Ablation for PVCS - scared to pieces!!!

[dmacd74]

Hi All!  Some of you might remember me from a while ago. I am scheduled for an ablation in Boston on November 26th.  I have been a very long suffering pvcer.  Basically I have been suffering for 15 years or so, but the last 4 have been brutal.  Finally I am going for the surgery and am looking forward to some relief.  I could use some encouragement and support.  I have so many concerns, from being a chubbette (stroke risk) to the burning pain in the chest that everyone speaks of.  I am worried about acquiring another more ominous arrhythmia in the process.  My doctor tells me that there is a 90% chance of cure.  My arrhythmia is unifocal and in only one area.  So worried.  Please read my profile for more information.  I think it is best for me not to write about all the details again.  I have had non stop pvcs now for over a year, with many days in bi and try geminy.  I have tried everything - meditation, yoga, toprol, anti anxiety meds, antacids, sleep study, no coffee, no tea, no chocolate, no almonds, no decaf, no fun etc. etc.  This is just the way my heart wants to beat.  I just had an echo yesterday, don't have the results yet. I had a holter and stress echo not too long ago.  Stress echo was ok, holter was bogus, leads were placed incorrectly and then the study was lost by the office staff (who cares, right?).  No longer go to that doctor!  So if anyone can give me a thumbs up and some encouragement I would appreciate it. Hope I am doing the right thing, but I want my life back.  I told my Electrophysiologist that the pvcs make me feel like a sick person even though I'm not.  I don't want to take walks with my husband, or go out and enjoy myself.  I don't feel good at the gym.  I just feel like crap all the time.  It's hard to bust through the pvcs and pretend that you are normal and you don't have a popcorn popper in your chest all the time.  Thanks for listening.....Debbie

[tom_h]

I think there comes a time when you have to take that risk for a better quality of life.  You're going to do fine! Beth Israel is a very good hospital too.  If you're amped up when you go in, mention it to them and they'll give you something to calm your nerves.  We'll be thinking of you Monday morning as we're driving back from Philadelphia.  It is a few days past my second anniversary of my EP study and ablation.  I believe it was a measured risk, and I'd make the same decision again.  I'm sire it will go well for you too!

[Mom2four85]

good luck and speedy recovery on your procedure; fingers crossed that it does like many others and alleviates your symptoms fully =)

let us know how it goes - if you get cold in the OR ask for a warming blanket; they may not offer it up front but I remembered someone telling me this before mine and so glad I asked

[merileegal]

I know you've suffered with this for a long time and I pray that you'll finally get some relief. This rythm thing is such a hard thing to deal with.

[dmacd74]

Thank you for writing.  Tom, we wrote a lot to each other last year as I am near enough to UMass that I could have gone there.  My doctor in RI has relocated to Beth Israel in Boston.  I have been seeing him for 10 years (except for a brief time when I got a second opinion from a Big Wig in another Boston hospital who just wanted to put me on Flecinade).  I hope I am doing the right thing.  My husband who is very logical and strong believes I am.  I can't bear to live the rest of my life thumping away.  The most pvcs I have had in a day is 17K.  If I have them, they are always tri and bi geminy, never one every 30 seconds, which I think I could learn to live with.  They only happen when my heart rate goes higher than 110, which happens at the gym and throughout a regular day.  Once they start at the gym or while running up and down my stairs during housework, they continue with a vengeance for at least the rest of the day if not for weeks and/or months.  This has been going on for almost 16 years or longer, but the last 4 years it has gotten worse and worse.  All heart tests come out normal and I have had every single one. No amount of Toprol has made a difference.  For 3 years I was on Rhythmol, which I loved, but my doctor made me get off of it.  Not one arrhythmia while on Rhythmol.  Toprol makes my heart rate go too low, makes me dizzy and gives me tinnitus.  I hate it, but I still take 50mg, but don't know why because it doesn't seem to help.  I also try to keep my diet really clean, not caffeine, not even decaf, no chocolate, no alcohol.  All of that is a small price if I could be pvc free, even for a day.

[mido55]

Just had an ablation for afib 4 days ago.It took over 5hours to complete.kept me one night at the hospital.I had a chest pain for a day .Pain killer took care of it.Bad bruise around the groin and upper thigh.Still feel weak but today is better than yesterday except I had a 10 minutes of abnormal palpitations .I was doing ok with medications but I went for ablation because I don't want take them for the rest of my life.It is your choice...I hope you come up with the right one.Please keep us updated.

[seaweib]

An ablation does sound like a scary thing.  But there are many, many ablation success stories on this site.  I've never had one so I cannot speak to the specifics of the procedure or recovery.  As an experienced PVCer, you've probably tried everything to get rid of them.  But, I would just make sure that you have truly tried every possible measure and approach the ablation as a true last resort.

For me, when my PVCs (PACs) begin to flare, I change my diet to where I eat very little and what I do eat is healthy.  Fruits, veggies and lean meat.  Very low sugar, low salt with no drinks at all other than water.  No fun as you pointed out, but for a PACer, anytime without PACs has become a fun time.  I always find that after changing to a diet like that, my PACs improve after a few days.  Just what works for me.

[tom_h]

If you want to get an idea of the procedure, the preparation, what it feels like, etc., please read the journals of user Jannie411.  Although hers was for SVT, yours will be similar.  Here's a link:http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/281881/Jannie411s-Ablation---Part-2---The-Actual-Ablation-Procedure--Pre-Ablation-Notes--and-Notes-for-the-Ladies
You can back or forward from there.

Which hospital in Boston are you having it done?  Donna4140 had her study done in Boston, I think it was Brigham's.

I think the thing that shook me up the most was signing the proxy form, who I wanted to make the decisions, if I wanted to be resuscitated, etc.  But by then it was too late to back out.  As far as pain: I've experienced post surgical pain that far exceded what you'll feel afterwards.  It's really not that bad.  You'll do fine!

[MichelleP_3811]

PVC ablations can be a bit more tricky to fix then a run of the mill svt but 90% sounds like pretty good odds to me.  Yes, there is the potential you could come out with a worse problem then when you started but you could also run the risk of potential congestive heart failure or something else with your high load of pvcs that you have tried everything under the sun to be rid of.  I kind of see in your case that either route may come with a bit of uncertainty.  The best advice I can give you is to sit with both options and listen to what you gut says.  Even in the midst of full on fear about doing my ablation I still had an underlying calm that it was the right thing for me to do so I know despite my brain being in fear I was making the right move for me.  So listen to your gut, one avenue will like feel more calming and the other may give you a bit of agitation and apprehension so go with the route that gives you the most calm and you can't go wrong.  The pain you will feel after the ablation may or may not be a bit strong but it is only temporary so I wouldn't let that stop me from doing the ablation if it is going to give my heart a better chance at staying healthy but the decision whether or not the ablation is right of you is only one you can make and your inner being knows which is right.  So find some quiet and let your gut speak to you.  Take care, I wish you the best whichever road you choose to take.  Please do keep us posted on how you are doing.