scheduled ablation

That was quick scheduling!  The upside is that in 10 days you won't have to worry about SVT anymore.  Try not to worry too much, I'm sure everything will be fine.  Is there anything I can do to help alleviate your concerns?  Please keep me posted.....I'm praying for a very positive outcome for you.      

Thank you Jannie for your encouragement and prayers. Unless you have this, you just don't understand how scary this is to have the attacks and to have this invasive procedure done. I told myelf when I woke up this morning that I'm going to tell my ep that if the short circuit is too close to the av node to just leave it alone. The scariest part of this whole thing is to think I could have a pacemaker. He's had lots of experience and is well respected ( according to my cardioligist) in his field. He taught other doctors at the University of Utah how to do this procedure and is now semi-retired. When they called to set the date, they said he had a cancellation and that's why it is so soon. From what I've read, having a good ep is essential for a successful ablation. Do you know how to find out about a doctors track record? Is there something on the internet that gives this kind of information?

Yes, you can look up comments patients have left on doctors at http://www.ratemds.com.  There were also some other websites I checked, but they were specific to my state.  Try Google'ing "physicians ratings (name of your state)" - you might be able to find something that way.

It sounds like your EP has lots of experience and if he is teaching, he definitely must be well respected.  :-)   Same thing happened to me - they had an opening and that's how I got in so soon.  I think it was better that I had it done when I did.  I would have had to wait until end of May otherwise and I think I would have driven myself nuts if I had to wait another month and a half.  I was more afraid of the attacks than of the procedure.  Each time I had an attack, I was terrified that permanent damage was being done.  Even though my PCP said there was no permanent damage caused by the attacks, I figured if I had enough of these episodes something was going to give sooner or later.  So I took a large leap of faith and had the ablation.  And I am usually a very cautious personand not normally given to impulsive behavior.

By the way, my EP ablated as much as he could, but had to stop when he got too close to the node.  Even though he wasn't able to do as much as he would have liked, my well-being was first and foremost in his mind.  And although he couldn't finish, he did enough so that the SVT is gone.....and to me, that's all that matters.

You will be fine ...... and all shall be well.   Try to visualize a positive outcome as much as you can before the procedure.  See yourself doing all the things you want to do without the worry of SVT.  It helped a lot in keeping me calm - much better to focus on the positive than the negative.

P.S.  I've only had three surgeries in my entire life -- and the ablation was the least scary of the three.
I was absolutely petrified during the other two surgeries, but not during the ablation.  I think a lot of it had to do with the ablation being my decision.

Thanks again Jannie. I researched my doctor on the site you gave me. He's looking pretty good. I guess because of past experience over 20 years of a few misdiagnosises, that I've become a little distrustful. Here's another crazy thought and maybe I need to see a psychriatrist for this, but I live in Idaho and I'm going to the same hospital in Utah that my mother died at from heart failure when I was 12. Of all the eps and all of the hospitals that are available, I'm going to this one. It is a little unnerving. I really wish I could do it somewhere else, but this is where this good ep is from. Just thinking about it gives me anxiety.

You're very welcome, Merilee - I'm glad to be able to help.  Sadly, because of bad experiences and misdiagnoses, I'm not awfully trusting anymore either......and I'm always checking everything out to the Nth degree before I make a move medically.

Re: the hospital in Utah......it figures that it would be the same hospital...ugh.......I am so sorry to hear this, you don't need any additional stress right now.   Will you be allowed to go home the same day after the ablation or do they require an overnight stay?  

Like yourself, I wasn't too keen on the hospital where my ablation was done either, having had a horrible experience there about 4 years ago.  I had food poisoning and was brought to their emergency room.  They left me there with NO medical attention for hours while everybody else admitted at the same time and afterwards went in, were treated, and left.  Everybody except me and the prisoner with the stab wound who was chained to the stretcher next to me......and there were 2 armed guards keeping watch over him, so I guess he must have been dangerous  He certainly looked scary.   Lovely situation.   No IV, no doctor, they wouldn't even give me a drink of water.  After 6 hours of waiting, with my arms and legs beginning to cramp badly from dehydration, I finally got fed up, told my husband to give me my clothes because we were leaving.  A very nasty nurse stopped me as we were on our way out and made me sign a document saying the hospital wouldn't be responsible if anything happened to me.   Fortunately, my ablation experience went smoothly and the nurses in the EP lab were wonderful........but I will never go to that hospital's emergency room again, ever.

Just try to relax......you know you have a good EP and he won't let anything happen to you.  My feeling is that only the best medical personnel would be allowed in a cardiac lab.  Only another week and the ablation will be done and you will feel great!

That just helped to get that off my chest about the hospital. It just brings up a lot of old pain. My mother had blood poisoning from a fall a few weeks earlier. Her knee swelled up and she went to the doctor. They said the skin wasn't broken so just go home and rest. She ended up at my grandmother's when a visitor notice a streak going up her leg and she went to the hospital. She was put on very strong antibiotics and it was actually the antibiotics that they said were too strong for her heart. She was in intensive care and was alone when she died. I'm going to see if it is possible to access her records when I'm down there. The thought has crossed my mind that maybe she had some kind of arrythmia and what I have might run in my family. I have a daughter who also has lots of rhythm problems and a few others who feel the flip flops.

You know when you do check things out to the nth degree, at least you know you've done everthing possible that can be done. I think that we choose to believe that doctors and hospitals are supposed to have all of the answers and so we just trust so willingly. I've learned that I have to be more proactive in this whole process to get answers. When I saw my ep two weeks ago, I had a list of questions for him and he was impressed. But through the process of answering all of them, I sensed he was getting irritated by them. I guess when you have as much knowledge and experience as he has, you'd want someone to just trust you. I have to trust someone because these svts aren't going away by themselves.

Sorry to hear about your bad hospital experience.  Six hours is a long time when your miserable. Unbelievable! At least you were entertained with a lot of suspense. LOL.  I've only had food poisoning once, and I just wanted someone to knock me out until if was over.

I'll be fine. Just have to stay busy in my garden and keep my mind off it. Thanks again.

That must have been awful for you and your family.  If your Mom had a heart issue, it could indeed have been the antibiotics.  I'm hoping they will let you access her records, perhaps it will help just to know what really happened and maybe you will learn something that will help you and your daughter and other family members.  

Sometimes it is hard to trust, even when you have a good doctor.  I went with my gut feelings when I met my EP and had a really good feeling about him......and I'm glad I decided to trust him.  Don't let anyone make you feel bad about asking questions.....you have every right to ask.  The worst thing is to be left with nagging doubts and being scared because you didn't get the answers you needed.

Take care and have a good night.  I will keep you in my prayers.