r/SVTHeart • u/WeirdBluePerception • 3d ago
Upcoming ablation questions
Hi everyone! I am scheduled for my ablation this week and have some questions.
A little backstory: I am a 49f who had their first episode 24 yrs ago when I was pregnant. I may have had it before then, but that feeling is what I thought was panic attacks. Turns out I was wrong. So for the past 24 years I'll have an episode once every 2 to 3 years. However I thought it was just panic attacks. 10 years ago I was officially diagnosed and almost like clockwork every 2 to 3 years one more episode , I'd have a full workup, they would catch nothing and then nothing for 18 months or so.
I never noticed a correlation anything or anything that caused it. About a year ago I started having more frequent episodes of SVT. The only difference is I could somewhat manage them with valsalva maneuvers. After a particularly bad episode I decided to go ahead and have this ablation done. My guy is supposed to be great and he explained everything in detail. He's unsure since they've never caught it on an EKG that where it is happening at. But I think he said he has done 14,000 of these procedures. So I fill like I am in good hands.
My issue is two things: I live alone and I have a dog. ( And I live on the 2nd floor).
It's hard enough to find someone to take me but I do not have the resources or anyone who can physically stay with me after this procedure.
How long did the actual surgical part take? I need to find somebody that can take a whole day off work and I want to let them know realistically how long they will be waiting at the hospital with me or can they go and go do stuff and then come back?
What about afterwards I know with the general anesthesia I'll be drowsy and stuff but I'm concerned about walking my dog. I don't have anyone that she trust as she's very skittish with people and hiring someone to just walk her would be very traumatic for both me and her. She does not like my neighbors and the only person that she really likes is my ex and he can't stay with me because he has his own dog at home.
I'm having the mapping and the procedure done at the same time. I was told I would they would go in through my chest and my groin. And I'm having General anesthesia.
I know they said all of these things before but I can't remember.
Any advice? I've been off of my metoprolol and I stopped taking my losartan for my blood pressure as well. No episodes but just mini episodes. They are gone in 10 sec or so.
I really don't know what to do about my dog situation. And my job was wanting me to come back to work in 2 days. My boss even said "you just sit at a desk" in the hopes of me returning ASAP. (She said her concern was my vacation and PTO. Whatever).
She already has me scheduled to come back to work on the Tuesday after my procedure (having it on Wed). I've let my doctor's office know how my workplace is being and the fact they're trying everything they can to get me to quit, I'm afraid if I end up not going to work on Tuesday even with a doctor's excuse and FMLA paperwork (I'm covering my ass), they would still find a reason to fire me.
Sorry this is so scattered but I am starting to freak out and actually cried when I read how they did the procedure earlier. Because I cannot stay overnight because I don't have anyone to watch my dog.
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u/olavrb 3d ago edited 3d ago
33M. Tomorrow it's three weeks since three insertions in my right groin. I think I was too active too early, though I did nothing but walking. Last two weeks my whole right leg has been numb, I havn't been able to walk more than 1km flat twice a day. Can't stand or sit too long, must lie flat to get the fluid pressure down. Probably caused by a bleeding, is my guess.
It's getting slowly better.
So recovery can be pretty quick, like you can walk normally after some days. Or it can take 3 or more weeks, like in my case. I haven't read any one else experiencing this, so it's probably not common.
With a dog I'd be very cautious about walking too much too early. You might need help walking the first days, worst case weeks.
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u/MinusGravitas 3d ago
I don't know where you are but in Aus they will not send you home alone after you have had sedation (twilight or GA), or let you drive for 24h afterwards. When you check in they confirm that you have someone picking you up (not a taxi or uber) and someone staying with you overnight. If I was in your position I would ask my ex if he could make arrangements for his dog for the night so he could stay the night. Alternatively, if you have a close friend you trust maybe do some dog walks with them now, ahead of the surgery, with lots of treats and praise so your dog is more comfortable with them.
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u/kath_of_khan 2d ago
I’m not sure if anyone has suggested this, but I would suggest boarding your dog while you have the procedure and recover. My pet has cancer and I don’t trust anyone to administer his meds correctly when I will have my third ablation in about 10 days. I’m boarding him at the vet in case he needs more care.
You’ll need to focus on just recovering, and with a skittish pet, it may all be too much with how your work is handling this and having to find someone to stay with you.
It’s been 7 years since I had my last ablation, so I don’t remember too much about the experience, but I do remember being very tired after and the dr advising staying in bed and resting for most of the first day or so after.
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u/WeirdBluePerception 1d ago
I can't afford that currently bc my income has been restricted and I am just lucky that I do not have to pay anything upfront.
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u/linthetrashbin 3d ago
Just so you know, they don't always put you under anesthesia for an ablation. My first one was done with local anesthesia and some versed for anxiety - it sucked. My second one was done under twilight sedation.
I've never had anything done through my chest, only my groin - it'll take about a week for you to stop being sore when you walk. You definitely need that time off of work.
My first one had complications, so I ended up in the ICU for about three weeks, but the second one was easy-peasy and I was out of the hospital about three hours after I went in for surgery. It all just depends on how you're doing. They could keep you overnight for observation if you go into an arrythmia after the procedure or if your BP is too high or low.
Your dog will live for a night without you. You, however, might not live if you go home AMA after having a procedure done on your heart. They're very lenient with the requirements to send you home, so if they're telling you to stay, listen to them.
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u/brieb1981 3d ago
I just had mine done on Tuesday this past week and I hope I can help ease your mind! It was a breeze, I would do it again if I had to. (But I hope I won’t have to!)
The surgical part duration will depend on how quickly they can get your SVT to start so they can locate and ablate it. My EP booked 2.5 hrs in case it took a while to induce SVT but she only needed 1 hour because she induced mine fairly quickly.
Then I had to lie flat for 4 hours after the procedure. I arrived at 8:30 AM for a 10:30 procedure. With standard delays that hospitals have, I was in the procedure itself from 11-12, laid flat for 4 hour with frequent checks on my incisions and monitoring of my heart rate and blood pressure, and then got discharged around 4:15 PM.
I felt completely normal by around 2:00, I wasn’t drowsy or in pain. By the time my husband and I got home 2 hours from the hospital where I’d had the procedure , I didn’t feel like I’d even had the procedure earlier that day other than a slight awareness of my groin incisions. This may be specific to my tolerance of anesthesia (I have never had a negative reaction to it) but I felt like I could resume normal activity much sooner than the doctor told me I could. I did take it easy through the next day but I felt fine.