Hey Scooby Good Luck.

You are young, healthy, haven't had AFIB that long, and your AFIB is not too advanced. Soooooo, you are an excellent candidate and should come through with flying colors. We expect a complete report.

Hey Scooby, they do knock you out to insert the probe down your throat. Just had my ablation done on 1/28. It was a cryo ablation. Took about 4 1/2 hours. The only problem I had was them trying to remove the sheaths from my arteries. They use the sheaths to insert the balloon. Am having some chronic leg pain due to a hematoma pressing on a nerve. Should go away as the hematoma dissolves. Do I feel better? It's too early to tell plus I haven't got back in my exercise routine. Wish you well on your up and coming procedure.

Hey Scoob youll be done and dusted in no time. Dont forget to take your i-pod so youll be able to at least listen to some good music while youre waiting for the 6 or so hours after the procedure before youre allowed to sit up. Or if you have a little DVD player bring that with a couple of funny movies to watch (if you can, set it up before you go to the procedure-room. I wasnt able to set mine up because I came in the hospital and went directly to the prep-room, but the nurses were nice and set it up for me when I got back to my room) It can get boring.

Very important: once you get back home TAKE IT EASY, remember, this is your heart they played around with. Even though you dont have a zipper up the front of you your heart still needs time to recover!!

Are you going to be awake during the procedure? I found it interesting watching the monitors

So, Im holding my thumbs and crossing my fingers that this will work for you!! Tell us how it goes.

Carpe diem,
atp

Scoob,
Hope all goes well for you...of the research that I did, I saw one guy say that "the sooner the better" as far as ablation goes...the earlier on in the process, the better the chance of success...I think it all goes back to the debate about whether or not ablation should be a first line treatment. You are WAY too young to live with this...hopefully this knocks it out for good! Bonne chance! (Do all Canadians speak French? Or just in Quebec? I have only been to Montreal and Quebec...)


Bill

I also read--and my ep and cardiologist concurred--that earlier is better as far as ablations go. this gives a higher chance of success.

I agree about taking it easy. It's different for everybody, though. Good luck with all of this! Let us know how things went.

Have you had a sleep study? Since your afib comes at night (so does mine) it could be triggered by sleep apnea.

A few things that caught my eye:

1) I'm really surprised they didn't send you to do a sleep study. When I first wore the 30 day heart monitor to diagnose afib I remember the doctor and PA commenting that I had short bouts of AFIB in the middle of the night. The first thing they did was send me to sleep doctor and yes I do have sleep apnea and have used a cpap machine for the last 18 months.

2) Maybe your insurance is different, but Anthem wouldn't pay for my ablation until I had tried both rate control (metoprolol) and rhythm control (Rythmol) and still was still having episodes of afib. You might want to make sure your procedure is covered by your insurance. (Maybe you already tried both these things but it wasn't mentioned above so thought I'd ask.)

I was having Afib 3 or 4 times a week with a few extended periods, so I was ready for my ablation. It really wasn't a big deal. I don't remember any part of the pre or post recovery that I was actually in pain. Just some discomfort from the catheter (that they put in while I was out thank goodness) and from having to lay on my back for 8 hours or so after the procedure.

Hi Scooby, I am hoping you are doing well today!!!!!!!

Troopers,

Got back home today and wow do I have a story to tell!

First we got there on one of the worst snow storm on record: Took us like 4.5 hours to do a ride that would normally take about 2 hours and I had my Jeep with new Ice/Snow tires..

Second the hotel was crappy: We booked a hotel on the internet 3 and half star with special on rooms starting at 75 box a night. That is really good for Montreal. The name of the Hotel was Le Saint-Malo. It looked cool on the pics on Google and it was announcing that it was a little piece of French Europe in Quebec. When we got there it had lost its French charms and was replaced by cheap dollar store Chinese appliances. There was holes in the walls and the rooms were filthy and the were renting rooms by the hours. People tried to open our door 2 times during the first night, a hobo was passed out in the lobby when we left for the hospital and a native fight broke out in the stairs with the Chinese owners about money. And the owner could barely speak English or French and the more we were asking questions the less he spoke English. WOW!!

Then the first day at the hospital they made an Echo in my stomach to see if I had blood cloth. I was well doped up and didn't feel nothing except that it was pretty cool to see my heart pump and listen to it and NO blood cloth.

The next morning I had my ablation. First I must say the team was impressive and I remember entering the lab, girls putting pads all over my back and chest and then.....POUFFF!!! I remember waking up from a beautiful deep sleep like 4 hours later. No pain when I woke up, no pain so far and we are almost 36 hours pot procedure. I must admit that it was painful only when I had to stay 5 hours still with the catheters in my groin one on each side waiting for the blood thinner to lose its effect followed by an additional 6 hours after they removed the catheters (total 11 hours).

Now listen to that! As I was waiting after about 1 hour post procedure a doctor came in my little corner of the ICU and closed the curtains around us. He introduced him self as Dr. Kruger (Lung doctor). He was using very simple terminologies and asked me if my heart doctor told me that he saw something on my lung. I told him "no he said nothing" at all why what's going on? He looked at me, at my wife, at me again and said "you have lung cancer". My jaw dropped! By then my wife had tears in her eyes already and then he carried on by saying that we were lucky that I had that mild heart attach due to the pneumonia or they wouldn't of seen it in time. That's when I said "pneumonia????? I don't have fkng pneumonia! and I had no heart attack!" Then the was about 5 second of silence and he said aren't you Mr. McGill? I said NO! I'm Mr. Leroux! He simply said Oups! wrong patient my apologies and then he left as fast as he came. DOUBLEWOW!!!! any of you guys ever had something like that happened to you? I must say this was my first and hopefully my last and despite of the ablation! this was by far the highlight of this trip.

Anyway, this morning the doctor came see me and explained a few things that were not very clear to me but seemed to indicate that the ablation was a success. First he said that he had injected something in my blood that over activated my vagas nerve and that it started my afib (wow I was afib free since 7 months and he started it based on some of the symptoms I told him). Then he said something like when he ablated my PVs I went in Brachycardia and that he also fixed this issue and when this happens, it is a good sign that the ablation was a success....whatever that means.

Once thing that surprises me tho,I don't understand that 5 years ago when he ablated my flutter, my heart was sore for about 2 days after the procedure and this time he did a complete PVI ablation and no pain what so ever......hummmm maybe I'll have a surprise tomorrow or soon enough.

Anyhow, after telling me all that he looked at my puncture holes and since one was still bleeding a little the put me in a pressure vice grip for 45 minutes followed by another stand still for 4 hours. I was able to leave at 3 pm and got home at 5.30 pm. I think it still bled a little bit on the trip back....but hey! I'm at home taking it easy now.

So back on Xaralto for 3 months, he also gave me some stomach pills to make sure I don't get esophagus problems in a few weeks. Ho yeah! and back on Sotalol for the blanket period. I will see him in May again.

So I guess its to early to say anything because first of I was very rarely in afib so any success would have to be determinate after the blanket period when I stop medication. He did say one encouraging thing tho, he said that a PVI would eliminate most PACs as they most likely all came from the PVs and they also probably were the afib triggers. He also agreed with me that my arrhythmias are probably vagally induced and when doing a PVI ablation some of the vagal verves are actually burned in the process. It sometimes my cause heartburn or small stomach issues but they can also stop many of my arrhythmias (PVCs/PACs and afib) from starting.

Over all I'd see him again, he stopped my flutter 5 years ago and now he may have stopped my afim for a few years more. I hope and perhaps when the times comes again, new methods will be fine-tuned and he will be able to help me again.

Now to answer a few questions:

Paul60 - I hope that covers it.

Paulh1 - They did my with circular RF rods for PVI and regular tip for touch up ...no cryo here and I hope your hematoma will go away soon. It is of some concerns as one of my puncture hole still bleeds a little....why can't they just stitch it!

acrossthepond - I was a sleep for the procedure but yes I did follow your lead and when the wife went back to the "Motel from Hell" I texted my buddies and listened to music but boy! did my lower back get stiff like that.

Bill - No not all Canadian speak French. Far from it, most French are in the Province of Quebec and New-Brunswick (Acadians) other than that they are scattered a little everywhere in the country. I would say about 1/4 of the total population speak French and generally because French is a minority they will learn English before the English learn French....I guess that's why they are struggling to keep French alive in a mandatory way in the province of Quebec.

Hegel - You're right, studies seems to indicate that the rate of success is higher on paroxysmal afib than other types but it is promising in all types of afib.

Island - Believe it or not it is still on my list to see a sleep doctor

Ohio - In Canada the system pay for all medical expenses so there is no requirements for Doctors to justify what they do. At the end of the day once afin has struck once the path has been created and will always be there. Of course controlling the trigger will do a difference but eliminating it and treat the first cause will stop it from coming back. So I guess I'm saying that once you were in afib once or a few times get the ablation done then eliminate the cause to make it reappear. I guess I'm too low on the totem pole to take any of these decisions so I let the system run its course.

yogacat - it was a long 3 days but I am doing well....for now.

Scooby

Scob,
Mon Dieu! Just the hotel story will be something to remember the rest of your life! So sorry to hear about the pneumonia and lung cancer, but at least you know you went to the right hospital, as they "cured" you of that in 2 minutes, simply by changing your name! I certainly hope the ablation takes, and that you are done with this mess...and next time, stay at the Fairmont! You get their credit card, and they give you two free nights....and I SWEAR they are better than that place you stayed in...and their French is good, at least in Quebec, and the English is quite good at the one here in DC! Wow, what an experience! Hang in there!

Bill

Thanks for the update Scoob, wow, your experience with the hotel from hell and the absentminded doctor sort of put the snow storm and your ablation into the background. Im stunned about the lung doctor, Dr. Kruger. Having that said to me would have been enough to give me a heart attack right then and there to be sure! Poor Mr. McGill, it doesnt sound like he had too good of a day though (and that AFTER having a heart attack!). What a nightmare!
On the other hand it looks like all signals are go for an a-fib-free future for you (not counting the blanking period, when, basically anything can happen). Dont be alarmed at a faster heart rate or a little bit of a-fib, it can happen and its not an indicator of success or failure! Now you can take it easy and let your heart get used to the new situation!

Really carpe diem!
atp

On a positive note, if being told you had cancer wasn't enough stress to put you into afib it's a good sign it worked!

Yeah those esophagus pills they give you are the size of a walnut.

Glad to hear you don't have cancer! Now just imagine that doctor having to tell TWO people they have cancer instead of just one..

Congratulations on getting through this! Any one of those events -- the snowstorm delay, the hotel from hell, and of course the cancer mix-up -- would have sent me to the looney bin if I had had to cope with an ablation as well. I needed a cup of camomile tea to calm down after I read your post. :)

Hey Scoob: Good the here things worked out for you, even with all the ancillary problems. Hope you stay in NSR. Your experience has given me some confidence. If you have been following my "Bad Night' thread, you see that I have finally given up. After 40 years of AFIB, a stroke, and an ablation, its time for ablation #2 for Paul. My cardiologist says that with my slow heart rate, neither the rhythm nor the rate controls drugs would be a good idea. The talked the scheduling girl at the EP's office on Friday. I may have a date for my second ablation by Monday... while I'm there they can change the oil and check the brakes -g-