I'm home! Jackie is fine.

Life is good. Bless you all for your good wishes and caring support.

Newman is right…Piece of Cake!

The PVI ablation is over and I’m back home at the computer. I could not possibly improve or elaborate further on the splendid reports of Char, Newman and Jim W…but I want to add some personal observations.

My date with Dr. Natale began about 7:30 a.m. on November 12. Although I saw him and heard him, I was not able to see the monitors or hear conversation since they had the music cranked up. I confirmed in advance, however, he would do the procedure with the assistance of a EP fellow – Dr. Chung.

I was told I would not be heavily sedated and that I would feel the burning. I did. It was not nice, but was of short duration; and, of course, the nice thing about pain is the sensation cannot be recalled or repeated in the mind. I just know I was uncomfortable and was told to take shallow regular breaths since I must have reacted to the pain by deep breathing.

The twilight sedation is just enough to take the edge off and relax the patient. I had concerns about lying for so long with a touchy lower back, but I’m happy to report that my back is fine.

The TEE was not necessary and the ICE guided ablation is the standard at CCF.

The entire procedure including prep time and post time was 3 hours. I was moved to the recovery area at 10 am, slept until noon, and moved to the hospital room by 1:30. It would have been sooner, but no rooms were vacant.

I was free of IV’s and walking around with a telemetry monitor at 4:30 that same afternoon….feeling fine.

Post ablation, I had pain in my left ribcage most likely from arm positioning above my head. The right side of my neck at the insertion point is tender. Looks as if I had an encounter with Count Dracula! But no burning pain at all in my heart and I can breathe and cough without pain. Bruising is minimal- a large concern for me with my hematoma history. (And today I’m a bit stiff in the neck and groin insertion areas.)

At 6 pm, I was placed back on Flecanide and Coumadin with instructions to stop the Flec after 2 months. Interesting note is that I was off Flec for 36 hours and had no afib….thanks to the stability I was able to achieve with the increased magnesium and other supplements and the energy work and the focusing effect of meditation and mantras for spiritual awareness. While it is too soon to predict, my hope is that I will remain in this stable state without breakthrough arrhythmia

I was given the monitoring device to use for three months; I will return in 3 months for the spiral CAT scan to rule out stenosis. If there is no stenosis, they will keep track of me with periodic questionnaires or surveys.

I was very prepared for the procedure thanks to all the posts on this BB and Hans’ book– in fact, I had “over-trained.” and expected it would be more of an ordeal than it really was. I’m totally amazed that one morning I can have my heart cells reduced to a burn lesion and be on my feet and feeling great only 6 hours later. Truly amazing. Of course, the long-term consequences of ablation are not known, but I have every confidence that I will be drug free after the two months and able to have a life without afib.

I give thanks to my Creator, Dr. Natale and CCF and to all of you, my fellow afibbers and staunch supporters, who made this journey that I never wanted, acceptable and bearable.

I will be forever grateful. Sincerely, Jackie

Good on yer gal! Good news indeed and well done.

Mike F.

Jackie,

How delightful that you now have it behind you, and apparently feeling fine! I am very happy for you! Life is good, indeed.

Erling

Jackie,

Welcome to the club.

Newman

Jackie great to hear all went well. You have kicked ass with this AF and no doubt is a thing of the past for you. You are so right about AF is nothing compared to what other ailments people have. Such as my 30 year old cousin with stomach cancer and maybe 2-3 months left to live. We should feel lucky if this is the only mountain that god has put in our path. At least we have a cure available to us. One other question what meds if any were you on before your PVI. Take it slowly and again great to hear it went so well.

Frank

Jackie,

Good to hear you are doing so well. Yes, welcome to the club.

Jim

Wonderful news Jackie. I'll be looking forward to your successful three month report. btw I have the Wayne Dyer tapes you mentioned but havn't listened to them yet.

All the best for you

Adrian

Jackie - I'm glad all is well!
njb

Jackie,

Glad to hear it was a piece of cake and that you are doing so well. I have sent my medical records to CCF and look forward to joining your elite group--six months down the road.

Buster

Jackie -

Great news. I've been waiting to hear it all day! Sounds like you breezed through it. I'm so happy for you.

Lorraine

Jackie,

I'm very glad to hear that all went well for you. I wish you continued success, but Jackie, you can't leave us, you know.

Richard

Great news Jackie, I thought about you yesterday and am very glad that it went well for you. I know you will keep us posted about your progress.

Liz

Glad to hear it.
Hardly surprised, Angels tend to hang arround good people.
Be seeing you
Chris H

Jackie,

So good to see your post!

You have contributed so much to other people, it seems that it was time for you to be rewarded with a successful ablation. You must feel relieved to have it behind you. I admire your courage and positive spirit.

Do you think that you will continue your magnesium supplementation indefinitely?

Carol

Jackie:
What a positive and encouraging story. Congratulations and looking forward to reading your posts over the next 2 months; I feel they will reflect ongoing success. Once you are a "free bird" you'll have to hang in from time to time with those of us who are still "prisoners", with your words of encouragement and positive and enlightened suggestions.

Stay well, Jackie,
Pam

Frank - thanks for your kind comments.

I was on Flecanide for a little over 3 years. It began to fail keeping me in NSR - actually, it never did work 100% - but with the increased magnesium, I was able to reach NSR and stay there until ablation.

(100 mg. twice a day)

Jackie

Buster - good for you. Let me know if I can help you any from this end or meet you here. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

Just make sure you emphasize that you want only Dr. Natale. The rest goes smoothly....or so I thought.

Time will tell.

We will have quite a club, won't we?

Regards, Jackie

Richard - Thanks. Not to worry. I won't be leaving the BB any time soon.
I'm very attached to everyone and want to know the details of their health. Jackie

Adrian - Good job - let me know what you think. Jackie

Chris - You're sweet. Thanks for that comment. Jackie

Carol - thanks for your message. I do plan to stay on mag glycinate indefinitely. Now that I know what I know about intractable magnesium deficiency, I don't dare risk something else cropping up due to a deficiency. I will most likely just maintain between 400 and 600 mg daily ... but will alter it depending on circumstances.

I truly think magnesium is what made the difference...and I owe that knowledge to Erling who kept hammering away at me to pay attention. I just wish I had listened sooner...but happy that so far it is going well.

Jackie

Pam - I intend to hang. I am interested in everyone and their dilemma with afib. I still need support, too, ya know! Thanks Jackie

Liz - I'll certainly be posting my progress, my trials and anything new that happens. It is my intention to share as much helpful information as I can in the hopes that it will help others. Jackie

Last as usual - its the time difference.

Jackie

So glad to hear it went so smoothly. It is amazing what they can do.

All my best

Fran