how do you retrain your brain after an ablation to know you are ok.

[demps123]

Hello all.
I know we always talk about the physical sides of recovery when it comes to ablations, but i was wondering about the emotional.
Even though my ablation was successful and i feel alot better within myself now, i'm finding it hard to realise that i can probably do things that i would of struggled with when i had the SVT and it's awful symptoms. Is it just a case of doing things and realising? I want to start slowly building up my cardio to be more fitter, but i'm abit afraid of how far to push myself. I guess you just have to listen to your body.
If anyone has any experiences they can share of how they felt and dealt with it then that will be a big help. Thanks again.

[demps123]

thanks Greenman. I definitely will start out slow and see how it feels. I guess at the moment some days i have loads of energy then do too much then i feel tired the next day. Early days though!

[littlegreenman1]

What I did was start slowly until I felt like I had some confidence...
then I went out and RIPPED it. Again and again and again.

If your doc says he got it... tempt the Devil.

[demps123]

Thank you both. It's nice to see that i'm not the only one thinking about it all.i may see how I feel about it when I see my ep dr and mention it. Only time will tell I guess.
I will definitely take it slow and steady though.

[MichelleP_3811]

I never once thought about my heart until I got this diagnosed.  Went a whole 45 years thinking I was hyperventilating.  Now that the svt is cleared I am left with the ectopic beats so instead of going back to forgetting about my heart I notice it almost every day now.  It can be quite distracting.  But that is because I still have symptoms.  If ones symptoms cease to exist as time goes by your brain will likely get bored with thinking about the whole thing.  Although I am a preoccupied with the ectopics I really don't think about the svt at all anymore.  I may always have it in the back of my mind but once your brain gets use to not having an episode it will forget about having them in the first place.  If you think back on any of your illnesses or injuries you really don't remember them much or think about them ever unless you make an effort.  The brain really mostly tends to focus on what is currently going on.   So I am sure distance will help as well as confidence when you go longer and longer without falling into tachycardia.  As for the work out in general I would say take them slow.  Your heart does need some time to rest a bit so if you push it too much too soon you may find it acting up a bit, not svt but you could feel some effects of strain.  So really do as you already know, listen to your body and only push as far as it seems to want to go. With time you will build up your stamina and eventually you will loose your fear and preoccupation of the svt happening again.  Take care.

[tom_h]

I expressed this same fear con concern to my cardiologist several months after mine.  He set me up several days later for a stress test.  "T-shirt, shorts, and running shoes", were his instructions  When I entered the room, he motioned towards the treadmill, "Step aboard the Pain Train", he said.  After I was wired up, he warmed me up for about 5 minutes and then for the following 15 minutes he put me through a gruelling workout until I punched out drenched in sweat and panting like a dog on a hot summer day.  He continued to monitor me during the cool down, looking for any anomolies.  Once dressed, he said, "You know......that wasn't bad for an old man. If that doesn't prove you're cured, nothing will." So that's what it took for me, proof from my caring cardiologist that everything was okay.  Afterwards, I began to push it without thinking about the spectre of SVT.  That one event really put my mind to rest.