Good News from San Francisco

Well , my TEE yesterday at CPMC in San Fran was easy and event less. Luckily I rarely if ever get any throat issues or sore throat after a TEE, and this one was no different with just an hour or so with a slightly raspy voice afterward and then back to normal.

The better news I got from Dr Natale a short while ago when he told me I can now toss my Coumadin for good!! :-)

Am dancing an Irish jig about now! Quite a process it has been, but a testament too to making the right choices and a dash of good luck at finding this site and from here discovering Dr Natale to begin with.

There is one new last step I learned of today with the Lariat procedure in that Dr N wants me to get another TEE in one months time which I will do in Scottsdale just 2 hour drive from Sedona. The reason for this newly added TEE to the Post Lariat protocol is because in now with just a rare case of one persom so far which was at Austin after they had taken the person off Blood thinners for a couple of months and then did another follow up TEE they discovered a rarely seen small embolic clot had formed right in the center of the 'puckered' tissue formed by where the mouth of the LAA once was prior to that round Lariat suture being synched down to completely tie off the LAA.

Again, so far this is a very rare occurance and if it doesn't happen within the first month after stopping which ever blood thinner one is taking, it has not been found to happen at all. You can visualize this relatively large mouth of the LAA being synched down by the Lariat suture such that a puckered closure is all that is left. Over time, the inner endothelial tissue lining the full left atrium will grow over this closure seam and smooth it out while providing a permanently solid sealed left atrial wall where the LAA used to be.

However, even though this is very uncommon to occur as it is, that fact that it has been seen once so far in all the Lariat procedures done at Austin, Dr Natale just wants to confirm it doesn't go unnoticed and unresolved in any of his Lariat patients.

If a small emboli should form there it can easily be dissolved with Lovenox, Heparin, or even a couple week course of Coumadin perhaps depending on the patient and other factors, but its just worth confirming that this isn't an issue in your case and if, in the very unlikely event it should arise in your Lariat case after you stop the blood thinner, then you can quickly address the emboli such that you won't have to worry about it again going forward.

Nevertheless, in spite of needing to add an additional TEE to the post-Lariat screening process, my news could not have been better!

I truly feel blessed and very grateful not only toward Dr Natale and his staff but to all of you here who contribute so much to helping us all address these challenging issues around AFIB and to the host of other EPs and researchers constantly trying to better understand and treat this often vexing condition.

It sure was nice tossing my empty Coumadin bottles in the trash can this afternoon before heading back tomorrow to Sedona !! :-)

Cheers Shannon



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2013 01:20PM by Shannon.

Shannon,

Excellent news, congratulations!!!!!

Thank you again for all of your excellent, detailed and well worded contributions here!

Cheers,

George

Shannon,

I'm both amazed and heartened by your success. Your steadfastness in the face of adversity has paid off! You, sir, are an example for all to follow! What great news indeed!

Tom

Shannon - so good to hear your great news! I know you really hated being on Coumadin, so this was just what you needed to hear. I agree with Tom B - you ARE an example for the rest of us, and as George says, an amazing contributor to this Board.

Congratulations!!

~ Barb

Always the Best for you!

The Dream Team
Natale and Shannon

Thanks Pal,

McHale

Shannon - Wonderful news. I can just see you dancing and celebrating and with good reason. It's been a long haul.

I wish you well for the rest of your life.

Best to you,
Jackie

Shannon,

That is awesome !!!!! Great news.

KenH

Awesome.

Good news!!

Dear Shannon,

So glad to hear this wonderful news. Your journey has truly been a testament to the fact that informed decisions about your health can lead to outcomes that far exceed the general perceptions of a particular condition including a condition as mysterious and vexing as AF. Your willingness to share your knowledge and experience so generously was one of the main factors that allowed me to get to the place I needed to be to have an ablation with Dr. Natale, which is a decision that has changed my life immensely for the better already.

With all best wishes,

Robert

Shannon, Great news! Your patienced and step wise approach in dealing with your condition which has now finally come to a conclusion is a good example for all of us. Throughout years of dealing with extreme episodes of af you never seemed down or anxious anout it. With all of that you found time, and the patience, to coach those of us who were impatient and anxious. Your generosity is admirable and we all are indebted to you. All the best. Dennis

Hi Shannon

Awesome, wonderful news!!! Sure the next TEE will be as good!!

Thanks again for all your and John's help with the upcoming ablation with Dr. Natale, I too look forward to afiblessness (is that a word? if it isn't maybe it should be

andey

Beaming well-wishes from FL!

/L

Shanon that is fantastic news. I believe getting off the Coumadin, or in my case the Xeralto, will go a long way in contributing to your gradual healing. I'm a bit ahead of you, at 2 months and 3 weeks, and not out of the woods yet, but everyday is an incremental step forward in healing, having a sounder heart beat, feeling less on edge, sleeping better and overall feeling happier and more alive. You have been such a wonderful gift to this forum and I give you a wholehearted clap of the hands while you are dancing your jig.
Ron

Congratulations, Shannon! Your perseverence and bravery are impressive, and you have earned this triumph. Throwing away Coumadin is indeed a peak experience!

Louise

Dear Friends,

Ive just returned to Sedona after the trip and just now had a chance to read through this thread!

I can't tell you all how very touched I am by all of your kind words and best wishes, I'm truly grateful.

It is a wonderful thing that something so difficult and challenging on so many levels as AFIB has brought us all together from many parts of the globe to each share our own unique expressions of our own experiences as they unfold and ripen over time in dealing with this beast of a condition. And, ironically, we find in that process a common thread and bond of recognition, solace and friendship on the way toward whatever resolution awaits us while sorting this out for ourselves, and in the course of time, also learn to make peace with whatever is the reality at the moment, and not getting too discouraged at the variety of setbacks and frustrations common along the way.

Instead, we get better with the living of it at keeping lit more of the time that spirit of openness, patience and willingness to learn more about this condition and how the body works that a website like this so helps to foster and support and that is such a key for better success in managing and living with AFIB and its consequences,

Can you imagine before the internet and Afibbers.com and other support sites like it, how we would all have been stumbling around in the dark trying to get to first base?!

Anyway, I know Im preaching to the choir here, but its really amazing we can reach out and touch each other as we do all the time here and make meaningful improvements in all of our lives.

It did feel a little funny, or rather a bit odd, realizing today that there really isn't much of a 'next step' required for me now with respect to AFIB. Of course, there is still so much to learn about it and I will continue doing so as much as possible and sharing on this site as well, but there is a not so subtle different feeling inside with the recognition that there is nothing really 'pending' any longer ... in that respect it really does seem over.

After 22 years of more or less having this AFIB 'Sword of Democles' in one form or another hovering overhead, its hard to really appreciate the subtle energy of all that subliminal anticipation until it suddenly is lifted.

Many thanks to all of you once again for your kind words and great support, it means so much to me and I look forward to many more years of sharing and contact with those making their way through this labyrinth-like forest,

Take care,

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2013 10:37AM by Shannon.

Shannon,

Congratulations on your success. Many of us have followed your saga with interest and concern. It is wonderful that you have it behind you and have been able to toss the empty Coumadin bottle. Along with others, I hope to be able to toss the empty Coumadin bottle some day too.

Your concern for others while undergoing your own tribulations is very much appreciated.

Thank-you for your help and God Bless!

Betty

Thank you too Betty,

We have been on a similar track here and I look forward to good progress reports from you as well going forward.

All the best,
Shannon

Shannon,

Just read your initial post. What great news. Thanks for all that you do. I don't usually post often but I really enjoy reading your posts.

Debbie

Shannon

So pleased for you. Despite what you have gone through, you are always there to help others.

Many thanks

Siri

Congratulations, Shannon.

______________
Lone paroxysmal vagal atrial fibrillation. Age 62, female, no risk factors. Autonomic instability since severe Paxil withdrawal in 2004, including extreme sensitivity to neuro-active drugs, supplements, foods. Monthly tachycardia started 1/11, happened only at night, during sleep, or when waking, bouts of 5-15 hours. Changed to afib about a year ago, same pattern. Frequency increased over last 6 months, apparently with sensitivity to more triggers. Ablation 6/27/13 by Steven Hao.

>>Can you imagine before the internet and Afibbers.com and other support sites like it, how we would all have been stumbling around in the dark trying to get to first base<<

Shannon

I went through exactly what you describe and it was a nightmare. I didn't find this board until a year after my ablation. I had to use a friend who was a medical student with access to libraries to photocopy articles from various journals. I eventually decided to go to Bordeaux because EPs in the UK were only just starting to do ablations, and Bordeaux was easy to get to.

I was very lucky because I knew a lot less then than I do now, and have often thought about how much time I would have saved if I had found Afibbers earlier. Although I have been in nsr for over 10 years now I continue to hang around on the board because it is the best source of up to date information. If AF were to recur I know I would make the best decisions because of the expertise of people like yourself. I am very grateful to Hans for making all this possible.

Congratulations to you on clearing what seems to be the final hurdle.

Gill