17 days post cryo ablation AF

So it’s been 17 days since cryo for AF and yesterday was nearly all day on and off PACS, and into the night, and again this morning. I am very symptomatic with PACs and AFIB so I’m very uneasy, nauseous, feel generally nasty. I sent the pdf of some events to my doc and she just said “not AFIB just PACs”. Yeah. I know. The only difference with this very long period of continuous PACs is that before ablation, I might have these on and off for a few hours then they would stop. Even for days I’d feel only a few here and there (and be terrified I would go into AFB and tachycardia, which was my norm. These don’t elevate my pulse. I take losartan 25 at night for mild hypertension that started in March 2021 (post shingles). This is a big forum with many posts, and I did see some people saying just after ablation they were having “flutter” or even AFIB. But do we ever get better? Is it just too soon to judge? I had to stop the amiodarone 10 days because of wheezing and severe trouble to my mild asthma. I’m light weight, was very active and exercised up to the day of ablation and now can’t manage much of anything without feeling weak and dizzy. Chest X-ray was “perfect” according to the doc. I’ve always felt nauseous and uneasy with PACs and AFIB. In 2018, after two back to back 4 hour AFIBs, one in hospital end of Decembe 2017, , which picked it up well, I lost 20 pounds which I couldn’t afford to lose because of the recurring PACs that went on all year. No other problems were ever found through banks of tests on my heart or arteries, and every other organ in my body. (Surprised I still have great kidneys after all that contrast from CT and MRIs). I didn’t have high blood pressure then. I’m now late 60s. I had this ablation to get rid of the fear of AFIB and the day to day worry that a few PACs would lead to an attack. Now I don’t know. I wanted my life back. But it feels like I’m back to 2018. My elder sister had cryo 2 years ago and never had another problem, not even right after. Are some of us just unlucky? Ugh.

What you're experiencing is perfectly normal and to be expected. Your sister just got lucky. The PACs could continue for quite some time, or they could taper off and stop within days or weeks. Impossible to predict. They're more of a mental nuisance than anything to be concerned about. If they get too bothersome, talk to your EP about something to calm them down. For example, she could perhaps substitute a beta blocker for your losartan, or add a mild antiarrhythmic like Multaq.

Thanks Carey. This is reassuring. I have metoprolol from past AFIB episodes which gave tachycardia but couldn’t take it daily, as I didn’t even have high blood pressure. My resting heart rate is usually around 55-58. The Metorprolol gave me horrendous nightmares (!) and made me near fainting after a few days useage. So I only have it to calm down my heart if it goes into tachycardia. Strangely, since this ablation, the PACs don’t raise my heart rate much. So far. Hopefully all this goes away. I never had thousands of PACs daily before ablation. My doctor sees me the 28th. She does respond by email or internal hospital message. The amiodarone worked well — I had no PACs and could eat a big meal without worry. But it has clearly worn off since I stopped it because of the lung side effects. I will ask her about Multaq if this goes on. For me it’s quite disturbing as I they cause nausea and dizziness for some reason. I do get a respite sometimes for a few minutes. Thanks again for the input and encouragement.