Hi all - I want to preface this post by saying this is not to deter or scare anyone from having an ablation. I think the success rate far outweighs the latter and if you’re considering one/your QOL is being affected it is a good idea. That being said I need to know if anyone has a shared experience or feels similarly. I had my ablation for SVT in July 2020 - coming up 2 years soon. Prior to my ablation, I was living my life normally with no limitations as I had only had 4 SVT episodes. I could drink alcohol, exercise as much or as hard as I wanted to, really do anything (I was 21 at the time and am now 23 years old). The first thing any cardiologist would suggest to me when talking about my episodes was an ablation, naturally I began thinking about it and concluded that I could have the ablation and continue living my life because it was seemingly such an easy procedure (this is what EVERY doctor told me). My EP told me I would only spend a week in recovery and did not make me aware of any side effects, of course he went over the possible down falls that could happen if something were to go wrong because it’s a legal obligation. I decide to have it done.
Fast forward to July 2020, I have my ablation done and am being wheeled to the recovery room. All has seemingly gone well, when as I’m laying in bed my heart shoots to 160 BPM and I’m having an SVT episode. The nurses come in and call for my EP who was in the OR performing another ablation. He comes out and asks what happened, I told him nothing, I don’t know what’s going on. He says because this is happening he’d like for me to go back into the cath lab and have a second look. I go back in for a second ablation not even an hour after my first. Unfortunately, I really think he may have cauterized good cells of my heart when he did the second ablation. I hold no blame towards anyone, but I felt drastically different when I came out the second time and not in a good way.
Since then, I have been taking Metoprolol 25 mg once a day to be able to control my heart rate. I can’t exercise the way I want to for fear of the SEVERE ectopics I experienced a week after my ablation was done. I have succumbed to severe anxiety which in turn makes the palpitations worse. I cannot drink alcohol anymore, which to some may seem like a good thing, but I am 23 years old and all my friends activities revolve around drinking so I am isolated. My QOL has significantly decreased. I believe I would have had to have an ablation anyways because the episodes were becoming more frequent - but I wish I did more research instead of putting all my trust into one doctor. I am going through a severe depression, not knowing if I will ever be able to live my life the way I want to again. Thanks for listening to me ramble, if anyone has any similar experiences after an ablation please let me know how you got on. Thanks
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Dogluvr95
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So sorry to hear you have had such a traumatic time. In your position I think I would seek a second opinion from another EP. Little wonder you have anxiety and feel depressed. You are young, strong and I dont doubt there is help out there for you. Please seek further help from the medical profession.
Nothing goes on forever and you will find a way through this to get back to the person you are. Dig in there will be a solution to help you, dont give up. Best wishes.
Hi Dogluvr - so sorry to hear your story which has obviously severely affected the life you envisaged for yourself.
My experience (quite a lot of experience with working with depression and anxiety) and as a fellow sufferer of AF is that when something doesn’t pan out to how we expected, we sometimes find it very difficult to come to terms with our new reality and it is that rather than the procedure itself that causes the depression and anxiety.
Ectopics are horrible and I found them far more difficult to deal with than the AF. You were not well served by your doctors who I believe just really don’t accept or reflect the reality of the affects of ablation nor the recovery time which for many is a LOT longer than a week! I know some people’s experience are that it stops AF and they can than resume ‘normal service’ but unfortunately, it isn’t so for everyone.
You feel isolated from your friends because you are unable to share their activities and we have all been badly affected from what is going on in the world, let’s face there is no good news these days. All these factors on their own can lead one to a very dark place, but accumulated and without hope and acceptance that nothing lasts for ever we can become ‘stuck’.
I believe the meds given for AF adversely affect us far more than we are aware of, especially Beta Blockers which because they are Adrenaline Blockers tend over time to increase anxiety and mood changes. It often seems we are between the devil and the deep blue sea - take them and suffer, don’t take them and suffer. Beta Blockers are not advised for those with vagal AF and if your AF was originally triggered by exercise, there is a possibility that Beta Blockers will exacerbate your symptoms rather than help so research and talk to your doctors about that. richardbogle.com/blog/vagal...
You are very young to be in this position and although I think you made the right decision at the time to have an ablation, unfortunately although it may have stopped the AF it’s not left you in a good place. So how are you to move through this?
I have no solutions and there is no easy answer but I would suggest you look more at strategies and help of how to come to manage your health wholistically. Inform yourself and look for inspiration in others who have had to tread this road. Doing things we enjoy create Endorphins (feel good hormones) which counter the stress hormones - you used to get this ‘hit’ with alcohol and exercise so you need to replace these with something which is much less injurious to your health and find another ‘tribe’ to join.
Find a good therapist - doesn’t matter whether physical or psychological - to help you with coping with your anxiety and your mindset who will help finding a none medical means of coping with the ectopics would be my priority. It will take time, a long time, require a huge commitment from you and the excellence of a skilful and experienced therapist. Change will only come when you change something.
Your life may never be what you envisaged for yourself, but it may still be fulfilling and rewarding.
PS - Benerra gave you a really good reply on your previous thread about stopping Beta Blocker (not to be undertaken without medical supervision and VERY gradual reduction - think months not weeks) regarding getting used to ectopics - I also wanted to add that gender makes a difference - females seem to have a lot more problems with Beta Blockers.
Thank you, Dreamer, for sharing this response to the author. It is a help to me as well. Especially the comments on beta blockers and vagal nerve. But lots of good advice, so thanks!
My heart goes out to you, you are far too young to be encumbered by heart rhythm problems. Don't give up on the hope of feeling better.
What to do now:
Try supplementing with magnesium - Taurate is a good one that helps a lot of people reduce rhythm problems. I take magnesium glycinate and feel that has helped my heart. Vitamin C can also help.
Try to stick to a diet that doesn't contain any artificial additives. Sweeteners were a sure trigger for my AF, along with alcohol and caffeine. If you need to lose weight that can help, also increase your intake of water and reduce sugar.
Have a look at this caring Cardiologists website and see if there is anything there that can help you naturally. I know there is a presentation there on coping with ectopics:
Thank you for posting about this in such a thoughtful way - being aware of how others might be put off ablation and not seeking to blame the medics. This says a lot about you and you certainly are doing the right thing by reaching out here.Approach your GP and ask for 2 things - a referral to see a different and experienced EP at a cardiology department that has an excellent track record. In England you have the right to be referred anywhere in the country. Your GP can also help you get started on some psychotherapy to assist with managing the depression about the impact of this significant change on your life. Most GPs will offer a version of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that includes mindfulness.
For the ectopic misery I'd recommend doing some breath work. If you are doing your own search for a psychotherapist look for someone who details 'Breath work' in their skill set. Or, you could just start with James Nestor's book The Lost Art of Breathing. On this forum many report that slowing the breathing down to 6 breaths a minutes calms the ectopics. Worth a try.
A final and slightly random suggestion to improve your social life - if you like music consider joining a choir. Singing with others regulates the heart beat and also increases the oxytocin hormone in the body - our social bonding hormone. There are loads of brilliant choral groups around - you don't have to read music or have a 'good voice'. You've already got a voice anyway. But it's a regular, social and highly enjoyable activity. Just might appeal. I'm not a choir leader myself - work more with teachers and soloists - but I see the profound and positive impact that choir singing has on people's lives. That's why I'm suggesting it.
That's very interesting about the Oxytocin - I had never heard of that. I sing in a band so that probably explains why I feel so upbeat after a practice session and want to talk to everyone 😂
I feel very sad for you but I wonder why not being able to drink alcohol means you can’t socialise with your old friends? I’m wondering if, because you feel depressed (I certainly would under the circumstances) that is the excuse rather than the reason. Otherwise if your friends can’t cope with you not also getting off your face maybe you need new friends?
I’m sure you don’t feel strong enough to do this now but as soon as possible I would report your bad outcome to somebody, first the original EP if not already and then someone higher up. Your QOL was supposed to have been improved but it’s been reduced considerably and since you were encouraged to have the ablation you are entitled to be upset. I sometimes worry that some doctor’s enthusiasm can outweigh their competence so your wish that you had done some research is a lesson to us all.
There are two schools of thought about ablations : Nip it in the bud and Wait to be desperate. I’m in the second for now but as EPs become more proficient and equipment more reliable the first one will probably become the ‘right’ one.
23 is a bit young to be philosophical so I hope another EP may be able to help you and I wish you all the best for an improved quality of life in any way possible ❤️🩹💞
Wow, I cannot begin to describe how thankful I am for all of your replies. They have brought tears to my eyes and really validated my feelings and experience. Since this has happened, I have felt like I’ve lost my mind as I’ve had such an awful experience and my doctor keeps telling me that there is nothing wrong with me and I should be living my life to it’s fullest extent, but I physically can’t. To hear all of your ideas has brought me hope that I haven’t felt in nearly 2 years. I’m going to call and make an appointment with another cardiologist and hopefully gather a second opinion. Thank you all so much, this community has truly gotten me through what has been the roughest time of my life I think. ❤️
Maybe try an Electrophysiologist - they specialise in rhythm problems. As said above techniques have progressed to real -state -of the- art technology and without knowing your medical history you should have a good chance of improving or even sorting your rhythm problems out.Take care x
Well done! This is not good of your doctor- not good at all! Research a good EP and if necessary pay for a consultation. Usually it's between £250-300. Your GP (once you've got a name) can write a letter of referral either all your relevant medical notes. They can be bu##ers GPs - had to twist mine's arm even to get that letter of referral. Do a Google search on UKs top electrophysiologists and if you want recommendations you'll probably find someone here who's been seen by that person.Seems to me you've 2 routes - you chase your original EP and ask what went wrong and what theyre going to do about it (takes time). You seek a second opinion and start a process for referral elsewhere.
Hi dogluvr 95,I have suffered with a similar story to yourself. I was asymptomatic without any episodes of AF palpitations or limits to my everyday life prior my ablation in February. Again I was told in the long run it’s better for my long term health to undergo the procedure, I wasn’t told of any complications or after effects of the operation. it’s been 4 months since my ablation & from the minute I was taken in to recovery I have had nothing but problems. I understand it’s a day case procedure but they literally give you no information regarding aftercare. This is something that I feel needs attention to for anyone preparing to undergo the procedure. I was suffering hemiplegic migraines, something I didn’t no even existed, these include vision impairment, awful crippling headaches & paralysis which in my case was the right arm, I was in & out of hospital the following weeks due to these problems, only until I learned via specialist that these issues can be caused by the catheter ablation. It settled after 3 weeks but was followed by serious bouts of ectopics & AF episodes causing more stress & worry as I’ve never been in this state prior to the procedure. I understand about the blanking period & ectopics which are usually normal after this operation but it’s still causes you to worry, especially when I didn’t have it anything like this before the surgery. This whole experience sent myself into depression as it’s been nothing but a tough time in the last 4 months. I’m now waiting for good news on if the ablation was actually successful for me!I have to stop some meds soon to check how it works without. I’m still a bit skeptical if I made the right choice in having it done, fingers crossed I did the right thing. I definitely wouldn’t do it again just because I felt better before this & the aftermath hasn’t been a great experience for me. Like you said the worry of the problems brings the extra palpitations & ectopics which can set off the AF so it’s a tough one to deal with, the cycle just keeps you down. I hope you start to feel a lot better soon & hope it’s all worth the headache in the end for the both of us.
So sorry this happened to you, I often wonder if enough research and follow up is undertaken after ablation because although there may only be a minority who suffer as you and Dogluv are doing, it’s devastingly life changing for you.
I wonder if there is a medical audit of these counter reactions and who you report them to and who is tracking them?
Think you've made a good point. More than once here I've seen people report that they don't experience much change in QOL or are symptomatic but are told "it will get worse if". A good cardiologist or EP won't tell you that. The EP I saw privately (Dt Tim Betts) specifically said that treatment options for AF patients needs to be patient led.
67 have suffered with Atrial Flutter, have been advised ablation is an option, but have declined so far because I am fairly functional and not in any pain. Point I wanted to share is that I was on Metoprolol and that was frankly awful caused depression, fatigue, confusion etc., finally switched to • DilTIAZem (Eqv-Tiazac) 180 mg/24 hours oral capsule, extended release. huge difference depression and other side effects went away and heart rate still controlled. Did that of course in consult with my Cardiologist, who I changed to get one that i could more easily talk with. Anyway good luck, I believe with good medical care and time your situation will improve so hang in. This is a bump in the road which you will get over!
~Hydroplane - please can you tell me what strength (mgs) of Metoprolol you were on prior to switching to Diltiazem extended release?Been struggling with bouts of depression for some time & thought I could reduce my Metoprolol after my PVI cryo-ablation I had 4 months ago.
At checkup EP said I can not reduce any of my meds - that was part of the reason why I finally went ahead with procedure .
Seeing Cardiologist next week for heart rate issues - will raise the above question - I presently take 95mg Metoprolol.
I believe it was 25 mg of metoprolol once or twice a day sorry dont remember. I do remember sitting and crying and telling my wife I have to get off this stuff, and when I made the switch was doing much much better. But as my Cardio told me everyone is different. For me it was hugely beneficial to change to time release DilTIAZem. Part of the problem is when you are on difficult meds you dont seem to have the energy to discuss with your doctor, but I encourage you to do so. Best wishes.
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