anyone with AF also have Fibromyalgia?

[Tilly1957]

looks like I am going onto the waiting list for an ablation and I wanted to explore all areas before I get to the time for making an ablation decision. The Fibromyalgia makes me hyper, hyper sensitive and reactive to absolutely everything, so am concerned how I would react to an ablation. I know it will be personal to me, but if there is anyone else with these two conditions who have had an ablation, I am really interested in hearing how it went, please.

[CDreamer]

It would be how you react to the sedation, painkillers & anaesthetic drugs which would be of concern. The procedure itself would also likely cause inflammatory response so I would talk to whoever you see for the Fibromyalgia and get them to talk to advise the Ablation team. Needs s bit of joined up consulting me thinks.

I don’t have fibromyalgia but anther autoimmune condition & I didn’t recover after 2nd ablation. I am only just titrating down the drugs I have had to take for the last 10 years to control the response. 🤷‍♂️

[Tilly1957 in reply to CDreamer]

I was discharged back to the gp from my fibro guy, once I had been referred to the fibro pain management pathway - which is not aimed at prescribing pain meds, cos mostly don’t work with fibro as it’s classed as a CNS condition. Not anyone I trust at surgery to talk to about it. But I will definitely check it out before I go down the ablation route. Thank you x

[Sunnyann in reply to Tilly1957]

I have cfs /m.e. which is very similar to fibro....I'm highly sensitive to all meds, drugs etc . I had an ablation 18months ago and I had no problem with GA or painkillers..I was very sleepy for 3 days or so but apart from that I was fine Ive also had sedation for a endoscope 3vt times and again no problems at all . We are all different though so make sure you discuss your worries with your consultant

Ann

[Tilly1957 in reply to Sunnyann]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I have to have me echocardiogram next week first, before he puts me on the list, then who knows 🤷‍♀️ How long the nhs wait will be x

[Sunnyann in reply to Tilly1957]

I have an echo at basildon hospital tomorrow as I've developed breathing issues and low blood pressure and my consultant wants to see if there's a valve problem as I have s slight murmur before he goes ahead with my 2nd ablation in November

[Tilly1957 in reply to Sunnyann]

Let us know how you get on. X

[Karendeena in reply to Tilly1957]

I am in the UK under Glenfield in Leicester. I am on the waiting list for an ablation and have been since November 2022. Still not sure about it as so have polymyalgia and take steroids. I do know this is the best option though as my EP says it's not going to go away and likely to get worse. I will always be waiting for the next episode which normally hit me out of the blue. I am afraid to travel

[Tilly1957 in reply to Karendeena]

I watched the YouTube video by dr Gupta, about ablation - nearly an hour long - answered a lot if my questions about af and ablations. My only concern is how long the waiting list is on the nhs 😪

[Ppiman]

I don’t but I have read that FM might well have an immune / inflammatory origin and there’s evidence that AF might well be similar, so the two might be caused by the same basic issue.

So long as your doctors are aware, I wouldn’t worry. Just look forward to a life free from AF!

Steve

[Tilly1957 in reply to Ppiman]

I have read in various places that there are thoughts the two things have a connection. With regards to fibro, my rheumatologist guy said it’s now thought to be a CNS over reactive condition. However, that doesn’t till out the role of inflammation in any of the processes. When the gp was going through my blood tests a while ago, he checked my history of raised inflammatory markers as had gone up a little - he came back with ‘don’t worry, looks like that is the norm for you as it’s been consistently raised for at least the last 10 years, ‘ I would want to know why, but I guess it’s outside of the parameters where they do more tests.

[Ppiman]

From the mass of reading I’ve done to do with covid, which took my interest when it arose, I’ve come to realise that the balance of the body’s “inflammatory” mechanisms might well be the root cause of many ills.

That still leaves the need for an explanation for why that happens, of course, although ageing is generally considered one - which my own GP attributes most of my ills to, even though I’m a youthful 70 year old!

Steve

[Tilly1957 in reply to Ppiman]

I have just watched what I found to be a really interesting YouTube video with Dr Gupta and his colleague (who actually taught dr Gupta!) all about ablation - answers all the questions I would have asked an EP, except which method would they be using (burn or freeze) if I have one Explains why people sometimes need more than 1 ablation. Made sooooo much sense of it all for me.

Re covid, I have a friend who believes recently diagnosed colitis started due to the vaccines …. Didn’t have it before….. hmmmmmm who knows x

[Ppiman in reply to Tilly1957]

I’d be very surprised if a vaccine would cause colitis but covid itself likely can. A friend’s daughter has had a range of issues from hers as well as kidney failure, sadly, and another friend’s husband has come down with an unusual form of rheumatic illness from it..

Steve

[Tilly1957 in reply to Ppiman]

I know someone else who has had thyroid issues since having covid ages ago and it’s not sorted yet 😪

[Ppiman in reply to Tilly1957]

What is worrying is that both of the people I know were fully vaccinated, too. The doctors can’t be totally sure it was covid related, either.

Sec

[Cat04]

I have FM and had a catheter ablation for PAF in 2018. It was carried out under GA and when I came to from the anaesthetic I was in such horrendous pain that I was knocked out again with i/v fentanyl. Spent 5 days in hosp, sent home returned 2 days later for another 6 days due to painful pericarditis and oesophagitis.

Earlier this year I had a surgical AVR, Atriclip and surgical ablation by OHS and came through that with less pain than the catheter ablation but imagine I was well dosed up with pain relief, in ICU for 4 days, but still out of hosp on day 6.

I think you will need a conversation with your cardiology/EP team, I had to stop taking my gapapentin suddenly as it was short notice and that obviously exacerbated my pain situation

[Tilly1957 in reply to Cat04]

Thank you. X

[Nanabrodie]

I had a successful ablation, on the second attempt, six years ago under GA and I also suffer with Fibromyalgia for which I take Gabapentin. I had no problems at the time or since and so far am still free of AF. I was at that time the same age as you are .

[Tilly1957 in reply to Nanabrodie]

Thank you x

[petmice]

I should preface this by saying my fibro is not severe, possibly because I am on gabapentin for an essential tremor, which may also be helping my fibro.

I had an ablation for atrial flutter in April 2022 and another for afib in February 2023. I was extremely tired after the second one, though this is mostly due to the covid I got for Christmas (worse than getting coal in your stocking); I am still "enjoying" its energy-sucking aftereffects.

Neither ablation seemed to affect me, though I went out of my way to facilitate my healing. That said, everyone's fibro is different. Keep in mind that what afib does to you might be more of a problem in the long term than what the ablation does to you in the short term.

[Tilly1957 in reply to petmice]

Thank you x