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Re: Dr. Natale and blood thinners - 10 years ago

Dr. N. prescribed Xarelto for me back in July in preparation for my August ablation. I did not inquire of him why Xarelto because I knew ahead of time that he would want me off Pradaxa. My body, to the best of my knowledge, is functioning equally well on Xarelto as it did on Pradaxa and my brain prefers the once daily dose of Xarelto. If the good doctor prescribed Xarelto in 2014 why not contact

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: 3 more days before my 2nd ablation......wondering how I will feel stopping my Topril - 10 years ago

Not to be argumentative and it was so long ago I don't remember the dose I was taking, but when I tapered off metoprolol it was Christmas in July. I had so much energy I almost couldn't stand myself. Good luck with your ablation; you've the best EP doing it.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: uncomfortable chest movements - 10 years ago

Would not one of your care providers be willing to have you try a mild anti-anxiety medication to see if the chest spasms go away. OTOH, if you believe anxiety causes the spasms, what can you alone do to reduce the anxiety. That would seem to be a viable approach, particularly if you want to avoid medication. Yoga? Meditation? Am way out of my field now.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: uncomfortable chest movements - 10 years ago

What do your PCP and/or cardiologist say? Were I in your shoes I'd be ringing up one or both of them for an appointment. Sorry, but anecdotes from any forum wouldn't satisfy me. YMMV.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Cardiologist appointment - 10 years ago

Hello Joyce, welcome! Since it's your first visit to a cardiologist I believe you're off on the right foot having everything you think necessary about your medical history at your finger tips. IMO, what you want to do is establish a strong communication relationship with the doctor. Be certain he responds to your questions in words you understand. Do not let him/her brush off questions

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Round 2... - 10 years ago

Based on my gut reaction, and there's no jolt to this, I agree with wolfpack's dose recommendation for the taurine. Jackie recommended the same to me. The 1,000 mg capsules I originally purchased ( looking at total daily dosage) are apparently too much at one time for my heretofore cast iron stomach.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Coffee and pop - 10 years ago

Dr. Natale told me at my office visit prior to my ablation procedure that caffeine was not a culprit. I had been off the stuff for years after my cardiologist suggested I dump it after an ECV. I just can't bring myself to try it again. Am probably just superstitious.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Round 2... - 10 years ago

Hi Robert -- just a little humor here because I've been down your road a number of times with the multiple jolt routine. I don't believe they hit you with volts, but did with joules. FWIW, I began Doctor's Best Chelated Magnesium, 400 mg 2X/day with meals, after my recent ablation and am tolerating it very welll with no green apple quick step. Good luck!

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Should I be cardioverted 13' days before my ablation with Dr. Natale.? - 10 years ago

How long have you been out of NSR? My AF went persistent on 6/19 after two cardioversions, mid-March and mid-April didn't last. My procedure with Dr. Natale was scheduled for 8/18 so I just rode it out. He had to cardiovert me twice during the procedure and finally isolated my LAA. The two cardioversions did leave me feeling sort of like I'd been kicked in the chest by a mule for about

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: 3 month after ablation update - 10 years ago

You can't argue with The Maestro.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: 3 month after ablation update - 10 years ago

Wow! Eliquis plus aspirin! I thought that was a no-no. I'm probably old school because aspirin with wasfarin was definitely out.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: 3 month after ablation update - 10 years ago

Have you been on Coumadin at all? I was on it for 12 years and although I tolerated it well I also had two TIAs when on it, details unimportant here. The INR monitoring was the biggest pain with it but much of that was before home monitoring systems. When my cardiologist suggested I look into Pradaxa in 2012 I jumped at the opportunity and also tolerated it well except for the twice a day routine

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: I think I know, but . . . - 10 years ago

I began using Doctor's Best 100% Chelated Magnesium after my ablation last month and the bottle has an April 2019 expiration date on it. That's seems like excellent shelf life to me.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Defining Ablation Success - 10 years ago

I was fortunate enough to have Dr. Natale do Round 1 on me and he did isolate the LAA. Why? During the confirmation protocol after isolating the four PVAI the ticker went back into AFL twice and he had to cardiovert me each time so he went ahead and isolated it. I'm now in week three of the blanking period and will have a TEE at my six month follow up to determine amongst other things the ne

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Not able to cardio era because of blood clot - 10 years ago

Pamela - Dr. Natale did an ablation procedure on me recently. We flew from NC to Austin and rented a car. TCAI provided me with a list of hotels that you can find at the link - TCAI Hotel Information. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Austin Midtown and found it very clean and reasonable with the discount St. David's negotiated with the hotel. The hotel is just a couple of miles from St. David&#

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Defining Ablation Success - 10 years ago

We all hope to be one and done but I think it unrealistic, given the vagaries of the malady, to ignore the fact that a "touch up" might be necessary. Isn't it more realistic for the the EP to forewarn a patient? When I sat across from one of the best in the world and he told me there might be a need for a second procedure down the road I just accepted it as reality and, as with mu

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Defining Ablation Success - 10 years ago

As part of my recent rf ablation by Dr. Natale I was asked to consider volunteering in a study, AF DECAF II, he is conducting to determine if there is a possible genetic predisposition that could determine whether certain previously identified genetic variants play a role in the outcome of AF ablation. Another fire and forget opportunity, donating a little blood, to help advance medical science.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Need Tooth Extraction, But... - 10 years ago

There's no MD after my name but here goes. IMO the oral surgeon may be confusing the medication withdrawal time of warfarin with that of the newer oral anticoagulants. The half life of Xarelto is on the order of five to nine hours. You can find exact information at this link.https://www.xareltohcp.com/dosing-and-administration/nonvalvular-atrial-fibrillation.html For my recent ablation Dr

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Defining Ablation Success - 10 years ago

I know Shannon probably has the most commonly accepted criteria for success but it's one of the sticky ones that appears to be subject to individual EP determination. Obvious to me anyway is NSR without resort to antiarrhythmia drugs is the gold standard. For how long, I don't know. I've been told by Dr. Natale that a "touch up" might be necessary after a year and I'

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Fresh Back From Austin - Just Blanking Along (a might long) - 10 years ago

Thank you, Pamela. Good luck with the cardioversion and I hope you can get on The Maestro's schedule quickly.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Fresh Back From Austin - Just Blanking Along (a might long) - 10 years ago

Hello! I introduced myself briefly on the "How Much Vitamin D vs. Magnesium" thread several weeks ago. Fresh back from Austin and an ablation procedure by Dr. Natale I thought I would offer a personal perspective of how that portion of my life's journey with AF/AFL went for me. Please recognize that my experience is individual and should in no way be construed to be recommended

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Need advise on 4th ablation - 10 years ago

If you had Dr. Natale do the last one and if your finances can take the hit, how can you argue against having him do another ablation on the only heart you have? It's a no-brainer in my book. I'm fresh out of his EP lab, in the blanking period now, and would never trust my main drive pump to a second stringer.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Need for Blood Thinners - 10 years ago

I don't know about any research but if you sleep heavily you could go into AF and not know it. IMO discontinuing Pradaxa on you own is playing with dynamite. Once a clot begins to form anticoagulants are not clot busters so you could be out of luck. DO NOT stop taking Pradaxa unless your prescriber tells you it's safe to do so.

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Angry with myself over Perm A/fib - 10 years ago

I understand where you're coming, from mostly from my wife's excruciating experiences with RA and how it has wrecked her feet and hands. Her surgeon, one of the best in the country and the foot and ankle specialist for one of the NFL teams, told her once, "There's no condition that surgery can't make worse." That's why medicine is really a mixture of art and sci

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: anxiety? Stress? - 10 years ago

My cardiologist put me on propafenone, metoprolol, and warfarin fifteen plus years ago. I was a runner and long distance bicyclist and the metoprolol took away every desire to do any kind of exercise. I put up with that and fought it for six months and told the cardiologist the metoprolol had to go. He tapered me off it over three weeks and it was like Christmas in July; I was reborn. Never looke

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Is Saw Palmetto safe for Affibers? - 10 years ago

Not to be a parade rainman but a good number of years ago I took saw palmetto for prostate health for several years. My PSA was always, like yours, always very good and I eventually gave it up after reading several articles that said there was no definitive value in it for prostate health. I've not read of a peer reviewed double blind randomized study that showed it is effective but may have

by JayBros - AFIBBERS FORUM