Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
Arrived at the hospital at 10:00 for prep. I opted for the French Wax instead of Bill's Brazilian, so Bill I still want to borrow your thong -g-.
The transesophageal echo was at noon. Pretty much under for that. I had to swallow this thick gel to lubricate and desensitize my esophagus. The results were negative, no clots in my heart. The ablation team ran over on their first procedure of the day, so they didn't start on me until 2:45. This was a concern for me since I didn't have catheter (my choice) and was wondering if I could last. Anyhow, what I didn't expect was two groin punctures, one of each side. I latter heard this was standard practice, If they needed the second one it would be needed right away, so they put everything in place.
The EP zapped a few spots and then I went into AFIB, so she went to the other side and zapped the offending area. The AFIB stopped immediately, continues on with her task So I guess going into AFIB on the table is a good thing.
In the recovery area about 6:30, I was pretty much out of it, cold and shivering. They gave me heated blankets. They had my legs in some sort of harness so I couldn't move them and upset the punctures. I was flat on my back and not allowed to sit up even a little bit. My back was killing me. I got up to the room a little after 8:00 pm. I had to stay in the harness flat on my back till midnight. Peeing in the urinal while flat on my back was just not working. By 10:00 pm I'm counting the minutes until I could get out of the harness and go pee (and relieve my aching back). At midnight off came the harness. I tried peeing in the urinal while sitting on the edge of the bed, that didn't work so the nurse and I tried to make it to the bathroom. I got about 5 feet before I passed out. Luckily, that 140 lb nurse was able to guide 240 lb Paul to the ground gently. Then I was able to pee while sitting on the edge of the bed AHHHH. They gave me a IV to bring my fluid up, by that point my BP was really low. Once the IV was in I felt better almost immediately.
I was able to get two 1 hour sleep session that night. I had a little pain on the left side of my heart, but that's gone now. When they took off the dressing a sizable portion of leg skin came off with the bandage. ouch!
I AM IN NSR! No driving till Friday, no gym for 10 days. They didn't give me a heart monitor that talks via the cell phone. They provided a ROZINN Event Recorder that can record up to 20 events per day, either on its own, or by me pressing a button. It has two leads. I don't know how it defines an event. I have had it for 3 hours and it has recorded 6 events. Each night I have to call in and transmit the data to the service. It uses an old style acoustic modem type transmission (ancient technology). I have to wear the event recorder for 30 days.
I feel good, I little weak, but the heart seems stable. Now for a nice massage. And I'm hungry.
The transesophageal echo was at noon. Pretty much under for that. I had to swallow this thick gel to lubricate and desensitize my esophagus. The results were negative, no clots in my heart. The ablation team ran over on their first procedure of the day, so they didn't start on me until 2:45. This was a concern for me since I didn't have catheter (my choice) and was wondering if I could last. Anyhow, what I didn't expect was two groin punctures, one of each side. I latter heard this was standard practice, If they needed the second one it would be needed right away, so they put everything in place.
The EP zapped a few spots and then I went into AFIB, so she went to the other side and zapped the offending area. The AFIB stopped immediately, continues on with her task So I guess going into AFIB on the table is a good thing.
In the recovery area about 6:30, I was pretty much out of it, cold and shivering. They gave me heated blankets. They had my legs in some sort of harness so I couldn't move them and upset the punctures. I was flat on my back and not allowed to sit up even a little bit. My back was killing me. I got up to the room a little after 8:00 pm. I had to stay in the harness flat on my back till midnight. Peeing in the urinal while flat on my back was just not working. By 10:00 pm I'm counting the minutes until I could get out of the harness and go pee (and relieve my aching back). At midnight off came the harness. I tried peeing in the urinal while sitting on the edge of the bed, that didn't work so the nurse and I tried to make it to the bathroom. I got about 5 feet before I passed out. Luckily, that 140 lb nurse was able to guide 240 lb Paul to the ground gently. Then I was able to pee while sitting on the edge of the bed AHHHH. They gave me a IV to bring my fluid up, by that point my BP was really low. Once the IV was in I felt better almost immediately.
I was able to get two 1 hour sleep session that night. I had a little pain on the left side of my heart, but that's gone now. When they took off the dressing a sizable portion of leg skin came off with the bandage. ouch!
I AM IN NSR! No driving till Friday, no gym for 10 days. They didn't give me a heart monitor that talks via the cell phone. They provided a ROZINN Event Recorder that can record up to 20 events per day, either on its own, or by me pressing a button. It has two leads. I don't know how it defines an event. I have had it for 3 hours and it has recorded 6 events. Each night I have to call in and transmit the data to the service. It uses an old style acoustic modem type transmission (ancient technology). I have to wear the event recorder for 30 days.
I feel good, I little weak, but the heart seems stable. Now for a nice massage. And I'm hungry.
All I've done so far is get rid of the metoprolol. I had a lot of chest pounding today and 18 EVENTS from 9:00 Am to 4:00 PM, so I had a Cognac -g-
No Events from 7:00 pm last night till this morning, boy that felt good. I was so optimistic that I started thinking about life without AFIB, and all the things I've avoided doing over the last five years or so because of it. Then I had the 18 Events today to remind me of the blanking period.
Hang in there Opsyn, your procedure is coming up real soon. It will be over before you know it.
So happy to hear that things are going as expected. It is wonderful that you are giving all these updates - will help other people after their Ablations, and let them know that there will be episodes during the healing process and things will eventually get better:) You sound
like you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel:) Hope u enjoyed you cognac :)
Please take care and don't overdo. You will be able to start exercising soon!
Hope you have a good night! I think you should write a book, or at least a report, on your experiences with your a-fib and stroke, ablation, etc.
Continued prayers,
Christine
Good to hear you're on your road to recovery and that so far things are going well. I just have one question...when I talked to my EP about an ablation he didn't give the impression that a catheter was an option. Weren't you fearful you might have to go to the bathroom during the procedure or something...lol?
Travis
Have you read the catheter discussions on stopafib? Seems like there are many men out there that are more afraid of the cath than of the ablation! Of course, I wasn't smart enough to ask any of these questions before the surgery, so I just woke up with the cath and shaved like a baby and laughed...and HOPED there wasn't anything else they did while I was under! Who knows what kind of sense of humor these EPs and nurses have! Dr. Calkins didn't laugh or anything when he saw me, so I am hoping for the best! It did hurt just a tad when they pulled the cath out, but the nurse was quick, so the discomfort lasted only a second.
Shaved and cathed and ???? Bill
Its now been 14 days since my cyro balloon pulmonary vein ablation. I feel relatively well. My groin punctures have healed, and the bruising is almost gone. I started walking outside again. I walked 1 mile Thursday and Friday, and three miles Saturday, Sunday and today, Monday. No exercise in the gym yet. If I feel ok, later this week I'll try some non-strenuous floor exercises at home. Ill stay out of the gym for another week or so.
In these 14 days I have had about 200 events on my cardiac event monitor averaging about 15 per day. Some days I can go nearly 24 hours without an event, other days, they seem to come in waves. During about 1/2 of the events I feel pounding in my chest, and maybe a little chest pressure. The other events I don't feel. Nearly all of the events do not seem like AFIB, however, two did (with erratic and high heart rate) and my Oximeter did look like ABIB, but these resolved in about ten minutes. My heart rate is staying between 60 and 70 BPM at rest, however, there were two occasions where I felt it was low and my Oximeter and Omron Blood pressure meter indicated that my rate was in the low 40's at those times. I still do not have a good definition of an event and I'm trying not to be too paranoid about them, knowing it may take quite some time for my heart to heal. I stopped taking the metoprolol about ten days ago, because of the low heart rate incidents. The rate per day of events is not going down, (for example Ive had 19 in the last 24 hours). Also, Im not sure if events relate to my level of physical activity, however, I almost always have one within ten minutes of laying down for the night, and within 20 minutes of getting up in the morning. I hope these event are PACs described by others and will eventually go away.
I see the EP on 5/6. She is supposed to be reviewing the events that I upload each night. I'm trying not to let my anxiety get the better of me and call her, I feel that currently, no news is good news.
1- I wonder about the wisdom of being on a 24 hour event monitor. That would have driven me crazy. I have found it much better, post ablation, the just not worry about exactly what my heart is doing in less I am in real discomfort.
2- Yes ... We do fear the catheter more than anything else. At least I do!. Bill .. I have to look at those catheter discussions. although I would rather forget ...
Its now been 21 days since my cyro balloon pulmonary vein ablation.
I had been doing rather well. I walked 1 mile last Thursday and Friday of last week, then 3 miles Saturday, Sunday Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then the TOOTHACHE started Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday I was in agony. I called my dentist (whom Ive had for 40 years) but he was on vacation. The backup was an oral surgeon. He said the tooth may have to come out, but given my recent stroke, heart surgery, AFIB and Coumadin, it would need to be done in a hospital (huge dollars no dental coverage) and he doesnt do hospital work anymore. He prescribed Percocet 325 mg every 4 hours which practically knocked me unconscious and clindamycin (a very strong antibiotic) 150mg every eight hours (for 2 weeks) (Im allergic to penicillin). He referred me to oral surgeon #2 who was very nice and thorough. Surgeon #2 would be willing to pull the tooth in his office if we got my INR down to 2.4 or less. By the time I saw him the tooth has improved a bit. If the antibiotic solves the problem we may be able to salvage the tooth. My regular dentist returns May 5 and Im hoping the tooth continues to improve. My pharmacist told me to try 2 extra strength Tylenol and 2 ibuprofen instead of the Percocet and that seems to work better than the Percocet. Im not nodding out as with the Percocet. As of Sunday night I moved to 2 extra strength Tylenol every 4 hours (plus the clindamycin every 8) and stopped the ibuprofen (which may aggravate AFIB).
Meanwhile my event monitor has gone from reporting 15-20 events per day to 50-60 events per day as a result of the additional stress, pain and tooth infection. My anxiety level had taken over by Friday and I called my EP. She was very reassuring, pointing out that the large number of events was not uncommon during the blanking period. Its unfortunate that the tooth problem occurred at such an inopportune time. We are all hoping that the drugs can keep to tooth under control. Shed like to see me get to 60 days post ablation before pulling the tooth if that is necessary. BTW, I may be having a little AFIB now and then, but my EP didnt think it was an issue, just the heart going through its healing process. Whenever I check my Oximeter, my heartbeat is nice and steady at about 50-70 BPM. I see my EP for my first monthly appointment on Tuesday 5/6 (cant wait). I also can get rid of the event monitor at that time (double cant wait, thats if I dont smash the damn thing against the wall!). The event monitor just gets me nuts.
Im feeling a little discouraged. I have been ill for over six months (syncope, stroke, ablation, and tooth), its really wearing on me. On the other hand, I dont feel too bad (if we take away the tooth issue and the fatigue and the GI issues from the antibiotic yes Im eating yogurt and taking probiotics), and Id feel a lot better if I didnt have the event monitor going off several times an hour. Hang in there Paul! Soon youll be back in the gym making those 25 year olds look bad!
Latest update Its now Monday evening 4/28 and I have had only 6 events in 18 hours. Hopefully things are settling down. Its like a couple of hamsters came in last night and swapped in a new heart wow. Overnight I had zero events! Gee, I hope this stays in NSR. Maybe Ill go out a try walking again in a few days.
Moral of the story is: DONT HAVE A TOOTH INFECTION TWO WEEKS AFTER HEART SURGERY!
So sorry your are suffering with dental problems.
Are you taking coumadin? You mentioned the one dentist would pull the tooth if INR was 2.4. Be aware that the antibiotic and also ibuprofen and even high doses of tylenol can significantly increase INR. The combo you are taking could be dangerouse with coumadin. You do not need a major bleed on top of everything else.
The moral of your story is also: BE POSITIVE REGARDLESS OF ADVERSITIES. Your posts are informative and you seem to remain optimistic, very helpful to all of us grappling with this condition. I hope your tooth will get better and your events less frequent.
Cheers, Marya
I am hoping with all my heart that the antibiotic will be the remedy for your tooth. I used warm salt water and heat packs with Tylenol when I had an abscess and had to wait a week before a root canal. The stress of pain is crappy.
May Healing Angels follow you around reminding you that This too shall Pass~
I am hoping with all my heart that the antibiotic will be the remedy for your tooth. I used warm salt water and heat packs with Tylenol when I had an abscess and had to wait a week before a root canal. The stress of pain is crappy.
May Healing Angels follow you around reminding you that This too shall Pass and we all care!!!!!
Your should be a reporter.. all the details.. I felt like
I was there.
Were you asleep during the procedure?
My doctors tell me you have to be awake so they can
pinpoint where to do it.
It sure sounded scary... enough to throw afib into afib... LOL
You are brave guy and hope you continue to stay in NSR !
Marilyn