Ablation-Failed

Well the op failed. An op with a success rate of greater than 92% and I am in the minority! While it is a bit of a bummer at least I know I tried.

It was strange experience, I was awake on the table for 2 hours, but really only aware for about 20 minutes. The only sensations I recall were the threading of the three catheters into my groin and one in the jugular. I never felt their journey through my body at all. I saw my heart on a monitor resembling the planet Jupiter, (why Jupiter and not Venus? - no idea my heart my planet I suppose!) with what looked like a V shaped Kirby grip and a bendy straw that crossed over it, looking like a giant A.
Now many things happened they tickled my heart and made it go all Tom and Jerry, they discussed it, I suppose, I say I suppose because I was busy reciting Tam O’Shanter and getting confused. For some reason my version had saucy nurses in it…hummm…and oh dear, I was singing too. What ever I had expected of morphine it was not to loosen my already loose tongue!

Then in order to correct the erratic beat they had stimulated they gave me an electric shock. This prompted a rather annoyed and indignant ‘OW!’ from me but nothing else. The only other pain I felt was the burning, it was like heartburn (which it literally was!) and lasts for 24 hours afterwards (think a burnt finger on a hot oven shelf) but 2 paracetamol solved that and the headache I had too.

The procedure did not work because the errant pathway was too close to the legitimate one. As they burn they look for signals from the heart, one of which is the beat rate. During burning they look for it to rise to 150, mine only went to 130, so they felt that if they proceeded they would compromise the legit pathway, meaning a permanent pacemaker. Yes if they had been more aggressive they may have fixed it, but then they may also have blown it and I would be pacemakered and at 46 they felt I was too young for that, so they sensibly stopped. They checked again and they could still generate the erratic rhythm so the op was deemed a failure, although the Doc said that there may be a modification to it, it was best to remain on beta blockers.

Well that was that, but at least I know that it is a physical thing, and not the product of panic attacks, being overly emotional or just not being calm enough or even severe hypochondria! Furthermore I would not be as scared again (I think!) So I suffer from re entrant something or other causing Supra Ventricular Tachycardia which degenerates into Atrial Fiberation , there bet you feel better now!

Part of my(and the families) freak out was related to dates, you see my last attack that prompted the op was April the seventh-my fathers birthday, and the op date November 21st was the anniversary of his death(and a miscarriage too.)

Oddly enough my first ever visit to hospital was on April the 7th 1995, strange the way dates play on our minds and we attach significances to them.

Anyway signing off for now!

Fiona