Rick, Just talked to a florist who is sending flowers to hospital and Dr. offices. She said it is proven that Flowers and Plants facilitate Healing. So, would you please get some fresh flowers and a few plants from Us. She said Music is also proven to help, so please play some music during your meditation each day also. Love, flowers, plants, music and Hugs!

danikae:
If you have your sister help stock your grocery supplies you should be fine. I'm told to limit lifting to 10 pounds the first week and try not to go up and down the stairs any more than needed. My office and bedroom is upstairs, my kitchen is downstairs so some stairs are unavoidable. I try to limit bending over too much also.
If your sister, neighbor or co-worker or someone else could be made available in case of complications that would be great for a backup plan (emergency case only).

Heart2222:
I was told to expect some seeping from the puncture sites for a day or two. As long as it's not really bleeding it should be OK.

I'll post another update later today based upon so much interest.

Petey: I am honored to be like Chief Bromden and proud to be a member of the "A-Fib Ward" LOL. Awesome film.

Glad you're better. Patience helps. Anyway, right after a procedure, anesthesia stay is your body and leaves gradually. So you still feel icky for a while right after.

Denikae: It should be fine for you. I am also single. One friend visited me just after the ablation. I then stayed overnight. My sister came to take me home from the hospital and left a few hours later. I was pretty OK, I could manage OK, I was tired yes, but not really in pain or unable to cope.

I did have some bruising that concerned me, and rather than call my MD (it was Sunday) I called the nursing station of the floor where I stayed the past day and they were great! I don't even know who the nurse was, but he understand and told me exactly what to do.

So, there's a tip. Maybe you can have a friend stop by and spend some time with you, maybe someone "on call" but you should be all right.

Rick,
Thanks for the answer about the oozing. Do they stitch up the sites or just leave them be?
I was concerned about steps too. My bedroom is upstairs and kitchen down. Do they tell you how many times you can go up and down or just tell you to limit it? 10 lbs isn't much. Almost anything weighs 10 lbs. When did they say you can drive?

Thanks NYNM and Rfreeze for the words of encouragement. I do have several friends who have offered to be available in case I need anything. It's good to know that more than likely I will be fine on my own.

I feel exactly like heart 2222. I go back and forth between wanting to continually go over everything again and again to make sure I'm doing the right thing and just not thinking about it and blindly trusting that it's all going to be just fine.

Rfreeze....take it easy and don't make too many trips up and down those stairs. Thank you so much for letting all of us know how you are doing. And thank you to all the others who are on the other side of this procedure for sharing your experiences. It helps so much to hear first hand from all of you. I don't feel as alone and it calms a lot of fears and anxiety.

Heart 2222, I'll be sending you good thoughts and best wishes as you get closer to your date. I keep telling myself, this time next week I'll be over the worst of it and on the way to feeling better. Now I have to run to the grocery store to stock up and pick up a thermometer as I lost mine and didn't think about needing one (Thanks again rfreeze)....:)

Denikae,
That's good you have friends as back-ups. YOu are doing the right thing to prep ahead of time.
I remember when I scheduled this so long ago, I thought it would never come. Now I dont' know if I'm ready.
Thanks for your well wishes, Denikae.
Rick-I didn't think to bring a BP monitor. THanks for the reminder.
So many times I think maybe I'll just forget the whole thing. Then the a fib reminder comes and I think maybe it would be better to try to get rid of this flopping fish!!

Heart2222:
The punctures were not sutured, they were left open to air so they could heal. Don't wear white undies home LOL. They asked me to limit stairs to as few times as possible. I'm sure I'm breaking the rules. Note to self: Never buy a 2 story house again. Ever.
When discharged they asked me not to drive that day or next. I was taking vicodin too so driving would have been a bad idea.
Rick

I truly think that the waiting is the hardest part. After you decide to do it, you just want it over. Why is the wait so long? Any other procedure/surgery the wait is usually a couple of weeks max. Is there a shortage of EP's? I am sure that they can only do 1 ablation per day due to the time involved. Are ablations in serious demand? I realize that it is an elective procedure but the wait is just so difficult.
Rick: I'm glad you're doing well and feeling better.
Denikae: Are you having RF or cryoablation? If you have cryo the chest pain afterwards shouldn't be an issue. I recovered most of the time alone after my first ablation because my husband has to travel for his job and my kids are grown. We also have a house with stairs and I did OK. as long as you have someone close by that can offer help if needed you should be alright.

Rick,
I would think if the punctures were sutured, they wouldn't catch on things and pull open.
I know what you mean about having a 2 story. Tons of stairs. Things we take for granted on any other day!!
RN52-you said it right. Why is the wait so long? Tortuous.

RN52,
Why is it with cryo there is no chest pain afterwards? I still don't know which one I'm getting cryo or RF.

heart2222: The RF uses a burning technique and the cryo uses freezing. I am not sure of the whole physiology of why the burning hurts and freezing doesn't , but trust me, the recovery was much easier for me after the cryo, and others on this site have said the same thing. The RF was tolerable, it's just that the cryo was easier.

RN52, I'm having an RF ablation. Cryo wasn't even talked about as an option.

Sometimes the wait can be a good thing. I didn't have a long wait once I made the decision to go through with it and in some ways it made me feel like I was rushing into it.

RN52,
But in cryo, it's SO cold that doesn't it feel like it's burning? Just like when you get frostbite or you are SO cold, it burns?
When I bring up that advantage of cryo over RF, I just get a disagreeing response. One doc says there is NO advantage of cryo over RF. I'm not sure which way to go.

Rick,
Did i count right that you were flat on your back for about 18 hrs? Why so long???