EP Study + Ablation

[sian333]

Hi there.

On 1st September I am having an EP study and an ablation.

I am really nervous.

My Electrophysiologist said with my type of tachycardia / heart issue, I'd be best to be completely awake and not sedated at all.

He was brutally honest with me, and I have to commend him for that. He said the burning of the cells will hurt and I will feel it. He said the needle in my leg will hurt. He said I can change my mind at anytime and ask for full sedation if it's too much once I am in there. I really want to tough it out though so there's more of a possibility of curing this.

There's a lot going through my mind.

Is there anyone out there who can give me positive [please only positive] feedback on their ablation?

The one thing I'm nervous about is feeling the burning. I'm scared I will have a reflex and jolt, and stuff everything up, causing serious problems.

What is the pain like? Has anyone out there stayed 100% awake during their ablation?

Thanks so much for your time. : ]

[sian333]

Thanks so much : ]

I am really happy you hear you are SVT free!

Great stuff.

I will report back after the procedure.

All the best!

[mabebesc]

Hi,  
I had an ablation done for AVNRT 2 years ago.  It was a piece of cake. I was awake for the entire procedure which only lasted about 2 hours.  When they inserted the catheter in my right groin, I just felt a little pressure. The ablation felt like a very mild burning-no big deal at all. When it was all over, I couldn't believe I had made myself so nervous for nothing.
The ablation changed my life.  I am now free of SVT .  I would go through the whole thing again in a heartbeat (pardon the pun)! It was the absolute best thing I could have ever done for  myself. My advice to you is feel great that you've made the decision to have this done-you will be so happy you did. Good luck!

[sian333]

You're right, thanks so much.

I don't want to chicken out in my mind and I know I have to go through with it to get the answers and results I need.

Thanks for all of your support.

I will keep everyone posted : ]

Thanks again. I can do it!

[Darlingorla]

Sian - you can do it - Debbier and I both did it without sedation - no problem, you are more likely to get the outcome you want.  It is a relatively simple procedure, quite painless (I did not feel any burning, and the groin numbing was painless), you just have to get your head around it,  ...

Luv, K

[sian333]

Thanks so much for all of your replies : ]

I really appreciate it.

Debbier: Thank you for the words of encouragement. I am sure I can do it : ] They said exactly what you said, that it would be much easier to provoke if I am not sedated and I would get a better result. I am glad to hear your procedure went well and I hope you're feeling great now : ]

Ireneo: They said they will numb my groin area, but I won't get a twilight sedative, unless of course I change my mind and ask for it. But I'm going to tough it out : ]

Candi: Thank you very much : ] Glad to hear you're healing well. I am very thankful for this forum because there are some really supportive people on here. Thanks again.

I am now feeling a lot better about it and am really excited to get it done. I am praying it will change my life.

I will keep everyone posted : ]

Bless. x

[candi65]

ooops forgot to say I was sedated completely..Could be the reason I never felt anything. Ablated for Afib and pvcs.  We are still here for you ,asleep or awake.

[candi65]

I had ablation surgery in April. Never felt a thing and am healing well. We are here for you.

[ireneo]

I've had 3 ablations. I don't see why they can't give a small shot in the groin to numb the area while they insert the catheters. That's not a systemic thing and shouldn't affect your heart rhythm at all.

As for doing the ablation without medication, I've never understood that either. They map the heart's electrical activity first. They may want you to be non-medicated for that so the heart doesn't "relax" too much. Once they map it all out, then they can do the ablation portion. That's when a little pain medication would be handy.

During my first ablation they were kind of light on the fentanyl. At first I did feel the ablating but to me it felt like a lot of pressure on my chest, going right out the back. It wasn't horrible but it didn't feel great. They noticed I was responding to that and gave me more meds. That's the last thing I remember.

The whole procedure sounds a lot worse than it is.

[debbier]

I had an ablation in January for Afib and SVT with no sedation.  My ablation lasted approx 1 hour.  The initial needle in the groin area was not too bad after that I did not feel any pain.   When they were ablating I felt burning it hurt more as they got deeper but nothing that made me scream in extreme pain.  I did wish my anesthiologost was there to give me something on the last burn but I made it through and glad I did.  Without any sedation or pain meds my arrythmias were easy to provoke and made the procedure faster.  The staff is usually very comforting and made me relaxed and at one point had me laughing.   Its a scary thought but you can do it.  I was in panic attacks all week before my procedure and I thought I was going to jump off the table, I was crying in the waiting room. I was brought into lab and I was fine because I was with a great staff and competent dr.   Try not to stress about the no drug part, if I can do it anyone can and know they will be on standby to drug you up if necessary.

[mlb16]

I was totally sedated when I had my done in February. I don't think being awake or being sedated would have anything to do with curing it. I had it done for A-fib and the doctor got it going real easy to ablate it.