Medication has stopped working

Hi Everyone:

The Calcium Channel Blocker that has given me my life back has stopped working.  For the past 5 days, I have been having frequent multifocal PVC's and it has been very difficult to work out.  Coincidentally, I saw an EP specialist this week and am now on the urgent list for an ablation.  I was told that I have an 80% chance of it being a success - they will know more when they get in there.  

So here's the question.  Is it common for the medication to not work anymore?  I cannot tolerate beta blockers (tough when you are a runner) and had a really good response to Cardizem.  Have only been on this drug for 5 months but it's the first time I've felt normal in a year.  I'd have the occasional day when the PVC's would rear their ugly heads but it was usually short lived. Now it's been 5 days.  Have any of you experienced this?  What was your outcome?

Thanks so much.

[jcatron]

How many PVC's are you having in a day that would warrant an ablation?  I wore a holter monitor back in March and had 3400 single beat pvc's, 9 pac's of which 2 were a couplet.  That to me is enough to want an ablation.
From my research it is not uncommon for medication to lose it's therapy over time.

[mommyto4]

hi there, the reason i finally gave in and had my ablation was that my verapamil was just not cutting it
i took 180mg daily for about a year(once dose was settled) during past 6months, pvc's increased, i had about 10-20 extra beats per minute, some minutes, anyway i did the ablation 2 wks ago, don't know if it was successful yet, docs are optimistic!!
good luck
let us know!
maria

[PVC man]

Wow that IS a lot per minute--I know that I sometime s am over the 3400 mark but my cardiologist is not concerned with the number and I just am trying to get used to it without the ablation...I'm kind of a chicken and I DO have a lot of good days...

But at 10-20 minute every day I would have to do SOMETHING or they would have to tie me to a tree....mommyto4 I give you a WORLD of credit...my 5-10 per minute sometimes make me nutty.

I had EXCELLENT control with Atenolol 25 for years and this year they came back with a vengence.  I'm not upping the B-blocker although my cardio suggested it.

I think my next step might be to ask foe a mild sedative-hypnotic like phenobarbital which worked well for me in my teens...it CAN be a habit forming drug so I probably will ask for a low dose...I'm just familiar with it from my experiences about 20 years ago.

Hope your ablation worked perfectly!!!  Please let us know!!!

[sueinns]

Thank you for your comments.  I could live with the PVC's, for the most part, if they didn't affect a very important part of my life.  Although I also have them after eating and frequently for no reason, exercise makes them intolerable.  The difference is the dizziness.  My heart is all over the place and I feel like I'm going to pass out sometimes during and for about an hour after working out.  Almost anything that gets my heart rate up causes this and it is very frustrating and scary.

Mommyto4, I have read where some people have found the procedure painful.  My doctor told me that while this is true, it is not the norm.  What did it feel like to you?  Also, have you been having an easing of the frequency of your extra beats post-ablation?

[mommyto4]

sueinss......i don't wan't to scare you.....like pvc man said, i was chicken too, lol, and i am a nurse,lol.that is probably why i didn't want to do it as i know toooo much...
ok that being said, pain was not a concern of mine, i opened my BIG mouth and actually said as he was cutting my femoral vein"i can take pain i had all 4 kids induced with pitocin and didn't take any drugs or epidural.......WELL...long story short, it was a 3 hr procedure(he guessed 2)...and in the beginning it was ok, but let me tell you they had my heart going soooooooo fast and soooo irratic, i actually said(because i was STILL wide awake)'EXCUSE ME THE ENTIRE TABLE IS SHAKING' and he said" yes we are doing that to you"!!! ok fine, but then OMG the worst pain ever.......from my right shoulder across chest and it was like 50 bricks got logded into my left shoulder.i cried out for help and they gave me versed(not a painkiller)
ok i could go on and on..they finally gave me demerol, my point here is not to scare you
but to educate, since i did have to go through pain, YOU DON'T i would soooooooooooo talk to doc and actually discuss your worry of pain and MAKE SURE....they will give you stuff BEFORE they start
i have my f/u appt this tuesday and sue i am a VERY HAPPPY,SMILING PERSON most of time i am soooooo going to ask him straight out why did i have to experience that!!! esp when i heard that other places make patient sooo out of it BEFORE THEY START PROCEDURE!!
ok i am done babbling....i sooooo wish someone had told me about pain and maybe my experience wouldn't have been sooo crappy!!!
i do pray it worked after all this
i have some arrhythmia , not like before but it is still too early?
ok, i hope i didn't freak you out and this way you can make SUre you have a good'drugged up',lo experience, lol
ciao for now
maria

[sueinns]

Thank you Maria.  I am educating myself as much as I can.  I worked for 20 years in the health field (health record analyst) and although my job was more paperwork oriented, I knew how things worked.  Interestingly, a friend of mine sent me a live webcast of an ablation procedure on a woman who has SVT, which I plan on viewing when I have a little more time.  I would post it here but I'm not sure that sort of thing is allowed because it's from another hospital.  If someone could clear that up for me, I will post the website.

[mommyto4]

wow that would be cool to see them fry the heart, lol!! humor helps, lol
and good for you educating yourself, again, i didn't even think there would be pain! crazy
maria

[mommyto4]

oh i forgot, there was an episode on 'house' with ablation but i missed it
you can play the old ones back, but i don't know the title or when it was on????

[sugarpea013]

I am very much interested in viewing an ablation video. I am on the fence as to whether or not I will undergo a sinus node modification/ablation. If you can send the link through a PM that would be awesome!

[whatayear]

yes please post that that I would love to see that!

[sueinns]

Whatayear, do you know if I'm allowed to post that kind of thing here?

[Momto3]

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the "contact us" link.  Someone from MedHelp can let you know if it's OK to post the link for the video (I hope so...).  

I ran into the same problem with the medication I was taking for pvcs (Inderal).  Over time, it lost its effectiveness.  I was taking it for symptomatic relief from the pvcs, so I did not necessarily have to be on it.  I tried other beta blockers, but they did not work for me.  Anyway, after periods of being off of the Inderal, I was able to resume taking it, and it would work again (for awihle).  Eventually, I was able to take it as needed and that helped for quite awhile.  After years of having persistent pvcs, my EF dropped and I needed to take antiarrythmics.  Those worked very well at supressing the pvcs, but I didn't like the side effects.  Is antiarrythmics an option for you?  

Once I decided I did not want to stay on the antiarrythmics, I had my first ablation for RVOT.  A holter a month or so later showed 6000 pvcs.  I was thrilled, but the doctor suggested a second procedure.  I had the second ablation for LVOT, and today, I have only occasional pvcs.  I was "out of it" for the EPS and for both ablations and only remember some discomfort toward the end of each procedure when the doctor was closing off the entry sites.  

[sueinns]

Thank you, Momto3.  I will definitely ask them.  It is a wonderful video for anyone contemplating ablation.  It is very educational and I had a lot of my questions answered.

My most bothersome symptoms are caused by the SVT.  It is next to impossible to get my heart rate up when they occur.  I get dizzy and feel like I'm going to faint.  The calcium channel blocker works, then it doesn't, and then it does.  When it works, I feel great but when it doesn't, it's pretty bad.   I cannot tolerate beta blockers.   Since I have multifocal (more than one spot) arrhythmias, my success rate for ablation is 80%.  Because of my symptoms of dizziness and faintness, I have to be on medications.  These only work some of the time so I am on the urgent list for the procedure.  

Glad to hear you made out well with your ablations.  I will definitely talk to the medical staff about proper pain relief prior to the procedure.

[Momto3]

I was also multifocal, so it can be done : )

Good luck!!

[paaljala]

has anyone been ablated for adrenergic atrial fibrillation ? is Cryoablation more successful than R F ablation ? sincerely Paul

[heart2222]

Here's an ablation video I found:

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18498398RtGTfkNa?h1=Atrial+Fibrillation+Ablation+Procedure

I gotta say, it made me more scared of the procedure!!

[heart2222]

Here's an ablation video I found:

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18498398RtGTfkNa?h1=Atrial+Fibrillation+Ablation+Procedure

I gotta say, it made me more scared of the procedure!!