Why do I feel worse than ever 17 days post cardiac ablation?

[LucyB94]

About two years ago, I woke up with a strange sensation in my stomach. It was I could feel my heart pounding near my navel along with chest pain and pain down my left arm. This was the first of many ER visits. Each time, they would find I was having between 16- 20 PVCs per minute. The episodes would usually end with tachycardia and my body shaking all over. At first, the episodes were very sporadic. Over time, they were happening daily. Many tried to tell me it was just stress. I am a nurse, so I knew better. The weird part is it is very positional. Lying down always aggravates the condition. None of the cardiologists want to listen to that though. Needless to say, I got talked into an ablation. I'm 17 days out, and I feel so much worse. I had to return to the ER the day I was released from the hospital for extreme nausea, chest pain, and headache. EKG was normal except...that's right..PVCs. It took two different drugs to make the nausea go away. Doctor thought it was caused by the percocet I took at the time. I was fine for a the next week as far as nausea. Now, I have been having the same nausea and headaches for three days combined with terrible pain under my left rib cage which is now spreading to the right rib cage. I cannot sleep. No matter which position I get in...this starts! This is torture. My doctor is on vacation. The nurse suggested I go to a GI doctor. I just believe something has been damaged. My esophagus burned for days after the procedure even up into my left ear. What am I to do? No one will listen. I cannot afford to keep going to the ER!!!!

[MichelleP_3811]

What type of ablation did you have?  Pvc or something else?  Unfortunately pvc, vt and afib ablations aren't always successful.  Svt ablations generally have a high cure rate but I am not clear you actually had that issue but rather a high load pvc issue causing some sinus tachycardia but again, I am not clear on all your issues and what was ablated.  If it was a pvc issue they were trying to fix it doesn't sound like they got the spot that is causing your main issue.  This can happen as pvc can be multi focal as well any spot in the heart can become a hot spot from what I understand so pvc ablations are really hit or miss.  This said, ablations really irritate the heart so hopefully the pain you are experiencing now is something that will resolve with time once your heart has had time to settle down.  Unfortunately I really don't have any answers for you and I am not sure any of the doctors would either.  the only thing I have to suggest is to try and do your best to address the big pvc triggers which are stomach issues like acid reflux and gas, caffeine, sugars and carbs, dehydration, and stress and anxiety.  I know for me any stomach issues triggers my pvcs.  So maybe if you address your stomach you may be able to alleviate some of the pvc activity.  

One other thing to consider is getting your pancreas checked out.  It is right there behind the stomach and can cause intense pain so something to consider.  Our hearts can act up as a result of other things happening outside the heart area if we have sensitive hearts prone to premature beats so do consider having your stomach and pancreas evaluated just to be sure.  I see this was posted a bit ago so I do hope you are feeling a bit better by now.  Take care.