April 2nd got there at 7am went to the ward (day stay) got admitted weighed,height, are you alergic to this or that blah blah.OMG now came the thing I didn't expect.(I am a nurse and have shaved heaps of people but not me not there) the nurse came in and shaved me and I got a lovely mowhawk, I was so embarrassed. Anyway got wheeled up at 8am.
Got into the lab (packing it) pulse wild. Saw this table and all these monitors laid on table hooked up to defibrilator (incase they get a bad rhythm they need to convert you back,very scary to see but it just sits there) drip put in, oxygen put in all montiors turned on etc blankies on me gown off so naked very naked under neath (so scared about this I'm a prude) ok laying flat on the table. Ok now right side groin local given next thing I felt was like a funny feeling really like pushing the catheters up inside me. Then they feel funny like a weird tickle when they are positioning them inside your heart, this makes me cough not like a cough cough but like a huh (almost a reflex cough) Ok now they applied the paceing (which is when they try to stir up your heart and to try and make it happen. and usually in IST they don't really find anything so then comes the meds to speed your rate up (what they generally find with IST is that our rates go bonkers with this) so then your laying on the table and they are watching the monitors trying to figure out what to do etc. Once they find out the area causing the troubles they will then decide if ablation is best or not. This time I had several bruns applied I was given pain relief as I am alergic to the medication they generally give people. They couldn't place all the catheters in my groins (I had 3 in my groin) so they then went in and also entered under my collar bone so in total 4 cathteters (sometimes they use more just depends so don't be shocked its cool) then when it is done they take everything out and you lay flat for 4hours after(Yuck)
Here's where the first fun things began. Got back to day stay got really bad chest pain and because they entered under my collar bond they thought they may have punctured my lung so they gave me morph and rushed me for an xray, but I hadn't been laying flat long enough and the ding bat stood me up and my groin burst out with blood all over the floor literally I'm talking then the woman just left me (lucky I'm a nurse and not somebody who would have freaked if you know what I mean) she said OMG I have to get a nurse but left me there HELLO,lol, so I laid myself back down and applied pressure to my groin and just waited for the nurse to come. I needed to have a catheter after as the meds they gave me made me retain fluid and I couldn't pass water. I also got an echo done to make sure they didn't perforate my heart wall, also a risk. Everything was sweet but no cure for my IST started back on meds and told try again. Out of there at about 1pm.
Second go August 30th, different machine this machine ensuite 3000ED actually maps the heart and pin points the exact location of the trouble then guides the EP to that place then blasts the crappas out of it.
Same deal in at 7am to ward same story then up to lab at 8am. This one is nasty so don't be scared it is just my experience, yours will be different.
Wheeled up to lab on table hooked up to everything and anything, exact same deal as before except this time it really hurt going into the scar tissue in my groin (from the last procedure, the more you have done the more scar tissue there is) even with the local catheters in place (they got them all in my groin this time Phew) started mapping with this machine and they are like ohhh arrr I'm like whatever just fix it. Started the first ablation and the crap hit the fan. The catheter popped inside me (YES I felt it bang) I was like Malcolm *insert expletive here* get it out I'm going home we are not doing anymore. He took the catheter out and it was ok (lucky the cathter was fine,lol) then he ended up calling the aneasthetist in to sedate me as I was so out of there,lol. They tried one more burn with me awake and it really really hurt it was painful I won't lie to you. Then I remember waking up and they said that I was now in a junctional rhythm and I was in coronary care for 3 days in and out of this rhythm. Was catherised again after procedure. Got out of lab at about 3-4pm Yes a long stint. (Funny though they said it was much quiter with me asleep)
Again more fun stuff afterwards I was discharged on Wed then I went home and went to loo that night hmm anyway was trying not hard mind you and my heart went absolutley crazy I was all over the shop and my parnter said I staggered over to our bed holding my chest and I was gone, not quite here but awake, so called the ambos when they got there everything was ok for me,lol. spent another few days in hospital and started back on my meds everything seemed fine.
Started having these mass dizzy spells shocking then I ended up going to A&E and they said it was innapropriate bradycardia cause I'd be 100 then 50 like that and my body was tripping, it couldn't handle it, so they stopped my meds and said that would fix it. Ok I thought cool its alright I'm tough. Anyway then I started getting smaller dizzies had another holter and it showed that indeed I was having sinus pause/arrest and this was making me dizzy.
Long story short It's still broken. I get dizzy spells sometimes not always going to have my bowels open but also going to void just sitting there,lol. This is all from ablation damage.
I really can't complain though because on the whole I suppose I am alot better than I was before I am just experiencing different symptoms to that of before aswell as some old ones.