QuoteGeorgeN You'd think the first guys would have sent you home with a script for daily timed release K. Really unlikely. ER docs really don't like to write prescriptions and almost never will because they can't do any follow up or monitoring, and they can't have 3000 patients they don't even remember from the last few months requesting refills. That's probably esby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Aw crap, sorry. I totally understand how discouraging that must be. AT is notoriously difficult to pin down.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone As mentioned, with MM flutter is transient and readily fixed by itself or a single cardioversion. I'd have to see a source for that claim. Ablations following Maze procedures are extremely common. So common in fact that a hybrid procedure exists where the surgeon brings an EP onto the team to do an ablation in combination with the Maze.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Metoprolol is only mildly potassium-sparing, so if you have normal kidney function it shouldn't be a problem. If there's any uncertainty about your kidney function, ask your doctor for a metabolic panel first. I used potassium for almost two years to control my flutter, and I used huge doses of potassium chloride at first. I had a potassium meter and so could measure my serum potassiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemjamesone As to PIP, of course you could come off Amiodarone and experiment, however success is unlikely given your long term persistent status. Natale and a small number of other top EPs have very good success rates ablating longstanding persistent afib, better than most average EPs with paroxysmal. I know of a successful ablation on a gentleman who had been in persistent afib for 30 yeby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's always Milk of Magnesia. It's just magnesium hydroxide, which is particularly good at inducing bowel movements. And since it's magnesium, hard to get more afib safe than that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A 26% increase in 18 months seems unlikely to me unless something serious was going on during that time. For example, if you've been in tachycardia consistently all that time, that might do it. A serious infection involving the heart could also do it. But if you've been fairly healthy without any unusual events, I doubt the echo is accurate.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
All those numbers are within a reasonable range of variation between techs except the most recent one. It's the outlier, and I would strongly suspect that if you did another echo with a different tech you'd get a number more in line with the previous results. I wouldn't worry about it if your doc isn't worried about it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewindyshores Your posts are always so harsh Carey. My response to that would be I'm shocked you thought that was harsh, but this has happened before so maybe I shouldn't be. I certainly didn't mean it to be harsh. I just tend to write short, to-the-point responses, and you always seem to think they're some sort of attack. They're not. QuoteThere should be moderatby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewindyshores I am concerned I will eventually face a situation where my life depends on steroids but not able to take them. That's not a realistic scenario. Afib won't kill you, so if steroids are necessary it would be insane to skip them just because you might have an afib episode and be uncomfortable.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Do you have an alternative for the pain management?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Same class of drugs, not the same drug. There are differences but the antiarrhythmic properties are achieved by the same mechanism of action, so they're largely interchangeable and if you're told not to take one, you shouldn't take the other.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It's in the same class of antiarrhythmics as flecainide so largely interchangeable, and I bet the majority of people here have been on flecainide at some point.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
They don't get worse and they can get better. There's a good chance your body will endothelialize over it and seal it. In any case, if it's "tiny" then it's nothing to worry about.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nothing to worry about. Put a monitor on just about anyone for a few days and you'll probably capture a brief run of NSVT or two.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSunshine13 Carey , I understand why you go to work , but in my situation ,my job is running around a school cafeteria for 4 hours , so sometimes I just feel like taking it easy at home . I feel so tired after 12-15 hours that I just want to lay down. Thank you for your input, greatly appreciated. I understand. I've never worked at a school cafeteria but I've been in more than oneby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just continued on with my life. If I had a physically demanding job that might have been different, but sitting at a desk and sitting on a couch at home are pretty much the same things.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteYuxi Hi Carey, do scar tissues ever regrow and reconnect after a while and become conductive? Trying to understand why multiple ablations often needed. I understand sometimes the initial ablation may not generate a perfect circle around the PV area. Yes, they can if the EP didn't make adequately durable lesions and that's unfortunately common among less experienced EPs. Read Howby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteKleinkp I'm talking PVC's and if blanking period. Is it same train of thought or if it's supposed to work right away? Same train of thought. Recurrent afib (or PVCs) months or years after an ablation may be due to what gloaming described, but if it occurs within the 3 months following the procedure it's what I described in my previous post and working right away shouldby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I would expect so. The reason for the blanking period is that's the period during which the ablated tissue is turning to scar tissue, which is non-conductive. Until that happens, the tissue can still conduct. The same would apply to any type of ablation.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi, welcome to the forum. So I gather you have afib and you're having (or have had) a fundoplication procedure? It's not a common procedure so I'm not sure you'll find anyone here who's had one, but we can still help you navigate the issues. Tell us a bit about your afib. How long you've had it, what you're doing about it, etc.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesldabrowski If you had a risk of flutter, you would know at this point. That's not true. Flecainide is known to become ineffective or even pro-arrhythmic for some people even after years of use. You're just lucky it's been effective for you for so long. I don't know what the risk is and I doubt anyone really has a handle on that since it's a very rare side effect.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
All the members outside the US look at each other and ask, "What is this Thanksgiving thing?" Except the Canadians. They just say, "Wrong day, eh?" But wherever you are, happy Thanksgiving!by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yup, totally normal and expected like George said. Nothing to worry about.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Keep in mind that PVCs originate in the ventricles, not the atria. They are at best distant second cousins to PACs, which originate in the atria. The point is they're not really strongly related to atrial arrhythmias like afib and flutter.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
At 85/55 I'm not surprised you feel it. What was your typical BP when you were on the meds?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSdweller The risk of a stroke is "not zero" for just about anyone right? More than "just about." No one in the history of mankind has had a zero percent risk of stroke, not even as children.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I completely understand why you don't want to take a beta blocker and don't blame you one bit. For me, beta blockers are awful drugs that make me feel like I'm 95 years old. But the good news is diltiazem isn't a BB and doesn't have that effect on me. I take it daily for hypertension and it has no noticeable side effects for me. Hopefully, it will work well for you too beby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSteven What do you see in my ECG? Afib with one PVC.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Really sorry you see it that way but first let me assure you no one's funneling anyone toward anything and absolutely no one's receiving remuneration for anything. I simply tried to give you the best interpretation I can of what you're experiencing. I honestly believe you need a deeper cardiology workup and that the ablation probably doesn't explain what you're experiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM