My experience was the same as susan.d’s—a push works much better than a drip, but since it is not an antiarrythmic, it also may not work at all. If you have to go again, you could request that they give you an antiarrythmic.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteNana Thank you, I'm going to suggest clonidine to the doctor, it's used off label for afib and anxiety, might just be my problem solver, thanks for the info Clonidine can be a difficult drug to tolerate for some. I tried it for problems with my autonomic nervous system and it turned me into a zombie! Actually, since it increases the parasympathetic aspect of the nervous system anby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Cold food and drinks stimulate the vagus nerve and if your Afib is vagally triggered, which is quite common, they can be a problem. Same with cold for showers, dipping your face in cold water etc.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just personal history: I took antiarrythmics for 6 years, requiring increasing doses which meant more side-effects until I finally got a very serious side-effect from the high dose. The meds became less effective until by the time my ablation came around I was getting episodes most every day. By that time I had become a complicated case requiring an extensive ablation including LAA isolation. Theby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Very sorry about your Dad and the stress of your husband’s upcoming surgery. And yes, this could definitely affect your Afib. Have you considered asking your doctor for a short term medication to help with stress until you get through this critical period? Also since you’re going to be seeing a new cardiologist (is it an EP, a doc who specializes in heart rhythm?) why not ask to try a low dose ofby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteBrian Thank you so much for the replies. Hi daisy, I was wondering if you had paid for the ablation through global heart? No, I live in the States and my insurance, Medicare, paid every penny. Sorry that your circumstances are different.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi, sorry about your situation with Afib, but I have never heard of D Ribose having any effect on it at all. As far as cardioversion, are you taking an anticoagulant? They will not do an electrical conversion unless you have been on one for about three weeks. Otherwise they would have to do a transesophageal echocardiogram to check for clots. They would probably do a chemical conversion though thby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
There are numerous devices that stimulate the vagus nerve and some of them are medically approved. Some use a tens machine with a clip attached to the tragus of the ear. The most sophisticated one I am aware of is the Parasym device, though it is expensive. It is a medically approved device with a lot of research. I was interested in it and recently contacted them as many such devices are not suiby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDovewing wonderful story...wish all were..thank u...reason i ask is that wolf mini maze aserts 95%...long term no fib...thats with many persistent ...but true who u take on skews it...thanks Yes, and people are using different parameters, not taking into account things like whether it is a simple first time PVI ablation or someone who is long-term persistent with multiple ablations behindby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone Sorry, I didn't phrase #2 correctly. What I meant to ask was after LAA isolation, how often does the follow up TEE suggest some sort of extra clot protection will be needed moving forward, be it thinners, Watchman, etc. Assuming a low CHADS score. Jim In my experience, Natale's process on this has changed--at least it was different for me and another patient whoby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone Thanks. Just to clarify, are you saying that after LAA isolation, either continuous anticoagulation or a Watchman is required 3/4 of the time -- regardless of your CHADS score, afib frequency, etc -- and simply because your LAA performance has deteriorated because of the isolation? Jim 3/4 of the time is a rough estimate from what I hear from others, but yes, about 3/4 of theby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Natale is incredibly good at finding the source of arrhythmias. And while he uses GA for the important reasons Carey mentioned, he is selective in the meds used—for instance if you usually take something like a benzo, you are asked not to take it or other sedating drugs the day before the ablation. The GA is induced with meds that he feels won’t interfere. He is so careful about every step of theby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
For first ablations it would be uncommon for the source to be the LAA unless you were a complex case as I was. In fact most of the time the source will be the pulmonary veins and that will take care of it. As far as how often after LAA isolation you will require either full dose Eliquis – which cannot be stopped for even a day—or a Watchman, from what I have heard it’s about 3/4 of the time. In mby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone Since you've used him, what is the story with the LAA isolation? Is this something he routinely does for touch up ablations? I ask because my understanding is that it would then require an LAA closure device like Watchman, something not sure I want now. As Carey said, he doesn’t do it routinely at all. In my case, he isolated my LAA during my index ablation as I was a compby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone Post procedural pericarditis is quite common according to my ep nurse and some ep's actually use an anti-inflammatory like Colchicine prophylactically. I was given a short course of Colchicine after my ablation and told to take it easy. I did see a study somewhere saying that those treated with Colchicine had slightly better ablation outcomes. This may have been irrespectiveby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteBrian Hi, it is just the Afib Ablation by Dr. Andrea Natale in Texas. Hi Brian, good choice on Natale. He did my ablation and the whole hospital experience was really impressive—absolutely nothing could have gone better. Each person there does their job with care and skill. I’m not sure how you would go about this, but have you thought of appealing to Dr. Natale to try to negotiate a loweby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteFibberMcGee I met with my EP yesterday. I have been needing a second touch up ablation and was hoping the pulsed field ablation would be a good thing for me. My EP said that the pulsed field ablation is not specific enough for the fine tuning and site specifics needed for a second ablation. Well, that isn't great! Any one else have more information?by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMeganMNThe doctor is thinking it is related to the nocturnal increase in vagal tone and nocturnal variations in potassium/calcium/sodium responses that is the culprit, although there is little consensus in what to do about it Here is a thought—I have Dysautonomia and saw an automatic specialist for years. Testing showed very high vagal tone. He prescribed Strattera which increases norepiby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
How fast is your flutter? When I used to have Afib/Flutter with high ventricular rates, my chest would ache or feel beat up for a day or two and then it would go away. I did not experience this once I was on medications that kept the rate down.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Before going into an ablation with any EP, be sure to ask how many he/she has done and particularly how many they have done on patients with persistent Afib. You want to hear many thousands!by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemike111 3. Is it reasonable to assume that ablation would eventually allow me to get off the medications? (FWIW, I'm pretty much 0 on CHAD-VASC) I do think that you are trying to think this through to a level that is not helping you. There is a good chance of getting off meds with an ablation but not so much unless you go to one of the top tier EPs who specialize in people with a hisby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteGeorgeN Natale normally reserves work on isolating the left atrial appendage (LAA) till ablation #2 as LAA isolation has a 60% risk of requiring lifetime anticoagulation or placement of a Watchman device (or similar) - LAA isolation isn't the only thing he may do in ablation #2.. True, though he isolated my LAA on my index ablation because I had both Afib and Aflutter and he couldnby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSwhanson I had ablation 2 months ago. I paid to travel to Austin to get Natale....it was worth it over the uncertain docs in the big hospital in my city. He is good and the hospital is good and his team is good. Despite that, he acknowledged that he didn't get one ectopic site - I will have to have a second procedure to resolve the atrial tachycardia that now I have daily. Some folks arby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Brian, your research and analysis is impressive and that sets you up for good therapeutic outcomes. If it would be easy for you to be prescribed a “pill in the pocket,” that might be an interim step to get you out of this miserable cycle. Flecainide is the most common one—no more than 200 mg if you are under 154 lbs. no more than 300 is you are over. And if that doesn’t work, you might consideby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteGeorgeN People who are moderators aren't doing it for their health. They do it out of duty and good will. Such people tend to be busy with other pressures on them. Busy people can be terse, perhaps sounding abrupt, and maybe they rub some people the wrong way with their tone, but they're still the same people of good will who want to help, not to injure, and not to turn away.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetvanslooten I guess they do have some tolerances for some leaks. What did your first post Watchman TEE show, and has it changed at your 6 month check? Did they give you the size of the leak in mm? I just had my six month check, a TEE done locally. My local cardiologist said there were no leaks but I will be interested to see what Dr. Natale’s team has to say. I posted the following last Mby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming The link won't open for me. It opened for me in Chrome.by Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Same with my dermatologist. I caught his assistant once also making the mistake. Yes, any doc who injects lidocaine as the usual type contains epinephrine which reduces bleeding. How ever, I always ask for lidocaine without epinephrine and it is fine – even when I had a pacemaker implanted. They just have to inject you more frequently. Also, there is epinephrine in some of the droby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteTed S Deeply appreciate you sharing your experience with me. Very helpful. Any advice on how to identify the best available EPs in my area? Is there a data base or rating system specifically for ablations? There isn’t anything that’s reliable and objective, or at least comprehensive. But if you post your location and how far you’re willing to travel members will point you toward the closesby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
As others have said it is individual. Depends on how your symptoms manifest. For instance if your day requires driving and you are dizzy or some other symptom impairs your mental acuity, you’d want to give it a miss. With the dentist, watch out for injections as they contain epinephrine which can affect your heart rate. If you need an injection, ask for one without epinephrine—almost all dentistsby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM