of the ER and finally moved from a stretcher to a softer hospital bed about 1:30 am. So here I sit fasting ready for my echo just in case.

[Sweevil in reply to Sweevil]

Carafate is the drug I’m not taking. Excuse the misspelling.