Roll call - lurkers and silent majority? Please respond

If you had a successful ablation(s) and have durable NSR - please raise your hand by responding to this thread.

Something like age, sex, # of procedures, years of NSR.

e.g. 55 - M - 2 - 12 yrs

Thanks!

I think this quest is rather futile for two reasons:

1) By definition lurkers don't post and there are hundreds of them here. Most don't even bother creating logins so they can't respond even if they wanted to. I was one of those people for years before I ever created a login.

2) The vast majority of people who have successful ablations don't come to forums like this at all. People should always keep that in mind. Someone said recently that you only hear the positives about ablation here, but there couldn't be anything further from the truth. The people posting here are a distinctly negatively biased sample.

But to answer your question....

64 - M - 6 - 3

Whoa Carey - 6 procedures? Wow.

I know this may be futile but I need some encouragement. I don't feel like I made the right decision right now and need some hope.

Yeah, trust me, friend, I know about hopelessness. You can't imagine how I felt when ablation #5 failed within 3 weeks. I thought my only remaining option was an AV node ablation, which would mean a lifelong dependency on anticoagulants and a pacemaker. And then several kind souls convinced me to do what you did the first time around and give some Italian guy in Austin a shot at what I perceived to be a hopeless situation. I was extremely skeptical of Natale. He seemed to have a fan club that was almost cult-like, and I'm not a cult kind of guy. But I was finally swayed (Shannon had a lot to do with that) to give the Italian dude one last shot at it.

Best damn decision of my life and I'm still kicking myself for not doing it in the first place. I would most likely have been a "one and done" and wouldn't have spent years and tens of thousands of dollars finding out just how much afib drugs suck, how much 1:1 flutter sucks, how much being cardioverted twice weekly in the ER sucks and how much of a toll afib can take on your life, your marriage, your fitness, your health, and your entire outlook on life.

You made the right decision and went to the right guy to do it. You can't imagine how much I envy you.

50 - F - 1 - months

Natale procedure in Austin early this year.
Just had Zio Patch done recently. (6 mos)
Due to Zio Patch results, am now
off all meds, including off anticoagulants.

So glad to be off the drugs.
Grateful and thankful for Natale, TCAI, and this whole community.
Talking to Shannon also helped a lot.

Thank you, everyone!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2020 01:49PM by allofus.

62 - M - 4 - 0
I fully agree with what Carey said about this forum. Before reading and posting here, I did the same on a French-speaking forum.
There are stressfull people posting there and searching for reassurance. There's an endless thread about Afib and ablations, and just a couple posters who still mind coming from time to time to say they're fit and well in NSR after their ablation. Other posters are sick, stressed and full of doubt. They're often ready to give more faith to the answers of barely informed people than to those given by their cardiologist. Worse: many among them don't mind seeing a cardiologist or EP, or, when they've seen one and dislike what they've been said, they post in the said thread hoping to read their doc is wrong.
My four ablations didn't "cure" my afib, but my symptoms are much much lighter and I'm meds free. No regrets at all. I'd go for a fifth if I felt the need.

65; M; 4 ablations last two Natale; 2.5 yrs NSR (albeit last 1.5 yrs on flecainide/atenolol for ectopics)

46 - M - 1 - 5

Duke University (in spite of my username). Had a recurrence in April 2018 for 7 hours but I’m not counting it. I know I should but I’m not worried about it. I’ll stretch the PVI Index ablation as long as I can then head to Texas. If I even need to. This magnesium thing really works, I’ve got to tell you. At least for a lot of folks anyway. We’re all different, of course, but my own experience is very positive. Heck, I can’t even recall the last PAC I’ve had.

54 - M - 4 Mostly NSR
Had my first 2 with a local EP. Got almost 10 years of NSR with the first one. Only a hiccup here and there. When it failed he did another. Basically a touch up. It lasted 3 months.

3 & 4 done by Natale. My triggers were beyond PVI. I also had other issues headed into my first ablation with Natale. Not related to the heart but issues that most definitely put allot of stress on my body and heart.

I'm almost always in NSR now and doing whatever I want. I have had a couple runs of afib since June but I'm just about convinced it's related to my pheneric nerve.

I'm like carey in the fact I wish I would have had Dr Natale first go round all those years ago. He was @ cleveland clinic then and would have been an easy trip for me.

I have been keeping a running post on everything I've been through the past few years on here.

[www.afibbers.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2020 10:23PM by rocketritch.

I am very appreciative to all of those posting their experience. One really gets to see the range of possibilities and personally it gives me hope that I may find myself as not an outlier.

59-M-2-3

John Miller, then Andrea Natale, then Natale/Horton for the Watchman. First time was ugly, 2nd was beautiful.

75 - M - 2 - 13 Not Natale.

83 - M - 2 - 16. First one was right side flutter only by a new UCSF EP in a small regional hospital. Lasted less than a year 2nd was by Natale in Marin General and NSR since. Would go back to Natale if I needed another one, even at this age.

Different subject but worth posting, wife and I debated about flu shot this Fall after reading other posts but ultimately decided to get them, did so 5 days ago with no noticable effects. Have got them every year forever and yet to get the flu.

78 - F - 1 - 10 (UK) anticoagulant

Thank you NLAMA for posting this great poll and the people replying. It gives us hope. Good for you Kaylee and the others with a decade of nsr!

AB Page - would you please share what 'ugly' was? Good to know that beauty followed...

Congrats Kaylee 1 and 10 - I'm hoping for that kind of result.

Quote
NotLyingAboutMyAfib
AB Page - would you please share what 'ugly' was? Good to know that beauty followed...

Ugly was an almost 12 hr procedure, followed by some sort of infection treated with pneumonia drugs, a golf ball sized hematoma, bruising from hip to hip and 6 weeks later afib return with tachycardia this time.

82 - F - 2 -17-and-counting. (Prof.. Haïssaguerre in Bordeaux January 2003)

Gill

Agreed - that's ugly. Mine was ugly too.... some of the details.

Yes pneumonia also - treated in hospital and more drugs at home.

No issues with catheter sites - so lucky there.

Was gurgling blood and fluid with every breath - felt like I was drowning - spit up 70 ml of blood 2 days in a row plus another 60-70 into rags and coffee cups.

Remarkable thing - procedure was relatively short - 55 minutes of rf burns but my period behind the moon was maybe 5-6 hrs? IDK.

common maybe? I was “behind the moon” as well during my the index 3.5 hrs of ablation and and additional post anesthesia amnesia stupor 3.5 hours after waking up. The second ablation I was wide awake while being wheeled from last half of the halfway distance from the procedure room back to post op recovery.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2020 10:47AM by susan.d.

54-M-1-3.5yrs

Congrats Gill and JKAF - enviable numbers.

58-M-1-2.5 years by Dr Natale.

Thanks to people on these forums that convinced me to go see Dr Natale. Especially Carey and Shannon! The first 1.5 years after my ablation I had tachycardia, but now I'm convinced that those days are over for now.

1st with Dr Natale. Lasted three years. Then developed Left side flutter.
Back to Dr Natale for number 2. Last 6 years and still holding.
Dr Natale a year ago for a Watchman device.

The first ablation Dr Natale noted activity in the left Atrial appendage. He ablated a line to see if that would help. This was the early years when he was researching the LAA as a source for afib. The line showed later through his research to not be affective. Sure enough, that was what needed ablating on the second visit. This LAA ablation slowed the LAA which meant anticoagulation for life. Luckily he got my insurance to cover a Watchman device last year. Sure is nice not needing Eliquis any longer!

Quote
ffl0203t8
58-M-1-2.5 years by Dr Natale.

Thanks to people on these forums that convinced me to go see Dr Natale. Especially Carey and Shannon! The first 1.5 years after my ablation I had tachycardia, but now I'm convinced that those days are over for now.

Yep, mine was by Natale as well.

And yep, weird stuff continued for quite a while after the typical blanking period. I had bigeminy for days at 1-4 months out, and tachy every so often for a little over a year after the ablation. All gone now. Even the PVCs. Knock wood, fingers crossed, of course.

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gmperf
Luckily he got my insurance to cover a Watchman device last year.

How did he do that? Did you have bleeding issues or problems tolerating Eliquis? Also, mind if I ask who the insurance company was?

73 F. 1. 3. (Natale Thousand Oaks)

67 F 1 4 months so far so good! Done in Raleigh NC, by Natale trained Dr. Patrick Hranitzky in May 2020 Best wishes to you NLAMA ! You are young and strong, and your body is in a constant state of healing itself.

57, M, 1, 4.5 weeks

I had my index ablation done by Dr. Natale 9 weeks ago. I have been in NSR for 4.5 weeks as of today. During the first 4.5 weeks post-ablation I was in NSR most of the time, but had a few occasional episodes of afib lasting a few hours, however one episode was about 2 days long. Then those episodes stopped at the 4.5 week point and I have enjoyed continuous NSR ever since.

The amazing part is that former afib triggers have no power over me anymore. I can drink regular coffee again, exert myself physically, go with too little sleep, experience emotional stress, and yet I stay in NSR now. Once, recently, I even accidentally fell asleep without using my cpap, and yet no afib resulted. Before my ablation making that mistake would have lead to a guaranteed 2 or 3 days of afib.

I am still taking Tikosyn. Before the ablation it kept me in NSR about half the time, i.e., A few days in NSR alternating with a few days in afib. So that is why I had the ablation. I tried one AAD, failed it, and went for the definitive solution.

I used to take Tikosyn twice a day, and I am still supposed to be, but for the last 2 or 3 weeks I have been slacking off, taking Tilosyn only once a day, and about once a week I don’t take it at all. Yet I am in steady NSR. I am hoping this augurs well my chances of staying in NSR after I eventually stop the Tikosyn.

I am very grateful to Dr. Natale for giving me my life back. The Covid-19 shutdown has greatly affected me and my family, and at this difficult time they need me to be strong so that I can do what it takes to get us through this time. Well in the past 9 weeks since my ablation I have accomplished many difficult tasks, and our problems are almost solved. One more hurdle. I couldn’t have succeeded this well if I were still battling afib half the days of the month, or more. So I hope that Dr. Natale knows that his great gift and his efforts don’t just correct his patients’ malfunctioning physiologies, but he touches their very lives, and in my case, he has improved the lives of my wife and children by giving them back their big strong problem solver and breadwinner. I am so thankful to Dr. Natale for that.

I also thank Shannon for his generosity, talking to me on the phone before and immediately after my ablation. His comprehensive understanding of the field/procedure and his interest in helping patients through their ablations is very admirable. Plus, his intellect is impressive so it is fun for me to have a phone conversation with someone who is genius level. How often does one get to do that? I felt honored to have his attention.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2020 01:56PM by rhexis.

rhexis - I am right behind you by 5 weeks or so. Seeing more and more NSR as the heart cools off. Taking flecainide, eliquis and diltiazem. I'm not willing to tempt status yet with any triggers - maybe some Armagnac in Dec but the crap I drink is so expensive I can only afford to have a little sip here and there. So it shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah Shan is really thorough and knowledgeable and I am leaning toward the hope that I may be a 1 and done (fingers crossed) Dr. N was the right choice.

Quote
rhexis
57, M, 1, 4.5 weeks

I had my index ablation done by Dr. Natale 9 weeks ago. I have been in NSR for 4.5 weeks as of today. During the first 4.5 weeks post-ablation I was in NSR most of the time, but had a few occasional episodes of afib lasting a few hours, however one episode was about 2 days long. Then those episodes stopped at the 4.5 week point and I have enjoyed continuous NSR ever since.

The amazing part is that former afib triggers have no power over me anymore. I can drink regular coffee again, exert myself physically, go with too little sleep, experience emotional stress, and yet I stay in NSR now. Once, recently, I even accidentally fell asleep without using my cpap, and yet no afib resulted. Before my ablation making that mistake would have lead to a guaranteed 2 or 3 days of afib.

I am still taking Tikosyn. Before the ablation it kept me in NSR about half the time, i.e., A few days in NSR alternating with a few days in afib. So that is why I had the ablation. I tried one AAD, failed it, and went for the definitive solution.

I used to take Tikosyn twice a day, and I am still supposed to be, but for the last 2 or 3 weeks I have been slacking off, taking Tilosyn only once a day, and about once a week I don’t take it at all. Yet I am in steady NSR. I am hoping this augurs well my chances of staying in NSR after I eventually stop the Tikosyn.

I am very grateful to Dr. Natale for giving me my life back. The Covid-19 shutdown has greatly affected me and my family, and at this difficult time they need me to be strong so that I can do what it takes to get us through this time. Well in the past 9 weeks since my ablation I have accomplished many difficult tasks, and our problems are almost solved. One more hurdle. I couldn’t have succeeded this well if I were still battling afib half the days of the month, or more. So I hope that Dr. Natale knows that his great gift and his efforts don’t just correct his patients’ malfunctioning physiologies, but he touches their very lives, and in my case, he has improved the lives of my wife and children by giving them back their big strong problem solver and breadwinner. I am so thankful to Dr. Natale for that.

I also thank Shannon for his generosity, talking to me on the phone before and immediately after my ablation. His comprehensive understanding of the field/procedure and his interest in helping patients through their ablations is very admirable. Plus, his intellect is impressive so it is fun for me to have a phone conversation with someone who is genius level. How often does one get to do that? I felt honored to have his attention.

Those are good news.
But... be careful.

Your index ablation has destroyed the highways and the main secondary roads (allow me this analogy) used by "the beast" to enter your heart chambers.
This doesn't mean the beast is dead. If coffee, or alcohol, or sleep apnea or whatever you noticed might quickly lead to afib before your ablation don't do it any more, it's because the highways are out of use.
Don't allow "the beast" finding little paths elsewhere.

+ 1 on Pompom - AFAIK - not a free pass to tempt the beast but a chance to never have it visit again.

I'm staying cautious and conservative - maybe even walk the tightrope despite me never isolating any triggers. I don't want another ablation esp if someone other than Dr. N will be doing it.

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Carey

Luckily he got my insurance to cover a Watchman device last year.

How did he do that? Did you have bleeding issues or problems tolerating Eliquis? Also, mind if I ask who the insurance company was?

👆👆Please explain if you can.

48, M, 1, 5 years Dr. Hocini in Bordeaux
Had a few spots here and there where i was getting a lot of ectopics but pretty calm for the most part.

Great results Montos!