I got my second ablation done on Monday, again by Dr. Fermin Garcia @ UPenn. The first one was in August 2018, and 30 days latter my a-fib had returned. One thing that was odd in both procedures was he only had me stop the Flecainide I was taking (50mg BID) one day before the procedure. I repeatedly asked him it I should follow the more common protocol, and he said at such a lose does it wasn't necessary, and even at one point suggested I could continue the Flecainide right up to the night before the procedure.
The procedure seemed to have went well. He kept me awake until he induced the afib, then put me under while doing the ablation. He said the right pulmonary vein had reconnected in a thick area, so he heavily ablated that area, and did some other touch-up on both veins since he was in there. Overall, the procedure was much less traumatic to me physically than the last time.
My question tonight is: what is the typical protocol for stopping Flecainide after an ablation? I was told to stop the Flecainide but stay on the Metoprolol (12.5mg).
Two days after the ablation, last night my heart starting feel "off" with some mild arrhythmia, but not a-fib (though similar to what I often feel before getting a-fib at night, since mine is vagal). I took a 50mg Flecainide pill before bed (though am now suffering from the flu-like feelings it often causes me). That led me here again, to research what others do, and it seems fairly common to continue the Flecainide for a period of time after ablation, or to at least to taper it.
Any thoughts or advice? Stay on the Flecainide for a few months? Taper off the Flecainide now? Or stay the course, cold turkey?
My current thought is to stick with the day-time 50mg dose since it's better tolerated by me, but halve the night-time dose since it often makes me feel crappy in the morning. And if that seems to be effective, stick with it for a few weeks until halving the day-time dose, etc..
