Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Afib

Gibster, which ever path you pick I wish you well. Hang in there!

It does to me too Bob. Makes me sweat more easily too.
Beats the alternative, I guess, though. 😬

Would add, though some people tolerate it well, and some hardly sense it, if I had it ten years, I’d go for a good ablator which will most likely be in a big center.

When mine would occur it would be like a beheaded chicken flopping around in my chest — very uncomfortable although no lightheadedness or BP problems.

Best to you as you forge ahead.

Why?

I've had 5 cardioversions and 3 ablations. The first 2 ablations were to fix AFIB. I had no AFIB after the 2nd procedure, but a few months later, 21% of my heartbeats were PVCs, or premature ventricular contractions. Had my 3rd ablation in April to fix that. Seems to have worked, although I still feel an irregular heartbeat occasionally.

Someone else mentioned the sedation options. Asleep is good, I don't recommend being awake if you can help it. I was awake for part of the ablation in April. Not a very pleasant experience.

I had mine done at Oklahoma university by a doctor named Stavros Stavrakis, a Greek immigrant cardiologist and his mentor Dr. Warren Jackman. I heard that Dr. Jackman is one of the first to try this procedure. My was done in 2013 and I was in A-fib so bad I wasn't going to survive. They worked on me all day. As of the aftermath they keep me on a medicine called Multaq and I take something for HBP. The only problem I have any more is that my heart won't speed up enough to keep me going without taking a break climbing hills or driving fence posts and such as that. The Greek doctor liked me because I knew about the Greeks whipping the Italians and causing Hitler to delay his Russian adventure by a month. I told him the Greeks caused the Nazi defeat. He knew all about that, had learned it in high school he said.

A-fib ablations are often/usually under general anesthesia. PVC ablations use minimal sedation. Too much or the wrong stuff, and you don't have the PVC's. We gotta map 'em to burn 'em, and ya gotta have 'em to map 'em.

I had Afib a lot of years that was treated with drugs starting with metoprolol and last with rythmol. All helped for a while, then went into CHG heart failure and had to do something. I had a Cryroablation performed. Three months after, I went to Peru with family against docs orders,
did not go to Machu Picchu, but still hiked some of the high country. I felt great after so many years of low energy. It has been 6 yrs. and still no afib. Doc said I am a great case with CHG to total recovery. I am still taking a small dose of carvedilol. I guess carvedlol and digoxin are wonder drugs for CHG. I should be free from drugs after the first of the year.
As a side note the first Cardio I went to said O your a pup 48yo he was like 55, he then told me he was a plumber I need a Electrician that is when I hired an Electrician, one of the videos is his.
charlee

https://youtu.be/QBREs0N_VlY


https://hooktube.com/watch?v=QBREs0N_VlY


https://hooktube.com/watch?v=zcBXnctFVEw

sorry missed a video
https://hooktube.com/watch?v=R2NnvwkmwA0
charlee

My best bud had afib and they did that to his heart.

They got 2 nerves that were causing the trouble but could not get the third.

He has a pacemaker and they put that mesh net thing in his heart to catch clots.

He is now off all meds and has a lot more energy.

I have SVT attacks and the doc said that he could take out the third nerve that is causing them.

Still thinking about it.

My first one didn't hold. Second one has so far for over 3 years.

That's the way the doc explained it. I remember being awake and telling them it hurt. I heard the anesthesiologist asking the doc, fentanyl? He said yes and that's the last thing I remember.

Thank you very much. That helps a lot.

I'm too much of a stubborn SOB to let it beat me down. Just ask my wife. She already told the Doc at my visit.

My Doc told me that most of the meds will do harm in the long run. Metoprolol was the least damaging but makes some people feel lousy. I'm one of those people.

I do some tough physical labor around the place sometimes. I want my heart to keep up with the demand.

This new round of Covid is messing with the scheduling at all three of the hospitals my Doc and his team work at.

One more thing just came up. A good friend went into a hospital three weeks ago for a heart problem. He caught Covid there. He died yesterday. Geez. Haven't got the full story yet.


I really appreciate all the contributors here with your personal experiences. Please keep them coming.

When I went into the hospital, I had to have a covid test, was fine, got home and figured I caught it in the he hospital, for the Shock,or when I went to the hospital for the test, wife got it from me
But it wasn't real bad for us. Been a crappy summer.

Had an AV node ablation which left me pace maker dependent, then had a Watchman device installed which got rid of the heavy duty blood thinners. Still on Toprol for heart rate and aspirin, but, other than that, only had one excursion a couple years ago which set off my ICD. Doing well otherwise.

I used to be the guy who made you not care that we put that ultrasound probe down your throat.

😁

If won't for your profession lots of folks would be dead. Just think how many would never get a colonoscopy alone. I woke up once after a procedure, the nurse asked me how I was doing, I said wonderful can I get a 6 pack of that chit to go?

Had 2 flexible sigmoidoscopy done a long time ago. That hurt like hell, can't imagine a full scope without some happy juice.

fentanyl Huh?

Last time I had that was in preop before my rotator cuff surgery. My nurse was a fox. My wife looked at me and said "you want me to leave for awhile"

Would ya"

Aside from the publicity surrounding “street fentanyl”, the medical grade fentanyl is a great drug. It and its derivatives sufentanyl (not as much) and alfentanyl, are main stays and so improved general anesthesia techniques over the past decades.

Don’t let the deadly street version frighten you about OR suite use.