Hi all, I don't come to this forum much these days. I had a successful Bordeaux ablation in June 2015 and it has been holding ever since. At the time, I had spoken to multiple people (mostly members of this group) that had ablations done in Alberta Canada where I live and none of the stories were very positive. Multiple ablations and still no resolution was the most common outcome. Asby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
I would say you also missed Dr. Pierre Jais and Dr. Melize Hocini in Pessac (Bordeaux) France. In my books, they’re easily as good as Natalie. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Hans Larsen. When I was first diagnosed in 2009, finding this board and all the wonderful people on it was a godsend. I bought Hans’ book and learned an amazing amount from this board which he was still moderating at the time. My condolences to his family. Leaving behind this board, all the work he did, and all the people he helped is no small legacy.by montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
I took propafenone for about 18 months. First year it worked 100% and then I started to get breakthrough pacs and eventually breakthrough Afib. I started getting side effects too. I then got an ablation and have been good ever since. I’d ride out the flecanide while you can but if you get any side effects or it starts to be less effective, go for the ablation. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Marty, Welcome to the club that no one wants to join. I lurk around here once and a while but I'm not around much anymore. First had afib in 2009 and it got progressively worse (daily) until I was put on propafenone for a year. Once I started to get breakthrough episodes and have some drug toxicity, I scheduled an ablation in 2015. Aside from a few periods of PACs here and there, Iby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Before my ablation in 2016 the PACs and PVCs were almost worse than the afib episodes themselves and were very disruptive. I was taking propafenone and metoprolol and still started getting break through ectopic beats . Before my ablation I asked the Dr. Hocici if the ablation would help the PACs. She said "maybe, let's hope so". After the ablation it has been 95% better with aby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ingrid, Here’s hoping everything goes well for you post-ablation. I had mine 5.5 years and it was the best decision I ever made. I went from daily episodes to virtually symptom free. Life changing. I know that’s not everyone’s experience and I expect I may need another at some point but whatever happens, I have had 5 and a half years of my life back. Hoping the best for you. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Kleinkp, I started taking a small dose of bisoprolol after my ablation. I’ve found that it seems to keep the ectopics from bothering me so I’ve stayed with it. No antiarrhythmics and no anticoagulants. I also take a PPI sometimes. Heartburn used to be a trigger so I try to eat to avoid it and treat it with a PPI or antacid when it happens.by montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi all, I used to be a regular reader of this forum and occasionally posted stuff myself. Quick rundown: - developed paroxysmal Afib in 2009 at 38. - Had one or two episodes a year for the first few years and then started getting more frequent and controlled with PIP - Up to weekly episodes by late 2013, started on propafenone daily - After 1 year or so started getting break thru episby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
48, M, 1, 5 years Dr. Hocini in Bordeaux Had a few spots here and there where i was getting a lot of ectopics but pretty calm for the most part.by montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi everyone, I know there are a lot of fairly athletic people on this board and I’m hoping they have some advice. I had a Bordeaux ablation 4 1/2 years ago and things have been fairly good to this point. I’ve had a couple times here and there where I get PAC’s for a little while but then they tend to go away. Usually related to stress or bad diet choices. Lately I’ve been really trying toby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
I always found that dental work triggered my Afib pre-ablation. Now when I go I ask for no-epi anesthesia. Though to be honest, I try and get as much done as possible without anesthesia. You’d actually be surprised. For a minor filling you really don’t feel much of snything. I guess I developed a bit of an aversion to freezing after the Afib episodes. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, Don’t forget Dr. Hocini. I would put her on par with Jaïs and Haissaguerre. Of course I’m somewhat biased since she performed my ablation. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lorraine, I’m from Canada as well and I went to Bordeaux about 3.5 years ago for an ablation. I have no hesitation in recommending that team. I did research Natale as well and would have loved to have had him but the price was prohibitively high (like 4X or more). If you have any questions, let me know or shoot me a PM. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi everyone, I haven’t been to the forum in quite a while and haven’t posted in even longer. Anyway, the 8th of December will be 2.5 years since my Bordeaux ablation. Best thing I ever did. Before I had it done, i had paroxysmal afib for 6 years and I was on propafenone. Despite the aad, I was still getting brief afibs most days. Then the propafenone started causing a burning sensation iby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jim, It took me about a year and then it seemed to go down quite suddenly. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Gill, Great to hear you are still doing well and it's wonderful that you are still providing support to those that are struggling. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks to everyone. They were better today but still there. Anti-fib, the reason I mentioned the random pain was that I had this inflammation seemingly come out of the blue and my hips were sore, knees, ankles and thumbs. It was weird and I wonder if it's not some sort of inflammation. I'm stripping my diet down to a more paleo diet in the hopes that it will help. Gill, yourby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, I think the reason this is messing with my head is that it happened at the seven-month point when I'm supposed to be in the clear. If it happened in the first month or two I would have been less concerned and wrote it off as a healing heart but because it happened at this point it worries me that it's something else. As well, if I hadn't been absolutely symptom-frby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hey everyone, So I posted on Sunday asking for advice on how to start an exercise regimen because things were going so well and not 3 hours later i started getting ectopic beats. Since my ablation it was like a switch was flipped. No afib and very rare, random ectopics. Now I have been getting 20+ per hour for hours at a time. 'm trying to figure out what's going on. I know thaby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
George, Breathing through your nose is a great suggestion and I have considered the body weight exercise in the past and I think it's a great way to go. Thanks as always for the feedback, Jackie. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi everyone, I know the contributors here range from serious athletes to non-active and I was hoping for a range of experiences. I had a Bordeaux ablation almost 7 months ago and things are going well. My issue is that in the 1.5 years leading up to my ablation, I found that eating often helped prevent palpitations and exercise exacerbated them. This combined with the fact that I wasby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Alan, I have nothing overly constructive to add but I just wanted to congratulate you on 5 months. I had mine in Bordeaux almost 7 months ago and it's going well for me as well. I can also empathize since I've found a few little things that set off pacs and it freaks me out when it happens. I wish you continued success. Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
To mirror George's comments from a non-athlete perspective, my personal experience with Afib was that increasing adernergic tone is only helpful in the short term. So if you're relaxing and you feel Afib coming on, jumping up and increasing adernergic tone will quiet things down. If the Afib was being exacerbated by low potassium or electrolyte imbalance this would be a good opportuniby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good to hear from you, Adrian. Glad to hear you're still doing well. Yeah, after thinking about it, I figured what the heck. A few more months makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things. All the best, Montyby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
So December 8th is the 6 month anniversary of my Bordeaux ablation. Aside from the occasional ectopic I have been feeling quite well. A couple of days ago I was fasting and this led to a series of palpitations but they were all single ectopics. Maybe 10 in an hour. After 6 months this did feel scary so I drank some coconut water and they went away. Since then I've been eating less but nby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Colin, I've always found the coconut water helps and preablation I drank a lot of the stuff to stop palpitations. A large can has almost 1000mg of potassium and I really think that in this form it's very absorbable. I've used and use potassium powder and lsv8 but both tend to upset my stomach and cause heartburn. Just a warning though, watch for the amount of sugar you'by montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Colin, I had an ablation almost 6 months ago and everything has been smooth since except for a rare single palp. Well for the last 3 days I've started a diet and I wasn't fasting but has a much reduced calorie load. This morning I started getting palpitations like I haven't had since my ablation. I drank a glass of coconut water to get some potassium and electrolytes and withby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Everyone, Another quick question that a search didn't turn up any satisfying answers for: It's pretty well-documented that your heart rate goes up by 10 to 20 bpm after an ablation. My resting heart rate laying down was mid to high 60s to low 70s and after the ablation, while on beta blockers, it was low 80s. Now that I stop the beta blockers my true resting heart rate whenby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, Thanks for the encouraging words. I was a little freaked out when I wrote that. I've never had pneumonia before and I'm 43 so, while not rare, I'm certainly not the prime demographic. I read somewhere that pulmonary vein stenosis, even mild stenosis, can increase the chances of these types of infections so naturally I'm concerned. As far as Bordeaux, they say tby montos - AFIBBERS FORUM