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Re: drug "interactions" and no nos... - 2 days ago

QuotePamelaJean Carey (and anyone else who knows) do you think a successful ablation would keep afib from happening even when taking amitriptyline? Of course I’ll ask my EP too. Yes.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Flecainide/Metoprolol or Diltiazem - 3 days ago

Yeah, I utterly despise beta blockers because they literally suck the life right out of me, so I take diltiazem for BP rather than metoprolol. It's nowhere near as fatigue-inducing. I would assume it will probably be time release since that means only a single dose per day but you could go either way if you don't mind bid dosing.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Dartmouth called about a PFA - 3 days ago

The choice is some unnamed EP at Dartmouth or some EP... somewhere else? I don't understand what your choices are.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Flecainide/Metoprolol or Diltiazem - 3 days ago

I think the two are largely comparable. The purpose of taking them with flecainide is as a safety measure against 1:1 conduction. Should that occur, you'll need something to slow the heart rate down and either one will do the job. Diltiazem doesn't lower heart rate significantly more than metoprolol does, so it's all in the dosing.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: drug "interactions" and no nos... - 4 days ago

I use drugs.com. Click on their drug interaction checker. It's thorough and authoritative.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Ablatio and Eliquis - 6 days ago

You ruptured a small blood vessel, which then bled and formed a hematoma. Hematomas can be quite painful if they're in certain places (pressing against a nerve or other structure, in a tightly contained space). This would have happened to some degree whether you were taking Eliquis or not. Eliquis just made it bleed longer. Personally, I'd treat this as a one-off incident that's un

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Post Ablation questions - 7 days ago

Hi, Sir. Welcome to the forum. Shoulder repair and testosterone should be fine. The problem is going to be the Eliquis. I can virtually guarantee any surgeon is going to want you off the Eliquis for several days before and a couple days after. So check with Natale and see if he'll okay you stopping for that period. If not, he can provide a bridging protocol that the surgeon might be willi

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Finding my next EP - 11 days ago

Hi Wolfgang, welcome to the forum. The EP with remarkable credentials you mentioned is Santangeli or someone else? I ask because you said you were told you can't switch to another EP. If that's not true and you can, then you should have absolutely no hesitation about doing exactly that. Santangeli is one of only two EPs I will recommend without hesitation to anyone. I consider hi

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Amniioderone and ablation questions - 22 days ago

Quotebettylou4488 I am hoping they will let me go the Sotolol route even though that will necessitate a hospital stay to get on it. Then you need to express that to them. And don't be shy about it. It's your body, not theirs. It should be easy since they can just start it after your ablation and keep you in the hospital for a couple extra days.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Amniioderone and ablation questions - 24 days ago

If you've failed all the antiarrhythmics other than amiodarone and sotalol, then amiodarone isn't an unreasonable choice for a limited period of time. Yes, it has all those nasty side effects you've heard about but for short-term use it's usually pretty benign. It's long-term use where people run into problems with it. Stopping it isn't difficult. It just takes a ver

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Is there any connection between ocular migraines and Afib? - 26 days ago

Yes, there's a connection, but I don't think it's electrical. What goes on in your heart electrically really has nothing to do with what goes on in your brain. The more likely explanation is that the microscopic blood clots that can be released by an ablation (or Watchman procedure) are the cause. I experienced my first ocular migraine (aka a scintillating scotoma) a month or so af

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Ablation EP - Toronto - 28 days ago

QuoteCarlorea Is it wishful thinking that if AFIB doesn't come back cancel the ablation.? Yes it is. If you stopped the flecainide completely today and didn't experience another afib episode before next spring, I'd say maybe you can put it off. But taking flecainide definitely doesn't stop afib. It only suppresses it as long as you keep taking it.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Nightmare Experience - 30 days ago

No, this is not an issue for a cardiologist or EP. You said you've been on Eliquis for six years so that's all they can do. The events are neurological symptoms so a neurologist is the person to see.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Can Covid vaccine trigger an afib episode? - 4 weeks ago

QuoteJoe Let's not ignore the differences of mechanisms of action between a traditional flu vaccine and the mRNA... That's kind of a vague thing to say. I know how they both work but I'm not sure what you're referring to. Care to explain?

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Can Covid vaccine trigger an afib episode? - 4 weeks ago

Any vaccine or illness can trigger afib. As for the flu vaccine, if you think afib is bad wait until you experience a serious bout of flu. The last time I did was 1989, which also happens to be the last year I ever skipped a flu vaccine. I was in bed for a week, off work for two weeks, and didn't really feel 100% back to normal for a month. Never again will I miss a flu vaccine. People u

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Looking for people w/ afib to interview - 4 weeks ago

Hi, Kenny, welcome to the forum. Just to be clear, this is entirely a college class assignment, right? You're not in any way working for any particular company. It's okay if you are, you just need to disclose who it is if so.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Nightmare Experience - 4 weeks ago

QuoteErin So far the opthamologist, primary, and cardiologist have all bowed out. I What the hell? Why did they bow out? In particular the cardiologist!

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Smoked Food & AF ??? - 5 weeks ago

I've never heard a single person say that smoked or freeze dried food is a trigger for them, making those two things some of the very few things that I haven't heard blamed. And I really can't imagine any reason why they would be a trigger.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Metoprolol vs Multaq - 5 weeks ago

Multaq without question. Metoprolol doesn't actually prevent anything; it simply slows your heart rate (and lowers your BP).

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Early AF diagnosis via eye examination - 6 weeks ago

I don't think so. It appears to be solely in the research phase.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Colonoscopy. .. ablation 3 weeks later. blood thinner questions - 6 weeks ago

Quotebettylou4488 it is the holding of the elequis that is an issue with upcoming ablation. They're 3 weeks apart so stopping the Eliquis for 3 days really shouldn't be an issue, especially since they're going to do a CT and TEE first.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Colonoscopy. .. ablation 3 weeks later. blood thinner questions - 6 weeks ago

Quotegloaming Why cancel a colonoscopy during an episode of AF. Because non-cardiologists freak out at anything involving the heart. Despite having been in NSR since 2017, I had to get a cardiologist to sign off on doing the procedure at all, and they told me that if I went into afib during the procedure they would stop and cancel it immediately. The cardiologist thought they were being silly

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Colonoscopy. .. ablation 3 weeks later. blood thinner questions - 6 weeks ago

Not sure what the dilemma is. You stop the Eliquis on Sept 30 then resume it after the colonoscopy. Then for the ablation do whatever the EP wants you to do, so asking them that is one thing to do.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Nightmare Experience - 6 weeks ago

Sorry you went through that and hope it never repeats itself. But I would recommend against reporting something like that to the police. They can revoke your license if they believe you have a medical condition that makes you unsafe to drive. I would have just done a walkaround the car and if there was no sign of damage, that would satisfy me.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Multaq-taper? - 6 weeks ago

Sorry you had such a nasty reaction to it but glad you're done with it now. Rather unusual. Multaq is usually a very benign drug for most people. So "lucky" you.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: AF ablation relationship to Pulmonary Hypertension tradeoff experience - 7 weeks ago

Quotegloaming You'd think it would appear more often since the ablation lesions are placed around the veins' ostia. Prior to the development of the PVI procedure in 1998, it was customary to actually insert the catheter into the pulmonary veins and ablate the afib-generating tissue directly. This worked very well, but it also left many patients with stenosis of the veins. So the PVI

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Multaq-taper? - 7 weeks ago

Yes, I've stopped it twice. Cold turkey both times with absolutely no negative effects. In fact, there aren't any antiarrhythmics I know of that require tapering. The need to taper drugs is way overestimated by people. Most drugs don't need that.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: trigger finding - 7 weeks ago

Yeah, smart move. Refusing the monitor isn't the right choice. And if you're on traditional Medicare with a decent Medigap policy, you shouldn't be paying a single dime for anything once you've met your plan B deductible, which is $283 for 2026. If you're paying more than that, I recommend reviewing your coverage choices.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Starting new thread on Isolating LAA topic - 8 weeks ago

Quotemjamesone I doubt he even does better than other elite EPs at high volume centers do with PAF. And dispute he does better with LSPAF than other elite EP does with PAF. He may do better than other eltes comparng LSPAF with LSPAF, but again the trade off might be a higher thrombotic risk. I wasn't comparing him to other elites. I was comparing him to the widely published success rates

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Interatrial septum healimg - 2 months ago

Like gloaming said, it's an inconsequential hole that usually closes naturally fairly quickly. But even if it takes a few weeks, it's too small to be of any danger. Ever heard the term patent foramen ovale? We're all born with a hole in our septum that's quite a bit larger than that needle poke. In most people, it closes naturally within a few months after birth. But in so

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM