Wellness

[Patriot3]

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@DottieBlue wrote:

I also had A-Fib, off and on for many years.  When I would mention this to my doctors, they just said "everyone's heart does that" and didn't seem a bit concerned.  It got worse last year, and in August I ended up in the ER because suddenly I had a hard time breathing and was diagnosed as in full blown A-Fib.

I ended up staying in the hospital for a week as they tried several different medications, and electric shock, but nothing worked.  They finally put in a pacemaker and did an ablation. 

I am on 2 heart meds and a blood thinner.  My current cardiologist (not the one who did the surgery) tells me the pacemaker I have now and the ablation that was done isn't working and I need to have it all done over again.  Good grief!  I am dreading another operation, but will have it later on this summer.

@DottieBlue   I am so sorry you have to go thru all of this.  You'll be in my prayers.

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[Patriot3]

Thanks for all the feedback, ladies.  It sounds like this darn A fib affects everyone differently.  I feel very fortunate mine isn't any worse than it is.  Take good care of yourselves everyone!!

[mousiegirl]

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@Patriot3 wrote:

There are probably a lot of you out there w/A Fib......me, too.  Do you know/feel when you are in it?  I seem to go in it, full blown, in traumatic situations.  It's always been in a hospital setting, which is a good thing.  But my Cardio Doc seems to think I probably, mildly, go in and out w/out realizing it.  Thanks for the feedback.

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@Patriot3 @151949and everyone else

Atrial fibrillation - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atrial-fibrillation/.../syc-20350624

[Patriot3]

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@mousiegirl wrote:

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@Patriot3 wrote:

There are probably a lot of you out there w/A Fib......me, too.  Do you know/feel when you are in it?  I seem to go in it, full blown, in traumatic situations.  It's always been in a hospital setting, which is a good thing.  But my Cardio Doc seems to think I probably, mildly, go in and out w/out realizing it.  Thanks for the feedback.

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@Patriot3 @151949and everyone else

Atrial fibrillation - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atrial-fibrillation/.../syc-20350624

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@mousiegirlThanks, I always click on Mayo Clinic when I want to see something medical

[hckynut]

@Patriot3

My suggestion, buy a chest heart rate monitor. Why think/guess or speculate when this will tell you exactly what is going on with your hearts Beats Per Minute(bpm)?

I have worn a Polar Monitor for over 30+ years. Started primarily to know exactly what my bpm was when training for Road Races and all my other high level physical activities. 3 of my exercise machines came with Polar monitors, as they all include a Polar Readout on their program screens.

There are many models of Polar, some tell you probably every move your body makes, which you can download to anything with a computer. 

Mine are simple, cheaper ones, as all I want to know is my heart rate. I wear it ice skating and during every exercise workout I do in our home gym, because it tells me if my body needs an easier workout, or it is rested enough for high bpm intervals.

This was not done because of me ever having A-Fib, or my 2 heart attacks, it was done because of my desire to train smarter as I grew older, and let my body show me exactly how hard it is working on any given day or time. It also is my most important measuring device for my fitness level which is how fast my HR returns to it's "lower normal" during a High BPM workout, and/or intervals.

Polar is not the only one that makes these types of HR monitors, but I know they are accurate and dependable from decades of using them. Think they might even make a bra that has the HR sensor built into it, not sure where.

This is, for me, my most important piece of training and exercising equipment, and I wear it for as long as I feel the need. My friend is 82 years old and has been a Fitness guy all his adult life. In 2016 he had his Aortic Valve replaced. Unlike me, he for some reason strange to me, does not want, or seem to care about reading his heart rate, I DO!

There are choices to know this information and that is what I chose to do. Never a bad idea to talk with your Cardiologist about these things first.

hckynut(john)

[DottieBlue]

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@blackhole99 wrote:

@DottieBlueOh, you poor thing. I would be really ticked off if I had a pace maker inserted and it didn't work. Did you have the ablation first? I know ablations are notorious for having to be done over multiple times though. I know doctors will not diagnose someone with afib just by taking their pulse and noticing it's irregular. You may want to talk to an electrophysiologist before you go down that ablation road again.

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The surgeon did both the pacemaker insertion and the ablation at the same time.

My new cardiologist is the "electrician" kind (as was explained to me). He is more experienced than the doctor who performed my first surgery. So I hope it goes well the second time.

Thank you so much for your kind response. 

[DottieBlue]

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@Patriot3 wrote:

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@DottieBlue wrote:

I also had A-Fib, off and on for many years.  When I would mention this to my doctors, they just said "everyone's heart does that" and didn't seem a bit concerned.  It got worse last year, and in August I ended up in the ER because suddenly I had a hard time breathing and was diagnosed as in full blown A-Fib.

I ended up staying in the hospital for a week as they tried several different medications, and electric shock, but nothing worked.  They finally put in a pacemaker and did an ablation. 

I am on 2 heart meds and a blood thinner.  My current cardiologist (not the one who did the surgery) tells me the pacemaker I have now and the ablation that was done isn't working and I need to have it all done over again.  Good grief!  I am dreading another operation, but will have it later on this summer.

@DottieBlue   I am so sorry you have to go thru all of this.  You'll be in my prayers.

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THANK YOU so much for your very kind words and for your prayers.  What a wonderful person you are.

[harcon]

I not only have Afib I also have AFlutter.  After a heart shock, a pacemaker and 2 cardiac ablations I'm happy to say I feel like I have my life back.  

Afib would make me feel weak, dizzy and I'd break out in a cold sweat.  The meds didn't help.  Just before the pacemaker I started passing out, just for seconds,  The first ablation didn't help at all.  When I had the second I was in afib which the Dr. said helped.  

The first ablation was radio frequency and the second was cyroablation.  

Good luck with your second one.

[DottieBlue]

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@harcon wrote:

I not only have Afib I also have AFlutter.  After a heart shock, a pacemaker and 2 cardiac ablations I'm happy to say I feel like I have my life back.  

Afib would make me feel weak, dizzy and I'd break out in a cold sweat.  The meds didn't help.  Just before the pacemaker I started passing out, just for seconds,  The first ablation didn't help at all.  When I had the second I was in afib which the Dr. said helped.  

The first ablation was radio frequency and the second was cyroablation.  

Good luck with your second one.

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Thank you.  I am so glad you finally got a satisfactory resolution.

My ablation was they put a probe through my vein, starting in my inner thigh, up to my heart.  I didn't know there were different kinds of ablations.  I need to look up the 2 that you had, I have no idea what my ablation procedure is called.

My Afib just made my heart beat really hard and fast, I could feel it, and beat irregularly.  Then all of a sudden I experienced severe shortness of breath and that is what sent me to the hospital.

[harcon]

@DottieBlue

I asked a lot of questions of my Dr, the PA and did a lot of research online.  The team my Dr. worked with was very good about explaining every step along the way and even showed me on their computer what they'd be doing.  The hardest part for me was the lying still for 6 hours after the procedure because my back was hurting.  For both ablations the lines were inserted on both sides of my groin.

Even with the procedure I am on daily meds that so far have helped keep me going.

My advice to anyone is to do your homework, ask questions and don't be afraid to be assertive.  

I hope you're feeling better and if you decide to have that second ablation I wish you success and healing.