I just did my 6 months post LAA in Austin and I have been cleared by Dr Natale to be off Xarelto, just 82mg baby aspirin daily. This is the best outcome I was hoping for and it happened. I am ecstatic obviously. I still have the Reveal LINQ implant for another 10 months but it's like it doesn't even exist. I went through the airline security checkpoint and it didn't even trigger the metal detectors.
One very happy camper here after 14 years of fighting this disease.
Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much Dr Natale and thank you SOOOOOOO much to this website and all its active and incredibly knowledgeable participants!!!

Best luck to all.

PH

Great to hear PH,

It wasn't so long ago we were on the phone shortly after your procedure with Dr Natale. Time flies and its great to hear things are humming right along as hoped and expected! You had a challenging case including a couple of procedures at Bordeaux and its so nice to hear how solid things are for you now. Be well and best wishes.

Cheers!
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2014 01:19AM by Shannon.

Hi PH,

Congratulation!
Wish you forever steady NSR. Take care.

Duke

I am happy for you PH and a bit envious too. I am still on Eliquis and am not sure if Dr. Natale will let me go off of it. I too had a LAA, and had some "atrial stunning" afterwards. Hoping my luck is as good as yours! I am due back for another TEE in January, I believe. Not quite sure how to set that up, but will touch base with Shannon. I expect to be going up to Montifiore hospital. Did you find this good information out after a TEE?

You must feel wonderful - congrats!!

Barb

Great to hear PH,

I am 6 weeks out from my second ablation with Dr. Natale. I have had a few days of what feels like flutter and some PACs.
I am hoping it is still healing, but I suspect I may be back again in a few months. I hope not though. I am starting to think I am just going to have to live with this.

Wishing you NSR forever!

Don

Yes, it was after the 6 month post LAA ablation TEE. I had zero recurrence of anything since then, although it was my 4th ablation as all non-LAA ablation had been done in expert hands in Bordeaux. Tobherd, the 6 month post ablation TEE is pretty standard for Natale, at least if he performed a LAA ablation, so scheduling it with the Austin crowd should be pretty standard.

I also feel blessed. I had Cather ablation surgery in Austin Feb. 27 by the maestro himself Dr. Natale. I have bee in NSR ever since almost 8 months. All I am on is a 325 mg Asprin.

Congratulations on your successful 6 month checkup! I also have the Reveal LINQ implant and it does not bother me. It works like a champ!

Don,

Don't at all be discouraged by some Ectopic runs or even some transitory runs of flutter or AFIB at only 6 weeks post ablation, that is all very common even in cases that are destined to be one and done, as you are still in the blanking period. Ectopy in particular is nothing to worry about unless it's very persistent and then it's most annoying, but be sure to redouble your efforts at magnesium and potassium repletion as noted here in The Strategy, is you are not doing so already and see if that doesn't help quiet down those 'floppies' a lot.

The ablation process, even with the worlds best operators an entail a second mostly touch up procedure, though increasing numbers are one and done these days, it's still wise to expect two and be happy if only one is needed, but not disappointed umidmf a touch up is needed. This IS a complex and challenging condition and the very nature of it and of the ablation process, can make a little clean up procedure in the hands of a maestro like Dr Natale all you would need to button down the hatches and I can tell you from personal experience the touch up is almost always a relative walk in the park compared to the first.

That is, is not too many years with a lot of gradually increasing breakthroughs has not ensued between the first and second procedures , thus allowing more structural remodeling and spreading of the atrial disease to continue on such that the follow up can become more involved than it would have been with a more timely touch up done within 6 months to a year after the index procedure , once it is clear one is warranted.

If you do get breakthroughs happening well after two minths and these are documented to be true AFIB or flutter and not just runs of ectopy like PACs and PVCs then please get yourself back to Dr N's tabke and let him quickly and efficiently button down the hatches once and for all.

You are not at all fated to live with the beast for good at all and you have already taken the single biggest step toward freedom from AFIB already and may we'll be done as it is. Be patient now and most of all keep your chin up and appreciate the fact that you have but yourself in the hands of the best possible EP for taking care of your business in the very minimum amount of procedures. Regardless you will be in the other side of the fence before long either way, if not now already so hang tight, jump on the minersl repletiin now and if you still gabe confirmed arrhythmia episodes be end of three months then by all means start booking that touch up with Dr N for a few months after and be done with it all.

Best wishes on being done already,
Shannon

Thanks Shannon.
I appreciate the encouragement.
I am continuing with magnesium and potassium supplements. They do seem to help.
Also doing the non GMO glutten free diet.

I was feeling so well the last 5 weeks. NSR felt rock solid with a very occasional short flutter feeling. I was thinking, after a cardioversion I usually felt the same way.
Them over the last week the rapid vibration feeling in the upper chest started coming back more frequent and lasting longer.
The good news is it does stop on its own. The other good news is seems to not be affecting NSR. I feel the vibration feeling but my heart rate stays steady and is not affected. The skips feel like PAC's and they occur when the flutter feeling has stopped. The PAC's are single in nature and not frequent.
I don’t know in the 40mg x2 Sotalol I am on is keeping the flutter from effect the heart rate or not. Before the ablation I was on 80mg x2 Sotalol and that did keep the flutter from effecting the rate.
Perhaps the ablation has walled off the flutter circuit enough to keep it from get to the AV node.

I have a hand held Life Watch device. But it sends an analog tone over my digital home phone. It seems the conversion from analog to digital done by the phone system adds noise - makes it not much use. I haven’t sent in a recording because of this and because I figure at this point in time not much can be done (still in the blanking period, etc). And, I have healthcare fatigue.

Thanks again for your personalized advise.

Glad to hear you are doing well. I may be looking at getting a Watchman device in the future.
I have a CHADS VASC 2 score of 0, but LAA ablation may have changed my stroke risk.

Don

Good news is always welcome. Congrats!
Long may you live in blessed NSR.

Healthy regards,
Jackie

Congratulations PH. Not only that, I am encouraged by your result since I'm going to have my 4th ablation (second with Dr. Natale) next month in San Diego and I expect it to be an LAA ablation. My case will not be easy either, but if anybody can do it it is Dr. Natale. So I know the significance of being cleared to go off the blood thinner.

Nick

Good luck Nick and if you know how to trigger yourself naturally, make sure to ask Dr Natale if it would help the surgery by triggering focae that might otherwise stay dormant during ablation. It worked in my case, and I will forever remember the glass of red wine, the Sierra Nevada and the spicy food (all formerly awesome afib triggers of mine) I had on 6th Street the night prior my ablation 6 months ago.