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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [ihaterunning] [ In reply to ]
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Two Doc's worked on me:

The head of the unit Dr. Cynthia Tracy:

http://www.gwhospital.com/...r/cynthia-m-tracy-md

and Dr. Allen Solomon:

http://www.gwdocs.com/...logy/allen-j-solomon

Dr. S was who I was referred to and he was my primary before/after. I think (think being the operative term because I was knocked into orbit) that Dr. T was the primary on both ablation procedures, I think she's the lead EP.

They are fantastic. I live in Charlotte and drove up to DC for both procedures (although I'm a DC native so it was easy). I cannot recommend them enough. Dr. S is a former wrestler and triathlete.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [mopdahl] [ In reply to ]
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mopdahl wrote:
I spent almost 7 years fighting Afib before finally beating it back (probably only temporarily for the next 10+ years, but we'll see) with my 3rd ablation by Dr. Natale in May 2011. There are a ton of indicators for Afib, and endurance sports are just one of them. In talking with 5-6 of the leading cardiologists & electro cardiologists in the U.S., here was what I concluded seemed to be their shared opinion:

1. Genetics play a huge role. A large % of the population gets Afib as they get older. However a large % does not. If your father/mother had it, you will likely get it as you age, and there isn't much you can do about it.
2. Body morphology: if you are a guy, barrel chested, and tall, you are much, much more likely to get it at some point.
3. Endurance sports, especially when young---they didn't necessarily break down what "young" means, especially as the majority of their patients were north of 50++, but quite a few of them asked me during the diagnosis/background stage what sports I played in high school & college.....they all seemed to believe that an endurance background gave one a larger chance of developing afib at some point.
4. Diet. Smoking, bad. Caffeine, pretty bad. Drinking alot of alcohol consistently, very bad. Sugary/high-carb diet, very, very bad. Combo of any of the above for an extended period of time---yeah, you are basically begging for it.

So glad I stumbled across this thread and so thankful to all who have shared their stories and expertise. As far as the above, I'm 4 for 4, minus the smoking part. I also have mild sleep apnea which I bet many others do as well. My Afib has been sporadic up until this month. I would have very brief episodes that would self-convert within minutes; sometimes during runs. I simply wrote them off as too much caffeine or harmless "flutter".

But on my last three runs, Afib hit almost immediately and I couldn't exert anywhere near the level I'm accustomed to. As soon as my heart rate got into the 150s and tried to come down, it would get stuck and bounce between 90-140bpm. It would self convert only after 8-10 hours, usually with a deep sleep cycle.

The last time this happened, I went to the E.R. so I could get this documented. That was traumatic. They made 3 attempts to convert using shock, all at progressively higher power levels. Put me on the Michael Jackson drug (propofol?). Didn't even offer me candy. Claimed I'd neither feel or remember anything. They lied and all attempts failed. Surprisingly, a drug cocktail of flecainide and a beta blocker finally did the trick.

So now I'm scheduled to see Dr. Thomos Molloy at SW Advent in Oregon. He does a robotic "miniMaze" procedure which is proclaimed to have a better chance at being a one-shot fix vs. the catheter ablations. If anyone has any experience with this type of technique, please share.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [Czechvar] [ In reply to ]
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I got afib after 10 min during an half marathon, just thought that my garmin isn't working correctly but didn't feel powerful at all and had to walk even some parts. Anyhow I finished that thing with an average hr of 116% of max, and hoped that it normalized itself. Did not. Went to er and after meds didn't work either I had cardio version the other day. After that and a couple of tests there was nothing anymore within the last two years, knock on wood.
Have to take blood thinner, beta blocker, and one to set hr lower cause of a TIA I had 6 years ago.

-shoki
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [shoki] [ In reply to ]
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I had/have afib. Had ablation procedure in 2002 back when it was only available at a couple locations. I went to Duke University Hospital and at the time Dr. Wharton was there who was one of the pioneers in the procedure here in the US. It was 99.9% effective for many years. It started to degrade back late in 2012 and got a consult for a touch up. I was informed that they are finding these procedures last 5 - 10 years and then people tend to degrade back somewhat. Good news is the newer procedures using cryoablation are a bit less risky than the high frequency radio waves I had. In the meantime I did some searching and found a protocol using taurine, magnesium, and l-arginine. So I started on 2,000 mg of taurine, 1,000 magnesium oxide, and 500 l-arginine daily. Protocol allows for higher but started conservative. The effects were almost immediate like turning on a switch. I was having episodes every ride and two days after starting, nothing. It was pretty amazing. So after 4 months only 1 brief (3 minutes) episode on a ride. So my advice would be to give it a try. Inexpensive, easy and no inherent risks. If it doesn't work get the ablation. You will find other positive results on the web. Dont fall for buying the more expensive forms of magnesium just get the cheap version.

Jim

Jim Lukanich
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [clownhead] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Clownhead,

I'm not sure how old this thread is, but I'm a 34 year old crossfit athlete and runner contemplating an ablation with Dr. Solomon as well - your experience is encouraging but if you'd be open to it I'd love to talk more about it. My afib is pretty intermittent, the described it as "lone" as it occurs 1 or 2 times per year - but that frequency is growing a bit with age and it creates tremendous anxiety not knowing when it may happen. I currently take the "pill in the pocket" approach but am contemplating ablation to just rid myself of this. Solomon is my current doc.

Thank you!
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [Crossfit1] [ In reply to ]
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Pretty old thread... so many things since then.

1 Ironman... multiple halves... 3 total ablations (unfortunately they've all failed and I'm back to my 1 pill a day... I guess I'm just lucky). Solomon and Tracy (@ GW) are amazing and you could not be in better hands.

Send me your email address if you'd like and I'll be happy to discuss with you my experiences and hopefully help you make an informed decision.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [clownhead] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you very much, I'll look forward to it.

dc6crossfit@gmail.com
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [Crossfit1] [ In reply to ]
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I'd be remiss if I didn't point out to anyone reading this a very real potential side effect of ablations. For ablations involving the right atria, there is a risk of developing heart block, which generally requires the implantation of a pacemaker (and definitely does if you're an athlete). Your doctor will likely tell you the chance is .5 - 1%, unfortunately for my wife it happened. She's a very fit 42 year old with on-again, off-again SVT which recurred last year quite badly. She can't tolerate the drugs, decided for the ablation, low and behold 3 months later she has a pacemaker. Apparently this can happen when the ablation affects the AV node and/or surrounding tissue, which prevents the electrical impulses from your SA node from making it to the AV node resulting in an extremely low heart rate, which cannot be raised to normal levels under any circumstances (drugs, exercise, etc). Just wanted everyone to be very aware of the risks since some doctors tend to downplay them.

To answer the original posters question, by experience (ablation for afib - came out of nowhere at 41 with no prior history - unreactive to drugs - cardioversion x2 in ER) was pretty good. Definitely sore and tired for about 4 days, had to wait I think 2 weeks before getting on the bike. About 10 days of some weird palpitations, but was told to expect that. 100% good ever since, currently training for a half ironman with no ill effects.

My advice to anyone is if you can't solve your arrythmia using non-medical intervention. Try the drugs, you might have to experiment with some different ones. Personally they turned me into a zombie and I couldn't imagine being like that for 50 more years, nor could I imagine having to go to the ER to get shocked every 6 months or so.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [Crossfit1] [ In reply to ]
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FWIW, I had A fib/A Flutter symptoms a few times a year for a while (5-6 years?) but didn't know what it was and the episodes would usually resolve quickly. After a prolonged episode, I went to my Dr and was diagnosed. I had the less invasive right side ablation done in summer 2012 to correct the flutter and the more invasive left side ablation done that fall to correct the Fib. Since then, I have had the occasional "skipped bead" but only a beat or two and only a few times. I got the "all clear" to train in early 2013 and started the comeback. Since then, I've done 3x IM an probably 8x HIM. No issues, other than it took some time to get my fitness back to where I wanted.

I'd say that A Fib is a correctable issue, but you need to follow your doctor's advice closely.

Good luck.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [jlukanich] [ In reply to ]
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Hey- I hope you're still on ST and posting....

I've got afib/some aflutter. Did a month of cardio monitoring, had a few episodes, good some good data. As a result, my MD is recommending ablation, and tells me i'm in the top 1% of ideal candidates for the procedure. That's all well and good, haven't decided yet; but in continuing my research, found your post, read the protocol you mentioned (George Eby) and started it today. We'll see....

As your post was two years ago, I'm very curious as to how things are going for you now? Still good results? Changes over time? Appreciate whatever info you have to share...

Thanks!
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation - post ablation [mblocher] [ In reply to ]
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Just wanted everyone to be very aware of the risks since some doctors tend to downplay them. //

Well if it is .5 to 1%, then pretty hard to down play those odds. Sucks you wife was the 1 in 100/200, but I would advise anyone to not get the procedure if it is indicated on the very slim chance they will fall into this very small %.

By the way, I have/had 3rd degree heart block, and have come mostly out of it. Have the pacemaker, but there are a ton of other factors that can bring this about, and just temporarily. I have had to learn the hard way, but better to have my battery back up i guess than not..
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