Problems after ablation

[ydp]

After having an heart ablation for svt's the past 5 yrs I'm having shortness of breath and fatigue .  It has been 2 1\2 wks since the ablation and my dr. took me off the meteprolol.  Slowly coming off of 150mg of nefazadone and 25 mg of trazadone for Fibro.  Dr. said no restrictions, so I am an avid walker and can only go slowly for 20 min.  Then I am so tired.  Is this normal?  Am I pushing it or what???  A bit concerned...........

ypd

[Jannie411]

I have the Slim Fast chocolate shake every day and an occasional piece of Lindt 85% dark chocolate every now and then and it doesn't bother me.   Theoretically, once you have the ablation you should be able to eat or drink anything.  My doctor didn't give me any restrictions on what I could eat or drink.  You can check with your doctor and see if he thinks it would be OK, since it hasn't been that long since your ablation.  

I had stopped drinking all caffeinated beverages a long time ago and not long before the ablation I stopped drinking decaf too.  Coffee was one of my biggest SVT triggers.  I did try some decaf coffee at an event I attended last month ..... I took a few sips and surprisingly it tasted horrible.......so I left it there and have not had any desire to have any more since.  Just tasted really yucky.....I now wonder how I used to drink so much of the stuff.  

Now, when I get up in the morning, I have a large mug of hot water with fresh lemon juice.....or if the weather is really hot, a large glass of cold water with lemon juice and ice.  Then about an hour later I have breakfast.  Occasionally, I have some herbal tea.

Well, off to the treadmill for my morning workout.......will be back later.

[bonzia]

How Funny!

That is exactly word for word how I talked to myself in the morning making sure I took that
meteprolol or it could end up being a wild day!!!!!

Can you eat or drink anything with caffeine?  Does it affect you?  It always seemed to
cause heart rate problems for me.  But now with the ablation done and no svt's, I would
really like to have some chocolate!!!!!!!!
I've been off chocolate since January and just dying to try this chocolate
protein shake tomorrow.  
Thanks for the encouragement!

[Jannie411]

Yes, that is the most important thing - no more SVT!!   I can relate to reaching for that morning beta blocker.....and then thinking "Oh yeah, I don't have to take that anymore".  One of the happiest days of my life was the day I was permanently taken off the beta blocker.  :)

You will get up to par soon.  Sometimes I can't do the entire hour at once, so I break the time into 15 or 20 minute chunks.  The way I look at it, it still counts.  

[bonzia]

Thanks Jannie411,

I'm only 4wks out and not walking for an hr like I use too.  On a positive note though,
so far so good no SVT.  I'm almost to a point of not reaching for that morning beta blocker
anymore.  It stopped working anyway!
Hope I'm up to par in 3 months like you!

Bonzia

[bonzia]

Thanks for the comments.  I went to the dr and said the phrenic nerve was irritated from the ablation.  It's been 4 wks since the procedure and fighting shortness of breath and fatigue.
Hope I can go back to work when school starts!!!
ypd/bonzia

[tom_h]

Yes, each case is different, and it takes time to g.st back into it.  I had 17 burns, and my chest literally ached for 3 weeks.  You have to get back into it slowly.  I'm 8 months post ablation, and now running.

[Jannie411]

It does take time to get to where you want to be......just take it slow and steady.  I'm now up to an hour/3 miles a day on the treadmill.  Nearly 3 months post-ablation.  I would call the doc, just for reassurance that this is not anything out of the ordinary.  Each ablation case is different.

[littlegreenman1]

I am an athletic young 40-something. I took a 2 week break after ablation and my running was "just like starting over" that first time out.  It took 6 weeks to get back.

Call the doc. Go slow, but don't find an excuse to be a couch potato.  ;-)

[merileegal]

I had an ablation a little over 3 weeks ago for SVT and had one burn. I got on the treadmill a week after and that didn't work out so well, heart hurt, pain in groin, shortness of breath, chest tight... so I took it easy for another week. It scared me! Thought I was doing better so i went on a short trek in Yellowstone a week later and was feeling okay until maybe 1/4 mi. of a 1/3 mil. walk and had to stop with same symptoms except groin pain was gone. I inched my way back to the car and fell asleep with exhaustion.

On the live chat the other day with an ep, I asked about what an appropriate time would be to start exercising, and he said he tells his patients to wait a month. I also asked about the heart pain while walking and he said he wouldn't be concerned about it.

Hope this helps and I think it is normal, but if you have concerns you might want to visit with your doctor.

When you think about what was done to your heart, it only makes sense that it is going to take awhile to heal. I found that for the most part I'm feeling really good so since the ep didn't give me any guidelines for starting to exercise, I  assumed I could start right away. I was getting on the treadmill for short periods of time at a low speed but I think I'll wait another week.

[cindy707]

I agree with rosetoes on this one...just to be on the safe side call the ablation doc and get their take on it.  What you are going thru tho is pretty common two weeks out of the ablation..it takes up to six months for everything to ablate.  I know after mine was done about two weeks after i went to a new winery that looks like a castle that was built here in the Wine Country and walking slowly up 3 flights of stairs to look at the view and an hour later boom!!! my heart took off like a rocket, i called the ablation doc immediately and got scolded for putting my heart under such duress so soon after the ablation by walking up those three flights of steps..i don't know how far you are walking but you have to give it time because your heart is still irritable from the procedure and still swollen...common sense tells me that your heart is telling you something and you need to listen and go in baby steps to build up stamina..and the fatigue.....oh yeah you'll go thru that off and on for a couple of months and the shortness of breath for me was a given from time to time but be safe call the doc who did the procedure....i know its a little scary the first couple of weeks out the gate ...you have to give it time...you just may need a low dose of beta blocker..mine put me on the antenolol to eliminate the symptoms and i have chosen to stay on it five years later as a safety net and so far so good with only a couple of weird incidents...call the doc and get their opinion but i bet they are going to tell you to curb the distance of your walking till a little more time for the healing to take place..no worries i would just get confirmation........................

[rosetoes]

I'm sorry to hear that you are having symptoms after your ablation.  I went off beta blockers 5 days prior to my ablation never to take them again for SVT.  I am not familiar with the other meds, but did the doctor say that the ablation was successful? To be on the safe side you might want to contact your dr. I never experienced shortness of breath when I had SVT episodes and definitely not after the ablation.  Good luck