Checking in, Watchman, Gallblader issues

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while since I have been on the afib forums. I pretty much forgot about afib for a few years.
My last ablation from Dr. Natale has been about 6 years ago. Since then, I have been afib free.
That 2nd ablation slowed the emptying of my LAA. Because of the LAA dis-function, I was on Eliquis.

Just over 3 years ago I ended up in the emergency room with a gallbladder attack. I had a gallstone that was slightly stuck on the way out. The ER confirmed the condition with an ultrasound. It passed after about 6 hours and I was back to being fine. I was told I should seek out a surgeon to remove my gallbladder because, "once you have gallbladder problems, they only get worse over time", I was told.

I did seek out a surgeon. I found a recommended (Dr Natale's office recommended) surgeon at Scripps in La Jolla. It turned out that Dr Natale's protocol for being off Eliquis for the surgery would not work for this surgeon, or any other surgeon I consulted with. The surgeons want you off Eliquis for 3-5 days after the surgery. Dr. Natale would only allow being off Eliquis for 24 hours after surgery. This created a real problem.

To make a long story short, Dr Natale was able to get the insurance company to approve a Watchman device based on my need for this surgury. I had the device placed by Dr Natale two and half years ago. Since that time, I adjusted by diet to be a much lower fat diet.
I used the herbs/protocol recommend in the pop culture for treating gallbladder issues. They seemed to work, until December last year. I started having almost daily gallbladder pain.Two weeks ago I gave in and gave my doctor a call. He ordered an Ultrasound. The results showed a slight swollen gallbladder, thickened walls, and many sand size gallstones/sludge. As much as I hate the idea of it, I have an appointment in April to have my gallbladder removed.

Having the Watchman device made this whole situation change from non-manageable to manageable. If I did not have the Watchman device, Surgery would not be possible without finding a cardiologist who doesn't understand the stroke risk of a slowed LAA to allow me to stop the Eliquis, I would have still been on if I didn't have the Watchman.

Some interesting observations/opinions: I have noticed when my gallbladder acts up, I have noticeable heart irritation and PVC's. I believe that this has partially to do with the Vagus nerve and probably general inflammation. The whole gallbladder herb/flush/pop culture protocols reminds me of trying to control my afib with magnesium and potassium supplement. They all seemed to help, But in the end, the big guns were needed.

My surgeon for the gallbladder surgery said my diet and lifestyle changes most likely bough me 3 years from the first attack I had that cause me to go to the ER. He said some people the gallbladder just doesn't function well which leads to bile not emptying properly which usually causes all these types of problems.

Looking back over the years, I think I may have had gallbladder issues going back 20 years. I wonder how much the gallbladder dysfunction lead to vagus nerve over-activity, which may have some affects on the afib.

Thanks for forum still being here!

gmperf - Sorry to read about your current situation.

Now, as we all know, every case and is different, but almost two years ago, I went to the hospital for abdominal pain diagnosed as gallbladder stones and was admitted and scheduled for surgery. This was something totally new.
I didn't have a history of abdominal pains or symptoms as a precursor.

Because of my age (84 at the time), I am on half-dose daily of Eliquis (post Natale LAA isolation in 2015), I was 'bridged' from Eliquis and to warfarin for the procedure and instructed to resume Eliquis when I got home. That worked out well and I had no problems during or post surgery.

I was concerned about the potential for revving up some Afib but my heart remained calm then and still does. Thank you Dr. Natale!

Best to you, gmperf in finding a viable solution.

Jackie

gmpf - it is just for the reasons you mentioned above, that prompted me to get a Watchman. I was afraid if I needed some kind of surgery (which at this point I don't, but as we get older, who knows?). I also want to be able to take fish oil and an Advil or two without worrying about my blood getting too thin

I'm glad you were able to get the Watchman. Best wishes for a smooth gall bladder operation and forever NSR!

And "Hi!" to Jackie! ~ Barb

Hello Jackie & Barb,

Thanks for the replies.

My local cardiologist (5-6 year back) wanted be to stop Eliquis because I was in my 50's and my chadvasc was 0. He and most doctors do not understand the risk of a slowed LAA. The bridging the surgeon would agree on was heparin to bridge before the surgery, and off all blood thinners for 5 day after.
Dr. Natale went as far as calling the surgeon at Scripps (where he practiced also) to see if they could come to an agreement. My condition was a chadvasc of 0. A moderately slowed LAA. They could not come to an agreement on anything other than I should get the Watchman.
The surgeon called me and said after I have the Watchman, she would be willing to do the surgery after two weeks.

I don't think people who have a slowed LAA and need to be on Eliquis for life know what a bad position they are in. If everything is going well and they tolerate the medication, life is good. If they have a situation where surgery is needed, that is where some very serious problem could arise.

Barb - IMHO, you are making the correct decision to seek out getting the Watchman.

Jackie, I am glad you did well with the surgery. You seem to be a tough fighter, so I am not surprised with your outcome.