Also Freaking out over Ablation

Hello All!
I have been reading this site for some time. You folks are really smart! Some of this information is over my head. Like Wade I am also freaking out over having an ablation --- Have a breathing tube put in, then they snake a wire up to your heart -- ugh!. Well not actually freaking out but just not sure if this is what I need to do. Afraid it will not work. My story is as follows. I am a 60 year old Female. Almost 30 years ago I was diagnosed with HyperThyroid -- Way off the charts Hyper. I had my thyroid radiated (Did not know any better back then!) So of course now I am HypoThyroid, been on Synthroid ever since. Various strengths, now 125 mcg. My A-Fib started at the same time. Then it was only occasionally. The past few years it has been happening more and more frequent. I cannot have any Caffeine (coffee, chocolate, etc.). Alcohol definitely would bring on an attack. Only occasional social drinks. Cannot have Wine or Beer or anything with Vinegar, certain sweets and big meals would bring it on as well as a good day of working in the yard or exercising. I maybe Hypoglycemic. Well the end of October this year I went into constant A-Fib and I am miserable. My Cardiologist and my EP both are pressuring me to have an Ablation. EP wants to do the Cryo one. Sounds awfully scary and no guarantee it will work along with the other risks. Endocrinologist does not really care much about the A-Fib. I have tried Magnesium does not seem to help at all and this week have been taking 500mg of Taurine (not sure how much of this to take) . Have had standard blood work done. My Calcium levels also are always above 10 (10.6, 10.7, 10.3). Doc's say take D3. My Vitamin D levels have always been low -- 20 or 25. On the Web I came across Para-Thyroid issues and A-fib. Told my Endo Dr. I wanted him to run Para-thyroid blood work. August of this year my PTH came back at 135 and last year it was 140. The only reason I know this is that now I go online and get the test results myself. Isn't this unusually high? After reading this web-site, I remembered that also 30 years ago I had my teeth fixed. Had quite a few Mercury fillings put in. So now that gets me thinking about Mercury being the cause. Should I have a Mercury level test done? I am also thinking about having the fillings (6 or 7 are left) removed by a Naturepath Dentist. Does anyone think that would help?
My EP did put me on Flecainide, did nothing to help. Started on 50 mg 2 x day. Then 100 2 x a day and broke out in hives. EP stopped Flecainide and now on 50mg of Metoprolol 2 x day and 20 mg of Xarelto 1 x day. I have been taking the Metoprolol for a couple of years as needed when an attack came on. Are there Long Term side effects of the Ablation with them scarring / freezing around these Arteries/Veins that go to my Lungs? I am just at my wits end and have to make a decision about the ablation. I wish I could find a Doctor that would try to figure out what is causing this instead of just saying "Have an Ablation". Hate being on the Metoprolol too! Takes away all your ambition! Makes me not happy! Any advice given is Greatly, Greatly appreciated!!

Welcome DAB
If you have to have aAFIB, this is the place to come for some experienced guidelines and assistance.

You mentioned the FLEC did not help, are you saying you are in persistent AFIB now where it is pretty much 24/7? Also, how many years have you had AFIB, and please describe the evolution of your AFIB in terms of frequency of episodes and maximum duration of your longest episodes, if you are still in paroxysmal AFIB?

It sounds like things have progressed already for you and as such I would not be too keen on CRYO ablation alone.

The key thing with ablation, when the time comes, is to spare no effort and be highly discriminating when choosing the very best and most experienced EP ablationist to partner with to guide your expert ablation process! This is the golden key to both long term success with freedom from atrial arrhythmias in the least amount of total work your heart will need to put the genie back in the bottle for good. Choosing an elite as AFIB ablation EP is the single most important decision you will make and that will have the biggest impact on the course of your AFIB experience, once it is clear that an ablation is the next best step for you.

If you have been having paroxysmal AFIB for as long as you suggest above at roughly 30 years, I can almost guarantee you that an ablation limited to just a CRYO balloon PVI will not come close to address the non-PV triggers you almost certainly will have as well, beyond the pulminary veins alone.

Send me your cell number by PM at the link above in the heading of this message and we can discuss your situation in more detail, if you wish.

And an ablation, assuming you choose truly expert highly experienced hands, is quite safe and well worth the freedom from progressive AFIB that can result if you are unable to restore NSR by other means.

Speaking of which, we strongly recommend each afibber adopt http://www.afibbers.org/resources/strategy.pdf]The Strategy[/url] protocol ( you can find this link in the AFIB Resources link at the top of the Forum homepage). The heart calming electrolytes can help many people achieve a quieter overall heart, though it is not a full cure in our collective experience ... but this protocol can contribute a very worthwhile step toward improving overall good health and cardiac health in particular.

A few folks over the years have able to achieve very good long term management of their AFIB, in conjunction with any appropriate life style risk factor reductions they might benefit from such as reducing excess weight, treat Sleep apnea and hypertension and other such steps of common sense 'Self Health' care dedication.

The vast majority of folks in our experience do wind up need to complete an expert ablation process by a highly skilled EP for best overall results in conjunction with learning to take better care of our own health and heart care.

And don't worry too much about wires in the heart and an intubation tube, you will be fast asleep and won't be aware of it while those steps are before my done. Just review on our forums archive usuimg the search button how many of us are now free of AFIB and enjoying our lives immensely now free of the beast courtesy of such an expert ablation process. That should help give you the confidence you need DAB as you move forward toward the brighter days ahead without AFIB spoiling the show.

Cheers!
Shannon

DAB - Welcome. I can appreciate your litany of events that help contribute to your arrhythmia. I started my AF saga when I was 59 and we share many similar circumstances. Eventually, I did have an ablation but I also found a holistic MD who helped me resolve some of the systemic irregularities that undoubtedly were setting me up for the afib. If you live in an area where there are practitioners of Restorative or Functional Medicine, I strongly suggest you learn if you can enlist their help to manage the thyroid, mercury exposure and test your levels of minerals by reliable testing. That way, when you do decide to have the ablation, you have the best possible chance of having everything else stable.

Be aware that it's much more detailed than throwing some magnesium or taurine at the problem and while those can help, it can take many months and a lot of other nutritional adjustments as well... as an example, getting your calcium levels down to where they won't be causing the cellular excitatory effect that high calcium/low magnesium causes. I knew a man who had extensive mercury toxicity (and Afib) and after a very long process of mercury/amalgam filling removal and many months of a detoxification program, his arrhythmia stopped and he didn't need the ablation procedure.

Choosing a very experienced EP is a critical step and, certainly, Shannon can help you evaluate where you might go for care.... but remember that the other factors you mentioned also need to be addressed. The image of the ablation procedure is a lot worse than the reality. I've had three procedures and other than the side effects of the anesthesia (for me), it was nowhere near as 'scary' as I conjured up in my wildest thoughts initially.

If I can help you locate holistic-type practitioners in your area, send me a PM and I can see what a search turns up.

There is an overwhelming abundance of helpful, practical information here so just take your time and investigate slowly each topic of your concern by using the search feature. We all can help steer you to specific topics if you let us know.

Best to you,
Jackie

Hello Shannon,
Thank you so much for your response! I could just cry!! I have had A-Fib for 30 years. Lets say for 20 years it was only occasionally -- Maybe once a month or every 6-8 weeks or so, lasting maybe 5-6 hours. The past 10 years they have been more frequent, i.e. once every 3 months, 2 months, then every month. The last 2 years they have just progressed to more frequent.... not every day though, lasting maybe 5-10 hrs. Since this summer having episodes every week, some lasting 12 hrs. some 24 hrs. Then since 10/31/16 it has been 24/7. (I have had more Dental work as well -- Root Canals and Crowns) I will send you my phone number. I am not sure how to go about finding an Elite EP. I think I do have one now but how do I know that for sure? I am going to another Cardiologist for a Second opinion this week and I will ask him about my EP. The first EP I went to, didn't want to hear or discuss anything. Just wanted to schedule an Ablation, did not go back to him. I will send you my phone number as you suggest. I am also going to read and follow the "Strategy". Don't know how I missed it in my searches of this web site. I feel so much better about this already including the procedure part of the Ablation! I am truly, truly grateful for your help and suggestions!! You have given me HOPE and I now see a light at the end of the tunnel!!!! I am also going to follow up with a Functional Medicine Dr. as Jackie suggested as you can read in my next post.

Best regards,
DAB

Hello Jackie,
As I also said to Shannon --- Thank you so much for your response! I could just cry!! I am a believer in Holistic/Functional Medicine. It just so happened I went to see a Functional Medicine Doctor a few days after my AFib went 24/7 at the end of October this year. Had an appointment already scheduled with him. I have not been able to follow up with him as I have just been pre-occupied with my AFib and busy with work and life. But I am now going to go back to him and discuss all this. I just feel like there is some underlying health issue at work here that the Dr's do not care about. I am also going to make sure I have a Top-Notch EP. All your suggestions as well as Shannon's are excellent and I cannot say enough of how appreciative I am!

Best regards,
DAB

DAB,

As for the "freak out", well, I think we all did that prior to our procedures. That's just normal.

The top notch EP for atrial fibrillation appears to be Dr. Natale, who operates out of Austin, TX. I am not a patient of his, but many on here are. As far as choosing a physician goes, my advice (and I even followed it myself!) is to discard the ones who aren't good listeners. It should be about your wishes and what you want rather than what they "say".

Thank you Wolfpack -- Appreciate the advice!

I sat in my electrophysiologist's office as he described the procedure of what he would do, and it freaked me out. Close to a panic attack. What was missing was what I would do. I went to the hospital, got knocked out and woke up with two small incisions in my body - one in my leg and the other in my neck. Easy peasy. Of course, they made me stay in the hospital overnight for observation, but that was it. Well, not quite. Over night I developed pericarditis, which is inflammation of the lining of the heart and is painful, but can be treated immediately with a special anti-inflammatory that makes the pain go way in a matter of minutes. That was 6 years ago. Before that, I spent thousands of dollars with a naturopath, tried about every natural remedy or food recommendation/avoidance technique out there, took rythmol for ten years, and finally threw in the towel for an ablation. Best decision I ever made. EP's have gotten so good at this procedure that the risk of complications is very low, so they recommend this procedure fairly routinely. For their patients, it's a much bigger deal of course. After all, it was my heart. I just wish I had done it sooner. Living with afib is a significant disability for you and your family. Just this year with my wife, I hiked the Inca trail in Peru, and hiked down the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibob trail and back up via the Bright Angel trail. No afib. Not even a skipped beat. I could never have done that pre-ablation, especially at altitudes that increase afib. Of course, as a precaution, I still carry rythmol with me on strenuous hikes just in case, but I have never actually taken it since my ablation. Best wishes on whatever decision you make, and Happy New Year.

Hello Taylor,

Thanks so much for the advice! Glad you are doing well - awesome!
Happy New Year!!
DAB

Great post Taylor!

Your experience across the board reflects the typical story of the vast majority of afibbers over time, in which even with the very real health benefits often experienced from learning to take much better 'self-health' care of our hearts, bodies and minds, a huge majority of us wind up finding, as you did, that completing an expert ablation process is the key step in our long-term freedom from AFIB and recovery of our lives without the constant cloud of the next battle with the beast overshadowing every aspect of life.

The majority of my time these days is taken up helping afibbers across the country discover just what you have shared above. That the fears and anxieties about an ablation before hand are almost invariably found to have been unwarranted sources of further procrastination, and that the reality of going through the actual process is typically far easier than a fearful mind would have us imagine. This is especially true when following our strong advice to partner with the most experienced EP and center one can arrange for oneself.

This common testimony of so many afibbers over the years on our forum stands as welcomed reassurance that when the time comes in the course of one's AFIB experience where an expert ablation is the next best step, that they can embrace the process with confidence, and not fear, knowing they have done their homework and made a discriminating choice for a highly experienced ablation EP to bring them all the way home to grateful restoration of NSR.

The single most common comment I've heard repeated so many hundreds of times now, many months to years after completing an ablation process, is one of regret and amazement that the person's all too natural fears and 'what ifs' caused them to avoid getting this done much sooner, as would have been in their best interest in hindsight.

Happy New Year!
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2017 08:02AM by Shannon.

DAB,

the procedure is NOTHING to worry about. Im always nervous but its really not bad. Just pray that your results are positive!! thats the only concern you should concentrate on.

DAB;
Oh, I could have written your letter!
I was 65 when the "fib " hit. After a year of being treated by a cardio MD, then an EP in this area, using every drug and technique in their "arsenal" (with three close-to-the-edge episodes), their only option for me was a pacemaker.

Having a background in chemistry I was confident this could all be cured by chemical means - pharmaceutically or nutritionally, or both. I took pills and supplements to no avail. I studied every abstract I could find and even watched You Tube videos on Afib treatments as well as cardiology association meetings. I first heard Dr Natale mentioned on this website, but researched further because to me, finding a doctor on a blog/website was akin to getting in a car with a stranger. A close MD friend, my regular MD, and others questioned my sanity and thought a pacemaker wouldn't be "so bad". Things were getting worse for me and I had to do something, so I called St. David's, talked to a wonderful nurse for at least an hour who put my husband's mind to ease even more than mine. We got on the schedule; I begged for a spot if there was a cancellation feeling I might not make it for the months long wait.

In May 2014 I went to Texas, not even able to walk to the plane without being hauled in wheelchair. The facility, nurse and especially Dr. Natale were top notch - even BETTER than all the wonderful accolades you read here. The surgery sounds worse than it was - easy for me to say as I slept through it! Seven days later, I walked back through the airport . It's been almost 3 years and I have had no more episodes and feel great and am very active again.

The doctors, their staff, and my friends here think I am a walking miracle, and so do I, but it's Dr. Natale who makes the miracles happen. I wouldn't consider anyone else. There is not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful to him.

Please feel free to PM me if you'd like to hear more.

Best for you...there is hope and life will be better!
Annie

PS I apologize for not writing much on this site to encourage others as I only check in every now and then, but when I hear "my" story and "my" fears coming from someone else, I was compelled to send a hopeful message.

Hello all --- Just an update, I am having the Ablation done this Friday. Will keep you posted as to how it went. Can't thank you all enough for the support and the advice. God Bless You all!

DAB

Hello All,
Had my Ablation, 01/30/16. Went back into A-Fib a few days later. Had a Cardio Version, 02/08/16 in NSR until this weekend 02/18/17 .

Hello DAB,

Any updates on your situation? Did you go to Natale? How are you doing now?

Hello Gary,

Sorry for not posting sooner. Have had a lot of things going on. I did not go to Natale. Had it done here where I live. As I stated in the forum the Ablation and the Cardio Version failed to keep me in NSR. I am having surgery on Friday to have (1) of my Parathyroid Glands taken out. Hopefully one anyways, you have four of them. My PTH and Calcium levels have been very high so I am Hyperparathyroid and Hypercalcemia. I have felt crummy for years, no Doc. would listen. I think this is why. If it fixes the Afib too I will be very very happy, though none of the Drs. say it contributes to Afib -- we will see. I have not been feeling well due to this condition so I have put the Afib on the back burner until this is taken care of. Eventually I will have to figure out how to proceed with the Afib.

How are you? Did you have an Ablation or thinking about having it done? Thank you for for asking how I am. Hopefully I can report back next week I feel like a million dollars!

Best regards,
DAB.