I'm so sorry that happened to you. I don't really have any advice, I'm not sure there is anything to do except give it time and see if things improve. Definitely avoid anyone who is sick...getting a respiratory infection could be more risky.
I will keep you in my prayers.

So sorry to hear this. You certainly went to a great center to have your ablation done. Did you have cryo or RF ablation, do you know? I hope you feel better really soon!!

Sorry to hear of your complication. I found an article on Phrenic Nerve Injury (PNI). It appears most recover completely early with a midpoint of 7 months:

Although up to thirty-one percent of patients with PNI after AF ablation remain asymptomatic, dyspnea remain the cardinal symptom and is present in all symptomatic patients. Despite the theoretical risk for significant adverse effect on functional status and quality of life, short-term outcomes from published studies appear favorable with 81% of patients with PNI having a complete recovery after 7 7 months.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1764817/

I hope this helps you deal with this.

I was wondering what doctor performed your ablation and whether you feel he/she is being sensitive to your concerns. petey

You should ask for a follow up appt asap. Even though you were "given" a 4 mo return, it sounds like you would want to see further if there is anything you can do, or get a referral, such as to a pulmonary specialist, or meet with a nurse or something. Or even a "second opinion" with another MD. It sounds like you are not satisfied and you deserve more attention.

I hope you are feeling better soon, no one expects a side effect (no matter what the fine print says) when they go in for any procedure. Do follow up with the hospital and doctor who performed this, who would he recommend to help you through this. Take care.

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts.
Dr. Hugh Caulkins was my Dr. and he is one ot the best. This is a rare occurance I'm told and I'm not as upset about the incident as I am about the response.. I saw a pulmonologist as soon as symptoms appeared and it being a teaching hospital I got a lot of attention for a short time. The nurse said my diagnosis was the topic of the week because they had never seen it. On discharge I was given a card to call for an appointment with the pulmonologist. They can't see me for a month. That's upsetting because I have a good deal of SOB.
I'm also concerned because I'm on amiodarone and had some SOB before the procedure but not significant and they reduced my amiodarone to 200 mg a day. My concern is lung toxicity and I've decided to tell him I want off of it because even if it isn't. Compromised breathing if lung toxicity should occur would be devastating
I will definnitely avoid anyone who is ill and start taking my vitamins and supplements again. Thaks all..

Sounds like they are responding somewhat to your problem. Maybe they are at a loss as to what to do. Doesn't help YOU any.

Did you have Cryoablation or RF (heat)?

HOpe you feel better really soon!

I think you're right they are at a loss. While I was in the hospital they had me on an albuteral nebulizer that helped and some instructions on how to lay in bed. When I left the hospital however there was nothing.
If you follow astrology I would say Johns Hopins is an Aquarian. A huge humanitarian outlook and a desire to show the world how to improve healthcare and the delivery of it. but a real inability to deal one on one with people. In otherwords a horrible bedside manner. I knew this going in as it's reputation as a teaching hospital is impeccable. I didn't care about bedside manner. I wanted the best. On the upside it's only been a week and I'm still in sinus rythum. The longest time in 2 yrs. Once this diaphragm thing is settled I will say it was worth it.

Heart, to answer your question it was not cryo, however from what I good find and what the Dr.s say it is uncommon and the chances of it happening are the same whichever the method.

Thanks for your answer, shantima. I'm trying to decide whether to go the cryo route or RF.

That's great that you are out of AF for now. HOpefully the SOB and cough will resolve also!

Hi Shantima, I'm sorry you had this happen to you. I am going in for my ablation on March 1st and this does hit home, although my HMO EP will be performing my procedure. . Do you know if Dr. Hugh Caulkins was the actual operator for your procedure or was someone else actually running the controls? I know that PNI is a potential outcome of the ablation, but after reading the book "Collateral Damage" I would be suspicious of any undesired outcome involving the Johns Hopkins hospital and Dr. Hugh Caulkins.

Dr Calkins did the actual procedure. I saw him a couple of days ago and he is following me closely. He said of the more than 1200 ablations he's done this is only the 2nd incidence they've had. They have a great AF Center at JHMC.

Hi Shantina, well you are lucky you didn't catch flac from some for saying you had problems with your ablation, because I sure did from one person. I ended up with a collapsed lung and on oxygen for 2 mo. I am still SOB at times. These side-effects are completely unexpected, so they kind of throw you for a loop. I'm going to have another ablation in July at Mt. Sinai in NYC with Dr. Reddy. If he can't fix me...well no one can.:) I hope you get feeling better. Ablation certainly does have bad side-effects at times.

Shantima,

Do you feel any better lately? I'm hoping it will eventually all go away and you will be back to normal. It's good your doc is following you closely.

rfreeze,
Best of luck on your ablation!! are you getting cryo or RF?

heart2222: I am having RF ablation to be performed at Kaiser Northern CA hospital in Santa Clara. They have the Stereotaxis system and Thermocool catheters with surface pressure sensitivity.
The Stereotaxis system will be used to guide the catheters using computer controlled magnets.