Ablation question

[debbier]

I am having my ablation on Wednesday I am excited to get my life back but terrified at
the same time.

I keep reading that everyone goes home that day.  My dr makes you spend the night
and then he does another EP study in the morning to make sure he got everything.

Did you get drugs to keep you calm?   Did the drugs work.   I go for an EKG and my
nerves get my heart rate up tp 120's.  I am a high anxiety person.

Thanks
Debbie

[ireneo]

I've never had a tube in my throat for an ablation. It's not a surgery that requires complete anesthesia; it's a procedure with "conscious sedation." You still breathe on your own and can answer questions if asked. You won't remember the conversations but they can ask.

And there are different size tubes they can use. When I had my surgery, the anesthesiologist came in to check my mouth and throat for that very reason.

[TC93]

Each time my mother has had it done, she has stayed more than one night.  Mainly due to the fact she has spit up blood due to the breathing tube they put in her throat.  She has a very narrow throat.  

I think also its normal to have episodes of a fast/irregular heartbeat after having it done.  But it should get better after a while.  

[cindy707]

Hey i loved your post......you just about covered everything i forgot.  I only spent the nite as a pre cautionary thing....i agree 100% with you that it is extremely doubtful that you'll go back in debbier......its probably just as a safety measure and like Ireneo said it can take months to know if its completely gone.......

[ireneo]

I've had 3 ablations. The versed and fentanyl (for any pain) worked very well. I remembered bits and pieces the first few days and even those memories faded away. I was in and out the same day each time. I had 4 catheters put in, 2 on each side (femoral veins). No real problems with healing, just some bruising and tenderness. Even though I'm female I did wear boxers for a few days to keep any pressure off those areas.

I can't imagine the doctor would do an EP study and ablation and then run catheters up there again the very next day for another EP study. Did you understand him correctly? It takes weeks, even months to know for sure whether the ablation was a success. Not sure how he could tell the very next day.

In each of my ablations the doctor found the trouble spots, ablated here and there and then tried again to trigger my arrhythmias. The first time he thought he had it all fixed but they came back months later. The second time he tested and knew my arrhy's were still there. The third ablation he tested and although my tachy still fired off, it quit on its own pretty quickly and that's where I'm at now. Quite an improvement from before. So I'm finished with ablations.

[amiey2217]

I remembered my whole ablation. Every physician is different on how awake they want you during the procedure. Mine wanted me pretty awake so I could tell him if what he was doing was causing the feelings i feel with the palpitations. Also, everyone responds differently to the medication. Versed, the happy juice, can make some people really out of it, while others might not be so out of it. Either way, they will make sure you are comfortable and not caring too much about what is going on. The only uncomfortable part for me was when they cauterized the heart. I felt a lot of burning, but hear that this is not typical for people to feel. I also had to stay overnight to be monitored. It is kind of reassuring to be monitored so that you know that everything is ok when you go home. Good luck to you!

[cindy707]

Okay Debbier the flip side of the coin....my doc also had me spend the nite...which was fine with me and everything was great.  LBBBguy had his done a little differently i think.  The norm is that they tell you you're awake but you really aren't.  They no longer go thru the femoral arteries but now only the veins in one side of the groin area.  You're taken into one room first where they prep you, I.V., a little shaving of the area where they go into the vein and then give you happy juice so that you relax, take you to the O.R. and tell you that they are going to give you what they call amnesia medicine and you won't remember a thing i swear until you are out of the procedure.  I had a heck of a time remembering things off and on for a couple of days after.  I didn't remember the procedure, didn't feel a thing.  You have to remember that mine was very very complicated because my heart decided to rebel against the doctor and he said i was the most challenging case he ever had after 1500+ procedures so of course it would happen to me.....LBBBguy is right that it could take up to 6 months for your heart to remember what it was before the problems ever started and most people notice a diff. right away.  When he said 2 to 4 weeks of healing i am assuming that they went into his femoral artery and there is what is called a plug that is put in after for a short period of time but most docs don't go that way anymore because they just go thru a vein and voila! same thing.  If you remember anything about the procedure being done i'll be shocked as heck....you'll be fine debbier and you'd better post to let all of us know how you are....you're going to be a new person with a heart that does exactly what its supposed to and your testimonial will be great for others on this site on how easy it was and that you had nothing to be afraid of.......good luck Wednesday and if you have any more questions ask away!!!!

[LBBBguy]

It's really no big deal. I know it's our hearts we're talking about fooling around with, and to be honest, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, but it's really quite easy. The drugs work pretty well. I was awake, but pretty sedate when I got mine done. There's a bit of a pinch when they put in the catheter, but that's about it for any pain involved. I felt a bit of the burn in my chest, but it wasn't bad at all. Just a bit of a strange sensation.

The biggest part of recovery at first is the catheter wounds, which takes a good 2-4 weeks to heal. Then some people take up to six months before their heart really feels "normal" again, and that can be a bit frustrating, but for most it doesn't take nearly that long.

Honestly, it's not bad at all.