Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 , Can you refer me to a clinical study that has concluded that a/fib will worsen after an EP study? I am considering one and am interested in your comments about the risk. Greg > Interesting that they didnt want to provoke AF while they did the EP study; > Its common practice in the U.S. to actually provoke AF in order to determine > the " foci " or origin. That might be changing here, but its still > predominantly the method; Thats one reason why I am so scared of having one > done; I am afraid that the mere act of triggering AF, even in a clinical > setting, will cause further AF episodes; Whats worse, if they cant find a > foci or origin of the AF, then the heart is more likely to fibrillate after > an EP study than before, and no foci were in fact found. > ablation > > > > i was told before my ablation 1 in 5ooo was the death risk during > the study.My ablation was unsuccessful but AF is better as they internally > cardiovert you,they do not want to put you into AF but just want to show > ectopics.My AF is slower now after it and i am on a lower dose of beta > blockers. Stuart > > > > > > Web Page /group/AFIBsupport > > Afibbers Database- http://www.dialsolutions.com/af > > To Unsubscribe send an email to: AFIBsupport- unsubscribeegroups > > Daily digest mode: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- digestegroups > > Individual emails: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- normalegroups > > Read on web only: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- nomailegroups > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 Glad to hear that they dont deliberately provoke an outright episode of AF like they still do in some hospitals in the states; However, it does appear that EP studies per se, as a first line of diagnosis for AF are waning; Do you find the metoprolol of any help? You can ask your doctor to increase the dosage; You can go as high as 400 mg; That might restrain the tachycardia; Take care ablation > Sandy i am in chronic AF since coming off amiodarone for 10 months now ,i am on metoprolol 100mg a day.My pulse goes slow then bursts for a few seconds not too fast.I had my ablation at st georges London under Dr Rowland the same specialist as Codling ,who met there he is looking great on dofetilide.Also i was told ectopics are the trigger points if you ablate them then AF cannot start.They must see ectopics increase your heart first! > > > Web Page /group/AFIBsupport > Afibbers Database- http://www.dialsolutions.com/af > To Unsubscribe send an email to: AFIBsupport-unsubscribeegroups > Daily digest mode: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-digestegroups > Individual emails: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-normalegroups > Read on web only: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-nomailegroups > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 I will look that up for you!! There have been several studies claiming that unproductive EP studies will causing " idiopathic " AF to become worse; Its controversial though, not all specialists agree with that statement; I will get back to you on this; ablation > > > > > > > i was told before my ablation 1 in 5ooo was the death risk > during > > the study.My ablation was unsuccessful but AF is better as they > internally > > cardiovert you,they do not want to put you into AF but just want to > show > > ectopics.My AF is slower now after it and i am on a lower dose of > beta > > blockers. Stuart > > > > > > > > > Web Page /group/AFIBsupport > > > Afibbers Database- http://www.dialsolutions.com/af > > > To Unsubscribe send an email to: AFIBsupport- > unsubscribeegroups > > > Daily digest mode: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- > digestegroups > > > Individual emails: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- > normalegroups > > > Read on web only: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport- > nomailegroups > > > > > > > > > > Web Page /group/AFIBsupport > Afibbers Database- http://www.dialsolutions.com/af > To Unsubscribe send an email to: AFIBsupport-unsubscribeegroups > Daily digest mode: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-digestegroups > Individual emails: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-normalegroups > Read on web only: Send a blank message to AFIBsupport-nomailegroups > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2001 Report Share Posted May 14, 2001 > R., > Thanks for your support. What kind of ablation are you having? This > is day 5 of being off the Sotalol. What an experience coming off the > medication has been. I wish they would have warned me. I had such a > terrible migrane on Sunday and cramps in my legs and nausea. I was > very sick! And since Sunday night my heart has started beating very > fast, even at rest, 80 -100bpm sitting at rest and 110 standing at > rest. When I walk or do anything it jumps up to over 120bpm. It is > staying in sinus rhythm though. My GP (family doctor) says she > thinks it is just a reaction to coming off the Sotalol. Anyone else > have any reactions when they have had to come off the meds? Hi, Diann, I am thinking good thoughts for you. It was going cold turkey off meds for five days before a medical procedure last October that coincided with my first (as far as I know) afib problem, possibly due to ativan withdrawal. You can bet I am veryyyyyy cautious to go off meds slowly now, provided my doc says okay. I am tapering down on toprol myself, I had been on 12.5 mg in the am and the same in the pm. I have cut the evening dose in half and plan to stay at that for a couple of weeks and see if things are okay, and, if so, reduce the am in half, etc. I based this on having found something on the net that says beta blockers reach their max effect on blood pressure in 1-2 weeks. I think a lot of docs are uninformed or not cautious enough about the effects of meds. Trudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2001 Report Share Posted May 15, 2001 Hi Diann - I was taken off 1/2 of the Sotolol I was taking. about two years ago. The doctor took me off of it in order to obtain more ectopic beats and other such phenomenon in order to establish what kind of AF I had. Strangely enough, I had less strange beats off of the sotolol than I had on it. From this and the 30 day monitoring the Doc came to the conclusion that I had vagally mediated atrial fibrillation, and that I shouldn't have been on that medication in the first place. So, after the 30 days I was gradually weaned off of the remainder. Now, I am usually not on any drugs, and it is way way better. Dorean << > R., > Thanks for your support. What kind of ablation are you having? This > is day 5 of being off the Sotalol. What an experience coming off the > medication has been. I wish they would have warned me. I had such a > terrible migrane on Sunday and cramps in my legs and nausea. I was > very sick! And since Sunday night my heart has started beating very > fast, even at rest, 80 -100bpm sitting at rest and 110 standing at > rest. When I walk or do anything it jumps up to over 120bpm. It is > staying in sinus rhythm though. My GP (family doctor) says she > thinks it is just a reaction to coming off the Sotalol. Anyone else > have any reactions when they have had to come off the meds? Hi, Diann, I am thinking good thoughts for you. It was going cold turkey off meds for five days before a medical procedure last October that coincided with my first (as far as I know) afib problem, possibly due to ativan withdrawal. You can bet I am veryyyyyy cautious to go off meds slowly now, provided my doc says okay. I am tapering down on toprol myself, I had been on 12.5 mg in the am and the same in the pm. I have cut the evening dose in half and plan to stay at that for a couple of weeks and see if things are okay, and, if so, reduce the am in half, etc. I based this on having found something on the net that says beta blockers reach their max effect on blood pressure in 1-2 weeks. I think a lot of docs are uninformed or not cautious enough about the effects of meds. Trudy Web Page http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFIBsupport For more information: http://www.dialsolutions.com/af Post message: AFIBsupport Subscribe: AFIBsupport-subscribe Unsubscribe: AFIBsupport-unsubscribe List owner: AFIBsupport-owner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2001 Report Share Posted May 15, 2001 Diane, yes I had the same reaction coming off Solatol, did not like that med. Hang in there Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2001 Report Share Posted May 15, 2001 I have gone off Sotalol, Rythmol and Amiodarone without any negative effects. Indeed the results were all positive - I felt better than when I was on them. Greg > R., > Thanks for your support. What kind of ablation are you having? This > is day 5 of being off the Sotalol. What an experience coming off the > medication has been. I wish they would have warned me. I had such a > terrible migrane on Sunday and cramps in my legs and nausea. I was > very sick! And since Sunday night my heart has started beating very > fast, even at rest, 80 -100bpm sitting at rest and 110 standing at > rest. When I walk or do anything it jumps up to over 120bpm. It is > staying in sinus rhythm though. My GP (family doctor) says she > thinks it is just a reaction to coming off the Sotalol. Anyone else > have any reactions when they have had to come off the meds? > > Wishing everyone NSR for ever, > Diann P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2001 Report Share Posted May 23, 2001 HI a Welcome to the group. I am sorry to hear about your troubles over the past years. Let me put your mind to rest about AF, its not life threatening but can make you feel really poorly. There are lots of causes to AF. High blood pressure Thyroid problems Drug and drink abuse(not that I am suggesting this) Heart surgery And the plain old we don't know. Termed as Lone AF. The first this to do is to try and find a good Dr that looks after people like us with AF. He is called an Electro physiologist (EP). You can find a name by looking at http://www.naspe.org/ <http://www.naspe.org/> There is another good site at www.cardima.com <http://www.cardima.com> This is a company that is trying to help sufferers of Afib with ablations using catheters. This is a particularly good site as they have a web page showing what goes wrong with our hearts when they go into AF. As I understand it from your mail you have had Afllutter, this is treatable, then this has progressed to A/fib. This is usual I also believe and correct me if I am wrong you have had an ablation of the AV node? If this is correct you have been fitted with a Pacemaker.??? The big problem with Afib is only been taken seriously in the last few years by our friends in the medical business. It would be an idea to just go over a little about your self and what has been happening to you over the last years and what medical treatments you have had. We have all done this in the past . By the way I am in the UK but do not let this put you off as most of the board is in the USA. About me. I have suffered with Af from 1995 age 44. I have had every drug there is to give with the exception of Beta blockers I have just returned from France for an ablation with Prof Haissagurre and will not know for another month is this is going to work out.. I am taking Dofetilide 250mcr x 2 perday Wafarin 5mg per day Thyroxin due to amiodaone I live with my wife Tania in Hornchurch Essex about 22 miles from London. One last thing I have not touched on your thyroid as there is great interest on this board for this subject and I will leave this to others wiser than me. Regards C Hope that helps a little and welcome to the group. ********************************************************************** This message may contain information which is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please advise the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments without retaining a copy. ********************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 Could someone tell how ablation is done and how long is the hospital stay. Does this procedure have to be repeated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 Well....here I am, at home, and trying to pull together some thoughts regarding the incidents of yesterday. I had a lot of hopes, mostly unrealistic, in retrospect. I knew ablation wasn't a " magic bullet " per se, but I expected I'd at least get a crack at the thing. No such luck. After hours of trying my doctor was apparently unable to locate a specific site to ablate. It was an interesting experience, to be sure. And relatively painless for the most part; even the pain numbing shots to the thigh and neck (neck? nobody said anything about the neck!) didn't hurt. The discomfort was another thing entirely though. I was cold and my back hurt, a pain which only got worse. Perhaps an incipient kidney infection complicated by lying on a cold table? And then I got REALLY sick... They had been pacing me successfully, which was rather neat to experience. I could feel and see my heart rate soar. I would've almost been totally facinated by it had I not felt so bad. Eventually they gave me some Phernagan (spelling?) to ease my growing nausea, and it seemed to help for a while. Then they gave me something else to try to induce the afib chemically (it ended in " bute " something -- sorry, but I was awfully out of it at the time!) which seemed to make things worse. The doctor ordered more Versed (spelling again?) and more Phernagan, but it was too little, too late, and you can guess the rest. I tossed not once, not twice, but four times. On an empty stomach, no less. Yeesh. I kind of drifted in and out for a little while after that. But I was eventually brought to full awareness when it was announced that I was in fact in full blown a-fib and that they were going to have to put me out totally in order to convert me by use of an internal defib device, something relatively new, I gather. Out I went, and when I woke up with my wife a while later, everything was over and I was asking what had happened. I was crushed when I learned that the procedure had failed. I still can't guess exactly why; my doctor seemed annoyed that he'd had to explain it to me three times. I guess it didn't occur to him that someone with a head full of versed and phernagan might be prone to some short term memory loss...! Anyway, I am at home now, nursing a sore next, leg, and chest, and wondering what will happen next. I am now on something called Amiodarone, which I know nothing about. And I am most puzzled as to why this failed. My wife tells me that the doctor says that my heart wasn't in a-fib long enough to map anything; if this is so, why then did I have to be converted, three times, no less? I guess I am just disappointed more than anything else. I will have to speak to the doctor, and a lot sooner than the " three months " he suggested as a time frame for the next appointment. I will let you know what I learn. If there's nothing that can be done, why, there's nothing that can be done, but I have a lot of questions I sorely need answered. But for now, I am well enough, and I guess I can't complain too awfully about that. Nobody said this was going to be a sure thing. And what the heck, it's another experience. Next time, if there is a next time, I will be better prepared. Dressed more warmly, for one thing!!! Reyome Lyles, Tennessee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 Hi , sorry to hear they were unable to find a focus to ablate. I don't wish to worry you but I suggest you do some research on amiodarone. It's a very good drug but does have a lot of bad side effects which should be taken into consideration before you start taking the drug. Have you had a breathing test? I had one before starting amiodarone because it can effect your lungs so they took some 'base line' measuring before I started - I'm pretty sure they took some blood tests as well. I hope you've also been warned about sun exposure - sensitive skin is a very common side effect. It took less than a year for amiodarone to give me thyrotoxcosis which I'm still trying to fix. I do not regret taking the drug because I was in a very big hole at the time and it did calm the AF down for me but I would suggest it's a drug of last resort. I would also suggest it's not a drug you want to be on for a long time. I'm not a doctor so please don't take my word for it but from what I've read it's the drug that gives the most problems - sadly it's also a drug the works great for AF so it's a tough decision! there's a few good links in the bookmarks section to get you started on your research (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFIBsupport/links) click on Medications then on Cordarone to get to the links all the best. -- Driscoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 , what a bummer. I have to wonder, from some of the things you said, if this is the right doc for you. He should have been sympathetic about the failure of the operation, and certainly aware of the effect of the medication on your short term memory afterwards. Just tossing you off with " three months " is dumb, IMHO. I would expect an appointment promptly so that he could go over what happened with you. A number of people in here have been on Amiodarone. It can have some really bad side effects - lung problems, thyroid damage, etc. I believe people on it have to be monitored closely. I am not suggesting that you discontinue it without med advice, but I sure would toddle in there and ask questions about it. The fact that the doc didn't discuss this with you is another reason I am concerned about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 Versed, I am just remembering, that was one of the meds they gave me when I had an endoscopy, etc. It took hours for me to begin to remember stuff, and a full day to really have my memory get back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 D.R., i'm awfully sorry to hear about your miserable experience. Hearing about the coldness and the nausea and the terrible disappointment makes me want to reach in there and give you a big, warm hug. I worry about your doc putting you on amiodarone and not telling you about it first so you could at least make an informed decision. Makes me wish you'd go see someone else in the field. I'm particularly sensitive to the medication thing since my cardiologist (emphasis on former) had me taking a beta blocker for AF that not only made my asthma worse, but the undiagnosed vagal AF worse, too (this went on for years before I got a clue). I really hate that things turned out the way they did for you -- I hope you will quickly recapture your wonderful sense of humor and resilient spirit and join your AF pals on the front line again soon. Sandy Re: Re: Ablation I suggest you do some research on amiodarone. there's a few good links in the bookmarks section to get you started on your research (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFIBsupport/links) click on Medications then on Cordarone to get to the links all the best. -- Driscoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2001 Report Share Posted May 31, 2001 Dear , sorry to hear about your experience. Doctor should have been more understanding and caring about your problems with the meds and he should have told you all side effects of everything. Hang in there. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2001 Report Share Posted July 12, 2001 HI hank, I wish you all the best wishes with this. I also had this procedure in May this year. If I may can I share this experience with you. I found that My chest was so sore and tight for the first three weeks I had trouble walking. It seemed to get much worse at night , I do not know why this is . After five weeks I started to get back to normal but still had pains in the chest back and left arm. I then found that I went into this strange rhythm , I thought was AF but turned out was Atrial ectopics. I went back on my normal Anti arrhythmic meds just to help my Heart heal. I went to my Ep today and he informed me after this type of ablation what ever the Rhythm appears in the first three weeks can be discounted as your heart is in such a shock. It has taken me at lest two months to come right with all this. My advice would be to take it easy for at least a month no lifting only short walks. Best regards C Hornchurch essex England This past monday I had my ablation done at Cleveland Clinic. (I had had two previous ablations which did not work done in Philadelphia.) For this ablation they used the lasso tip and it was performed by Drs. Tchou and Natale. They ablated all four pulmonary veins. Hank ********************************************************************** This message may contain information which is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please advise the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments without retaining a copy. ********************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2001 Report Share Posted August 1, 2001 This is Leo. I just received the results of the Holter which was done two weeks after the PVA. It shows no AF, but I did have 1600 PACs. However since the time I had the Holter, I've had a few episodes of it, so I am going to have a repeat Holter. Have any of you ever noticed a correlation between thinking about PACs/AF, while you are in sinus rhythm, and then shortly thereafter actually experiencing the feelings. It happens to me often when I feel good and think, wow I am feeling good, soon thereafter I will get an episode. Is it the awareness that sets them off, or is it something physiological, like maybe a chemical change is in the process of happening and alerts the brain first before it hits the heart. Sort of like the aura that epileptics, or migrainers experience. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2001 Report Share Posted August 2, 2001 Hi Leo, glad to hear no AF. I can relate to your experience. I was full of Doom and gloom when I thought I had AF. Now that they found the same as you only Ectopics. I do agree your whole perception of life does change and you feel good. Keep it up and I would only ask one favour. Can you fill in the ablation update on our web page. C England ********************************************************************** This message may contain information which is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please advise the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments without retaining a copy. ********************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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