Thanks for the update Cindy, keep my posted on your August schedule. I'm just finished with my planning and will be leaving for Tejas three weeks from today ... Take care, Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good luck Ron, I trust you'll be all done when you read this!? Cheers! Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great to hear Ken, This is how it goes. Ablations are not that bad at all, especially when you start with the right choice. Austin is a well-oiled machine now after five full years of excellence with such a large crew of highly trained EPs and support nurses and staff. Do remember to take care of yourself the first 6 weeks in particular and go easy on teh exercise as well as stay vigilantby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Adamconsol, I dont have the new Cardymeter, but I do have the original blue one with the shape of a small cigarette pack. If the new one uses the same K sensor with the same calibration then this online calculator from the Periodic Paralysis support site is very handy: Cardymeter conversion calculator to Serum K equivalent. It seems you can change the read out to be in 'mmols'by Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Dennis and Barb, Glad you are back in NSR, its not that unusual to have a period of arrhythmia during the blanking period and occasionally needing to cardiovert it to knock it back in rhythm while the healing progresses. The more substantial the AFIB history prior to the ablation the more likely to get some action afterward, particularly with an EP who will go after the additional sources bby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Betty, Whenever your mind starts the 'what if' circus and starts to run away with you a bit, just remember the old tried and true cliche/words of wisdom ...'This too shall pass' ... which is a perfect fit with these post ablation issues you are passing through at the moment. It's similar to when you have the flu and then by day four your mind starts to play games wiby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Betty, SO glad you are on the other side of the fence and have such a good Doc and team working for you. And yes, when there is extensive involvement requiring a more comprehensive ablation it can take the wind out of your sails a bit for a period of time. It WILL get better so just hang in there. After my complex persistent afib ablation with Dr N in Austin which will be five years ago inby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Also John. They dont use a halter monitor per se, but rather use a new Lifewatch monitor that is similar in concept to the older halter but constantly senses your heart and sends in data whenever it notices a little blip or irregularity as well as at pre-determined intervals for a period of time during the blanking period. And yes it will work from anywhere. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi JohnB, Its not a big issue overall, assuming you could travel again if really necessary. But Dr. Natale will certainly work with your local EP to make sure any management issues are handled to his specifications and any EP would honor that as well. Most find it a privilege and honor to work with an ablationist of Natale's stature and experience, even if they might have hoped you wouldby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi TomB, Certainly when using the same EP they tend to use the same general access points for their catheters, but there is some variability in how many catheters and where they like to insert them between different centers. Dr Natale's centers use three insertion points for four catheters. They put two catheters in the right femoral vein including the new Thermocool F catheter for ablby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good news Ron, Was hoping Dr Jais would give the green light while you folks are still in France. Just get it done and enjoy the rest of your 2013 and beyond. Keep us posted. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ron, you are welcome. Considering the heavy fatigue a fair number (but not everyone) experience during the first weeks and sometime up to a month or a bit longer post ablation, my sense is that it is often not only from the significant trauma to the inside of your heart with a branding iron, but the more long range fatigue can reflect an underlying adrenal and/or overall metabolic energy dby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ken, there is no need to stop magnesium or Taurine. I would continue on with it uninterrupted but you'll have to bring your own in for the one night stay of just have your wife bring it to you after you are in your room and have it with dinner after the Ablation or just continue with it as soon as you get out. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ron, I appreciate how stressful it can be in a foreign country when you aren't feeling your best and the customs there and eating opportunities are all on their turf so to speak with little chance to control your own diet. Alas, don't be surprised by the French diet, it is pretty similar to SAD (Standard American diet) these days., but with even fewer options to get good organby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Flutter can feel more intense as Ralph said, due to not only the uniform staccato-like rhythmn but from the extra speed compared to most AFIB. 180 even up to 200+ isnt that uncommon with left atrial flutter. Consider it like flushing your toilet as fast as you can, it doesn't take long before you don't have time to refill the bowl before it gets flushed again and if that keeps up tooby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Most docs still use Flec post ablation and maybe their stats support doing so, but from what I have seen and heard over the years plus my own experience with it turning pro-arrhythmic in a flutter kind of way... I don't much like it for post ablation. Especially if you were starting to havign a mixed bag of flutter mixing in with your AFIB while on Flec before the ablation. When Flec hasby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Dennis, What you are describing is very typical blanking period activity, similar to McHale, though for everyone it can and will manifest a little differently. Depends on what areas of the heart required ablating and, most importantly, to realize you are still very early in the blanking period when there is still a lot of variable healing of the ablated lines and focal points going on. Vby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi John, Dr. Natale's scheduling nurse in San Francisco at CPMC California Pacific Medical Center is named Sandy at 415-923-6503. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Theanine is one of Man's best friends in my book Adam! :-) Especially for people prone to AFIB and/or adrenal issues. Precisely for its gentle and predictable ability to put a damper on the adrenaline rushes. use 200mg three times a day when you are in 'high drive' mode including before bed and it can really help mellow every thing out without making you groggy or tired. Great sby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Cindy, That would be good, and ironic, if it works out to meet you finally in Austin after missing you by a few hours in San Francisco last year when you had checked out the morning I arrived for my meeting with Dr N! And yes I am familiar with the St.Davids having had my first ablation for persistent AFIB there in 2008 and was a 'guest' in one of their private suites for 5 daby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi George, You can use the AliveCor Iphone 5 monitor/case without the phone directly nestled within the case, but they do recommend using it within its case to maximize low noise reception. A good tip I discovered in using my Iphone 5 AliveCor that I have had for about 6 weeks now, is to make sure the two electrodes are moist as well as your two index fingers when doing a reading that way. You cby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Adam. Good luck on getting a positive response from Dr Tchou on the adrenal connection. We may be surprised, but most even excellent physicians who are focused on their own specialty like EP, will not often appreciate the nuances of the adrenal hormonal milieu beyond the overview they learned in Med school. Also, I would not tend to look to an Electrophysiologist for recommending a cuttiby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thank you for the kind words JohnB, and its my pleasure. This condition is such a challenging multi- dimensional one to deal with and I well remember how much I would have appreciated a forum like this that Hans made possible in my early years of AFIB back in the stone age. And what a relief it was when I finally did discover all these good people here with a wealth of wisdom and experiences tenby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
PS Cindy, An curious if you had to stay one night in the hospital after the aborted Lariat? I imagine they would have had to place both the endocsrdial catheter and the epicardial catheter with pericardial access achieved before they could determine you had too much adhesion around the LAA to complete the procedure?? Did they have to leave the pericardial chest tube drainin over night? Tby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi JohnB Dr Natale will definitely want you off Amioderone a good long while prior to a first ablation in particular. As McHale said it had a much too long held life which has too long and strong suppressive effect on AFiB trigger spots such that it makes it far too likely to miss too many normally active hit spots s well as making it difficult to confirm a true transmurality ablation line aroby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
EXA-test is the best test we have for Intracellular levels of the key ions Adam. Www.exatest.com While serum Potassium is a pretty reliable marker, serum Mag, while not worthless, is almost so and is highly deceptive. Particularly for many Docs who haven't realized how poorly serum Mag correlates with Intracellular (IC) Magnesium where the real rubber meets the road. The body is very striby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
George has it right here in my view... There wasnt really a single original creator of AFIB catheter ablation, though if you were to pick one seminal moment that really launched AFIB ablation world as we now know it, that would be the 1998 paper by Michel Haissaguere at Bordeaux. Dr Jackman and a younger and passionate Italian EP in Dr Natale had been experimenting with focal ablations for AFIby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
You are Welcome Adamconsol, Your case seemed like a textbook example for this type of adrenal dysfunction subscribed in my first post above as a likely major player in how your arrhythmia gets triggered. And believe me, you are not alone nor unique. Just remember that insufficient Cortisol building blocks and too low cortisol production when the body/mind is under continual stress will invariaby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
You are welcome Cindy, sorry you have to make another trip back down to Austin during the big Hot weather month ... It can get brutal there in August... Perhaps You'll be there in the week of August 5th when I get my crack at the Lariat. Roughly 20% of people are found to have degree of pericardial to LAA adhesion, but those adhesions are not extensive enough to prevent completing the Laby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
PS Adamconsol, Who did your first ablation at Cleveland Clinic back in 2004 that has held up so well for 10 years ? Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM