Ablation Prep

Hey, Been reading this since 2008, love it, such informative and sometimes entertaining conversations.

I am 50 yo Male in Australia. Having my second ablation next week. Had Cryo PVI in 2011. Afib returned during 2016 and been steadily increasing in frequency. Usually 3-6 hours duration with one 24 hour episode needing Cardioversion. Been on Flecainide and Verapamil since 2017.
EP said its basically a mission to "burn the bridges" and pin point ablate other nasty cells. So very hopeful.

Question: I'm on instructions to stop all meds 2 days before. Big block letters on bottles say. Do Not Stop this medication abruptly. But thats exactly what i'm going to do. Scared i will go into Abfib or other side effects during this 2 days. Any tips for handling this ?

Thanks heaps

Everyone ALWAYS panics at that point. 9 times out of 10 nothing at all happens. The worse that might happen is you go in afib and that will just make your procedure easier. Don't worry just roll with it!!

Tsco is right. And the scary warnings don't really apply to you. They're there for people with more serious conditions. Yes, you might go into afib, but that will actually be helpful in the procedure. It will allow your doctor to find the sources more easily and ablate them. So if you do go into afib before the procedure, relax and know it's just for a while and it's going to help you out.

I'm now back home from my 4th ablation procedure.
I was laying "on the table", the nurses preparing my body for the procedure, and afib suddenly kicked in. During the following minutes, it did start and stop several times. The EP said it was a very good thing (for the reasons exposed here above by both previous posters).

I was on Ticosyn, which is a much stronger anti-arrhythmic drug along with metoprolol leading up to my ablation this past July. I stopped the Ticosyn a week before my ablation and the metoprolol a couple days later. I remained on elequis right up until the day of my ablation.

My heart stayed in rhythm the entire time up to and including the ablation. Dr Natale did induce to find triggers. I also had had an organic afib episode during the procedure which is a good thing.