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According to drugs.com, these are the most common side effects of Spiriva (tiotropium). Looks like you hit the trifecta. QuoteMore common Arm, back, or jaw pain chest pain or discomfort chest tightness or heaviness fast or irregular heartbeat nausea sweating trouble breathing But I don't see why this makes your GP an idiot. It seems like a reasonable drug to try, and lack of suby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, then he's mainly just looking to see if anything has changed, like left atrium enlargement, for example.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLenlec The ep has also booked mr to go back for an ultrasound scan Is this to check suitability for the ablation? Yes, to an extent, but it's probably mostly just a general fact finding mission. Do you have normal heart anatomy? Any clots lurking in your atria? Is your left atrium enlarged? Any valve issues? Is your ejection fraction normal?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I agree with Pompon. If 50 mg of flecainide ended my afib episodes quickly and those episodes weren't too frequent, I would not undergo an ablation. I'm sure your doctor is confident and all, but ablations remain an invasive procedure with risks, and sometimes ablations require repeat procedures. I would stick with the flecainide for now. However, be aware that the ablation is probablyby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If a PIP of 50 mg flecainide is working for you now, I wouldn't change anything if I were you.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sorry, didn't realize you were in the UK, but don't let the way they assign cases get you down. If they rotate like that consistently then most of them probably have a similar amount of experience. You can go private, of course, or even go to Bordeaux or Austin, but as I'm sure we all know that's not cheap. If this is your first ablation and your AF is paroxysmal, a cryo abby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't know what explains it for sure, but I'm 99% sure it has nothing to do with the ablations. My top suspect would be aging. It's the only thing I can think of that reduces maximum HR without reducing HR across the board. It's a well known phenomenon none of us escape and there's plenty of research about it. For example.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I know of no mechanism that can explain a lowered max heart rate after ablation. Since you didn't mention any, is it safe to assume you're taking no meds? The one mechanism I do know of that can do that is age.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, that's not correct. I think you misread something or the source wasn't reliable. If cryoablations had a 90% success rate and RF 70%, no one would be doing RF ablations. I don't have time to find good numbers right now, but in general RF has higher success rates than cryo and comparable complication rates. But the thing to remember is that numbers like this are broad averageby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I think the question you maybe should be asking is why do you have chronic headaches the aspirin was masking all this time? I'm really skeptical that stopping aspirin causes headaches unless the headaches were there to begin with.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Radio frequency (RF) ablation is the "heat type." It uses the same type of electrical energy that microwave ovens use to burn tissue and create a scar. The other type is cryo ablation. It uses a super-cold balloon to burn tissue and create a scar. Either way, the objective is scars in specific places. RF in the hands of a highly experienced EP is vastly superior. In the hands of a leby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Eight weeks is a bit soon to come off the meds but not drastically so. It wasn't unreasonable to stop the flecainide to see if the ablation holds because you can always just restart it if it doesn't, but the Xarelto is a different matter entirely. What you're deciding here is between heavy flows with large clots and a stroke, and that's not really much of a choice. The heavy pby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Since you've experienced a prior TIA, I think your EP is a very bold doctor telling you to take Xarelto as a PIP, and even bolder telling you to wait an hour before taking it. I think you have very good reasons for being nervous about not being on a blood thinner. If I were you, I would stay on the Xarelto daily and put up with the periods until you can get a second opinion from both anotby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotefrankangelo I guess one of the things I'm struggling with is that if taking an antiarrhythmic during the blanking period does not have any bearing on the success or failure of the ablation and if my heart rate doesn't get too high when in AFib then why take an antiarrhythmic at all. If my heart rate does get a bit High then perhaps a simple beta-blocker could solve that problem.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm just telling you what happens in the real world. You're taking stuff you find online literally, when quite often the stuff you find on drug dosing and usage is what was originally approved by the FDA years ago. Read up on flecainide for a good example. By the same token, the original guidelines often get changed with clinical experience over the years. Again, look at flecainide. It&by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d As I said, it is their protocol that could differ from your EP protocol. Three days is an established guideline, not just some doc's protocol. I've never heard of anyone spending 5-7 days in the hospital starting Tikosyn and I've known quite a few people who've done so (including me). Even just the three days I spent cost my insurance company over $12K, so I susby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sotalol is a beta blocker, so it's already doing what metoprolol would do for you. And unlike metoprolol, it's also an antiarrhythmic so it will help break the current episode while metoprolol won't. So there's no reason to switch, and you definitely don't want to combine the two. I would just wait it out another 24 hours then contact the NP again about arranging a caby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteKleinkp 7 months post ablation any causes for concerns? Nope! An increased resting heart rate after an ablation is extremely common and everything you've described fits it. It can last a surprisingly long time, upwards of a year, but in the end it goes away (slowly) and it's never something to be concerned about. Perfectly normal and expected as long as it doesn't goby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d If you are on sotalol this monitor saves potassium lab work. The last two labs the waiting room was packed and not social distancing friendly. That would be a good reason to buy this if you are on sotalol and need to monitor your K. Susan, I used that device multiple times per day for over 2 years and I think your view of it is unrealistic. It's not a simple device you canby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thank you!by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I owned one for several years and have used it extensively (sold it a few months ago on eBay). First, ignore the negative reviews. It's a perfectly accurate, reliable device. Most of the negative reviews are from people who didn't understand they were buying a laboratory instrument, not an Apple Watch. But the real question is why do you want it? What are you expecting to gain fromby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Carey- betapace has a long half life. Did you have to wean off slowly or stop earlier for your last ablation to rid it out of your system? I just stopped it. I wasn't on it long enough to require weaning. Sotalol (Betapace) is a beta blocker and behaves like all the other beta blockers, so weaning is usually only necessary if you've been on it for quite some time (years oby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was put on sotalol twice. No hospitalization required either time. Most EPs only require starting it in the hospital if you already have a somewhat widened QT interval or you've shown a tendency toward it in the past. If they do require hospitalization, they won't be doing ECGs every 2-4 hours. That's a practice that predates continuous monitoring, which is what they use theseby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You need to be seen by the doctor who did the ablation. You shouldn't be experiencing these symptoms 2 weeks after an ablation. I would strongly recommend that you be on the phone to that doctor first thing Monday morning and make it explicitly clear that you're experiencing serious symptoms. If they can't/won't see you immediately, then I would go to the ER/A&E at the neaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Susan, we can't interpret lab results for you. I don't know who ordered the test or why, but whoever ordered it is the person who needs to be explaining it. You've obviously got a lot going on right now and I'm sorry you're going through this, but you've got to go to your docs first before asking here.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth I think with Xarelto I had better get it at my Drug Store (even it is costly), that is one drug that I wouldn't want something to happen that might delay the shipment and getting it. I completely agree. If you don't have a supply on hand to last you at least several weeks then I wouldn't rely on a Canadian pharmacy. However, you could ask your doc for a new prescriby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
My insurance has covered Eliquis @ 100% for several years, so I don't get it from a Canadian pharmacy, but I have gotten several other drugs for both me and my wife. It's a licensed pharmacy, no different than any Walgreens or CVS in the US. Most of their drugs come from the same manufacturers you see in the US, though one I received came from a UK manufacturer and another from Germany.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Who knows? Ectopics and afib and flutter come and go for no apparent reason in most of us at times and there's almost never an explanation. Looking for them is usually an exercise in futility.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
As for the ectopics following the cardioversion, keep in mind that a cardioversion makes your heart a bit "jumpy" for a while afterwards. That could definitely be contributing.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, cardioversions don't cause SVT or PVCs, and pad placement certainly doesn't. It's a total coin flip which placement any particular doctor will use because it simply doesn't matter (the nurses will probably make the choice anyway). Lateral placement is often preferred in ERs because it doesn't require sitting the patient up or rolling them on their side, which canby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM