Hello everyone-
New here. Ablation set for next week with an EP that has done at least 2,500 of these.

Despite being in perfect health otherwise, ideal weight and only 50, I am finding myself very anxious about this. And it is weird that I am as anxious about the general anesthesia as the procedure itself?

Any advice and stories of success would be great!

Ablation is now routine procedure. Risks are very low. I don't fear ablations, but I hate atrial fibrillation.
If you're otherwise healthy, no doubt you've made the good choice. I wish you the best.

As a 66 yo, I just had my ablation 5 days ago. Was I anxious? Yes... How can you not be anxious.
Preprocedure, the ablation team, including the anesthesia team, made sure to introduce themselves individually and explain what their role was during the procedure and what to expect post procedure .
This was very reassuring and made me feel much more comfortable.
Post ablation the doctor came by and said everything went very well. I was in at 6:30AM and discharged at 3:30PM.
I have had mild fatique but have not had any discomfort (or afib) since being home. I am feeling less fatiqued each day.
Wishing you good luck....

Prior to my ablation in Bordeaux almost 19 years ago I was not anxious at all, just desperate to get rid of my AF. At that time very few centres would even attempt.ablation for long term persistent AF. It recurred 3 days later so they did an immediate touch up.

I am still in nsr. Best thing I ever did. Hope this gives you some encouragement.

Gill (pronounced Jill, female, in London UK)

Thanks to you all. How would you describe the general anesthesia? Some say like falling asleep on the couch and being woken up a couple of minutes later.

Someone gently tells you to be quiet and relaxed... then a friendly voice pronounces your name near your ear and says it all went well.

I was never nervous during any of my three ablations. I trusted the EP. In fact when they wheeled me into the Cath lab I said “let’s rock and roll”. But maybe it’s because I’m conditioned by having 20 past surgeries plus 3 ablations. My thoughts were any pre worry would never benefit the outcome so I just ignored it and prayed things were be ok.

Six ablations, absolutely no complications or adverse events. Everyone is different, of course, but I've always found it a very easy procedure that leaves me feeling perfectly fine afterwards. I've always returned to work and my normal routine the next day (minus lifting for a week). I once even did a 50-mile bike ride in hilly terrain 3 days after an ablation (with EP's full approval).

As for anesthesia, I've actually come to enjoy it. It's a few seconds of one of the best highs around! Along with many ablations, cardioversions, TEEs, colonoscopies, etc., I've had propofol probably dozens of times, and I've always made a game of trying to fight it to stay conscious as long as I could. I started by only being able to count back to 99, but I've gotten longer and longer and the last time got to 85. The anesthesiologist was very impressed. If I can make a game of it, what are you worried about?

propofol has a nice buzz.

Piece of cake! I was anxious too, but for no reason. The anesthesia team does this every day all day long.The recovery was amazing. So easy, no pain. The worst part for me was the constipation the day after. No one told me about that, so I'd sure ask how to prevent or handle it. I've only had one ablation 18 months ago, but if I ever need another one, I will have NO FEAR. You might want to get your RBC Magnesium level checked if you are an anxious type. (you can purchase the test online) If it's below 5.5mg/dl, you need more. (per Dr. Denis Goodman in the book: Magnificent Magnesium)

I had mine about 3 weeks ago and went fine. I stayed over night in hospital and went home next day. I was pretty tired for 4 days. Started taking short walks slowly. I also took stool softner for a couple days. I slowly eased back into work. Yesterday I did a 5 mile bike ride and doing another one today. I had notice by blood pressure seems a little higher around 135-`140. has any else noticed higher blood pressure?

I would allow plenty of time to take it easy and give your self time to heal.