Feeling very very disheartened. 48 hours after my 2nd ablation under GA and my heart is all over the place , I feel sick and generally unwell . I know to expect some odd activity with the heart but I wasn't this bad 1st time around and feel like I've taken a massive step backwards .
Any advice and thoughts welcome as feeling very low
Don't be downhearted this is quite normal. Just becasue you do notbhave a giant zip up yur chest doesn't meaan your heart hasn't been seriously assaulted. Read our facts heet on recovery, relax and stay well hydrated.
Hey Ann. Cut that out now. Of course your HR will be all over the place after an ablaltion. It's to be expected and is quite normal. Relax up for a couple of weeks and you'll be back to your old self.
Paul 👍
I know Paul! I know ! Trying to be positive .I'm not very good at doing not a lot and relaxing . Box set and cups a tea for me today with hot water bottle and packet of biscuits on the settee
If you continue to fel like this my advice would be to contact the hospital where you had the ablation.... they should have given you a number to call....and seek reassurance . If I was feeling as bad as you I would certainly do that . Fortunately I had no such problems after my 4 ablations.
Best wishes
J
After my 2nd ablation my heart was all over the place, it settled down after a couple of months and I am sure your will too. Hang on in there 😊
Thank you ....I'm being positive now and I know it'll settle as the weeks go by
That's very strange as I could have just written what you have.
I had my 2nd ablation 20-days ago and I feel the same way (i.e. I didn't feel as rough after the first one). I have strange thumps in my chest when I stand up from bed and when I walk up stairs without any increase in heart rate, which feels very weird, plus ectopics, plus extreme fatigue. My appetite is non-existent, I feel sick sometimes and have mild dizzy spells. All I want to do is lay on the bed.
The only positive news is that all these symptoms have eased a little over the last few days and my hope is they continue to ease over the next few days. I have a feeling that recovery for me this time will be a bumpy road with up and downs rather than a nice linear line of getting better that I experienced the first time round.
Like you, I keep questioning whether I have done the right thing to have this 2nd one, but I must say that the support from others on this forum does help as they all appear to be much wiser than me and have been through what we are currently experiencing.
Many wise and wonderful fellow afibbers on here that have raised my spirits. It's certainly a step backwards for now and we have to hope that our hearts settle .
My consultant was very happy when he came to see me so I keep reminding myself of that and let the healing process run its course . My first ablation I was still improving 10 months after the procedure.
Also I think that because we havnt had open heart surgery we under estimate what we have been through and possible expect to much to soon .
Trying to stay positive 👍
Keep going Ann.You will get there and I think another trip to your fav beach becons .x
Sunnyann, I am in the same position as you. Had my first Ablation on the 7th February and my heart has been going crazy since then - slow heart, Tachycardia, AF with only a couple of days in that time when it’s been normal. Like you I have regretted my decision but having spoken to the Nurse and searched this Forum I think it is all quite usual and we are expecting too much too soon. Let’s both keep positive and I’m sure we will turn a corner very soon. Best wishes.
This is my 2nd ablation and my first was aess eventful recovery. I'm only 3 days into recovery so I know I'm expecting way to much to soon but when you've gone to being relatively active pre op it does feel like a step backward and also because we have not been opened up its easy to forget the trauma our hearts have been through .Time is a great healer as they say .....trying to be positive 👍
I had my second ablation on February 6. I felt awful afterwards. My Apple Watch ECG's showed squiggly, jerky tracings but said I was in NSR. By February 9, I was back in full Afib with tachycardia. I went to the ER and had three (count 'em) DCCV's. I was back in Afib within an hour. I felt like everything had failed. Disheartened is an understatement.
BUT the DCCV, it turns out, did restore my rhythm: I've been in NSR ever since. The bad part is that it did not restore my rate, which remained high, 110's-140's. After three days on amiodarone, my rate went down, but it went down to the 40's, where it has stayed ever since, ten days now. I feel like a dishrag; my head is fuzzy; my short-term memory has been negatively affected; I'm sensitive to bright light, especially sunshine; just want to sit. This is not the me I know.
Despite it all, I remain optimistic. I have agreed to continue the amiodarone in spite of its awful side effects, but lobbied for a dosage reduction ASAP, which my EP agreed to. There's nothing to do now but ride it out during this recovery period, and it will be worth it if my burned and stunned heart heals as expected by the 3-month and 6-month benchmarks.
I'll also note I had a Watchman implant at the same time as the ablation. No wonder my wounded heart is taking its time to heal. I am simply going to give it time and work in partnership with my EP on tapering a medication that makes me feel crappy.
As you can see from the responses you are getting, we are not alone. I think post-ablation literature handed out by EP clinics should simply say boldly and clearly that recovery from an ablation can be very bumpy, especially at first, noting exactly how the heart might behave in those early days and how many people feel, and can take a long time. What happened after our ablations happens to a lot of us, but the literature the EP clinic handed out to me made me think that most people just go back to work in a day or two and feel back to normal within a week. B.S. on that.
My message? Give it time and make sure your EP stays on top of what's going on with your heart. Be a squeaky wheel with your EP if you have to be. Mine is a source of reassurance; if I know that he knows what's going on and is basing his treatment plan on those facts, I feel I've done all I can do and trust he will provide the best way forward. I just have to make sure he knows the details so he can tailor his treatment plan to me in particular, which he has done, shortening the usual protocol for amiodarone dosage given my many negative side effects while both of us wait and watch during the tapering and recovery period.
It's a long journey.
I had an ablation in September, felt very disheartened, as I was getting lots of palpitations. Now after over 5 months, they seem to be easing up a bit. The people on here, were very reassuring and I realised that most people get these after ablations , so it made me feel better to know that. It’s early days and your heart needs time to heal. Hopefully your palpitations will stop eventually.
I took ECG’s of my palpitations, on my EMay portable monitor ,which I put on my phone, to show my EP, when I had my follow- up appointment the other week and he looked at them and said they were nothing to worry about.
I was given a number to ring if I was having problems after my ablation, I’d have thought you would have been given one, so might be an idea to ring them for some reassurance. Hope you get on ok.
It happened to me too. Soon after my first ablation, AF was all over the place; after second ablation, AF began two weeks after. Both resolved themselves as my heart healed. I know it's scary -- just hang in there!
I'm hanging ! Thank you xx
Don’t be too disheartened.! Your heart will be feeling rather annoyed for a while yet after being prodded and poked.? It’s still early days. Take it easy👍
Oh I can tell my heart has definitely got the hump ! Onwards and upwards 👍
You’ll get there sunny. Iv had 3 ablations and the third one played havoc with palps and bursts of afib unfortunately.😡 on my 3 month appointment with the EP he told me I’d Inherited an extra heartbeat which I’d suspected anyway.!!!
6 months down the line I was ok. I still get get episodes of AFIB but it’s months apart and life is good.👍 still work full time and look after my grandchildren.👍
Well said Bob, Can take up to a year to get the benefit, it did with me,
AF after the ablation
After 2nd ablation, cardioversion failed
AF again 15 weeks after ablation.
