Barbara, I was out for the whole procedure. They administered Propofol and I was out in a flash. Never saw the EP come in, or felt the TEE, line placement or actual ablation. I woke up in the recovery room about 3 to 4 hours later. For me it was a very easy procedure, but of course I was anxious before the ablation, like everybody else.

Will know in 3 hours (7am) if we have to evacuate due to an anticipated storm surge. All the barrier islands as well as low lying parts of Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Bonita are affected. Lee County EOC announced it last night at 8 pm , this doesn't give much prep time. Am not worried, but will abide if there is a mandatory evacuation order.

Biya,
I had a little conversation with the staff and then my EP held my mask and and I knew nothing from then on until I woke up in the recovery room. Please don't worry everything will be OK.
Moy...
Sanibel,
I hope you don't have to evacuate and that Isaac passes with out damage.
Moy...

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate them.

biya,

It depends on your EP. MIne used conscious sedation, so I was kinda awake. They said I complained that the burning hurt, so they put me deeper under. Most on this forum were under general, so slept thru the whole thing. Have to ask your EP how he/she does it. I don't remember much of my procedure, probably due to Versed.

sanibel,
Hope you are ok with the storm!!

I think it really depends on the EP performing the procedure. In my case, they put me into what they called a waking coma...Not completely asleep and not entirely awake.

Now after a certain point, I can't tell you a thing that happened in the cath. lab. After a certain point, everything was black but the EP told me that they were talking to me throughout the procedure. He said the anesthetic they use causes amnesia. Boy was he right...I really have no recollection of the actual ablation procedure.

As a side note, I have fairly bad sleep apnea that kicked in during the procedure while I was in the relaxed state. The sudden contortions caused by the apnea made the procedure a little more challenging. My EP said that if (and I hope it is a very big "if") a second ablation is required, they will just put me under completely.

Talk to your EP before the procedure to find out what type of anesthesia he/she uses.

I was put under for both my ablations. Two different EP's and two different methods. I think that a lot depends on certain factors... age, weight, over all general health. I remember being in the operating room, and then waking up in my room. I had the TEE immediately before the first surgery so I was out for it... was surprised that it was the most uncomfortable part of the entire procedure.

With the second ablation, had the TEE a couple of days prior to the ablation and it seemed much less uncomfortable, but they did put me under for the TEE even though it was a separate procedure.

All in all, it's like your first airplane ride... you, do a lot of praying beforehand, but then you realize it's not so bad once you're finally on the ground.

If your EP is worth his salt, he will do everything he can to put you at ease.

VM3040
Are you afib free now after two ablations? I understand that it may take two.

I agree the TEE is not much fun when you wake up. I don't know why they can't use a more "friendly" tube. My throat was tender for about 3 days after they did the one for my last cardio converson. And, yes I need another one before the ablation.

To anyone, how long did you have to wait for your ablation to be scheduled? Mine isn't until Nov 1. But, I believe he is a good doc and I don't want to switch after all this. Just a long time to feel lousey and somewhat housebound.

Love the analogy about the airplane. :)

My EP said I would mostly be asleep but sometimes would be vaguely conscious but really out of it so I didn't care. The procedure lasted 8 hrs and what he said was true. All I remember, quite vividly would be the weird feeling of "waking up" with the bright lights and feeling a little annoyed and going back to "sleep." I remember that happening a few times. I felt no pain or anything, couldn't really focus, etc, I just remember being "annoyed." I also felt like they had to do it so that somehow I wasn't totally "out" for that long, it seemed like a sort of test of my consciousness or something.

biya,

My afib got really bad in may and my ablation was scheduled for Aug. 14. A 3 month waiting period ! I could not believe that it was going to take that long at such a big hospital in NYC. But I think that they do alot of ablations these days for all of the different arrythmias. By the time August came, the meds had it under control and we have decided to wait on the ablation.

Good luck!
Kelly

biya,
I think I decided to have the ablation done in Dec and I couldn't schedule it until April. They did call and moved me up to late March.

You might ask to be put on the cancellation list. People do cancel for various reasons.

Thanks for all you information. I got good news today that I will be "out", for the ablation and that is good for me.

Also, have you ever heard of this? I am currently taking amiodarone. When I am loaded with 8000,10,000 mg they will do my 6th cardio conversion on 9/14. I stay on amni until Oct 1 and then stop. If I don't stay in rhythm then they know that I will keep my date on Nov 1 for the ablation and the amni will be out of my system. Otherwise, it could be something else that may be causing my problems.


I still feel happy that I am not at the end of what can be tried and there is still hope.

Thanks,

I wish I were AFib free, but no... I've had AFib off and on sinnce the procedure and I've been stuck in AFlutter for the past 5 days and will be cardioverted tomorrow if I don't magically pop out of it tonight or tomorrrow morning.

They keep telling me that it's fairly common to continue to experience AFib for months after an ablation. I was in AFib the morning they performed the last ablation which was 8 months after the first one.

I've heard different things, but my cardiologists (first and second opinion) agreed that after 3 months, I should have seen improvement. That's me though... in relatively good health and too darn young to have this problem. lol

FM 3040

So sorry you are still having problems and I agree, you are much too young for all this.

I'm unfamiliar with your directions, biya. I was on Tikosyn all the way up to the ablation, Pradaxa too.