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after 2 failed cardioversion procedures, i went to see the cardiologist today to see what is the next step.
he has decided to send me for cardiac ablation, but told me that there is only a 50/50 chance of it working, due to the rhythm my heart has gone into.
he told me that there is a big possibilty that i will be in AF for the rest of my life.
also that i will probably have to stay on rat poisen and beta blockers for good too.
i am devestated to be honest. the thought of not being able to cycle anything more difficult than the canalside has brought me to tears.
i am praying for all my worth that the ablation works.
*big man hug*
Me too mate.
Never give up though, there's always hope somewhere or other.
50/50 is as good as it's bad - keep hoping
what's AF?
What a bastard!
Best of luck with everything, I'm off to Google ablation now.
<Joins hug>
Sorry to hear Ton but hope it goes well for you.
fingers crossed for you fella, if you need an escape in the meantime loads of canals/stress free riding near me (Midlands) and your welcome for a pootle anytime.
50/50 means there is still plenty of hope.
am sorry to hear that 🙁 good luck man.
Bugger.
There must be ways round the exercise thing surely? Not realy my field of expertise at all but I don'rt see why it reduces your exercise capacity that much *goes off to google*
Electric assisted full on MTB for you sir?
Ton, best of luck, old chap. You deserve it.
Ah sorry to hear that. But remember be thankful what you have it's going to be hard to come to terms but think of the good things. Here's hoping it works.
Give that AF some fist pie.
Fingers crossed Ton!
Are you having it in Leeds,ton?50% success rate is a good bet,I'd say,but it's not my heart.Lots and lots of luck to you.
Ian
To be honest mate the shittest thing i have seen today 🙁 and trust me its been a shit day!
Come ride in the white epak and have a few pints with me anytime!
thanks fella's
teej, been doing a fair bit of homework re the electric assist stuff.
i just has a feeling that i was not gonna get sorted, so been doing a bit of planning ahead.
thejesmonddingo, yes mate, in the LGI.
ton, my dad has just come out the other side of this... abalation, c/v's valve replacement, the works. rest assured the treatment does work, and he is now back into normal life and off the rat poison.... keep positive fella.
tony, have they said you need to use beta blockers specifically? i was able to switch, that is drop the beta blocker and although i'm still on them for life i use an ACE inhibitor and a calcium channel blocker instead, which don't seem to have that restrictive side effect the BB can have...
but yeah, shit news mate and fingers crossed for the future.
i just has a feeling that i was not gonna get sorted
That's the depression talking.. you don't see the future really, you just think you see it according to your mental state.. which makes it a vicious circle!
Can't begin to imagine how you're feeling. Best of luck with it. I hope it turns out well.
Focus on the good... you live in Leeds, LGI is one of the best cardiac centres in the country, they are good at what they do! Hope all goes well.
2 ex colleagues of mine both had it done ( if its the switch you off / then on again to reset the heart beat ) . Both successful and showed improvements within days . Sorry to say the warfarin and BB stayed , albeit at a reduced rate .
Keep your chin up , hope it works out for you .
Hang in there Ton, fingers crossed for you.
Bollocks. Great big man hug from me mate. I really really hope it works out for you Tony.
focus on teh good - you live in leeds? wtf??
2 ex colleagues of mine both had it done ( if its the switch you off / then on again to reset the heart beat ) .
That's cardioversion. Ablation involves them inserting a catheter through an artery and zapping 'broken' parts of the hear muscle.
{hug} from me, too Ton - that's hard news to take.
Rachel x
Best wishes Ton,
LGI's a top centre ton,you'll be in good hands.
Af= atrial fibrillation. Dodgy heart rhythm I think?? and controlled via rat poison (warfrin). Hope the treatment works for you. Best of luck!!
Ton - do the research into the medical stuff as well - As I said not my field and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing but I wonder how many active folk the cardiologist treats and whether a different cocktail of drugs would allow you to exercise more? Certainly something worth looking into. The only stuff I could find was on mild exercise not serious stuff.
Self help groups might have info as well.
All the best big fella..
Sorry big fella 🙁 Chin up and all that. Stay positive and keep chipping away. Hope things improve. Love from your favourite paddy. X
Your Cardiac Nurse will be the one to talk to about exercise, they're more down to earth about such things. According to my Dad who has AF.
Hang in there pal, 50/50 and the LGI are good odds.
😥
I hope it goes well for you.
More hugs
hope things go ok for you ton. Chin up and i hope the odds fall in your favour.
50% chance of success sounds pretty good to me! And if not, there are plenty of canals in West Yorkshire
When is your epic Downhill Day going to take place?
Fingers crossed and best wishes.
Man-hugs, too.
My brother had AF and several failed cardioversions at Hull and Nottingham before they got him to Leeds for ablation. He was fed up like you beforehand and unable to get on with things. His went well and after a couple of months he was well again and back playing five a side. Don't feel down when the doc recognises something hasn't worked for you when there are still other options and they're keen to work through them with you. It did take them two goes at the ablation though, so it may drag on a bit more, chin up.
Southern hug coming your way ton. I sincerely hope this works for you and you need to be upbeat - easier said than putting into practice I know.
Any idea of when? We're all rooting for you.
xx
cg, dont know when yet. got wait to see the ablation consultant.
esme, when i get my head round it. got 13 long descents now.
Hope the procedure works for you! Will keep fingers crossed.
@rse
Good Luck and man hug
more man hugs.
Not realy my field of expertise at all but I don'rt see why it reduces your exercise capacity that much
It might be the betablockers he's talking about, but bearing in mind he's on warfarin, he may have been advised not to take the extra risk of MTBing given the possibility to fall/HI?
Fingers crossed for the ablation Ton.
DrP
Ok - this is from the bloke who told you to seek help [i]immediately[/i] when you first mentioned your problem... which you ignored 😉
1) I ride and ski with blokes on Warfarin - it isn't an issue.
2) Ablation success rates are usually a bit higher than that. Google the ESC guidelines and read them if you want. And some need a second procedure.
3) Even with a rate rather than rhythym control strategy you would still be able to exercise - although your maximal exercise capacity might be less.
4) There are rate control drugs other than beta blockers which may adapt better to exercise. Tell your consultant what activities are important to you.
In the meantime - lose weight (you want to send all that blood to muscle - and I saw that photo the other day...) and keep your spirits up
xxxx John
best of luck ton but rest assured you're a fine hunk of a man and even if the worst did happen I'd still do you 😉
All the best big man,chin up
stoatsbrother.......advice well and truly taken in this time.
thanks
Not much I can add, but my best wishes anyway - are you totally off the bike, or are pootles to the pub/juice bar/cafe still OK? You were getting some gentle rides in I thought.
<Joins hug>
that sucks but keep on trying - and get out on those canalside pootles all you can!
Fingers and toes crossed for you here in the bunnyhop household.
You'll have to get up to Scotland and ask that nice TJ to let you ride pillion on his tandem. Just let him do all the work (take a whip with you) 😉
Bunnyhop xx
ton, hope you are in the good 50%.
You have put my crap day into perspective.
Manhugs. C.
Keep at it ton, fingers crossed from all us lot in basel. 🙂
Bon Courage Ton.
xxx SB
You'll have to get up to Scotland and ask that nice TJ to let you ride pillion on his tandem. Just let him do all the work (take a whip with you)
*s****s*
I would like to join in all the well wishes but ,to be honest. can I have dibs on your bikes 😉
Hope it all works out well.... who will I talk crap to too on the climbs now 😳
Seriously hope it all goes well
joins in big hug for Ton.
thanks for all the good wishes everyone, i am a bit overwhelmed.
i am gonna keep dpoing the canalside pootles. and maybe a bit more when a find a ton proof electric assist bike.
I've got dibs on the Ventana 😉
Shit dude. Good luck.
*joins group hug*
No hugs from me - proper manly hand shake.
Seriously though, that's rubbish news. Just hope the procedures work, and as TJ mentioned, research the hell out of this if you're not getting what you need.
(Joins the group man hugging)
I feel for you. My ankle has had me sidelined for 7 months and I was despairing. Thank fully I got good news from the Mri recently and it is beginning to improve...all my fingers crossed for you and hope to see you enjoying biking ASAP. Chin up.
Haven't read all the posts but do have some family experience of cardiac ablation: my mother had a CA procedure in January at John Radcliffe and is much, much better. She's off the Warfarin and everything and feeling much better - hope it's the same for you!
All the best!
Chin up big guy, the odds aren't against you riding again soon 😀
awwww shit mate that sucks. Hope things go well with the ablation and we get to see you on a ride soon.
Big hugs, Ton. Clearly the hivemind is rooting for you 100%. Take joy at uniting the dissident factions, but please don't knock canal side riding. I wear full body armour on my local towpath. Bloody kids chucking stuff! 🙂
Hey Ton, good luck fella. My Mrs is a paediatrick nurse at LGI, shall I send her round to give you a hug?
Ton, don't loose "heart" OK I know that is corny! But you me & Big Pete are body doubles (that should be triples TBH)
I continue to wear that old 5th Element you sold me for road rides & if its possible I would like to join you for your Liv-Leeds canal ride
Bug hugs Tony...
****in hope it gets squared away mate.
Yer always welcome over here in the flatlands of Cheshire.
But you already know that.
Godspeed fella.
Nick
Look on the positive side, Ton; canals are great fun and there's loads to see and do along the way. All sorts of interesting old stuff and that.
Take a cam and photygraph stuff you find. I love canals, me.
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Be thankful for what you do have, and enjoy that as much as possible, rather than lamenting things you don't have.
We've never met and never spoke , but i feel like i know you from hanging around this place ! Thinking about you mate, stay positive and good luck . Nowt wrong with a nice towpath trundle i say !!
Stay positive, it definitely makes a difference. I hope it goes well for you.
[img] http://www.nerdbanite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/banksy-regents-canal-1- [/img]
Here's where it all kicks off! Typical insensitive Elfin posting of a canal towpath dead end! 🙂
Hey Ton,
I spoke to you on an earlier post about your AF.
I'm a Charge Nurse in a Cardiology unit that deals with ablation procedures.
Sorry for the news but there is still good reason to be hopeful.
So, AF is erratic signals making your atria go mad, these signals come from the Pulmonary Veins, which bring blood back from the lungs to the heart.
These veins join the heart at the left atrium. An ablation procedure is intended to essentially burn a ring around the area where the veins join the heart, electrically isolating them so that even if they fire random signals, they can't get through to the heart.
There are four veins joining the heart, so this has to be done for each of them.
You'll come into a day surgery ward the morning of the op.
Get into gown, doctor/nurse does paperwork, consent etc.
You don't have to shave your pubs at our gaff but the hospital might tell you to.
You'll be taken to the cardiac lab, lie on a thin table and have loads of stickers put on you. (good idea to shave chest & back - it'll hurt taking stickers off)
Xray macjine will sit above your chest.
Lots of computer screens on your left.
The doc will put cold liquid on your groin. (yikes!)
He'll then inject local anaestetic. (stings then goes numb)
He'll then but three little tubes into the femoral vein.
Long catheters that have platinum tips then go up tho your heart.
They go to the left atrium and sit in the pulmonary veins.
These catheters pick up the random signals and display them on a screen.
Another catheter is put in and put up against where the signals are coming from.
The platinum tip is then heated to about 50degC 50 watts for around a minute at a time.
The doc works his way around the vein until the screen showing the erratic signals is clear.
It can be a bit painful as it moves around, some spots are easier than others. It's not because somethings going wrong, it can just be a bit uncomfortable.
You will probably get some sedatives & painkillers - take them if offered, don't be a hero.
The procedure can last 2-6 hours.
Don't drink too much before & pee before you go in.
After, you will have to lie flat for an hour or so to make sure you don't bleed from the groin.
You'll go back to the ward and sleep it off, you might get home that day but prepare for an overnight stay.
The procedure is not always successful firt time.
An area treated might recover slightly, allowing some erratic signals getting through.
A second procedure is just some spot welding to seal the gaps.
It can be done several times.
Best advice is to try and be as relaxed about it as possible (hard, i know) tense and anxious people tend to have a rougher time.
As for future?
Beta blockers are quit refined now, with lots of different options to try that'll work best for you.
Warfarin is ok but new & safer ones are coming (See dabigatran)
Keep excersizing as much as you feel you can and keep yer chin up.
Lose some weight.
You'll always be 20Ton if a little lighter and alive. 🙂
+1 for what 2wheels said.
also definitely discuss alternatives to your beta blocker (i.e. ace plus ca channel blockers) with respect to your lifestyle.
as regards warfarin, i haven't heard anything about alternatives to warfarin for the likes of you but as 2 wheels works in cardiology and i'm something else again i'd keep an eye out. i do prescribe rivaroxaban in orthopaedics and it's a lot less complicated.
Electric assist bike you say....
chin up fella its not over yet...
Oh Ton, fingers crossed for you. Keep positive - really hope things work out. Take care xx