Hi all, you may have guessed by now that I suffer from health anxiety, hardly surprising with what's going on in my family and my forthcoming ablation next Tuesday.Attended pre op assessment at Glenfield hospital, staff were very considerate and efficient.
I was given a package of 'stuff' to wash in, cream for up my nose and a barrow load of instructions.
I have to stop Sotalol on Saturday evening and told I might go into AF. Carry on taking apixaban but the morning dose on the day to be taken at 6am with water, nothing else. No food after midnight the night before.
I do trust the experts (Professor Ng is doing that ablation) but whilst I understand staying on apixaban reduces the risk of stroke, surely this increases the risk of bleeding round the heart?
Anyone had similar instructions?
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Karendeena
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The anticoagulant being continued is to reduce the risk of micro clots forming whilst doing the ablation. When I had my first in 2005 this was not done but they discovered that not stopping it reduced the risk of this. Mico embolii may be the cause of brain fog following ablation so this is a good thing. The risk of bleeding is very small by comparison. Hope that is another worry ticked off.
When I was discussing an ablation with my EP and all the risks, his exact words were "you will be anticoagulated to within an inch of your life for your safety" - so I'd feel reassured if I were you, as it's obviously been proved to be a good thing to keep anticoagulated for an ablation.
I understand health anxiety, and feel for you. You're doing great, and you'll get through this to tell us all about your experience, and reassure all of us who will follow behind you Jx
anticoagulant is part of the international protocol for ablation, tested over the decades on thousands and thousands of people across the world. I don't require to take anticoagulant but I had to take them for the ablation and the following 3 months, otherwise they won't perform it, which I understand.
The risk of a clot is higher than the risk of bleeding, hence you take the anticoagulants. Any problems that occur during the ablation will be dealt with by the team of experts on hand. I had my ablation on Saturday, I was almost totally covered on my upper body with stickers monitoring me as I was under GA. There was even one across my forehead monitoring my brain activity.
Instructions vary, but not uncommon to continue with anticoagulation right up to the ablation with the modern NOAC's. Trust your ep on this, and do not worry.
There you go , you've had good answers and I hope that puts you mind at ease on that issue and you feel more confident about your ablation.In terms of the run up , everyone feels a little nervous and there minds race a bit before the day , especially as you might feel your heart rise a bit again with the stress and change in meds. This must feel worse for someone like yourself with health anxiety so I sympathise with you.
So ,what it's good to do in the week before is to find relaxing ways that you enjoy to distract yourself from over thinking about the operation.
Whether it's reading , spending time with family , having a little walk somewhere nice , doing a hobby , chatting with others, pampering yourself or doing some helpful breathing and meditation to clear your mind directing your mind towards the positive and away from thinking about your operation will help you keep calm and cope with it all.
Help your recovery by preparing your body too. Eating light nutritious vitamin rich meals and drinking the recommended water each day helps to strengthen your body and make it ready to cope easier with any stress and your recovery.
Gentle exercise helps to keep the body strong and active and reduces the chances of more aches and pains when you are less active for a while.
Strolling outdoors helps with your oxygen levels which also aids recovery.
Moisturising your skin also makes it less likely to be irritated by the procedure ahead.
Getting sleep or good quality rest each day reduces your anxiety symptoms in the days before the op and also helps your body to prepare for stress and speeds up recovery.
I'm sure things will go well and you will feel more yourself again after it's all done. Take care , Bee
Even patients that don’t take anticoagulants have to take them for at least 3-4 weeks or they won’t do the ablation. In fact they actually control your coagulation during the procedure through the lines you have connected. As I see my blood test results online, I have two POCT blood test results on my records while I was in the procedure. Point-of-care Testing for ACT (Active Coagulation Timing). So try not to worry, these people don’t leave anything to chance and will be in full control, once you’re in their hands you will feel better about it as I did.
I've got an ablation in a couple of weeks. At the pre op I was given similar instructions to take my anticoagulant Edoxaban early morning the day of the procedure and that they would also give me heparin to minimise the risk of clots.
Yes - been there, as they say! Mine’s bad at present thanks to worsening palpitations. I’m seeing one of Dr Ng’s colleagues next Tuesday, with fingers crossed.
Good luck - although you need his skill, not luck, and he has that a-plenty!
Apixaban and staying on it is standard and same when I had mine in December - very best of luck for Tuesday and you’ll soon be looking back knowing it’s over and recovering
Hi, with my first ablation I was on warfarin and I had to have my INR level higher than normal, over 3, or else they wouldn't do it, so as others are saying trust that they know what they are doing.
Hello, my first ablation is on monday morning. I only had a telephone pre-op and havent been given any washes or creams. I take Edoxoban and was told to make sure not to miss any doses in the 4 week lead up, and to take my daily tablet before 6am. Like you I'm feeling anxious, but also relieved that its happening because I want the horrible afib episodes to stop. They've become too intrusive, too long and too incomfortable.
I'm down on the south coast in Dorset so going into the Royal Bournemouth. Great cardiac team - already treated there for CAD abd they've always been fantastic. What about you? My pre-op though sounds very different to yours - just a 15 minute phone call, no blood tests etc and no washes/creams either. All very basic compared to what you describe.
I am slightly anxious about the ablation, but have had a few Angioplastys and although I cant say I enjoyed them (!!) they were alright.
I also had an ablation for Woolf Parkinson White way back in the old days in 1990. It was a very new proceedure then and I had to travel up to the Royal Brompton. It was just done under sedation and it took 6 hours!! Now that wasnt very nice but I did it and I know the proceedure on Monday won't be a bad as that 😊.
Good luck, hope both our experiences are good ones and have successful outcomes.
All of the above instructions you’ve been given and the stuff you have to wash with and put up your nose, were exactly the same as I had, when I had my ablation at Glenfield. The only thing I suffered from afterwards, was a really enormous bruise in my groin, where the catheters went in and a few days later, I started getting ectopic beats, which I was told were normal after ablations. Fortunately they’ve more or less stopped now. My ablation was in September.
Unfortunately, my AF started the night before my ablation, when I’d stopped taking the Sotalol. (I wasn’t warned this might happen) and I had to go into Leicester Royal Infirmarys A&E dept. I was told by the Doctors, when I first started getting AFib , that I should go to hospital, when AFib strikes, as my heart rate and blood pressure soar very high and I get very symptomatic AFib and they wanted to keep an eye on me and try to stop it. They transferred me to Glenfield later on, so I got my ablation done. They look after you very well at Glenfield. It was a bit scary, when you go in the Catheter lab for the procedure. I wanted to jump off the trolley and make a run for it.🤣🤣 but if it has worked and the AFib and SVT I had and was ablated for, doesn’t return, it will have been worth going through with it. I am now coming off the Sotalol, after my follow-up appointment. I am doing it very very slowly , reducing it by 20mgs, one dose at a time, which will take several weeks. I’m down to 60mg at night and 40mg in the morning, from 80mg twice a day. Touch wood,I have been ok so far. I will get one more appointment in September, which will be one year since the ablation then, with Dr Sandilands, who did my ablation and if all is ok, I will be signed off.
Good luck with your ablation. I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’re in very good hands with very experienced Doctors at Glenfield. Best wishes, Cath.
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Jx
Apixaban double-edged sword?
Pre-Ablation Assessment.
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Here we go again!
