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Just had my ablation and now having terrible heartburn...Please Help!
I had my ablation on May 14th. I was given 40mg Protonix to take for one month due to the doctor explaining the heart and the esophogus are so close that there will be irritation and the Protonix will help. Well...Protonix and like drugs have no effect on me. They changed me to Prescription Pepsid explaining that possibly an H2 Blocker would work on me. That hasn't worked either. They tried taking me off of the heart rhythm drug Flecainade and that helped at first but I am still having episodes of bad heartburn.
The only thing that has helped me is drinking Aloe Juice. Can anyone offer some advice? I am praying this will go away eventually but I am so uncomfortable and worrying about the damage the acid might be doing.
I see my EP on Thursday and am hoping for a solution.
My friends...can you help?
CeCe55
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Hello everyone. I also have a vision problem so please excue my many type'o's
I had my 3rd ablation 16 days ago and I feel terrible. I'm tired all the time and my headaches are bad. My a-fib seems to be going on all the time. Doctor says it just takes time, but I'm so depressed.
I feel your pain as I have had a few ablations myself and the way it was explained to me. Typically it can take about a month to see the full benifit of an ablation. Depending how much needed to be ablated your heart is just in recovery mode. It should get better slow at first but will get better each day. At least for me I would have mini arrythmias all the time but they did not get to the level of the reason the ablation was done in the first place. Now my condition was not afib but Ventricular Tachycardia. which is more associated with the lower parts of the heart. But I believe the recovery is similar for any ablation. So I hope that helps and I know after a few of mine my heart recovered and was better for it. Also if you were on any medications for your afib and was removed from them during the ablation maybe talk with your doctor to see if a temporary increase would help while your heart heals. I know for VT that was a possibility but I'm not sure what the typical treatment for afib is. Hope things get better real soon.
Blessings for a quick recovery
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2 ReactionsIt takes 3-6 months for the heart to heal. That’s the blanking period. If you were having afib before the procedure it’s not unusual to have it after until the heart heals. You have to be patient. Rest. It’s a process. Scar tissue has to form, that’s what stops the aberrant electrical signals. It takes time for that to happen. Did they prescribe a ppi like Prilosec? I was suppose to take that for a month. It was worse than the procedure. Horrible headaches, constant burping, pain under my ribs. I hung on for three weeks then they told me I could stop. Took awhile to get over that.
Regarding severe heartburn: I also suffered from this. My PCP aggressively treated it with Protonix 40 mg twice a day, Pepcid 40 mg twice a day (had to decrease to 20 due to some side effects), and Sucralfate (Carafate) 4 x a day for a few weeks, then gradually was able to taper off. Took about 6 weeks before I felt I was better. Avoided spicy foods and those that are more difficult to digest--unfortunately that included fruits and vegetables and a lot of other solid foods. But it was worth it to make the pain subside. Felt like there was a fire in my chest. If you ever have a repeat ablation, ask if they can move the esophagus to the side while they are ablating. Made a world of difference with my 2nd ablation. A skilled team can do it. Sometime monitoring esophageal temperature (standard practice) just isn't enough.
Is it all the time or the worst at night?