In my experience there's not much pain with ablation. Good anesthesia and very tiny incision. Mostly some tiredness.

I don't know about making it worse, what's more likely is that it will reverse over time back to original state.

Travis: My experience was that there was virtually no pain. However, if you wear one of the external monitors post procedure, changing the sticky pads might pull off a bit of skin. I'm sure you can handle it. Keep in mind that you are a young healthy guy, not an older citizen like many of us. So, your probability of a very positive outcome is very high.

Just think of it as one of life's great adventures !

My two cents on ablation is if youve done everything in your power to be AF free in a reasonable amount of time, and things are worse, I would have little apprehension to ablate. Im not sure being med free and mostly NSR qualifies as worse off. Its all about risk reward for me. I have a feeling you wont regret this Travis. I like what our good poster Paul said.

Hi Travis: I second Paul's comment. You are a young man and not yet in persistent Afib which make you a good candidate and hopeful for the most favorable outcome. As you wait for your ablation time, it is hard not to second guess yourself, especially since you are managing your episodes successfully with Flec. It is a tough decision for sure. The pain associated with ablation is manageable. My main discomfort from ablation was a very sore throat (cepacol lozenges helped alot!) and some mild chest pain when I would lean forward, for a few days. I was very tired for about a week. My only advice to you is that you should go into this with the acceptance that 2 procedures may be needed. While many people have had success with just 1 ablation, you should mentally prepare for a possible reality that 2 may be needed. Good luck to you, Travis.

Hi Travis,

I'm a bit confused by your history. Are you currently on an anti-arrhythmic or rate control medication or do you just use flecainide (PIP) when you get an afib event? If you have never been on any medication (other than PIP), then in theory, you have not met the guidelines for an ablation in the US. I'm curious as to who your EP is.

As for my own experience. I've had two ablations. The first was done by Calkins at Hopkins in 2009. Standard PVI. I received no benefit from the procedure and over the years my afib got progressively worse. I had my second ablation with Vivek Reddy at Mt. Sinai in NYC exactly one month ago and so far so good. With respect to pain, there really isn't any. Some mild chest discomfort and some fatigue for about a week. I did have some fluid build up two days after the procedure that was quite painful but lasix took care of that in a couple of hours. If your procedure goes without any complications, the worse discomfort will be the foley catheter.

Travis,
Don't you have Natale as an EP? While I am sure that this guy is human, and may have had one or two bad results, you would be hard pressed to find a case recently...from what I read on this site and stopafib.org, this guy is AMAZING, and his results are incredible. So I would say just count down your time until you will be in NSR FOREVER! Trust me, 5 March will be here in like 2 minutes! Just stay as calm as you can until 5 March, and then enjoy your NSR!

Bill

@rdfleisc - I am using Flec as a PIP. I am not on any daily meds or even blood thinners. As for "US guidelines" I could care less. My doctor gave me the option to try meds first but to me it's pointless. Even if they work they come with side effects and over time they'll lose their effectiveness. I skipped right to the ablation. My EP, Dr. Natale, says I'm making the right choice. He said for guys in my situation, going straight to the ablation makes sense.

To everyone else, thanks for your words of encouragement. As the big day approaches I find myself second guessing this more and more. I won't be backing out but I'm also not looking forward to it either. I know this is something I need to do but it's so hard when I don't have a "serious" case of afib just yet. If I was having daily episodes and was really struggling, I'd be begging for the day to come.

@Bill - didn't you have an ablation after just two episodes? If memory serves me correctly you were quick to get one done. And like me, you skipped the drugs too, right? How long has it been now since you had your ablation and have you been afib free ever since? And are you taking any meds?

Travis

Travis: we're in almost exactly the same situation. I have the same worries as you about an ablation making things worse. I just started taking a daily small dose of atenolol after my last bad episode--I tend to end up in the er being cardioverted. ( I have flutter). My condition is pretty manageable so far with this fairly painless med regime. If I thought that the med regime would stay stable, I might opt out of the ablation. But my afib is getting worse; the atenolol failed to help at all during my last major episode brought on by pneumonia,

My cardiologist and my ep both point out:
--I have afib
--it's not going away on its own
--ablations work best in the early stages of this condition
--afib tends to be progressive
--meds tend to fail over time
--I'm likely to want/need an ablation later on, when it might not be as effective

this sequence of reasons remains convincing for me. Like you, I read stories of things going wrong. But the percentages are very, very strongly in our favor that nothing will get worse, and probably will get better.

an operation on any other organ in my body would give rise to almost no anxiety in me; this heart procedure scares me. But it's a common procedure with very low risk. I used to be frightened of airplanes too.

I've recently started to get a flyu/cold. I very briefly went into afib two nights ago, possibly brought on by this cold. Just before, I was leaning towards canceling my ablation. The atenolol worked this time, but I never used to go into afib during the day, when awake, from a cold. It seems to be getting worse. this last episode solidified my decision to have the procedure.

but I'm nervous too. Mine is Feb 17th.

I have to admit that I haven't tried the flecainide. (spelling). that would be my other option, hoping that my condition wouldn't get worse. I'm curious what people know about the odds of afib stabilizing over years with non daily flecainide use? or even daily?

Travis,
Yes, I got my ablation done after only two episodes...I was on metoprolol and flecanide, and it made me so tired I could hardly get off the couch. Among the research I did I saw recommendations for ablation as a first line treatment, and also that if you were considering ablation, sooner was better. Added to that was the fact that the thought of another afib attack FREAKED ME OUT, and I was terribly afraid that I would be unable to finish out my military career, which I love. These factors led me to opt for the ablation. Then I was lucky enough to get in to see the amazing Dr. Hugh Calkins with virtually no waiting time. I got my ablation two years ago now, 2 January 2013. No afib whatsoever in two years. I still have PACs. I did have the post ablation motility issues, which have pretty much passed after two years, and spiking blood pressure, which I can probably blame on the continuing weight issues. So while I haven't gotten back to 100% as some have, I would do this again in a MINUTE. I have been off all drugs since July of 2013. I do take a buttload of supplements now, perhaps too many. Your article about Doug and the chelation inspired me to give that a try. My wife and I have an appointment with a naturopath on Monday. His nurse said "just a warning, your first thing will be a cleanse." Blech. But if this helps rid me of the PACs, I am all for it. The PACs really have greatly subsided in the past two years, but not completely. And Dr. C said it really takes the heart about two years to completely recover, so if I still have them at this point, maybe I always will, but let's give that chelation thing a try!

I think it is just natural to be nervous as the date of the ablation approaches. I had NO qualms whatsoever, I was so certain that I had made the right choice. Having said that, I am sure I set the world's record for Hail Mary's as they were wheeling me into the operating room! But I have NO regrets. I do believe that it is incredibly important to get one of the superstar EPs, and I feel I was lucky in this regard. And your guy may be even better, from what I read. So I believe you will be fine, and a year from now will be SO happy that you made this decision! God bless and hang in there, my brother!

Bill

Travis, the most painful thing was the catheter insertion points but were probably a 5 on scale of 1 to 10 for a day or 2. Ablations are very common now and the important thing is to have an EP you trust and has done lots of successful ablations. After getting over the blanking period, I have had 15 months with no episiodes and no drugs and now wonder why I waited so long to have the ablation. There is risk to every surgery and I had never had any surgery in my life but was sick of the AFIB and the stress it caused me. And I like you went from having one to four episodes a year to episodes every few weeks and it was impacting the quality of my life. So I was willing to give it a shot and happy I did. It's an individual decision. Some don't mind taking the drugs (as long as they are working) and hold off on the ablation. I hit the wall and was willing to try. Also, I live near the Cleveland Clinic which has a good track record for ablations so it made it a convenient choice. Good luck to you Travis.

Travis, I am curious how much Flec do you take as PI P when you get an episode of afib?