Hello everyone. I've been lurking behind the scenes here over the past several weeks in preparation of my recent Watchman implant with Dr. Natale. I read every post in this forum about the Watchman so I knew everything I needed to know to prepare for the procedure itself as well as what to expect afterwards. I have a blog where I have documented my entire a-fib journey going back to 2006by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Carey: Great story! I'm going to link to it on my blog. Shannon wrote something similar for my blog a few years ago. He wrote about the importance of seeing an expert EP for ablations. If anyone is interested, they can read it here: Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm good friends with Shannon so I don't think he'll mind if I plug my blog here. Shannon even wrote an article for my blog at one point so I know he "endorses" my blog. At any rate, I am a two-time Natale ablation patient. I write extensively about my experiences with a-fib, my ablations, and my ablation recoveries. If any of you are contemplating having an ablationby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming I hate stating the following, but I am in that very boat: the disorder is always progressing. It might be retarded a great deal by mechanical 'fixes' here and there, now and then, but in the end the heart wins. This board is replete with members who have had to accept that interventions will only delay the finality of the disorder, whatever that end-state might be forby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I always do VRBO or Airbnb when I go there. I found a great house that is just 5 minutes from the hospital. I'm actually staying there again in April. It's just $158/night and that includes all taxes, fees, etc. It's incredibly comfortable, clean, and well-stocked and the owner/host is amazing. He owns three homes on the same street but because they are so nice, clean, and comfortaby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Carey! She'll be thrilled to hear this. These recent events have been very stressful for her so hopefully this will put her mind at ease. Thanks, Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have a friend who is 75 years young. She has been in persistent a-fib for the past year. She has silent a-fib so she didn't even know she was in a-fib until it was discovered during a routine physical last summer. Her doctor put her on diltiazem and Eliquis at the time and told her to have a nice day. About a month ago she decided to see an EP because she wasn't comfortable with hby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Carey! Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Barb: I just wanted to chime in here because your way of thinking about this is exactly my way of thinking. I always thought the whole purpose of getting the Watchman device was to be able to get off blood thinners. It thought that's what the Watchman device was all about - about the promise of not needing a blood thinner. I'm in line for my 2nd Natale ablation here in a couple weby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have suffered from insomnia for years (almost two decades now). After sleep studies, medicines, etc. etc. I finally found something that gives me decent relief - CBD oil! I've been taking CBD nightly now for two years but now I'm on Eliquis in preparation of my second Natale ablation and I'm not sure if I can continue the CBD. I've done some initial research and I'mby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help. Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Pavan: I take quercetin to prevent COVID (along with zinc and vitamin D). Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm in line for a 2nd ablation with Dr. Natale so I'm on 5mg of Eliquis, twice daily right now. Here are the most important supplements I would like to continue to take at the doses shown (per day) while I'm on Eliquis. Do you see any concerns? Zinc - 30mg Quercetin - 500mg Vitamin C - 2,000mg Vitamin D - 5,000IU Vitamin K Complex - 600mcg Fish Oil - 2,000mg Melatonin -by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteCarey I would suggest coconut water instead. Is this for the potassium? If so, couldn't you take water with potassium gluconate powder mixed in (for those that don't like coconut water)? Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was just alerted about this article from a reader of my blog. Here is a quote of the opening paragraph of the article: Starting this fall, the FDA plans to trial an innovative new computational medicine approach to heart surgery with 160 patients in the U.S. The procedure, called Optimal Target Identification via Modelling of Arrhythmogenesis (OPTIMA, for short), involves creating a virtualby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
My sincere condolences, Shannon. I have donated to the Texas Rehabilitation Center in her memory. God Bless. Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Colindo: Thanks for the head's up. I just sent an email to the company behind Cardiokinase to see if they have any comments to your comments. We'll see if they respond to me or to this forum thread. I'm hopeful they will and more importantly, I'm hopeful they'll have a good response. If they don't respond or if their response is weak, then that will be yet anoby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
@JustMeToo: You bring up another great topic as it pertains to marijuana and afib. We didn't cover this in our episode but I can tell you we wouldn't have any information on it. There just isn't a lot known about marijuana and afib (or marijuana and blood thinners for that matter). But this is why we had the discussion...to start the discussion! We hope this topic gets studiby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just published my latest episode of the Afib Podcast. In this episode I had a discussion with Steve Ryan of a-fib.com about this topic. With marijuana legalization sweeping the country this will become a more important topic among afibbers. Like alcohol, the question is: does marijuana hurt or help afib? Steve had some very interesting information to share in this episode, particularlyby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Do you know how many procedures either of these EPs have under their belt? And what percentage of those procedures are for complex cases of afib? Success rates don't mean a thing if they aren't put into context. Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie: Thanks for all the great info on lipo vitamin C!! I'll be diving into all of it shortly. Just looking over the dosage equivalents very quickly, it appears that if I want to take the equivalent 2,000mg of regular vitamin C per day, I would only need to take about 500mg of lipo vitamin C...interesting. Lot's of good stuff here to digest (no pun intended). Linda: I didby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Unless you are going to move forward with an ablation with Dr. Natale I would not bother having a consultation. It sounds like you have a very straight forward case. You have paroxysmal afib. Natale is going to give you about 20 minutes of his time (if that) and tell you that you're an ideal candidate for an ablation (which you are) or you can try to control things with drugs for a while ifby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I wrote on this topic not too long ago. It might help: If following a diet isn't your thing (for most people it isn't), scroll to the bottom of the article for the 5 basic principles. Travisby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Chris: Sorry to hear about your struggles. You're not alone! I always tell people knowledge is power so if I were in your shoes I would first want to know exactly what's going on to ease my mind. Getting a heart monitor is a great first step. However, you might want to ask for an event monitor if the Holter monitor doesn't catch anything. Holter monitors will continuously recordby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Are you sure about that? Wouldn't vigorous exercise cause the heart to "work more", coupled with a troubled heart in afib wouldn't that make things worse? I've always advised people with afib to "cool it" when it comes to exercise. By that I mean, I tell them to move forward with moderate exercise - both in cardio and weight lifting. I'm no expert bby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie: Can you expand on this a bit? I've been taking a high quality vitamin C powder (2,000mg/day) for years. It's just "regular" vitamin C powder - not Liposomal vitamin C. What's the difference between the two? Why is liposomal "better?" And if it's better, can you get by with less or would I still be able to take the same dose - 2,000mg/day? Traby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
With Ilona's permssion, I have posted her story on my blog as well. She also added 10 tips she learned from this experience. The tips are gold so be sure to check it out: Congratulations, Ilona! I'm so happy for you. I still can't believe this "ablation journey" started about a year ago now. Crazy how time flies. Enjoy the rest of the year (and many more to come) iby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just wanted to jump in here and say I don't believe this at all...just as I don't think alcohol, chocolate, and caffeine CAUSE afib. In fact, I'll go as far as saying no external factor causes afib. I think research will show someday that afib is a genetic defect. I'm willing to believe EMFs, alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, diet, etc. *may* affect afibbers that are sensitiby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
When I had my ablation at St. David's I rented a vacation rental home. It was a super nice (cozy 2 bedroom town home just 10 minutes from the hospital). It was far cheaper than any hotel and we got to stay in a "home." We found it on VRBO. If I ever have to return to Austin for a touch up ablation I will go the same route. It's so nice to be able to recover in a "home&quoby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have been battling nonstop horrendous PVCs and PACs for the past several weeks. It's almost worse than afib! Literally every other beat is a PVC or PAC when they get really bad and it can go on for hours at a time. It sucks! At any rate, it would be nice if I could monitor my potassium levels at home as I suspect low potassium levels might be playing a role in these flare ups. I dugby tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM