How soon after

implant is the first checkup normally? I had a scheduled appointment on the 10th of October with my EP which was rescheduled to October 30th. I called and reminded the scheduler that I was scheduled for the ablation on the 24th and wondered if the 30th was too soon for the follow up. She checked with the doctor and he said we will need that appointment if I get the PM on the 24th. Is 6 days too long? Too short? Just right? for the first follow up?

And on another note, I am in unchartered territory on another front. For the first time in my life I am dealing with depression. I am just so tired of being hampered by these SVTs. The least stress, physical, mental, emotional, sends my heart rate to 200 to 240bpm. I feel like an invalid walking on eggshells. I have been in contact with my EP and have tried to impress on him that October 24 is make or break day. I just can not imagine going into next year (I am a CPA and have a very high stress career during the first four months of the year) like this.

Anyway, thanks for listening.

3 Comments

Ablation

by gleesue - 2013-09-10 03:09:00

I'm a little confused because you don't get a PM for a fast heart rate but for a slow one. A PM doesn't prevent A-fib.
But, I can certainly tell you about ablations, I've had 4 of them and the recovery time is about 1 day. The doctor has always told me I can return to normal activities in a day or two if I feel OK. I even had one ablation that took 9 1/2 hours. So an appointment 6 days later should be about right and the EP will know by then if everything went right.

Jerry

Jerry

by rfassett - 2013-09-10 04:09:47

Thanks Jerry! I apologize for the confusion. I had an ablation done in February of this year (my first) and it was a 5 1/2 procedure. The issue is the location of the errant pathway. It was too close to the good pathway (or maybe even the sinus node). So the EP ended up using the freezing technique. I walked out of the hospital the following day after the EP's assistant told me I was cured. Five weeks later the SVTs were back, I was put back on Toprol which had a very negative effect on my cognitive skills. The SVTs blew through the Toprol within three weeks. Due to the issues with the Toprol, I was put on Cardizem. The Cardizem held the SVTs at bay for about two weeks and then they were back in full force on nearly a daily basis. The upcoming ablation will be in such close proximately to the SA node and/or the good pathway that the EP has already cautioned me that there is a better chance than not that he will have to harm the SA node or the good pathway to get the errant pathway to stop carry the charge. That is where the PM comes in. From the various discussion I have had with the EP and my due diligence research, I do not see much hope that I will leave the hospital without the PM - which is OK, I have accepted that whatever happens is OK - as long as I can leave the hospital fixed. From all of the great folks on this site and all of their comments, I am thoroughly convinced that a PM will be way, way better than what I have dealt with since the onset of this issue. Just as case in point: I was vacuuming my father-in-laws house on Sunday (because he is recovering from invasive colon cancer surgery) and before I was done I was having an SVT at about 240bpm. It lasted about 20 minutes, but my chest continued to ache for about three and a half hours afterward. And his house is not that big. I don't think I was vacuuming for more than maybe 20 to 25 minutes.

Thanks again.

Ron

PM beats SVT's

by Mojo - 2013-09-10 10:09:54

I dealt with SVT's for 10 years. I had my 1st ablation 3 years ago. This year it got so bad that I could do nothing but sit because as soon as I got up and walked, it would shoot up instantly to over 200. I had 3 ablations done in 2 1/2 months tome. The last 2 ablations were exactly a week apart. Within a week the ?SVT's would render me useless. I had a dual-chamber Metronic PM put in on June 12, 2013. After some tweaking I must say I haven't felt this good in 4 years. I still need some tweaking done as I still get some fast HB;s after over-exerting, but I have my life back. I, too, was so depressed before, but now I am seeing life through rose-colored glasses again. You won't believe how good you will feel after PM surgery. It takes about 2 weeks before you really feel better, and it just keeps getting better after that. I hope it goes as well for you also. Keep us updated, please.
Marilyn

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