I had my second ablation (this time it was a Pulse Field Ablation) on June 18.
The first two months were a little rocky, as I healed, and then no episodes after August 29 until I had my follow up on November 1. EP said I could go off my flecainide starting Dec 1 if I stayed episode free.
Then I had episodes on Nov 9, 13, 15, 17, and 19.
I know that my stress levels have been pretty severely elevated by the daily insanity resulting from our recent ghastly election, among other things. But I wondered if anyone here has had AFib recurrence as late as 5 months post-ablation that still resulted in good results, eventually?
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hartbeast
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Obviously there are no guarantees but experience has told me that the supposed three month "blanking period" is a minumum. As we say in our fact sheet on recovery many people are still improving at nine months or a year.
Agree, but there is opinion (I forget where) that one shouldn't just wait and hope during the blanking period and that helping things along with meds such as Flecainide is a good idea. For each of my ablations I was discharged on Flecainide and after the first (when I was nearly in permanent AF, so a difficult ablation) I ended up on it full time. The same will probably be true for my ablation 2 months ago.
Thank you, Bob and Cliff, it’s helpful to hear your specific experiences. I am still taking 200mg flecainide per day, although I had been hoping to start weaning off on December one, as the EP suggested. I do have an appointment with him in a couple of weeks, but it sounds like I should just let go of the idea of going off the Flecainide for now, at least until June, when it will have been a year.
My AFib has been paroxysmal all along, and nonexistent for almost 3 years when I finally found the anti-arrhythmic dosage that worked for me, two years after my first ablation.
I guess this flurry of episodes, even though each was only a few hours, just rocked my boat a bit. Perhaps I should’ve expected that it could get worse before it got better, after the second ablation.
My immediate concern has been that I really don’t want to increase my flecainide dosage. I don’t do well on daily beta blockers and I imagine they will want me to take them with a higher dosage of flecainide. But I’ll know more when I meet with my EP, and I know it’s best if I can avoid worry in the meantime. Hard to do! Thanks again.
I hope your heart settles quickly. Sometimes for our own health and sanity we need to stick our head in the sand and appreciate the small things in life - none of us can turn back the clocks on recent US election result, horrendous though it might be for the world at large. It’s like a kind of grief, and grief is a known trigger of AF. It sounds like you need to look after yourself. A friend of mine in Houston is turning all her focus on gardening! Be patient and good luck with your EP appointment.
I had an episode of A fib plus VT a little over 30 years ago. Take 100mg Flecainide tid. Have tried to cut back but I have lots of PVCs. Recently went thru Stress test, echo of heart and carotid arteries. All good. I don’t know the source of my problems. I an not a candidate for ablation. So Flecainide will be my drug of choice.
I totally get how frustrating that must be. I had an ablation a while back, and while I had a solid stretch of no episodes, I had a few come back after a couple of months, too. Stress definitely made a big difference for me, especially with everything going on lately. I’d say it’s still worth sticking with the plan and keeping an eye on your triggers, as a lot of people end up doing fine even with some recurrences.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have had 3 ablations, none of which were successful.
In fact after the first ablation i was in A/F the day i came home. When i rang the cardiac dept that had performed the ablation the day before, they said to me, without a word of a lie, "what do you want us to do about it?" Anyway from then on my experience never improved, in fact the first ablation only made my A/F worse. Pre-ablation i was having A/F episodes every 3 or so weeks, but after my first ablation they came on every 3 to 4 days, and didn't really change much after the blanking period. This was 8 years ago and reflecting back on that first procedure and the 2 since (the last one done by a new Doctor) i can't help but think if the Doctor is burning away healthy tissue (which clearly they must have if the condition didn't improve or got worse) then of course things will not improve or may get worse. Problem is they are only stabbing around in the dark, hoping that you are one of the 70% of people who's A/F starts at a particular part in the heart (pulmonary veins), then if that doesn't work then on their 2nd attempt they'll poke around in the dark hoping that you are one of the 15% or so of people who's A/F starts in another area, and so on. But if you are not one of those people then they are simply burning away healthy heart tissue.
I'm sorry to say that if your A/F had been cured with your 2nd ablation you would generally know by now. of course none of us are clones so there may still be a glimmer of hope🤞
They will ask if you want a 3rd ablation. But if they can't definitively pin point the offending area then why would you let them poke around burning healthy tissue?
If they can induce A/F whilst on the operating table then your chances are 100% better, but most EP's are hesitant to do this.
ANyway i am not on any meds as none of them worked and in fact only made me feel worse.
I manage through being sensible with lifestyle and just not worrying about the condition, when it happens it happens, which is every 3 days currently, when it does happen it lasts about 24 hours and i simply choose not to exercise or do too much that day.
No point worrying about things you have no control over, and despite what anyone tells you, they is a very real chance nobody has any control over your A/F.
I firmly believe we are about 10 years from a real cure, especially for people like me who's A/F doesn't originate in the same place as 90% of sufferers . With advances in technology and science and the amount of money invested in A/F research it's just a matter of time...
Good luck with everything i wish you all the best👍
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