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Re: Dissapointed - 2 years ago

Carey: I'm just seeing this post now after two years of you writing about this analogy. I agree with you 100%. I've been telling people this for years, but not in such an easy-to-understand analogy. I love it! It's not a common or popular belief to have in the a-fib circles though. Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My 4/27/23 Watchman Implant Experience with Dr. Natale - 2 years ago

Quotesusan.d I read your blog. It’s amazing! I honestly think they do more at Austin. I was weighed once pre procedure and when I was given a room and bed, they weighed the bed with the blankets. I was never weighed again for water retention. I was told to weigh myself at home and if I gained 5 pounds to take a Lasix. You had excellent care! PS I’m in a mood for a gluten free peanut and butt

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My 4/27/23 Watchman Implant Experience with Dr. Natale - 2 years ago

QuoteShannon Hey Travis, Regarding the overnight stays after a procedure at TCAI in Austin, be sure to keep in mind that a good number of TCAI EPs are often treating local patients who live within an hour or so of an easy drive to their own homes. Plus, with the approximately 14 plus EPs working under Dr Natale, it is more likely for local patients, perhaps doing a follow-up PVI, to stay

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Help Me Understand Why Atrial Flutter is More Common After an Ablation than A-Fib - 2 years ago

QuoteCarey your body is simply forming new fibrotic tissue all on its own. That's why EPs have come to understand afib as an underlying heart disease known as atrial myopathy. It's also why the term "lone afib" is no longer recognized. Having afib is a form of structural heart disease, so the term doesn't make sense and misleads our thinking. Carey - that's sobe

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Help Me Understand Why Atrial Flutter is More Common After an Ablation than A-Fib - 2 years ago

I asked this question to Dr. Natale's team during my overnight stay after my recent 3rd touch up ablation and Watchman implant and the answer they gave me didn't help much. They just said it's not uncommon to experience atrial flutter after an ablation vs a-fib because the ablation allows the abnormal arrhythmia to be more regular (but fast). The part that is missing in that an

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My 4/27/23 Watchman Implant Experience with Dr. Natale - 2 years ago

Daisy: Small world! You were heading out just as I was going under. Too funny! Congrats to you as well. And I totally agree, it was awesome to hear that I could go down to 2.5 mg of Eliquis immediately as well. Susan: When I spending the night I was talking to one of the nurses and she said Dr. Natale requires ALL of his patients to spend the night, but other doctors in his group do not

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What is the longest you've been afib-free after an ablation? - 2 years ago

Paroxysmal a-fib started in 2006. Went 9 years without taking any drugs because I only had about one a-fib episode a year. In early 2015 my a-fib became a regular thing so I had a March 2015 index ablation by Dr. Natale. (went almost 8 years with ZERO a-fib and no drugs or lifestyle changes) January 2023 - LAA ablation with Dr. Natale (had a few atrial flutter breakthroughs during the

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

My 4/27/23 Watchman Implant Experience with Dr. Natale - 2 years ago

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 2006

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: How you end up with multiple ablations and still have afib - 2 years ago

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: Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

My Detailed Natale Ablation Experience - 2 years ago

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 ablation

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Ablation 2/28/22. First flutter today 2/7/23....am I doomed? - 2 years ago

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 for

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Need Recommendations for lodging for Austin TX - Getting ablation at St Davids - 2 years ago

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 comforta

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Diltiazem and Digoxin for Persistent A-Fib? - 2 years ago

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, Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Diltiazem and Digoxin for Persistent A-Fib? - 2 years ago

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 h

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Is it O.K. to Take CBD Oil with Eliquis? - 2 years ago

Thanks Carey! Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: LAA, by Dr. Natale, then Watchman - did YOU stop taking Eliquis? - 2 years ago

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 we

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Is it O.K. to Take CBD Oil with Eliquis? - 2 years ago

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'm

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Can I Take Fish Oil and Other Supplements with Eliquis? - 2 years ago

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help. Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Can I Take Fish Oil and Other Supplements with Eliquis? - 2 years ago

Pavan: I take quercetin to prevent COVID (along with zinc and vitamin D). Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Can I Take Fish Oil and Other Supplements with Eliquis? - 2 years ago

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

Re: Colonoscopy Miralax/Dulcolax Vs Golytely - 6 years ago

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)? Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

A Procedure that "Promises" to Treat Afib with Potentially One Surgery - 6 years ago

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 virtual

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My sister - Bonnie Dickson Hill - 7 years ago

My sincere condolences, Shannon. I have donated to the Texas Rehabilitation Center in her memory. God Bless. Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Alternative to Cardiokinase - 7 years ago

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 ano

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Marijuana and Afib - Does it Help or Hurt? - 7 years ago

@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 studi

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Marijuana and Afib - Does it Help or Hurt? - 7 years ago

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, particularly

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Cost of Ablation with Dr Sabine Ernst - 7 years ago

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. Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: New to AFib and my head is spinning - 7 years ago

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 did

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: How much time would Dr Natale spend with me for the initial consultation? - 7 years ago

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 if

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Foods good/bad for Atrial Fib - 7 years ago

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. Travis

by tvanslooten - AFIBBERS FORUM