Brother Paul,
I am afraid you are speaking for ALL of us. I know there are a few out there who can let it all go, but I think most of us are incredibly anxious with every little extraneous beat. On my last trip to Bordeaux in May I took my BP monitor, since I KNEW I would go whacky without being able to check my BP and pulse.

Now I KNOW this is going to jinks it, but my heart FINALLY seems to be calming down. I haven't had any little bouts of high pulse. But this is 20 months out. On my last visit to Dr. Calkins, he said that it can take up to 2 years for some people to fully recover. I guess I am one of those. So have positive thoughts, and just know that your trip will be awesome!

Climbed volcanoes? Drank from the sacred Temple of Apollo? Are you secretly Indiana Jones and you are just keeping it from us? That is why you didn't bring "Sharon" to Philly with you...you KNEW I would recognize Calista Flockhart...

Have a wonderful trip, and post those pics!

Bill, who once drank from the sacred fountain at Caesar's Palace in Vegas.

Venice......Wow, how Wonderful!!

Sit down with yourself and have a good talk about the Gift of Health, Love, and the opportunity to share a fantastic experience.. Remind yourself of all that you have successfully overcome and ask yourself to take a big deep long slow breath, and exhale the negative thoughts that could wreck this opportunity to have a lot of fun. Find words that will help you dispel the fears.

I have to get very serious with myself when I do this. I find I can get fearful and irrational....the emotions that brings me are awful...talk about stress. There is a rational, loving, kind, helpful place in me that I have to seek out...and work with. Once I find it, I have to reinforce it whenever I start to waiver back to the fearful place.

I think Venice will be a wonderful place to visit! Bon Voyage :-)

PS... When I have setbacks....I rely on Prayer for Help

Paul said:

"I want the old lunatic Paul back who traveled all over, climbed mountains and volcanos, shot the Colorado river in a raft (3 times), drank from the scared fountain of Apollo at the Temple of Delphi..."

See, that's the problem. You went to the "scared" fountain of Apollo. You need to drop one Xanax in the fountain so it becomes sacred again. Seriously, I think we all can relate to what you are saying. I think you should be fine. You'll probably be rowing the gondola. Venice Arrhythmias holds conferences there too:

http://www.venicearrhythmias.org/

Bill: I stayed at Caesars in Vegas. The room was like $600 a night. My company paid for it. Anyway, do you go in the Venus pool, buddy?

petey

Woops, wrong fountain. I knew my brain was not 100% interesting slip up). Yes, that's the sacred fountain of Apollo at the Temple of Delphi. Guess I need to go back and have another talk with that Oracle.

Hang in there and I hope things settle down stress wise. Have a great trip!!! - Tom

Whenever I get too anxious about my heart, I just try to tell myself that other people have it way worse than I do, and that worrying never solved anything.

You have a good type of anxiety now, the anticipation of a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Soak it in, brother. Try not to worry about it too much (easier said than done I know).

Paul, I think most of us have been in your shoes especially about traveling and with you going so far away I would think that would double the anxiety for me. Along with the natural anticipation for a trip such as this would put me over the edge. Bill is right, take your BP monitor and you have your loop recorder, your anticoagulant and your xanax, It is okay to take the xanax when you really need it, that is why you have it. Remember to keep hydrated and do some deep breathing it really does help.I think you will be fine and will have an amazing trip! Try and focus on what you are wanting do while you are there and not any what ifs!

Petey,
My wife and I haven't been back to Vegas since the heart issue, and I sure do miss it! LOVE Caesar's, Bellagio, the Wynn..and I am sure that a bunch of new casinos have opened since we were last there..that INDOOR waterfall at...uh oh, the one next to the Venetian..ack! Anyway, that was amazing!
So, Natale was the first to perform "percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation." What would that be in English? John, is that the procedure he did on you?

More conferences, more progress (I HOPE!)

Again Paul, have an AWESOME trip, and even if you do have a few extra palps, just stop by and say "Bonjourno" to Natale...is New York Italian the same as Italy Italian? Probably not as much use of the fingers when speaking in Italy.

Guillermo

Go, Paul go, you will be fine. Have a great trip.

Sounds like you're a pro with the afib symptoms and treatment.... so you'll be fine ! Try to remember that succumbing to the anxiety is a "choice" ... one that we all allow more frequently than we should. But i'm sure the "old Paul" has a will that can overcome the angst.....

Enjoy. sounds like an incredible trip.

mweep63:
I hope so, after 40 years of AFIB, I should be a expert, but its a struggle. Last night I had another 6 hours of AFIB. The terrible weather in NJ (90 degrees 90+ % humidity) hasn't helped. That's 5 episodes in the last month. I did a whole Xanax this morning. I'm not going to let this ruin my trip. So soon as I get up and start moving around and take a shower, I convert. My Sharon says that I'm having anxiety dreams and that's what causing my episodes. After all I was AFIB free May-July. She says I need to take half a XANAX twice a day for several days to get on an even keel, I hope so. I certainly don't want to try a new AFIB drug a few days before I leave for Europe. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Yup... in NJ myself and it is stifling ! I work up near Morristown...
Enjoy Europe... it'll be great. Your wife is probably right about the dreams/angst getting you worked up.... but it'll be a great time.

PS... dont tell her she was right, you'll never hear the end of it !
Best
Mike

Paul,

Please, please don' t sweat it so much. Take your vacation and be your good old self, a Mountain Goat :-) You will be okay.

I am assuming you don't take anything these days when you go to afib, right? As I mentioned in my other posts, just for insurance take some beta blocker with you as PIP. They reeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy work to stop the afib specially after an ablation (at least they do for me) . Try them when you go to afib. Do NOT let your afib to run long and eventually after hours to convert by yourself. I am going to pound on the table on this one :-) Why not to try to stop the afib ASAP? Why wait and suffer?

Being in afib for 4 hours or so is just too long. Give your heart a hand to convert faster. Sure, take some Xanax or whatever too.

Before my ablation, for me, it would take 4 hours or so to convert after taking a beta blocker on the onset of an afib. But now, after my ablation, a beta blocker knocks the afib out in 20 to 30 minutes.

Please talk it over with your EP/cardio. I really hope you try taking a beta blocker or so next time you go to afib (hopefully there is no next time afib for you, but just in case). And hopefully, it works for you as well as it does for me in stopping the bad boy afib. You don't know until you give it a shot.

Have a great vacation,
Scott

Thanks Scott. I have been off the beta blocker since 1 week after the ablation. I'm going to take your advice and cut up some of my 50 mg metoprolol pills right now. I have to cut the 50's in half, because 50 mg drops my heart rate under 40 and my ankles swell. I was does fine on 25 mg for 4 years, until year 5 when the AFIB got out of control.