6 days post ablation August 08, 2019 04:46PM |
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Re: 6 days post ablation August 09, 2019 11:04AM |
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Madeline
Carey, I have written one of the nurse practitioners at Saint David’s but haven’t heard back yet. I would like to experiment not taking the sotalol today. Would that be all right?
Re: 6 days post ablation August 09, 2019 05:02PM |
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Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 10:49AM |
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Carey
There's no risk associated with stopping sotalol. You can stop it anytime you want if your only condition is afib. The worst case outcome is you end up back in afib.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 11:06AM |
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safib
It often isn't clear that one's only condition is afib. There may be latent coronary or thyroid disease, or perhaps some issue with not having a thyroid, which is aggravated by sudden discontinuation. That's why gradual reduction of nonselective beta blockers over a period of 1-2 weeks is safer.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 01:47PM |
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MissSunshine
Madeline - be careful of stopping or (worse) starting Sotalol without medical supervision. When starting or changing dosage on Sotalol, your QT interval can elongate and cause major problems for you. When I used to take it, I had to go in for an ECG when I either began or increased Sotalol to make sure that my QT interval was in range. Best wishes.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 02:04PM |
Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 229 |
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safib
It often isn't clear that one's only condition is afib. There may be latent coronary or thyroid disease, or perhaps some issue with not having a thyroid, which is aggravated by sudden discontinuation. That's why gradual reduction of nonselective beta blockers over a period of 1-2 weeks is safer. This is a seperate issue from monitoring for QT prolongation when initiating or increasing dosage. I would find out from your provider whether you can reduce your dose of Sotalol. Inderal is also nonselective beta blocker, which is the most effective for essential tremor. It has a similar side-effect profile. There is however more flexibility in finding a dosage for this latter condition, possibly a sufficiently small dosage that would help with the tremor but would not be considered therapeutic for other conditions.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 03:01PM |
Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 182 |
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Carey
It often isn't clear that one's only condition is afib. There may be latent coronary or thyroid disease, or perhaps some issue with not having a thyroid, which is aggravated by sudden discontinuation. That's why gradual reduction of nonselective beta blockers over a period of 1-2 weeks is safer.
I'm familiar with Madeline's situation and she just underwent an ablation with Natale. I'm confident if there was structural heart disease present she would know it. The sotalol was prescribed to control afib, nothing more.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 03:49PM |
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safib
It may not be structural, and/or it may be latent , e.g., sudden discontinuation can cause angina, myocardial infarction, and rebound hypertension. It is not an issue of what it was prescribed for. My point is to ask Natale.
Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 05:26PM |
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Re: 6 days post ablation August 10, 2019 05:52PM |
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Leo J
When to stop taking the sotalol is probably in your discharge papers. I was instructed to continue taking multaq for two months following the ablation. I initially had some wheezing that was caused by fluid buildup in my lungs—seems like it took around a week to subside with the help of diuretics.
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Re: 6 days post ablation August 15, 2019 02:29PM |
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Ingrid
Hi Madeline,
I hope that your GI and coughing issues have subsided by now and that your ablation continues to be a success.
I am a new Afibber recently diagnosed and reading as much as I can on this forum. I am 55 year old healthy female that had a recent Afib episode that lasted 10 hours before I converted. This has happened a few times before but only lasted 1-2 hours. I never went to the ER for any of these issues, but I feel I will the next time if it lasts any longer than 2 hours as I am on no meds, or anticoagulants - just some supplements. I am trying to stay off meds as long as I can...I would not go to ER just bec of 10 hr episode. I had afib a year & a half & took no meds & did not go to ER. I only went to ER that time because my cardiologist wanted me to start on propafenone, which I did on a Saturday & by Sunday night I was having afib (same as usual kind). I had an appt in cardio's office Monday & when I got there, they "freaked" bec I was in afib on ekg & he was seeing pts in clinic, so nurse said he wanted me to go over to the ER. Maybe he also sent me there bec he knew the next antiarrhythmic he wanted to start me on was the kind many do in the hospital to monitor for other heart irregularities. It was the 1st time in my life to go to the ER for myself (age 69). It is crazy bec once you get in their hands, they just start all kinds of protocol, much of it not necessary. Carey & Shannon have both talked to me by phone before to help re my decisions for what to do on treatment of my afib. So I had Carey's number & was able to text & sure enough, what he told me the ER doc would put in my IV drip was not the right thing & I asked him to do what Carey advised (Cardizem) & once they got an order from the cardiologist on call, they said the same thing. It is that kind of thing. ER doc was going to put in metoprolol & I had unpleasant reactions to that before & besides I believe Carey said the ER doc usually did not really know how best to handle afib. It was just calming to know what was going to happen & what should happen. I certainly did not want to be cardioverted as I had had no problem with my afib episodes the last yr and a half & then all of a sudden everyone is treating you like it is a major crisis. The person on here who goes by anti-fib told me about a 40-hr window before he goes to ER, bec 48 hr is how long it takes for a clot to possibly form.
It was a good year & a few months before I agreed to Xarelto & sotalol. I did get on carvedilol before that though for rate control (since metoprolol did not agree with me). I also took aspirin. Like you, I read stuff on the site here & presented it to the different drs I saw (re taurine & hawthorne & ginkgo biloba for my blood thinner, & I already was taking loads of magnesium & fish oil. It is hard bec most of the docs don't know all about this other stuff & can't stand behind it, so eventually I gave in to doing what they wanted since I was not getting rid of it on my own. I too am considered very fit & healthy other than the fact that my thyroid was mistakenly totally removed (due to suspicion of cancer, which proved not to be the case) in 2005 I did have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Because of my thyroid problems, I was used to drs scoffing at most of the ideas about my health & treatment that I bring to the table. I did find one dr open to it though, an endocrinologist, & I can tell you it is a rarety. I was "fired" from the first female cardiologist because I questioned some things they wanted to do & resisted others. Example: After her nurse put me on metoprolol while dr was out of town for a while, I got symptoms of GERD, nausea, discomfort & the nurse tried to put me on PPIs & I adamantly refused saying I only had the problem bec of the med they instituted & I was not going to start on a med to reduce stomach acid because of that. I digress, but it is an example of the complicated web you get drawn into.
Unlike you, even though I exercise a lot, I am not one with a low resting heart rate. I am on the higher side. I do yoga, Pilates, walking, moderate biking, TRX, MX-4, swimming - like to try lots of different things over the yrs. But I am NOT a runner. I see that your group of low heart rate afibbers have special needs with regard to some of the meds & others can advise you on that.
I flew from Tennessee into Austin to see Dr. Natale. I think it took me 3 months to get an appt, though they started processing my papers & I got accepted very quickly. I would go to him if I were you rather than going to any ablationist. Shannon will inspire 100% confidence in you re that, as he did me. I wanted to run for the first year after the 1st EP told me about ablation & how it had risks, how it might not work, etc. It was this group that gave me knowledge & confidence.
Over the year & a half, my afib did get more frequent & episodes lasted longer. Most of the time the longest length would be a possible 15 hr, tho maybe 3-4 times I went into 24 hr. It is hard to tell duration sometimes bec I go to sleep with a sleeping aid & many times my afib would be gone the next morning & sometimes it would still be there. Many times my afib would just be ~4 hr.
You do not have to be in afib to have the procedure as Dr. Natale induces it to see what is going on if nothing is happening. I got the ablation because I did not want to be on the 2 other meds for life & I read here that they will lose effectiveness over time in addition to the possible side effects meds can bring, and also the longer you let afib go, the more complicated your case becomes & will be more complex to fix & also Dr. Natale is ~58 y/o & I wanted to make sure to get it done before he retired or moved somewhere further! And also my age is up there, so I figured more odds were in favor of doing this now. The anesthesia is the most bothersome part to recover from. I do have an unexplained dry cough, but I am stopping sotalol in hopes if it has a hand in this aspect, that it will stop. Time will tell.
In addition to Carey & Shannon, Anti-Fib, GeorgeN, Pompon, Wolfpak, Jackie Burgess, etc., just loads of ppl who understand all this complicated stuff & are an immense help to people like us. They give of their time to give us answers that the drs just don't have time to do in our quickie office visits. So, my husband went with me. We rented an airbnb less than 5 minutes from St. David's. Flew in on Wednesday, office visit on Thurs, Procedure on Fri w/overnight stay in hosp for me, Sat & Sun on our own - to stay in town just in case anything happens, & flew out Mon Morn.
I started this green color bec I was going to go into each paragraph where you asked a question & give my answers, but it was just easier to look at your post on my pad while I kept answering in the same area on this post (instead of having to insert the commands each time I responded in a different paragraph).
Now, I have to go ask the group some questions for me Best of luck to you in making your decisions. Can't be easy with little ones you are still caring for.
I saw in your post a comment about the "time you were sent by dr to ER & was able to text Carey while in the ER to find out what was going on & what to expect & what not to allow, etc." What should I be aware of the next time this happens if I go to the ER that I should not allow? I am afraid of a cardioversion and blood clots or a stroke. I also have a low resting heart rate which is why my EP does not want to put me on heart rate meds at this point.
Also, I see that several people including you have gone to Dr Natale for an ablation. I am willing to have an ablation if that is what is recommended. However, I live in Florida and he is in Austin I believe. Did you travel to see him and is it hard to get in to him?
How long have you had Afib and do you have to be in Afib to have an ablation procedure? Any insight you have would be appreciated.
Thanks! Ingrid
Re: 6 days post ablation August 18, 2019 12:35PM |
Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 229 |