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I went to the Cardiologist at St. Francis Heart Hospital yesterday, and didn't exactly get the news that I was hoping for. I was hoping that my current heart problem was going to be the same problem that I had 5 years ago, that they were able to fix with a cardiac ablation.
He told me that I have a different kind of arrhythmia now. It's not Supraventricular Tachycardia anymore (that's what they did the ablation for, back in 2001). I now have Ectopic Tachycardia, which is a worse and rare form. :sadyup
I basically had two types of bad news.
1) It's a difficult arrhythmia to treat. There is a 50% chance that they will be able to trigger the arrhythmia when they go in with the catheter, and then IF they find it, it will be another 50% chance that they will be able to get rid of it. So, my chances aren't that great.
2) I cannot be sedated ... at all. The last time I had this done, I was given something to sedate me a little, and it still hurt like hell. It felt like my heart was on fire while they were burning the heart tissue away. This time, he said he cannot give me anything AT ALL because it will make it difficult for him to find the area that needs to be ablated. He also said that the pain will be worse. :wah Why don't they just cut my chest open while they're there, without giving me any pain meds? Geez. :mad
I'm going in for the ablation on October 16th. I have to be at the hospital at 6am, and if my doctor is able to ablate it, I will stay in the hospital so they can watch for bleeding and stuff. If he's not able to find the problem and ablate it, then I'm basically stuck and will have to deal with being extremely uncomfortable with these really fast and weird/skippy heartbeats that come out of nowhere, and make me short of breath. There is medicine that can help it a bit, but it makes you really tired and depressed, and that's the last thing that I need right now. I'm already exhausted from having Thalassemia Major. :tantrum
Ugh, so that's my story. Cross your fingers or say some prayers for me, please? I just hope they can fix this and that the pain won't be too excruciating this time. :scared
For those of you who don't know what a cardiac ablation is, this will explain:
http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/treatments/cardiac_ablation.asp
:gaah
Sorry for the long rant. I just cannot believe I have another serious issue to deal with now. :(
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Hi Danielle,
sorry to hear that,im sure you will be fine & im praying for you.Be strong! :wink
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Danielle
Sorry to hear what you have to go through. I really hope all goes well on the 16th. Be strong. Our prayers are with you.
Warm regards
Bharat and Amita
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Danielle,
Be strong ..... I know you will be fine. Our prayers are with you.
Take care,
Bostonian
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Hi Danielle.
Thanks for sharing your pain and discomfort with us ,its always good to share your worries with someone .I hope they can fix what is wrong on the 16/11.
This shall pass too and soon you will be better.Meanwhile be strong and stay as comfortable as you possibly can ,as hard as it maybe.
we all love you and this time praying for speedy recovery.
I for one is very proud of you.good luck girl :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers :flowers.love Kathy
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Hi Danielle,
I don't know why you've been chosen to endure your own personal "trials of Job" but it never seems to end. Hopefully, the ablation will solve the problem once and for all. You know we'll all be praying for you and will be there in spirit to hold your hand.
I've been reading about this condition and anyone who wants to read a complete medical article on ectopic tachycardia, go to http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2534.htm
RF ablation has been very successful in curing AET, with success rates ranging from 75-100%. The complication rates are similar to other RF ablation procedures, with a higher risk of recurrence. The encircling technique uses 2 catheters capable of delivering RF energy as mapping catheters, alternating the reference and roving catheters until no site provides an earlier signal than the reference. This early reference catheter is then used to deliver ablation.
One point I would suggest asking your doctor about is that the ablation is done only after the reference point is found. I understand why no anesthetic would be used up to this point, because with anesthetic it may be hard to observe any arrhythmia, but once the point is found where the ablation is to be done, would it be possible to administer an anesthetic at that time before the actual ablation is completed? I know all of the procedure is painful but it seems the worst would be when the tissue is actually burned out. If anesthetic could be done just prior to this might it alleviate the most painful part of the procedure?
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Hi Danielle,
You poor thing!
Reading your post even hurt me thinking of what you have to go through.
We all are praying for you :pray Don't worry everything will be just fine. Cheer Up!
:getwell
(http://www.muslimcards.co.uk/cheerup11.jpg)
Take care, Peace!
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Thank you so much, everyone. I appreciate your kind words, and your thoughts and prayers. You are all so wonderful. :hug
Andy, my Cardiologist said that either way, I cannot have any sedation. He is going to do the electrophysiology study to find the reference point first. Then if and when he finds it (which he said would be a 50% chance), he is going to attempt to ablate it (which he said is another 50% chance). He said that if he is able to ablate it, he will still not be able to give me any anesthetic, because it will hinder his job and complicate things even more. It all has to do with this particular type of arrhythmia. When he did the ablation on me the first time, he was able to sedate me a little, because it wasn't a hard arrhythmia to detect. This one is a bit harder to map out. He told me that if he is able to attempt the ablation, and he sees that I'm in agony, he will do whatever he can to ease the pain, even if it means to give me something. However, it will just make things harder. :(
I remember the pain of the first one, and it was horrible. The sad part is that it still hurt that much with the sedation. And my Cardiologist said that this is going to hurt more because of the area where the tissue needs to be ablated, and especially since I won't be getting any anesthetic. :wah
Please pray for me on the 16th. I am usually very strong when it comes to these things, but I'm actually very scared this time. :sadyup
Thank you all. I love you guys. :heartpink
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Danielle:
I am disappointed to hear that you have to go through ANOTHER ordeal.As if your plate was'nt full enough? :wtf
The 16th is a big day for me as well. Lauryn will be getting her first tx.
Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I will be thinking of you and hoping for a speedy,PAINLESS recovery!
:hug
Christine
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Thank you, Christine. That means a lot, especially since you will be going through your own ordeal that day. I will keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers also. Hopefully Lauryn's tx will be as painless as possible and everything goes smoothly. :hug
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God help you i feel sad for you i'll keep you in my pray and be strong ....
khalifa
state of kuwait
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Danielle - I can't believe what you have to go through, and what you've already been through. You are a strong and brave woman. I will be sending you energy and love on the 16th. I hope the procedure is successful and goes as quickly as possible. Good luck to you, Jean :bighug
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Hi Danielle,
so sorry to hear this :-\
:( isn't it heartbreaking the fact that thalassaemics cannot be spared from having to face another painless ordeals, huh?!
just why can't we thalassaemics have thal ONLY??!? :mad Thal is really more than enough without any other ordeal! :'(
:'( it's very sad, i guess this can happen to anyone of us.. you'll be in our prayer :console be strong..
get well soon, :hug yen
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Hi Danielle,
I emphathise with you fully. I know how it feels like salt in the already existing wounds. I am sure things will be fine for you :hug don't worry. You are being so brave. Hats off!
Take care. Hoping for good news from you that all went well.
Regards,
Namitha
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Danielle,
Thinking of you and praying for you today. May all go well with the ablation today.
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Dear Danielle,
Praying that your ablation procedure goes well without any pain and suffering.
Hoping to see you back on the forum soon
(http://www.ingerlise.dk/Tags%20images/tags_getwell01_result.jpg)
Take care, Peace!
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Hi Danielle,
Hope everything went well with the ablation procedure ......
take care,
bostonian
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Has anybody heard from Danielle? How is she doing? I'm hoping e'thing went well.
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How is Danielle? How did it all go? Please someone give us some clue. I am waiting for Danielle to be back in action as normal as normal can be. :pray
Hope Danielle is completely ok.
Namitha
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Thank you all for the kind words. Unfortunately, it was one of the most painful things I've experienced in my life, and I didn't get any pain meds at all the whole time I was there. I went through most of it awake, and then I just got to the point where I was crying uncontrollably and shaking while I was strapped to the table, so the surgeon couldn't continue doing his delicate work with me like that and ended up knocking me out. The pain was severe, and I'm able to take unbelievable amounts of pain, so you know it was bad. :sadyup
If he didn't knock me out, I was about to pass out anyway. I felt my eyes rolling into the back of my head. The surgeon was very mean about it, and didn't even care about the pain I was in. The only reason why he ended up knocking me out was because I was shaking too much for him to continue. I heard him say, "I cannot work like this! Knock her out!" He kept yelling at me to stop moving, as if I was able to control it. :rolleyes It was agony, and I'm glad it's over. :wah
He said that it's a 70% chance that it worked. I hope to God that it worked, because I will never go through that excruciating pain ever again in my life.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers everyone. I really appreciate it. :bighug
I'm home now and resting. I'm extremely traumatized over the whole ordeal, so I'm trying to block it out of my brain. :(
You are all so wonderful. Thank you for your concern and well wishes. :wub
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POOR DANIELLE!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW UNPROFESSIONAL AND INHUMANE YOUR DR IS!!! :bat IS THERE ANYONE YOU CAN COMPLAIN TOO? WHAT WAS HIS PROBLEM? :huh I MEAN YOU WERE THE ONE DOING ALL THE WORK,TRYING TO SUSTAIN THE TORTUROUS PAIN FROM THE PROCEDURE! :mad
LETS HOPE HE REDEEMS HIMSELF SOMEWHAT, AND FIXED YOUR PROBLEM FOR GOOD.
CAN I ASK, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROCEDURE? WHERE YOU CUT OPEN? WAS THERE SCALPELS,OR SHOCKS???
I AM REALLY SORRY FOR ALL OF THIS. :console
:flowers
PLEASE FEEL BETTER AND KNOW I AM PRAYING FOR YOUR FULL RECOVERY! :pray
:heartred :hug
CHRISTINE
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Danielle,
I am so glad the procedure is over. And it better work. After the way the surgeon behaved, all I can think is :bat :bat :bat
We hear so many complaints about some medical professionals and the lack of concern and empathy often exhibited, but this is ridiculous! Heart surgeons in the US make big time money and some consideration for the patient is in order and there is absolutely no excuse for such a lack of sensitivity towards patients. It's a shame that people in a profession that is supposed to be all about helping others can't always remember that. There are tons of great people working in the medical profession but there are also far too many like this doctor who has lost sight of the fact that patients are human.
Get well soon Danielle. :hug :getwell
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Hi Danielle,
(http://home1.gte.net/drtolly/cards-v/images/v1061-pink-flower-welcome-back%20.jpg)
You poor thing! :console I can't believe a heart surgeon could behave like that! He has NO HEART himself and requires a surgery for one :biggrin
:pissedoff That BUTCHER of a professional #$!*%$^!!! :tantrum
I hope that's the last time you ever see an operation theater and get a BIG! reward for all the pain and suffering that you have gone through. :pop
Take care, Peace!
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Danielle,
I feel so bad that you had to go through such agony, and then to have such an insensitive, horrible doctor. I hope the traumatic memory of it all will soon be lessened somewhat by the success of the procedure. We can pray for that. You are a brave woman and we are all so happy to have you back. :getwell :bighug
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Hi Danielle,
First I am so glad to hear from you :hug. U poor thing, what an experience. That surgeon :mad. What a meanie! This is inhuman. :evilplan He should be given a vet's dose of a huge injection.
I hope you're feeling better now. :getwell Dont think of the incident. Take care of yourself :hug Brave Danielle
Regards,
Namitha
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Wel-Come back Danielle
Wish you a Speedy Recovery....! And Strength To Fight in All the Circumstances....!
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Hi Danielle,
Wishing you a speedy recivery ...
Take care,
Bostonian
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Danielle,
So sorry to hear about the pain that you had to go through. Wish you a very speedy recovery. I hope and pray that your problem was whisked away 100%.
Take care,
Hallu