Well after being patient for 3 months in the hope that loosing weight & trying to improve my fitness I decided there is no fairy godmother to wave a wand.I need help so I chased cardiology for progress with my EP consultation.With a bit of persistence I found my self a helpful angel who chased things for me.Sophie LGI psc thank you.
I had wondered about an ablation & thought is it worth it but I have decided I need whatever help available.But an ablation seems so scary Have done the CV route.So anybody out there can reassure me ablation.I know no guarantee it will work but just I will not go through hell.
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kkatz
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You're right - there's no fairy godmother! But you're helping yourself by the lifestyle changes, so if you go ahead with the ablation you'll be in a position for better outcome because of these. I've been in this forum since April 2020 and have had RF ablation twice in last 2 years. No regrets. It's not uncommon for people to report difficulties post ablation because things can be unstable for a while afterwards.
What is it in particular you're worried about? Lots of episodes, pain, not being able to do much?
I absolutely recommend taking 3 weeks off. Book yourself off from work if you're working and no commitments. We run our own business and I in fact did no work for a month aside from a few emails and discussions with my husband. You can't do anything much for the first week and have to be really disciplined even if you feel OK. As BobD says - sofa and TV remote week 1, make a cup of tea week 2, week 3 you'll be able to do a bit more. Week 4 in both cases for me - we were able to go away for a quiet cottage break in the UK. Enjoyed gentle walks by the beach and generally mooching around.
It depends what you want to do really ! I'm not one for lounging about and being waited on hand and foot but did not have to go to work. I was fine after a few days and pretty much got back to running the home and cooking meals for OH and anyone else! I was sensible though and did nothing that involved heavy lifting.
After 4 ablations I only recall the second one as giving me problems in the blanking period. This involved quite a bit of tachycardia as well as fast AF which was resolved with DCCV
I'm now 13 months post no 4 and have had no real problems to speak of, certainly nothing that could be described as "going through hell"
I had hip replacement 6 months ago and that certainly gave me something else to think about ....
In the meantime the best thing you can do is get yourself as fit as possible and try to lose any excess weight if needed , even the smallest amount helps . This is not easy if you're that way disposed but it really does help.
On the whole I would recommend ablation. We know that it is not a cure but gives the majority a much better QOL
Can I ask why you think ablation is beneficial if you had to have 4 of them? Were you able to be medication free for long periods of time? I’ve had one failed one , can’t imagine have another… never mind 3 more.
Hi Thomas29 , yes you might well ask why I've had so many ablations !! I'm a difficult case apparently.
As I understand it there are many different sites to ablate and it wouldn't be wise or sensible to go in with guns blazing ablating everything in sight! Normally the first step is Pulmonary Vein Isolation and that works for many but these pesky veins have a tendency to reconnect so will need redoing.
Without going into all the areas of the heart where the rogue signals could be coming from you may appreciate why this has to be a more gradual process , particularly for those like myself who had been in paroxysmal/persistent AF for about 16 years before presenting for ablation no 1. I was told at the outset that I would almost certainly require more than one.....much to my horror !
I was very reluctant to go for ablation ...2009....but my mind was finally made up when I was admitted with a bout of heart failure ( pulmonary oedema) which I was told was a result of my AF history.
Are you still with me? I bet you wish you had never asked 😏 😉!!!
No, I've never been medication free for long periods of time but there is only one anti arrhythmia drug which works for me anyhow. Over nearly 30 years I've had a couple of periods of being AF free which have been 3/5 years but most have been 12/18 months.
I really had to give ablation and subsequent redoing a chance, particularly as I also have had 22 DCCVs. That's my lot now. If necessary pace/ablation will be my next step. As far as my procedures go, Je ne regrette rien!
Same here a complex case with so many triggers and atypical flutter. I just had ablation #3 and a lot of areas ablated including left atrial appendage ablation.
I had an ablation in November 2020, and been in NSR ever since, and off of all drugs bar apixaban. Had a run of Premature Ventricular Contractions during a recent bout of Covid, otherwise fine.
Two DCV's did not work for more than 3 days for me.
Hi, I was initially put on Sotarol, a beta blocker. This only was for two days, as my resting heart rate fell to 50, so I was taken off them.
My resting heart rate quickly stabilized at about 62/65. Before the ablation, without drugs, it had been 165.
I am very pleased with the results, after having had persistent AFIB for about 18 months before the ablation and paroxysmal AFIB for several years before that.
I dithered for years,thinking ablation sounded too risky,given that my AFib and AFl symptoms were well controlled,with occasional breakthroughs. I stayed on the list ,as suggested by my excellent and understanding EP. During Covid.lockdown,things.started to rev up,more breakthroughs and extensive periods ofc24/7 episodes. I changed my mind and decided to go for it. However ,the waiting list had beem 12 to 28 months pre covid so was looking at long wait. Medication adjustments helped for quite a long while ,and self care.( relaxation,diet etc)
I began to whitter again ,is it worth it? Will i make it worse? What if I dont get my nice clever EP and have someone clutching the Easy Guide to performing ablations on the day? What if I die/ get phrenic nerve damage/,stroke...and so on. They dont call me Dithering Dawn or Whittering Wilson for nothing.
Upshot was,suddenly became a lot worse 2 x 5 to 6 weeks of symptoms which floored me. Got in for ablation after second bout.
Panic set in,filled freezer and cupboards,sorted underwear drawers out etc ( in case I didnt make it lol!)wrote letters to my hubby ,children and first grandchild..due tomorrow yippee) I like to keep things dramatic.....
On the day ,not my EP but one who had been at.St Thomas.
So....10 weeks on I have been in nsr 100%, still on meds to retain the heart to behave. EP said he was ccompletely confident that flutter had been zapped completely and highly confident that the cryo for AFib had bern a success.
I havent felt so well for years from day 1. Didnt realise the cumulative effect it was having on me.
BUT you must read our patient leaflets, so useful,and do as they say. Rest even though you may feel fine. I was twitching to get around more but with an eagle eyed hubby no chance of that.
So thats my story so far so good. I hope you may find it helpful. Of course there are other experiences.
Im staying on forum even if i never get AF again. Best wishes
Such a wonderful post that I can relate to.Thankyou so much.Of course I may not get offered an ablation.But having waited 19 months to have a consultation with an EP and it only being a phone one then I want to be prepared.
I’ve had 4 ablations 1 off these wasn’t completed, and yes I’ve choose a different route instead of a 5th ablation, but each time I’ve had an ablation except the aborted 1 there has been an improvement in my AF burden, I’ve recovered quickly and stayed in nsr the longest 18months the shortest 3 months. Would I still have had the ablations quite possibly with the exception of the last one which was the one that only lasted 3 months. Would I of explored different options earlier probably, but hindsight it a wonderful thing. Ablation works beautifully for the majority of people otherwise the NHS wouldn’t invest in it. Gather as much information as you can from reliable sources, spend time digesting it, knowledge is empowering and allows you to make an informed choice. P.S. I never found the recovery hell.
Lots of positive thoughts about the benefits of having an ablation. I think that some people don’t fully understand that an ablation is a procedure rather than an operation. This is the main reason why it can take a while for the scarred tissue to heal which prevents rogue impulses that cause AF from breaking through. Because this can sometimes take 6 months (in my case almost 8 months) many EP’s often leave it 6 months before carrying out their first review.
Here in the UK, an EP’s generally will only offer an ablation if they are fairly confident that it will significantly reduce symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life. Of course this doesn’t always make it easier for the patient to make the decision to go ahead but I think the vast majority do, especially if they have confidence in their EP……good luck.
The only problem I had after my ablation apart from one very bad episode of migraine aura was entirely my own fault as I did the Christmas catering for half the family and had the other half to stay for New Year. A GA isn’t great for your lungs and worse if you are asthmatic so I developed a filthy cough and later when I had a CT scan for an unrelated condition they found I had a small pneumothorax. When the take home leaflet says ‘you can return to normal life in a few days’ it means shower, make simple meals, do a bit of essential housework, not returning to Superwoman duties!
I sat on the fence for a while before having my ablation in July.
In terms of the procedure itself, it seemed to go well, although I was unaware of most of it due to the sedation having done a great job!
When I was recovering I had horrendous toothache and jaw ache. I had no problems with my teeth prior to the procedure. Morphine didn't do the trick so the consultant was called and an echo cardiogram was done to check that all was well - and it was. My consultant said that he had not come accross it before, but his best guess was that I was experiencing referred pain from the heart. They prepared to keep me in for the night if necessary, but everything settled and I was allowed to go home a few hours later. No 'toothache' since.
I had been anxious about the procedure, expecting much more discomfort. In reality, it was a damn sight more comfortable than it was having my teeth cleaned by the dental hygienist a few weeks earlier when I seemed to have so much equipment in my mouth that I couldn't breathe or swallow!
So weighing it up between the cardio team and the dental hygienist, I'd plump for the cardio team any time! Does that help?
I had my ablation on July 6th. I felt really good for the first couple of weeks but then had a run of AF for a few hours (on and off) for a number of days.
That then settled as quickly as it began and I have been fine since.
What I have noticed is that I'm much less breathless when walking and can walk further than I could without stopping. I do have chronic lung diseases and asthma so it could be that they are better controlled at the moment and that would make me better at walking and less breathless. My ankles are not swelling up as much as they were. Coincidence? Who knows. But whatever the reason, I'm feeling better than I have for years!
So I'm not sure if my health improvements can be attributed to the ablation. Only time will tell, I guess. However, it seems likely to me.
Thanks for all that info.Were you paroxysmal or persistent?I guess persistent & it seems to fit in with how I feel.Paroxsysmal as easy to define.Just a total knock out till it passed. Persistent I just keep thinking you are overweight & getting older.But the day or week before I turned I was fit 72 yr old .excercise classes ,gym,long walks,bowling 5 times a week,bowling competitions.But I am better than I was 6 months ago & can do some of these things so do I go through an ablation if offered.But on bad days I think anything to get my life back.I do hope you continue to improve & thanks again for all your feedback.
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