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Jackie, Thanks as always for this and your other posts. Please do keep us appraised of your research on the NT Factor products. Indeed, it seems that they offer a multitude of products. I'd be interested in learning where you begin with their offerings.by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks, Larry. This looks very important!by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, I have had a similar experience to Shannon. Lots of work around the LAA during my Sept. 2009 ablation by Dr. N., resulting (it seems) in low velocity in the left atrium, and Dr. N. is having me continue on warfarin. He has recommended the lariat procedure recently but I've elected to wait for a while for them to have more experience with it. As with Shannon, I was told that itby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, I'm wondering: Is there any benefit to taking a higher dose of K2 (say, 90mcg) if it means that one has to take a higher dose of warfarin to compenstate? Thanks! Lanceby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Linda, Glad it's going well. You're in good hands. I had my ablation 11 months back with Natale in SF, and can vouch that he has a great team there. He also did quite a bit of work around my LAA. I have been in NSR wtihout any medication since the procedure. He's keeping me on Coumadin, however, because of the LAA involvement. All best wishes,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks, Jackie. I needed to be reminded of this. Cheers!by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy, Many thanks for your thoughtful response. I'll search for those articles. I remembered some postings on the dangers of Plavix in this forum some time back. That's why I was quite surprised when Natale recommended it. Best wishes,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, I had a session with Dr. Natale in San Diego on Friday. The results were a little disappointing. Background: My last session with Natale was in April. It was the 6-month followup to my 9/2009 ablation Normally, the six month follow-up--as I understand it--would have been the final one, especially as I have been in NSR since the ablation procedure. I was expecting to be toldby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jeff, I'm not sure where you're having the ablation, but I can say that the staff in Dr. Natale's office and at CPMC in San Francisco are fantastic. It's good also, it seems to me, that you're having the procedure on a Monday. I had mine on a Friday and Dr. Natale left town shortly afterward, so my post op care was done by one of his associates, with him cell phoningby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Report: Had my 6-mo meeting with Dr. Natale in San Diego yesterday. The good news is that, because I have been in NSR constantly since the ablation, he says there's only an 8% chance that, going forward, I will have a breakthrough and need a second procedure. The somewhat less than great news is that he seems to be treating me as something of a special case, because he had to do some ablaby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom, In my case, when I traveled to SFO for an ablation from Dr. Natale, I had to do two things: (1) first, for insurance purposes, I had to have a referral from my local cardiologist indicating that I was a fit candidate, and (2) I had to visit SFO about three months prior to the ablation for a preliminary meeting with Natale during which, in addition to addressing my concerns, he and his teamby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks, Jackie. I'll post a report. Best wishes,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, I'm coming up on my 6-month followup appointment with Dr. Natale after my September 2009 ablation. At the time, I had been in persistent afib for about 6 months. Since the ablation, I've been in steady sinus rhythm, so obviously I'm delighted with that, but lately I've been having ectopic beats quite a bit. The latter interfere with vigorous exercise, but otherwisby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks, Jackie. Convincing in terms of the supposed connection between prostate cancer and testosterone. Also interesting in terms of his discussion of how long it takes to shift established medical paradigms.by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, There have been several interesting threads recently about the connection between low testosterone and afib, among these, especially George Eby's interesting posting: and this: This seems an important topic. In my experience, which seems to be supported by a lot I've read, is that a big problem in supplementing with testosterone, even natural testosterone, is that for mby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Certainly good news for those of us in So Cal. Best wishes to all,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Doug, Sorry to hear of your continued episodes after your ablation. If you search this forum for "stereotaxis," you'll find a good deal of useful information. Just one example: Best wishes,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Here's the word on this from Mercola.com: ====== Subject: Response to Your Mercola.com Inquiry Hello Lance, Thank you for writing to Mercola.com. 3/25/2010 4:30:24 PM: Thank you for contacting Mercola.com. We are happy to assist you with this inquiry.The smell and color can vary from batch to batch and from season to season. The krill oil can vary in smell from no smell at all to a verby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, In this thread <> Jackie and I had an exchange regarding the "fishy" odor of krill oil capsules, even when you open the bottle. We wondering if this suggested rancidity. Below is an interesting, if perhaps not definitive, message I received from Neptune Technologies & Bioresources Inc., the producers of NKO (Neptune Krill Oil), which most of the major supplement manufacturerby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Richard, I had zero pain in that respect following my ablation by Dr. Natale in SFO this past September. I stopped taking the acetaminophen that was prescribed pretty quick. (The problem I had was with water retention and fluid in my lungs, but that passed in about 3 days.) Lanceby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, Regarding the Kaiser dosage recommendation of 1,000 IU, I agree this is certainly still very low and very conservative. I was happy, however, to see the idea entering into the mainstream medical world. In my experience, Kaiser physicians are very much "by the book" in their practices. So the fact that they are advocating even this much, and specifying D3, really seems like tby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Barry, Thanks for sharing this detailed account. It is helpful in understand the whole process and the various possible outcomes. All best wishes,by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Friends, I have in hand the new, Spring 2010 "Partners in Health" newsletter from Kaiser Permanente, which as you may know is the largest HMO in California. Featured on the back cover, there's an "In the News" article titled "Vitamin D: Hype or Hope?" It begins: "Vitamin D has been in the spotlight lately--and for good reason. There is solid evidence thby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, Regarding fish oil that smells "fishy," I'm wondering about krill oil capsules. I've tried two respected brands and in both cases there's a fishy smell just opening the bottle. Krill oil is supposed to have its own anti-oxidants, so presumably it shouldn't be rancid. Any ideas appreciated. Many thanks!by ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm a little perplexed, tending towards skeptical, as well as being dismayed at the price. With the regular 2000FU/100mg Nattokinase, the recommended dose was 2x a day, and it cost about $24/month. "Cardiokinase" is said to be more than 200% stronger, yet the recommended dose is 3x a day, and the cost is $75/month, more if you follow the label advice, "For best results, takeby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was on Diltiazem/Cardizem and Coumadin prior to my Natale ablation in SFO last September. They had me taper off the Diltiazem starting 2 weeks before, down to zero for one week prior. Of course, they were very concerned about keeping the Coumadin going (between 2-3). After the procedure, the Coumandin was resumed immediately. That was it. No other meds. But Natale and his staff seem to taby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Neal, I would echo those who say not to push it too hard after ablation. Your heart tissues will have a good deal of inflammation for some months. You might do well do search this forum for "exercise" and the like. There are any number of postings referring to the connection between excess training and afib. Having said that, I wish you all the best. It certainly can be successfuby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, the patient may also have less radiation, but what Dr. Gibson was saying, and what I didn't perhaps convey clearly, is that the physician is at much greater risk since he or she is doing the procedure on a day after day, month after month basis. Therefore, as I understand it, radiation exposure becomes a rather serious personal concern for them, despite the lead vests and other precautby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM
When I had my ablation with Dr. Natale in SFO in September, 2009, he told me very clearly and directly that he used the manual system, not the robotic. I don't know if perhaps he's changed his practice since then. Dr. Douglas Gibson, an EP at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, near San Diego, told me that the main advantage of the robotic system was less radiation exposure--for the physicianby ln108 - AFIBBERS FORUM