Hi all. Well had my cryo ablation this morning. It bloody hurt if I’m honest. My upper chest was really painful snd my lower jaw while they were doing it. Dr shamil Yusuf said it was a text book procedure so fingers crossed he said one of the 4 areas went into Af while he was ablating it
Got to lie flat for a few hours. I feel wheezes now is that normal
Good job lenlec 👍 hope recovery goes well for you. I had mine 4 weeks ago and didn’t personally get wheezing, although I did get shortness of breath. I’m assuming as you said it hurt that you were just sedated?
Thanks. Yes some fentanyl he said. Only took about an hour. I went into af he said and he zapped it
Bloody hell that’s quick mate. Do you know what specific ablation it was? Mine was pvi cryo ablation and took 4.5 hours. Absolute marathon and I was only sedated as well 😬 I also went into af at the end and they had to knock me out to cardiovert.
I had cryo as well all done In just over a hour I think. The ep Said it was successful and I went into af during it so they zapped the bit. 4 hours ? Jesus Christ
🤣 yeah it was a bit of a marathon. A lot of the ablations on here were around that sort of length though to be fair. Yours must have been fairly straight forward so hopefully you’ll have a good outcome 👍
If it was under an hour that's a good sign as, presumably, they didn't find too much that needed ablating?
Hopefully. He said as soon as he got to my heart. Af started. Soon as he zapped the first vein. It stopped so fingers crossed
Well, I base this on what I was told by a consultant at Barts: the more ablating there is to do the longer the procedure. An hour is quite short. And they don't know in advance how long a procedure will be. Glad that everything went well (apart from the pain).
Pleased it all went well for you ! We often seem to hear that Cryoablations can be painful. I wonder if they don't sedate as much. I've only had RF procedures which have been uncomfortable at worst.
Do yourself a favour and read the fact sheet so nothing surprises you.
heartrhythmalliance.org/res... Now rest for at least a fortnight.
Cheers Bob. One thing that panicked me a little. A your cardiologist started the procedure. But the main ep came in and did the freeze bits. Is this quite normal?
The ep said one of my vein areas went into af during the procedure. Is that normal.
I had RF ablation and it did hurt. Luckily I zone out after a bit as I don't remember coming out of theatre. If all went well that's what matters. Now do as uncle Bob says - read your fact sheet and put your feet up for at least a week or two.
Good luck in your recovery 👍
Glad it's all over for you Lenlec.
I've had three ablations first two were with sedation and last one a general anaesthetic. Far preferred the GA. My second one (sedation) took 6hrs and during it I had two cardioversions that one left me totally traumatised and to be honest I couldn't have faced another one done that way.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, take it easy for a week or two now and let us know how you progress.
Jean
This has totally scared the crap out of me now 😬 I have a cryo ablation under sedation in October and I was hoping to be knocked out enough to not feel it and now I don’t know what to expect! 😳😩
Hi don’t let it scare you. Honestly. It’s hurts for some. Some it doesn’t. Tell them for extra pain relief. I’m on the day after mine now and so glad I got it done and out the way.
I was petrified at the thought of pain for both my ablations, however the sedation was so good I felt nothing, might as well have been under GA. I wasted a lot of energy worrying and suggest you don't do the same. The team want you still and calm for the procedure so they aim to keep you as unaware as possible.
I was fully awake and it was fine . Had it last week. I’m glad I didn’t have a GA . Felt fine after .
The question arises: why do some people report finding the procedure painless and others experience a lot of pain? It doesn't seem as if this could be accounted for simply by differing perceptions/tolerance of pain. I'm wondering if it means that, where there is pain, the procedure has been carried out incorrectly or if operators are learning on the job? In your position l would speak to the EP via his secretary and ask what variables might affect the level of pain experienced during an ablation and how many of his patients have reported significant pain.
My AF attacks were quite severe and I spent a lot of weeks in hospital over time. I've had two ablations under sedation and they didn't hurt at all. A nurse was sat a few feet away from me and every time I started to become aware he would signal and I'd be given more sedation. My second one was unusual as it lasted for 6hrs and the person who was meant to have their procedure after me was sent home.
Don't go worrying, because you'll feel silly afterwards when you realise how easy it all was.
Jean
Thanks so much, I’m not normally a worrier as I’ve had various operations etc, I think it’s because I know I’m going to be on my own this time as they aren’t allowing anyone to come with me and my family will be sitting at home stressing over how I am, stupid Covid!
I'll second that stupid covid!!! Neighbour has just told me of a relative of hers who's died from it age 57. Was a heavy smoker and had COPD.
Get well soon
Thanks mate. I’ll be out doing 10k this time next week. Lol.
In a car....😃😃😃
Hi Lenlec mine is now booked for November. Anything has to be better than this. I really really hope this goes well for you. Good book, nice view, you are the other side now.
Wishing you a smooth recovery ☘️
So what is the consensus. Best to have a GA or not. And does the GA leave you with a longer recovery?
Yes, I found the cryo ablation agony. They warn about the brain freeze but it just overwhelmed you. The pain in the chest and back was agony and then I don’t know what it was but I then had some hard thumping in the same area for about six thumps. I cried. I would have it done again because it worked the best but I will be so frightened. Half hour after my headache and cough went and I was ok. They did keep me in overnight.
I had my AV Node slow pathway ablated but now I'm not sure if they did anything at all after reading here.I had no sedation at all. Hardly any pain at all during or after.
A slight pain of about 3 on the pain scale while the EP was forcing the AFlutter on but nothing during the actual ablating.
Best wishes ❤️🩹
That's what my doc said about my procedure 3 years ago--textbook. After a bumpy start, I have been afib free ever since.
Well done . Had my cryo ablation done a week ago. I’m feeling better day by day . Take it really easy
I hope today has been better for you. I had the Cryo 4 1/2 yrs ago. I went into Afib twice the first week or so (very normal) I remember the feeling of my heart being bruised. That lasted almost a month.
I am so sorry they didn't put you out for the procedure. Did they give you an option.
2nd ablation done!
Confused after Ablation today
Ablation done 
3rd Ablation Done
