Just out from second Lariat follow up TEE

Hi All,

My wife and I are just back at the hotel here on Scottsdale after my Monday 3pm TEE with Dr Cataldo (my very skilled local Arizona EP that Dr Natale referred me too for local follow up). As some of you may recall, after getting a clean positive result from my first follow up a month ago in San Fran and which was 6 weeks after my Lariat Procedure in Austin with Drs Natale and Burkhardt, Dr N asked me to get one more TEE after a full month off of a Coumadin just to be completely sure no possible small embolic bubble had not formed in the center of the pucker formed by synching closed the mouth of the LAA with the Lariat noose. They had seen only one or two incidences where after a successful Lariat person had been off anti-coagulant for a month or two where this rare appearance if a small bubble had formed there on the only LAA mouth, or where it used to be.

In any event, all is great and Im still off the Coumadin for good after this TEE and am glad to hear it!! Now just one truly final TEE at the one year anniversary of he Lariat next August just to help contribute to the knowledge base defining the natural healing history over a years time for this still relatively new procedure.

At almost three months out the Lariat has been a great experience for me!

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2013 02:05PM by Shannon.

Shannon,

Great news!!!!

Drug free NSR - yeah!!!

George

Congratulations, Shannon! That's super news!

Louise

Wonderful news, Shannon!

Betty

Very happy to hear this great news, Shannon! Enjoy the peace of mind and freedom you now have (confirmed)

Best to you ~ Barb

Hey Buddy, Good to hear!

McHale

Hi Shannon, It must be a great feeling to be out from under the worry of stroke risk. Enjoy it! Dennis

Freedom - what a wonderful outcome at last, we all share in your joy!

Tom

Celebrating with you, 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.

Beaming you continued well-wishes, S!

/L

Thanks again everyone!

Back home now and done with the tests and all for a long time hopefully.

Dr Natale gave me the thumbs up and the coast is all clear now sign after reviewing this latest TEE report as well.

In addition to no thrombi or SEC (spontaneous echo contrast) or 'smoke' in the LA and near the old mouth of the LAA ... Or where it used to be .. What had still been a mildly enlarged LA diameter at 43mm just 3months ago is now normal size at 40 and what had been a small trace amount of mitral valve regurgitation is now none at all!

In fact, all the valves and chambers are good and at normal size with normal mechanical function grade so things have improved all around.

No doubt, the good nutrition and bio-identical hormone replacement has joined forces with the blessing of solid NSR courtesy of the two ablations to help realize these great results...

I appreciate all the super support and good wishes from my Afibbers friends!

Take care Shannon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2013 01:06PM by Shannon.

Shannon - Amen to all that! So glad you are now free and clear forever.

Such good news.

Best to you,
Jackie

Shannon, what bio-identical hormone replacement are you taking? Did you start it in connection with afib treatment?

______________
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.

So glad to hear of your continued success after the Lariat procedure, Shannon. Wonderful news!

All the best,

Rob

Iatrogenia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shannon, what bio-identical hormone replacement
> are you taking? Did you start it in connection
> with afib treatment?


Hi Iatrogenia and Rob50,

Sorry for the delay in reply, I just saw both of your replies.

Thanks Rob for the kind words.

And Iatrogenia, BHRT (BioIdentical Hormone Replacement Therapy) done correctly starts with a thorough series of lab testing , preferably including 24hr urine of a comprehensive steroid hormone profile plus selected blood test panels and can include a 4x per day diurnal cortisol saliva test with DHEA-Sulfate and serum the
and 24 hr urine thyroid and adrenal status including measuring the critical metabolies of all these hormones.

These tests are then combined with a very thorough medical history and in-depth clinical exam by a skilled MD with fellowship certification in BHRT who is trained in recognizing all the clear tale-tell signs of various long term hormone deficiencies as are clearly written and revealed in your physical make up, and then combined with the lab testing in order to understand just which hormone in the symphony of hormones our body produces need augmenting at this point in your life to help restore a much healthier biochemistry and physiology to our aging bodies, similar to that we all enjoyed and took utterly for granted in our younger years when our endocrine and digestive/metabolic processes all worked in a naturally more optimal functioning.

I had across the board low anabolic and adrenal hormone status (very low cortisol and aldosterone) when first tested as well as low IGF1 and growth hormone and borderline low thyroid function.

My childhood bout with polio may well have helped push my endocrine system further south than normal aging would have done, that, and the strong chronic pain I've had since the early 1980s from the late effects of post-polio muscle atrophy and subsequent multiple cervical fusions in the mid 1980s that did not work out as hoped left me in a bit of a catch-22 pickle with respect to the constant pain issue, all of which can have a further depleting effect on certain hormone status over time.

Once we discovered the global level of hormone deficiency I had, I started a gradual sequence of bio-identical testosterone, DHEA, hydrocortisone (in normal physiologic doses) growth hormone, melatonin and oxytocin and low dose 15mg/day topical progesterone (men need a modest amount of progesterone too) as well as periodic MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone) in very small doses.

In addition, I redoubled my already established interest in nutritional augmentation and knowledge which is a necessary co-factor to help insure proper activation and metabolization of these bio-identical hormones and in the last couple of years added the telomerase activator TA-65 to my daily protocol.

To say that the combined effects of all this have been transformative to my physical status and well-being would be a major understatement!

If you have any questions Iatrogenia you can PM me and perhaps we can discuss it over email or phone if you'd like as the details are a bit beyond the scope of this forum topic.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2013 02:06PM by Shannon.

Oops duplicate post, how do I delete this Hans??
Thanks Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2013 02:01PM by Shannon.

Thanks very much, Shannon.

My limitation is that it's been very difficult for me to find doctors who know anything about anything, much less the kind of subtle hormone replacement therapy you're using. Will message you.

______________
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.

Whoo hoo! I am so glad you have come through the procedure and that it is successful! I'm now following up on my Watchman installation. Had a TEE a few weeks ago (at 6 wks post op) and it looked fine. Have to have another one for the study sometime soon. Hope to join you in the post Coumadin world!

Cindy O