A follow-up to my earlier post

Hi all! Almost 2 weeks ago I posted about an episode where I almost blacked out & wondered if I had been zapped out of it by my ICD. The cardio doc looked at my interrogation & told me today that I had gone into VFib & I had been shocked out of it altho it was a milder shock than the chest kicking kind. I think it was walkered who suggested that I may have been zapped by a type of burst rather than a full out shock & that's what my doctor confirmed today. I have had several less intense episodes & he says that I'm too young (wow! Something I'm still too young for at 55!!) to put on meds because that would be alot of potential years on meds so he wants me to meet with the electrodoc to see if he thinks ablation could take care of it. I'm not scared of it but would like to hear from some of you who have been thru an ablation procedure. I guess I have some research to do myself! Specifically, does this put you out of commission for very long? My heart issues seem to surface when I have alot on my plate but I'm not going to place anything ahead of my health. I can go months w/o much of anything besides my job going on & of course, now isn't one of those times!

3 Comments

Ablation..

by turboz24 - 2009-06-10 09:06:02

It puts you out of comission as much as a standard EP study. They access both veins in your groin usually, so you shouldn't do lifting for 1 week after the ablation and you are pretty sore. Other than that, it's pretty easy. Now, I was old cold (general) for my ablation, so not sure how it's going to "feel".

Ablation

by scadnama - 2009-06-12 06:06:26

Hello! I will comment on my experiance with ablation. I have had 4 ablations within an 8 month time frame last year, and am scheduled for my 5th at the end of this month.

In my case, I was taken to the EP lab, prepped, and knocked out all within about 15 minutes. I don't remember a thing about the procedures except waking up occassionally and being given more drugs. The last ablation that I had took several hours, and I remember feeling some pain, but the doctors acted quickly, and made me comfortable. The worst part for me was having to lie flat for 4-6 hours following the ablation.

I have always had to stay in the hospital for about 24 hours after the procedure, and then sent home with very few restrictions. They advise you not to lift anything over 5 pounds for about 3 days because the puncture sites need time to heal. Also, no vigorous excercise for about 2 weeks.

It usually takes me about a week to feel back to normal. My last procedure was done on a Tuesday, and I was back at work by the following Monday. It really just depends on you. If you work a desk job, it is reasonable to go back to work within just a couple of days, if you are on your feet, I would give yourself some more time.

I hope that your EP will be able to help you, and keep you off those nasty drugs. Good luck...you will be in my thoughts and prayers! Keep us posted, and if you have any other questions, feel free to message me!

Take care,
Amanda

Ablation

by mrag - 2009-06-12 12:06:11

Haven't had one yet although am scheduled for a ventricular ablation at month's end that hopefully will stop/reduce the number of shocks I get. The other key reason for trying this procedure is I am currently taking amiodarone and since I'm "only 63," the doctors don't want me on that med for that long. I've tried several other heart meds and have had side effects-basically, if you can bypass taking heart medications, that seems the way to go.

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