Three ablations and a Watchman following the third with absolutely zero discomfort whatsoever.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Since it was 4 1/2 years between my second and third ablation, I was amazed at the Vascade product. Did the same thing as Daisy, up and about in 2 hours until my bride told me I was walking around the halls of St. David's with my backside flashing passersby.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I went 4 1/2 years after my second ablation with absolutely no problems when in fall of 2021 during an echo in preparation for my annual appointment with my cardiologist I was diagnosed again with afib. I was totally asymptomatic, did not know when I went out of NSR. My daily routine included 30-45 min of vigorous cardio exercise. Dr. Natale had warned me in 2017 after my second ablation TEE thatby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
The first time I was diagnosed with arrhythmia at 59 in 1999 it was flutter. I was at home, sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal with my heart rate monitor on in preparation for a run after breakfast and felt a little funny, not the ha! ha! type. I looked at my HR monitor and it registered 192 bpm. Set out to run, couldn't make 1/4 mile; couldn't get enough air to breathby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks to the tips on the medical facilities I confirmed that The Maestro is practicing at both Scripps in La Jolla and Los Robles in Thousand Oaks. Susan, I didn't want to bother you with a PM.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I had a CT angiogram with contrast done locally last week at Dr. Natale's request to check the LAA and Watchman implant. The Watchman is doing its job exactly as designed and, most important, no thrombus on the atrial side of the device or elsewhere in the left atrium. Dr. N implanted the Watchman two years ago today.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
My sister, a retired nurse pediatric NP, is attempting to help a friend in CA with an afib problem. She knows a good bit about my afib & Watchman journey as a patient of Dr. Natale and would like to know the hospital(s) in California where he practices. My search skills have resulted in nothing but zilch, and that's probably because of the way I've phrased the searches. I would apby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was on Multaq from 2017 until late 2021 when I went out of NSR. My cardiologist warned me of the black box warning for old farts like me so I stopped on my own. I tolerated the medication well, no side affects at all. Dr. Natale did third ablation in Feb '22 and implanted Watchman; I've been fine ever since. He had cautioned me in fall of '17 that afib might return and if it didby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dr. Natale put me on 20 mg Xarelto about two weeks before my first ablation (had been on Pradaxa for 4 years) and Multaq after the ablation. Stayed on Multaq through and after touch up six months after first ablation. When I went out of NSR asymptomatic in Sept - Oct 2021 ditched the Multaq immediately. Third ablation and Watchman in Feb 2022. All I take now at Dr. N's direction is 81 mg asby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
One of my local cardiologist's nurses was given a "make it happen" mission after I did some footwork getting names and phone numbers at TCAI and telling him I couldn't see how it was such a complicated task. The nurse who was given the mission told me she talked to one of the radiology dept. geeks who said it would be no problem, but there was about a month of wasted time befby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteCarey These days with electronic medical records you probably won't have to do a thing. Once the radiology place does the scan, it will appear on your medical record and be available to almost any doctor you see instantly, including Natale since he's the ordering physician. CDs are rarely mailed around these days. That's what I thought after I had my one year TEE done localby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I had my third ablation and Watchman implant in 2/15/22 and swiftly continued on with the rest of my life so I haven't visited the website, I guess since my six-month TEE. My one-year TEE was done locally. It is very interesting to read Travis' blog on his third ablation and Watchman implant and compare our experiences. I've made 32 more trips around the sun than Travis, but our thby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I had my six month post Watchman TEE in August and Dr. Natale said I could have the 12 month on done by my local cardiologist. Originally, back in 2017, my local cardiologist, has done many TEEs declined to do the one six months after my second ablation. His verbal reasoning was that even if Dr. Natale sent him explicit instructions on what he would be looking for in the TEE results, he could notby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
FWIW, when I was introduced to Shannon in 2016 and told him where I lived, he said there was no one, EP that is, he would recommend anywhere between Philadelphia and Austin, so I became a Dr. Natale patient. Three ablations, the first a real major job, and a Watchman FLX later I'm in fine shape.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, Daisy, very good news! FWIW, Dr. Natale had to cardiovert me twice when he was isolating my LAA back in 2016. The Watchman club isn't a bad gang of reprobates and it's great to be on nothing more than a baby aspirin every other day.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
After my third ablation and Warthman implant on 2/15, Dr. Natale reduced my Xarelto dose from 20 mg 1x/day to 10 mg 1X/day and added one 81 mg aspirin 1X/day. After my six-month post Watchman implant TEE, he took me off the 10 mg Xarelto and prescribed one 81 mg aspirin every other day at evening meal as the Xarelto has always been. We're all different and if I felt any better I wouldn'by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
When I was in the process of being scheduled for my Watchman in Feb of this year, Dr. Natale's scheduler told me they would not schedule it until they had received approval from all insurance companies that they would cover the procedure. As part of completing the preliminaries I was even interviewed by a physician from St. David's, a doctor who does not do the procedure, asking lots ofby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I had the six month TEE following my Watchman implant on 2/15. Everything came up roses. The first thing Dr. Natale said when he entered my room was, "You are off Xarelto, and I want you to take a baby aspirin every other day." After 20 years on anticoagulants those were the best words I've heard in a long time. The humorous portion of the study report was, "No intracardiac thby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
The Four Horsemen of the Medical Apocalypse are constipation, diarrhea, bloating and gas!by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've had PACs for a long time. Matter of fact, after my Watchman implant in Feb my routine Kardi Mobile ECGs sent to TCAI always said possible atrial fibrillation when I was in NSR. I can't feel them except when taking carotid pulse and don't worry about them at all.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I had a third ablation and Watchman (Dr. Natale) at the same unconscious procedure. When I told my local cardiologist he was going to do the two together he said Medicare would not pay for both done together with his practice's EPs; there had to be a healing period after the ablation. It may be a patient volume issue as TCA is a research facility.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
To be blunt about it, when you've gone so far as to have a video conference with Dr. Natale, if your finances support it, why would you have any other EP take a crack at the problem? That would be like opting for a high school quarterback when you can have a Super Bowl champ do the work. Yes, I am a veteran Natale patient with three ablations and a Watchman.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, thanks Carey. I had forgotten about Dr. Hranitzky, but as you say he with Duke which isn't Novant. Too, I don't know when he joined Duke, and as I said my data was from an old conversation with Shannon.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dr. Natale's post Watchman protocol for me, effective 2/15/22, was halving my daily dose of Xarelto to 10mg and adding one 81mg aspirin. He switched me from Pradaxa to Xarelto in 2016 prior to my first ablation. I had my six week TEE 3/29 and will have my six month one in mid-August. After the six month TEE I will follow the regimen Dr. N prescribes for anticoagulant. I hope it's at moby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Please recognize that my data is almost six years old but based on recent email conversation with Shannon it has not changed. In 2016 when I talked with him about an electrophysiologist near where I live, outside of Charlotte, the nearest "top flight" EP was in Philadelphia, none in NC, none in Atlanta. By top flight I assume too you're talking about someone who has done thousandsby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good luck in your recovery. You're so correct about Dr. Natale. He visited me on 2/15 after a very long, busy day including my touch up ablation and Watchman implant and was exhausted. Nevertheless, we had a great chat and he was his usual laid back, casual and very personable doctor self.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have sinus bradycardia with frequent PACs. I can feel the PACs when checking my carotid pulse but not otherwise. They do not affect in the least bit my cardiovascular training during which I routinely push myself. The sinus bradycardia has been around for decades too because of the hard training required when the taxpayer was paying my salary and I was a vigorous long distance runner and bicyclby JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
Have you ever had a sleep study? Do you have sleep apnea?by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM
IMO, considering terminating Xarelto without discussing it with your cardiologist or whoever prescribed it could be attempting Russian roulette with a semiautomatic pistol.by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM