Comments on: Should Patients and Doctors Consider Radio-frequency Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation to Be Ready for Prime Time — Share Your Opinion

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:27:30 +0000

Goodness me Marsha, how are you now??

By: Marsha Wallis

Marsha Wallis — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:55:00 +0000

July 10, 2011
Hi: I am so sorry to hear about everybody’s problems with their heart. I started to have my problems about 2000 when my heart would go into beating too fast. I was told by a doctor to take T3 along with my T4 for my thyroid to lose weight. Evidentally it was not approved by the FDA to take both together. The doctor also did not lower the T4 enough to possibly let it work. I went to the emergency room because of chest aches and had my levels of thyroid levels checked and it was at 7.5 on the TSH when it should have been 2 or 3. They told me to cut it back but a week later my heart started to feel like I was having a heart attack. I ended up having a lot of tests and it turned out I did not have a heart attack. I also didn’t have any plaque or blocks either. After I went home I started having a lot of irregular heart beats. In about 2000 I went for an electrophysiology study and thought the doctor would fix the AFIB that kept coming back. Although the charge was almost $100,000. for it he said he couldn’t get it to stay enough to tell where the problem was. It seemed to get worse when I was upset. I also had fibromyalgia and was taking skellaxin for it. It seemed if I took it my arrithmias didn’t start up. I wasn’t too bad until 2006 when it started bad again. This time it would go from a flutter to AFIB. I went for what I thought was radio frequency ablation to fix it. However after the same doctor finished he said I fixed the flutter but I didn’t have a tool that could go deep enough to fix the AFIB. I was shocked, if I had known he didn’t have the tool I’d never have had it done the second time. The first time he tried to fix it he lead me to believe he was a specialist in AFIB. He then sent me to several doctors near Plano. One said if I got thin he could go in through the side and not have to do open heart surgery to fix it and I’d have an 85% chance of it being fixed. The next doctor towards Dallas said where he worked they had the right tools but their imaging was not as good as where I had gone to the last hospital and he didn’t think I’d have a 50% chance of it being fixed. I also visited a doctor in Houston and he said the only way to fix it was really to open the chest up in open heart surgery. He said he wouldn’t do that unless I needed a valve replaced. Finally I found another doctor that was supposed to know how to do the radio frequency ablation. This was a mistake, the hospital overdosed me on the anesthesia, I needed a celiac diet and until the day I left they either didn’t bring me anything to eat or brought a sandwich I couldn’t eat because I am allergic to wheat. The nurse in the recovery room wouldn’t bring me anything I needed and told my husband I didn’t need a call light. I could not talk because she had left the breathing tube in for 2 days. She told my husband that she wouldn’t take it out at night as no doctors were there to help and she didn’t want the responsibility to take it out. I finally waved people passing by down and got a pen to write a not saying to fire the nurse and call the doctor. Immediately she moved to a regular room where the nurses were great. One went to get me some food as I had not eaten in three days and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. I realized my metropolol was 25 mg 2 times a day. My lung doctor said my lungs were not that bad and they had to have over dosed me with the anesthesia. When I was able to I went for a brain test that showed very little alpha waves on it. I was being over dosed on the dosage I was on and evidentally the surgery doctors didn’t check the brain waves to know. I very slowly cut the dosages to 121/2 with an extended release metropolol one time a day and I was good for 3 months or so with my heart beating regular even on that lower dose. When I woke up I asked my husband to look at my back as it was hurting very badly. He couldn’t believe it, evidently I was burnt by the grounding board with 3rd degree burns. It will be 2 years this August and it’s still not healed right. It still peels and bleeds and has very deep scaring down in the tissue for maybe 3 inches. I could walk before this burn but from the day I left the hospital I couldn’t do good as my legs seemed weak like they had nerve damage or something. When I couldn’t get any answers from the doctor about how I got burned, all he said is I was the worst case he’d seen being burned by the grounding board. I slowly have lost the ability to walk and can’t stand more than a minute because of all over pain, not just in my knees that have been affected with degenerative joint disease but the whole legs and the back. When I went to a new doctor he said he believed the burn was a radiation burn. I hadn’t been treated for a radiation burn even at the burn unit of the hospital where I was burnt. I’m also trying to level off my diabetes because after I was put on a beta blocker they put me on insulin. Now I have to take 4 shots of insulin a day. I’m too heavy for safe knee replacements and I’m at my wits end. I finally tried atenolol to see if my memory would get a bit better as since this all happened I have to struggle with some short term memory problems and feelings of depression I never had before. My current heart doctor thinks I might get the heart arrithmia fixed but he doesn’t think I’ll ever be able to stop taking beta blocks to keep it beating right. They seem to affect me feeling tired all the time and other problems. Maybe it’s really the radiation that’s caused some of these problems. I’ve had to spend nearly $2,000.00 on fixing my teeth even though before this I’d not had a cavity in 25 years. It seems something is making my mouth dry and causing decay. I have to use special flouride tooth paste every day to try to fix this problem. I can no longer even carry a gallon of milk in so I have to have help all of the time. I thought I had a lawyer to help win something from the hospital and I did all the paper work for months he wanted done. When he found out a Senator was not elected again he then withdrew from helping me. Their office had helped me to find a lawyer becuase of the tort laws no lawyer will now take a mal practice case in Texas because they say paying for an expert witness can cost $100,000.00 and the law doesn’t allow them to make any money so they turn down 30 or 40 cases a week because it’s not profitable enough to them. The lawyer thought maybe the senator could help change the law. I even tried to report it to the better business bureau but they won’t even list a malpractice problem in their office. I only have 3 weeks left to find a lawyer because of the 2 year limit on a law suit.
Does anyone have any information on how I can collect something for damages for this burn some other way? The hospital wouldn’t even give me tape for the bandages which had to be changed 3 and 4 times a day for months, and the nurses who came to help couldn’t get any I could use until the very end of their coming to visit.I feel my life is a real mess because I can’t stand to do anything hardly at all although I won’t give up trying and believing God will help me.
I don’t want everyone to give up on doctors but try to find a really good doctor that you can trust and that cares more about people than the money he’ll get for the surgery. I have many other doctor issues and so forth I could write about but feel I’ve taken up to much space no. God Bless you all.
Marsha

By: Chad

Chad — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:33:45 +0000

OK, I had a crazy fast palpitation when I was about 19 years old after slamming 2 mountain dews when I had a hangover from alcohol. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, my heart was beating so fast and so hard.

I panicked, which fed it, and it lasted about 7 minutes. You never forget your first one.

Then, 5 years ago, I started getting them directly out of sleep. Of course I panicked, I woke up twice with a HR of probably over 220 bpm. The second time I went to the ER.

I have, in general, slowing and raising of heartrate throughout the day. Last night, I woke up with palpitations of (I assuming) around 160 bpm. I did not let my panick get out of hand and I just let it pass. It took 10 minutes.

I’m reconsidering ablation, but the truth is that alcohol and dehydration was probably the cause for each out of sleep attack. Caffeine also seems to make it worse, even 1 cup of coffee is probably too much.

I don’t think I’m going to go ahead with anything at the time. I can still exercise, and in my case, the stronger my heart, the less problems I have.
This has been a scary thing, but I may be able to get through life without ablation.

This condition is said to very rarely be fatal.

Is there anyone else who is in my shoes and doesn’t have it quite bad enough to take the risk of complications and ineffective procedures?

By: Mellanie

Mellanie — Sat, 28 May 2011 23:37:22 +0000

Cathy,

I’d encourage you to do some research about catheter ablation (here’s a good starting point: http://stopafib.org/catheter.cfm), and then talk with others about your situation. There are lots of folks that can help in discussion forum: http://forum.stopafib.org (Instructions for registering & getting started are here: http://forum.stopafib.org/index.php?showforum=25) We’d love to have you join us.

Mellanie

By: cathy wassmann

cathy wassmann — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:28:28 +0000

i was diagnosed with atrial flutter… i am 43 yr old healthy female… i am on metatoporol 12mgs i get constant flutters which i thought was anxiety with having 4 kids and a crazy life… the doctor wants to do catheter ablation.. what should i do?

By: Pamela Hunter

Pamela Hunter — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:07:37 +0000

Thanks for all the posts here. I have been dealing with episodes of AFIB for 12 years. I was cardio-verted once and placed on Rythmol which helped for a while until the AFIB returned about twice a year. I started to experience body aches after being on the Rythmol for several years and requested a change in meds. The doctor placed me on Fleccainade and immediately the body aches went away. I have been on the Fleccainade for 4 years and still have AFIB occurances, the latest were 3 times within 2 months. Yesterday I went to the doctor and we discussed ablation. I am worried about the risks as well as the AFIB returning. Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

By: Pierre

Pierre — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:13:27 +0000

Loren,
Thanks for sharing your experieince. I’m 48 and been dealing with Afib since a heart attack in 2008. I’ve tried several medications, failed the Sotalol and currently take Multaq. I’ve been cardioverted 5 times and had 1 ablation two months ago. I still go into Afib about once per week, but convert on my own after an hour or two. My question is whether of not to do the second ablation??

By: Loren

Loren — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 02:40:55 +0000

Well after reading this thread i just thought I would share my expeirence with A-Fib. Well in 2004 i was diagnosed with a fib. we went though all the meds and was on warfrin for years. then i had a cardio version wich was a waste of time.. Then it was ablation time. The abalation was successfull in fixing the a fib but in the middle of the procedure my Dr nicked the back of my heart. So i started bleeding from my heart into the paracadial sac wich constricts the heart from beating. basically i was dying quick. the only way to fix this issues was to crack me open and stich the hole .. went from one week recovey time to three months. My abation was performed on 10-7-07 and i went back into a fib 11-14-10. so it lasted 3 years.. im scheduled for the next one in two months and yes im willing to risk it all to be rid of all the meds and dr visits.. especially getting INR checked weekly. Oh and BTW im on a new replacement for warfrin called Pradaxa which doesnt require the insessant finger prics just two pills a day..

By: Mellanie

Mellanie — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:15:03 +0000

Jeanie,

I’m so sorry.

It’s not unusual to have bumps and thumps of the heart while it’s healing from ablation–it’s because any procedure to the heart can inflame it. The inflammation and bumps and thumps are generally gone within about 3 months. And it is not unusual for a second ablation to be necessary to solve the afib.

You mention the snoring now – has your doctor ever asked if you could have sleep apnea? Snoring is frequently an indicator of sleep apnea. About half of those with afib have sleep apnea, too, and it can kick off afib episodes. If you have insurance, a sleep study may be worthwhile. FYI, they aren’t cheap, but are much less expensive than ablations.

Here are a couple of articles that you may want to check out:

Sleep Apnea Multiplies Risk of Arrhythmias Like Atrial Fibrillation
Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Predicts Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Failure, New Study Says

Best wishes.

Mellanie

By: Jeanie

Jeanie — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:30:10 +0000

I am so upset and don’t want to live like this. I am 10 years of torture. In 2001 I was diagnosed with SVT and lost down to 98 pounds and the doctor had no idea why. I had surgery for the SVT and it stopped the SVT but I continued to have what I call “speed ups”. For 10 years I experienced a lot of heart irregularities hitting the emergency room after the initial ablation and steadily it got better. However, I would have speed ups during the night and I would pop a pill or call the emergency room if it got too high. Now 10 years later I start experiencing AFIB after a lot of stress and overworking in my life. In and out of the emergency room every week and a 1 day stay in the hospital. I had the AFIB ablation and the doctor does not tell you all the after symptoms that you will experience from tightness in chest and feeling of burning in chest for close to 2 months. Very uncomfortable. Now to top it off 3 1/2 months later post ablation, I am having accelerated heart beats where they will get as high as 120 and mostly waking me up out of a deep sleep. I find that I am snoring more as well. I did not do that as much. I at times feel uncomfortable feelings in my chest as well. I don’t know what to do. Please can someone tell if they experienced anything like this. I don’t know what to do. I am so over this. My husband has lost his job and I am the sole supporter of us right now and I just can’t take anymore of this. I need some relief and so far it seems to be turning in another direction.