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3 month blanking period for ablation success

Posted , 9 users are following.

suzanne48640
suzanne48640

i had my ablation surgery 2 months ago for afib and a flutter.  The worst part of it was the stress leading up to it. The surgery took about 3 hours and I was completely unconscious and felt nothing. Was in the hospital overnight and released the next day.  Had a tiny bruise at my groin  and nothing more. I've never had any symptoms of afib along with many normal EKGs but a 24-HR halter monitor showed I was in afib 57% of the 24 hour period.  I chose to have the surgery to get off medications I was taking. Currently my pulse rate goes from 59 up to 130 at various times during he day. I'm still on Pradaxa and Rythmol. I've been told because of my age and the fact that I have no afib symptoms, i should stay on Pradaxa the rest of my life. Hopefully, if the surgery was successful, I will be able to get off the Rythmol and blood pressure pill. The negative side affects from these medications are fatigue, heartburn and indigestion, dizziness, metallic taste of all food to name a few.  I have one month to go before my holster test again to see if surgery was successful. I'm told that the three month wait after ablation is to give scar tissue a chance to form around the blood vessels that had cryo ablation.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed hat this works. 

 

0 likes, 20 replies

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  • bill27138
    bill27138 suzanne48640

    Posted

    Hi Suzanne,

    I can identify with your pre ablation nerves. I wasnt sure whether I was going through with it and started backing out until my wife calmed me down. I had flutter when I arrived in the lab/theatre so they were able to burn the necessary path away whilst I was concious. Strange sensation having my heart microwaved. The doctor rather took the wind out of my sales by saying that the flutter shouldnt return but it was likely that Afib would happen later. Which after 2 years it has,  Im taking betablockers which seem to work. May they continue. I dont recognise any of your meds. Maybe the trade names differ. I'm on Bisopralol, Rivaroxaban and Lostartan. Beta blocker, anticoagulant and bp medication respectively. I too have tiredness and sometimes dizzy spells.

    I hope you stay well, and rock steady around 70 bpm.

  • betty47298
    betty47298 suzanne48640

    Posted

    Good information for me. I don't understand why you have to be on pradaxa for the rest of your life if your heart is is rhythm and ablation was successful. Were you having symptoms or did you not feel them? I was in it about 40 percent of the time last time I wore the monitor. Interesting about the metallic taste . I have had that and never thought it was the medication..more like a stomach symptom..also hiccup maybe from that.???Why cryoablation as oppossed to radiofrequency? 
    • suzanne48640
      suzanne48640 betty47298

      Posted

      There is a score the EP's use to determine your risk of having a stroke if you have a-fib.  One is age  (over 65, which I am) and one is female and finally becauseI have no symptoms, I won't know if I am in our out of a-fib.

      Therefore, staying on blood thinner is imperative.  Cryoablation is the newer procedure and the docs seem to think more successful I had my surgery done at Mayo Clinc in Jacksonville,and they are cutting-edge. I suggest you go into the website of the medication(s) you take and it will list all the side affects.

       

    • betty47298
      betty47298 suzanne48640

      Posted

      So even though you had no symptoms you still did the ablation knowing you were in afib?
    • suzanne48640
      suzanne48640 betty47298

      Posted

      I don't quite understand your question. The ONLY time they do ablation is IF you you have been diagnosed with a-fib..   I had fainted a couple of times and at my age, they always look into it further.  That's when they found that I had a-fib.  I did the ablation to try to get off the medication that keeps my heart in rythym (beause of the side affects) .  Prior to this, I have always been very healthy and never taken any medication.  I just want to get back to normal again as much as possible, and I don't think that will happen until I get off the rythym drug.
    • betty47298
      betty47298 suzanne48640

      Posted

      Heard those rhythm drugs not too good...right no win..how could anyone know what to do,
    • derek76
      derek76 suzanne48640

      Posted

      Have you looked at Left Atrial Appendage and Closure as a means of getting of Warfarin or NOAC's?

      Google, Watchman Device and Amplatzer Amulet,

    • suzanne48640
      suzanne48640 betty47298

      Posted

      And sadly, you can talk to 5 different doctos and they will tell you 5 different things.  What you can do is reserach everything yourself and be proactive with your doctors.  They are not gods -- and if you have a good one, he will answer all your questions and pros and cons on all the drugs.  Good luck.
    • suzanne48640
      suzanne48640 derek76

      Posted

      No I haven't.  Never heard of those things but will check it out -- but not sure I want them to 'close' anything on my heart!!! I'm on pradaxa not warfarin.  I also have high cholesterol, which I refuse to take drugs for -- so maybe the blood thinner will stop me from getting a storke from the hi cholesterol!!

      My dear mom used to say growing old is not for sisies --she was right!!

    • derek76
      derek76 betty47298

      Posted

      You have to trust the advice given by your doctors
    • derek76
      derek76 suzanne48640

      Posted

      It is a little one way thing that is of no use to us like the appendix. Some surgeons now remove it during heart surgery but my one didn't. Warfarin or NOACs, losing your LAA stops the need for either.

      While the drugs stop clots forming we can get brain bleeds  instead of clots from them

       

    • linda51222
      linda51222 suzanne48640

      Posted

      Hi Suzanne, 

      how right you are I have seen 3 different consultants and they all said different things about the medication, at present I am on warfarin and bisoporol, I am wanting to get off the warfarin because it interacts badly with the meds I need to look after my bladder condition, I was told that only Pradaxa (Dabigatran) has an antidote, but because of my weight (I am very slim) I was not a good candidate. and should stay with the warfarin.

      I also wanted to ask everyone about ablation for or against I find the thought of it quite scary.

      L.

    • simon56380
      simon56380 linda51222

      Posted

      Hi Linda, I'm six weeks post ablation and am am definitely a fan of it, at this point in time. Everything has settled down quite nicely. Have now addressed all of my risk factors and am feeling great (have gone from 104kg to 89kg in 12 weeks)!

      Am also part of a clinical trial and have had a loop recorder implanted in my chest that constantly montitors me for any arrithmias. Amazing  bit of technology.

       The recorder has a base station(bit like a cordless phone) that lives under my bed. At 1 am every morning, the recorder "talks" to the base station and the base station transmits data to my cardiologist's computer, via the 3G (mobile phone) network.

      So far, so good (fingers crossed). 

      I did a lot of homework to find out who the best electro physicist in town was.  He claimed his team, with their new technique, had an 85% success rate at the 5 year mark PROVIDED I addressed all my risk factors!

      So I recommend you do your homework, because there is a variety of similar, but differing ablation techniques, as well as variation in the knowledge and capability of physiologists.

    • linda51222
      linda51222 simon56380

      Posted

      Thanks Simon,

      for your positive thoughts, its always good to hear other peoples experiences, although as we know we all react differently.

      I went last week for a second opinion from a different cardiologist, and her concerns for me with ablation was that because of my small size 46kg I was at higher risk of complications, so plenty to think about.and lots of homework to do.

      Thank you

      L.

  • cardiac_congo
    cardiac_congo suzanne48640

    Posted

    Hi. I am exactly 2 weeks post second ablation. Had a couple of episodes but not really counting them this close to procedure. First ablation was last dec - sedated and cryo. This time i was out with GA and radio apparently. Im recovering faster this time and groin bruising is less. My meds are just 20mg/day rivaroxaban. Hoping - if all well - to stop that when i see doc in sept. Like you, 3 months to see full outcome.
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