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Jose
Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 27, 2003 09:21PM |
Hello all,
I had an ablation done on Oct. 22, same day as JRBabb's!
Got there @ 9:15am on Wednesday. Outpatient admissions was on the third floor as well as the waiting room. My folks, aunt, brother and sister came with me that morning. My friend and his new wife along with another buddy of mine showed up later. The nurses were amazed how many people showed up for me! It made one of them shed a tear! Anyways, a nurse came over to 'prep' me @ 10:30am. That's where they get you to undress and wear that hospital gown, very drafty if you know what I mean. I sat in a waiting chair, along with three other 'outpatients' separated by a curtain until noon. My folks came by to see me before they took me to the EP Lab. The procedure started promptly, only had one incision, left femoral vein. They gave me a local for the catheders and a relaxant. I did experience some pain in the groin area and while they were doing the ablation, I felt something like bad heartburn. The procedure took about 5:15 because I remember looking at the clock on the wall when we left the lab. Although I don't remember falling asleep, the whole thing seemed like it only took 30min.
Once they took me over to my room, I did not experience any pain at the incision point. They used a device called Angio-Seal to close the vein, I'd never heard of it! I did experience discomfort after not moving for four hours. I also had difficulty breathing, almost in any position except upright. They did keep me overnight for observation. My pulse was somewhere around 75-90 all night, normally its around 60-65. Pressure was 120/70 all the times they nurses stopped by to measure. I was discharged the next day, Oct 23rd around noon.
During the procedure, they did have to administer a small shock to cause AFib, which I did not feel at all. They also discovered a very pronounced flutter, so they ablated that too. The EP's nurse mentioned to me that they did a very through job and it turned out to be more complicated that they expected. The EP will have a full report for me later this week. I was in NSR from the end of the procedure until Sunday evening, when I started feeling a few skipped beats. I went into a 'mild' version of my AFib today (Monday).
Since this is my very first operation of any kind, I did not know what to expect afterwards. I have found it very difficult to sleep at night, due in part to the elevated heartbeat and difficulty breathing. I don't know how to describe the breathing problem, except to say that I may feel just like someone with asthma would feel. Even today, I cannot sleep in a fully horizontal position on my back, just on either my left or right or an elevated upper torso position. I also feel dizzy and lose my appetite quite often. I think I've managed to get about 15hrs of sleep since Wednesday! Its been getting better everyday, but I had to ask for an additional week off from work because of this. I did go see my regular dr. today and did examin me, along with an EKG and mentioned no problems. He recommended I increase my intake of Atenolol to 50mg daily to help with the elevated heartbeat.
All in all, I feel optimistic about the procedure. Its too early to tell if it will rid me of this afliction but I can't wait to find out exactly what the EP did. It will be interesting to see just how many 'burns' he had to do.
JRBabb, thanks for the update! I'll also keep posting regularly on my experience. I disagree with a few folks about choosing which they would do again: root canal or ablation. I prefer the root canal!!!
Sherly, thanks once again for reminding me to post. I just have not been feeling all that well these past few days. Hopefully it will get better soon! Incidently, did I mention that I lost 10 pounds in the last week? That's how bad my apetite has been affected!
Jose
ps Sorry for the long post and my english! Still feel a bit dizzy today!
I had an ablation done on Oct. 22, same day as JRBabb's!
Got there @ 9:15am on Wednesday. Outpatient admissions was on the third floor as well as the waiting room. My folks, aunt, brother and sister came with me that morning. My friend and his new wife along with another buddy of mine showed up later. The nurses were amazed how many people showed up for me! It made one of them shed a tear! Anyways, a nurse came over to 'prep' me @ 10:30am. That's where they get you to undress and wear that hospital gown, very drafty if you know what I mean. I sat in a waiting chair, along with three other 'outpatients' separated by a curtain until noon. My folks came by to see me before they took me to the EP Lab. The procedure started promptly, only had one incision, left femoral vein. They gave me a local for the catheders and a relaxant. I did experience some pain in the groin area and while they were doing the ablation, I felt something like bad heartburn. The procedure took about 5:15 because I remember looking at the clock on the wall when we left the lab. Although I don't remember falling asleep, the whole thing seemed like it only took 30min.
Once they took me over to my room, I did not experience any pain at the incision point. They used a device called Angio-Seal to close the vein, I'd never heard of it! I did experience discomfort after not moving for four hours. I also had difficulty breathing, almost in any position except upright. They did keep me overnight for observation. My pulse was somewhere around 75-90 all night, normally its around 60-65. Pressure was 120/70 all the times they nurses stopped by to measure. I was discharged the next day, Oct 23rd around noon.
During the procedure, they did have to administer a small shock to cause AFib, which I did not feel at all. They also discovered a very pronounced flutter, so they ablated that too. The EP's nurse mentioned to me that they did a very through job and it turned out to be more complicated that they expected. The EP will have a full report for me later this week. I was in NSR from the end of the procedure until Sunday evening, when I started feeling a few skipped beats. I went into a 'mild' version of my AFib today (Monday).
Since this is my very first operation of any kind, I did not know what to expect afterwards. I have found it very difficult to sleep at night, due in part to the elevated heartbeat and difficulty breathing. I don't know how to describe the breathing problem, except to say that I may feel just like someone with asthma would feel. Even today, I cannot sleep in a fully horizontal position on my back, just on either my left or right or an elevated upper torso position. I also feel dizzy and lose my appetite quite often. I think I've managed to get about 15hrs of sleep since Wednesday! Its been getting better everyday, but I had to ask for an additional week off from work because of this. I did go see my regular dr. today and did examin me, along with an EKG and mentioned no problems. He recommended I increase my intake of Atenolol to 50mg daily to help with the elevated heartbeat.
All in all, I feel optimistic about the procedure. Its too early to tell if it will rid me of this afliction but I can't wait to find out exactly what the EP did. It will be interesting to see just how many 'burns' he had to do.
JRBabb, thanks for the update! I'll also keep posting regularly on my experience. I disagree with a few folks about choosing which they would do again: root canal or ablation. I prefer the root canal!!!
Sherly, thanks once again for reminding me to post. I just have not been feeling all that well these past few days. Hopefully it will get better soon! Incidently, did I mention that I lost 10 pounds in the last week? That's how bad my apetite has been affected!
Jose
ps Sorry for the long post and my english! Still feel a bit dizzy today!
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Jose
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 27, 2003 09:25PM |
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Richard
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 27, 2003 10:54PM |
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JRBabb
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 02:49AM |
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Erling
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 06:20AM |
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Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 08:28AM |
Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 18,890 |
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Mike F. V42
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 09:16AM |
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Fran
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 09:51AM |
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Doug
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 11:25AM |
Regarding your shortness of breath, I have had a very similar experiece. I have now had 4 ablations, believe it or not. The first was for flutter, and was sucessful to some extent. After the flutter was mainly controlled, then Afib took it's place, and the next 3 Ablations for Afib were not sucessfull. I am still in permanent Afib, 24-7 for the last 2 years. After each ablation, however, when I was still in sinus rhythm, my breathing was extremely shallow, and it was much more comfortable to be propped up with pillows. It pretty much stayed like that until the Afib returned. I asked my Cardiologist about this, and he seemed mystified.
Regarding your statement about returning to work, my advice would be to not worry about how long you are away from work, and prepare them for the worst instead of pushing yourself back to work too soon. Do everything you can to make your ablation sucessfull. Returning to the stress of work too early helped to throw me back into Afib. I now feel so worn down by this condition that I am considering stopping work and trying to collect on a disability policy, at 52.
Regarding your statement about returning to work, my advice would be to not worry about how long you are away from work, and prepare them for the worst instead of pushing yourself back to work too soon. Do everything you can to make your ablation sucessfull. Returning to the stress of work too early helped to throw me back into Afib. I now feel so worn down by this condition that I am considering stopping work and trying to collect on a disability policy, at 52.
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Bill B
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 11:25AM |
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Woodcliff
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 12:30PM |
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Jose
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 02:06PM |
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Jose
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 02:32PM |
Thanks again to everyone for your support!
Last night I finally got a full night's rest, 9hrs uninterrupted sleep! Woke up with a healthy appetite, but did not over do it!
Doug,
When I mentioned the shortness of breath to my Dr., he did not seem too concerned. He did say to call him if it did not improve within a couple of days. It seems better today because I do not notice any problems taking a deep breath anymore. Plus I slept like a baby last night! As far as work goes, I told my boss to expect me to be out for sometime. Besides, I can do about 90% of my work from home, so there are no worries there. I am fortunate to work with a great group of people so stress is not a factor for me.
Woodcliff,
I can't speak for anyone else regarding this, for me its a matter of insurance. I simply do not have the funds to go to CCF for an ablation. I have to remain inside my current health insurance. So, after doing some research, getting a referral, speaking with the EP's, staff and hospital, etc., I decided that this was the best choice. Would I have gone to CCF if I had the funds? My answer would be Yes, but since that was not an option for me, I made the best of what was available to me. I do not feel like I made a bad choice, despite the few complications I have post procedure. Only time will tell, and as I've mentioned before, I'm still very optimistic about the outcome.
Jose v31
Last night I finally got a full night's rest, 9hrs uninterrupted sleep! Woke up with a healthy appetite, but did not over do it!
Doug,
When I mentioned the shortness of breath to my Dr., he did not seem too concerned. He did say to call him if it did not improve within a couple of days. It seems better today because I do not notice any problems taking a deep breath anymore. Plus I slept like a baby last night! As far as work goes, I told my boss to expect me to be out for sometime. Besides, I can do about 90% of my work from home, so there are no worries there. I am fortunate to work with a great group of people so stress is not a factor for me.
Woodcliff,
I can't speak for anyone else regarding this, for me its a matter of insurance. I simply do not have the funds to go to CCF for an ablation. I have to remain inside my current health insurance. So, after doing some research, getting a referral, speaking with the EP's, staff and hospital, etc., I decided that this was the best choice. Would I have gone to CCF if I had the funds? My answer would be Yes, but since that was not an option for me, I made the best of what was available to me. I do not feel like I made a bad choice, despite the few complications I have post procedure. Only time will tell, and as I've mentioned before, I'm still very optimistic about the outcome.
Jose v31
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peg
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 05:49PM |
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Sammy
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 28, 2003 10:28PM |
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Pam
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 29, 2003 02:49PM |
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Jose
Re: Ablation @ Centinela on Oct. 22 October 29, 2003 06:15PM |
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