I woiuld agree with you - I would rather be out - i also get sick from anethesia but if you ask for propofol you will be ok.

I didn't have an ablation, but I had propofol. You go out in seconds and wake up like nothing happened. No side effects for me. Recovery time is fast. It actually slows afib. Read this study:

The mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF) are not completely understood yet. It has been demonstrated that AF can be modulated by several cardiac diseases, the autonomic nervous system and even drugs with purportedly no antiarrhythmic properties. We evaluated the effects of a widely used anaesthetic agent (propofol) in the fibrillation patterns. Spectral analysis was performed over atrial electrograms at baseline and immediately after a propofol bolus. Only after performing principal component analysis (PCA), we were able to significantly detect that propofol slows AF.

Thanks, pamdidi and Pete,
I actually asked for propofol specifically , but the doctor said that it makes me too sleepy. So he only uses fentanyl and versed. I hope that makes me not care what they are doing. I had similar drugs during a colonoscopy and felt the entire thing!! That's worries me...

I haven't had an ablation but for my cardioversion, they used Versed then Propofol. Never felt or remembered a thing, just how I'd prefer it too.

Robin~

I would love to be out for not only the 6 hour procedure but the 6 hr lying flat too!! Guess that's too much to ask! (:

My EP only uses general anesthesia. He feels that it is too long of a procedure to not be intubated and put under. I have had conscious sedation for other, shorter procedures, and was still out, just not intubated. Once again, people respond differently to different drugs. I think that I am just a lightweight as far as medications and anesthesia are concerned.

What is intubated?
Thanks Moy...

That is a concern when you think of how long the procedure takes and being "awake" though sedated throughout the whole procedure. Each doctor has their own preference I guess.

Did you wake up with a really sore throat from the intubation, RN52? Do you think you would have been less nauseated if you didn't get general?

Intubation is putting a tube down your throat so you can breathe, Moy.

Moysra;
For general anesthesia, a tube is placed in your trachea and a macine called a ventilator assists with breathing. Because of being unconscious there is risk of not being able to protect your own airway and thus choke or aspirate.

heart2222
The first time, I did indeed have a very sore throat and a great deal of nausea. (The nausea didn't start until after I got home.) The second time, my throat was a just a little sore and I had absolutely no nausea. I am not sure what was different about the anesthesia the second time, but whatever it was was great. After reading about how miserable I was after the first ablation, I am surprised I went through with it again! I don't even think I even remembered how difficult the first time was until I start writing about it. I am grateful that I didn't have any major complications either time.

RN52,
The main thing was your first ablation was RF and your second was cyro. But the differences you mentioned (sore throat and nausea) were probably caused by the intubation and the anesthesia, not the method. Was your second ablation a lot quicker?

I am scared of having your first experience for my ablation.

I agree, I would certainly be hesitant to do it again after your first experience!! But you are glad you did, right?

I am very glad that I did it. The only other difference that I can think of other than RF vs. Cryo is just the skill level of the anesthesiologist with intubation. I also think being on the amioderone for the first procedure attributed to some of the nausea. The procedure was just as long with the cryo as it was for the RF. I believe it was about 6-7 hours. Hopefully, you'll have a good experience. Wishing you well.

So you wouldn' t really recommend cryo over RF? Same length of time, same deal. Just the anesthesiologist's skill in the intubation? I was amiodarone and that made me extremely nauseous also. I barely could stand the loading time.

THinking about the procedure taking that long is just hard to imagine...

I would definitely recommend cryo over RF, simply because it worked for me. The recovery was also better. I felt good right away after the cryo and I didn't after the RF. The RF uses a burning technique and the cryo uses freezing, which also makes a difference in how you feel afterwards. The RF uses a point by point method to ablate and the cryo uses a balloon that can ablate the whole area at once. The recovery or the lenght of the procedure doesn't matter as much to me as the end result. If the recoveries were reversed and the end results were the same, I'd still be in favor of the cryo. It just happened that everything about the cryo was better for me and so far, it has worked. That's just me.

I can ditto RN52's experience and recommendation.

RN52 - Every time you write about both of your ablations, I am amazed how much alike our procedures and outcomes were. I am about a month behind you and am following your success.