Hello, I received a Natale ablation about exactly 5-months ago down in Auston. (11/20/19) Shortly after discontinuing Flecainde approximately 1-month ago, I've been having lots of ectopics. (Seems to be all PACs) I'm able to control them if I take 50MG Flecainide once daily but I'm trying to avoid the medication all together. Do you think this is a sign that the Natale ablationby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks everyone. Appreciate the quick responses.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, Can the 100mg Flecainide pills be cut in half? They are scored so I’m assuming so but waned to check with the forum here first. Thanks.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
I ended up going to the hospital as the ectopics were becoming very bothersome. The EKG indicated PACs occurring at a rate of around 2-3 per minute and short durations of arrhythmia bit not AFIB. The doctor seemed to be confident that this was related to the ablation and the healing process. They recommended that I start taking the flecainide again for a short period of time while my heart continby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, I had a Natale ablation on 11/20. (All went well). A few days ago at the the 60-day mark, I discontinued my Flecainide. Since then, I’ve noticed some ectopics and they seem to be getting worse with each passing day. Is it common to get ectopics after stopping the Flecainide and still being within the blanking period? I had stopped the Flecainide 5 days prior to my ablation and never hadby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Happy Friday everyone. What are your thoughts and what does the science say regarding body weight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc) post ablation? Should we stick with cardio exercises such as brisk walking and stay away from any type of resistance training? Will something like push-ups for example be detrimental to our ablation and long term prognosis? I presently partake in brisk wby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks again Carey!by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, It’s been about 9 days since my ablation and I just noticed a small roundish hard spot near the catheter insertion area on my right groin. Is this normal or something of concern?I’m not experiencing any pain and there is no noticeable swelling that I can discern. Thank you.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just recently had a Natale ablation on 3/20/19. How reasonable is it that one can actually stay out in front of this condition for the remainder of their lives by continuing to have ablations as needed? Is this even conceivable or will it eventually becoming a losing battle? I realize that many of you have come back for touch-ups and have had great success but is it it realistic to think thaby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, I received my first ablation this past week (3/20) with Dr. Natale. Unfortunately I didn’t get much time to converse with Natale post ablation but I do have the ablation report. Is there someone here in the forum who can review the report and let me know if was a standard textbook procedure and that no anomalies were observed? I have the report via an email attachment so I’m thinkingby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just spoke with a contact at Dr. Natale’s office and was told an 80-85% “success rate” for an afib ablation. However, they were unable to clarify what defines a success. (I.e., no afib burden for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc) Can someone please tell me what constitutes a success in these numbers? I realize everyone is different but what can one reasonably expect from a Natale ablation? Thanby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Wow, that’s much quicker than I had anticipated. I was thinking 6-12 months. So you didn’t have to make separate trips for the consult and procedure? That would make things much more convenient as I live up in NH. I’ve already setup a consult with Dr. Moussa Mansour for July at Massachusetts General. He is also very well known and performs 12 procedures per week, 8 of them afib ablations. I guby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
I plan on calling his office this week to confirm but has anyone made a recent appointment with Dr Natale and if so, how long does it take to see him for the initial consult? How much longer after that can you typically get an ablation scheduled? Thank you! - Billby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
From the American College of Cardiology “When starting a patient on flecainide, it is prudent to do a treadmill stress test after the patient is fully loaded.” I suspect this is why they want me to return for a stress test after week 2 and ramping up to 100mg. (I think it’s to check the QRS duration) I may be mistaken on the echo but they definitely mentioned a stress test.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Carey. My original stress echo was 100% clean. I was told this multiple times. I got the impression that the 2nd stress echo was standard protocol. The plan was communicated as follows: 50mg Flecainide for 1-week Come in for an EKG 100mg for week-2 Come in for stress echoby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, There seems to be a lot of references to Flecainide being started in a hospital while under observation yet it seems as though this protocol is mostly not being followed, including with my own cardiologist. Has anyone started this medication under observation? Any thoughts on why this protocol isn’t being followed and the risks of taking this medication while not being in the hospital?by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Oh well, so much for Waller Water for me. After awaking this morning, I filled my mug with waller water and consumed it over 45-60 minutes. (Mixture contained approx. 250mg of magnesium) Prior to completing the mixture, I started experiencing some ectopics. (Sometimes I get a few when I first get up in the morning but they're usually short lived) They continued and became more intense oveby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Gill. Drinking the concentrate undiluted is sounding very promising.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thank you so much for all the responses. I have been experiencing some digestion / GERD related issues that I’ve been working on so I decided to error on the side of caution and perform the dilution. I was hoping to get a significant amount of supplemental magnesium from the recipe without having to drink a ton of water thus that’s why I was considering not diluting. (Maybe I’ll dabble with theby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, Is there any harm in drinking the concentrate directly without dilution? I've mixed up the liter of concentrate and plan on drinking 4oz two times daily to start. (Total of 375mg magnesium if my math is correct) This will supplement the existing 600mg of magnesium glycinate that I take daily. Thanks, - Billby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
I spoke with his office today and they informed me that performs around 8 ablations per week. They said that people come from all over the country to see him. I scheduled an appointment for early July to discuss the possibility of an ablation.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sorry I had missed that. Do you have any personal experience with him or just heard good things via word of moth? Thanks.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I’m currently trying to setup a consult with a Dr. Moussa Mansour at Mass General Hospital in Boston. Has anyone heard of him? Thumbs up/down? Thanks.by bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello, I was recently diagnosed with Afib (less than 1% Afib over 2 weeks as recorded by a Zio Patch) and I have my 1st appointment with my Cardiologist this coming Tuesday. (Dr. Fink at the New England Heart & Vascular Institute located in Manchester, NH) Based on my low CHADS score, I’m presently only taking 25mg of metoprolol. This may be a bit premature but I wanted to start researchingby bkimura - AFIBBERS FORUM