12 months ago, I went on a list for ablation at a time when my HR had consistently been higher than normal., but no more than 100bpm. I suggested to the hospital that my medication should be reviewed instead but they pushed me towards listing anyway.
I had my GP review the meds very quickly (ignoring the massive increase in Flecainide the Cardio Nurse wanted) after which I had very little AF, and my numbers have been within the NHS guidelines for several months.
Today, I have been asked to have the pre-op assessment....
As I consider that the meds are controlling my condition 90% of the time, I'd rather not opt for an invasive procedure... so I came off the list.
My BP is an average of 128/79 and HR 60 on average.
Any thoughts?
Written by
Hanibal
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I did the same. I was fine for quite a while but eventually AF got worse. Some say earlier the better but like you I felt it was taking a hammer to crack a nut.You can always go back on zee list! But these days ,may take longer than you might like or need.
All your results look fine at the moment don't they? Lets hope they stay as good for ever.
There will always be a chance to have an ablation at a later date, meanwhile new ways of performing procedures that work more efficiently could be discovered.
I’m not keen on having an ablation either, I was given the choice of a pacemaker (because of low heart rate sometimes) or an ablation for my Afib, which one to have first, I chose to have pacemaker and in the 6 months that I have had it I have only had one a fib episode so really don’t want to go the ablation route.
I have also changed my diet and lost about 16lbs in weight and will continue with this indefinitely.
I’m lucky I don’t have to take any meds for afib apart from anticoagulant, now I have a pm I can take a beta blocker as a pip if needed.
It’s your choice to decide as it’s your body, I felt the EP I spoke to was trying to push me in the ablation direction but I chose the pm and am very pleased I did.
What is the burden of your Afib? Do you get rare episodes, frequent episodes or are you in persistant Afib. It seems you live well with it - enough to remove yourself from the waiting list. After 12 years I had episodes every other day and the meds didn't really work which helped me decide along with information on here. Perhaps you will make that decision too one day and ablation techniques are changing all the time. I think you have made the decision that suits you for how you feel now.Take care.
If I was you though when you speak to your specialist, I would go back on the waiting list as a precaution and in the meantime work on Lifestyle choices.
When you are called, I would have a prompt private appointment with your specialist for a frank discussion and then decide yourself whether to go ahead or not. Avoid being pressurised.
No one can tell what the future holds with af, and there seems only scant evidence that ablation is better than medication. That said, the side effects from the latter seem much less than the former, so an ablation might yet prove to be the better choice. Until that evidence is made certain, I would think you've chosen well.
Treatment of each individual for Afib seems to be largely an experiment for doctors.
We are faced with the choice of which experiment we want to try first.
Since doctors aren't that sure what will happen with each patient, we have to go with our own sense. I would hold off, keep studying the subject and see how things go in the coming months.
“Hanibal” - the “system” asked me to make a comment because I have “experience” with flecainide.
First I would say that your opinion seems correct and it’s very disappointing that your GP spends so little time & effort giving thought to your meds and what has been happening with you.
The Healthunlocked system asked for my opinion because I have “experience” with flecainide but my experience was the opposite of yours. It disagreed with me extremely, and I had to stop taking it after three days.
Everybody is different.
It’s your choice, yes, but it’s also HIGHLY relevant what’s working for you and it sounds like, so far, flecainide is working very well for you.
The only reason I can think of for your GP to recommend ablation is if there is a danger in staying on flecainide too long.
You would have to talk to him about that. If there is such a danger, then there needs to be a way for you to get off that particular med.
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