ablation or medication?

[mido55]

I am a 53 years old man with an implanted defrib. that was replacedwith a new one in 2009.the reason was Vfib.Up to now the device never shock me .But in 2010,I had a bad episodes of Afib.I was put on cardizem 240mg.It worked nice until last february.I was under tremondous pressure and anxiaty for the possibility of loosing my job.Suddenly i was hit by a storm of Afib episode that raced my heart to 200b/m and lasted for 11 minutes.I was kept at the hospital for 4 days .I was put on tikosyn 500,pradaxa,cardizem. After i was discharged,i had sudden short of breath,extreem fatigue and mild palpitation.basically my asthma was triggered now i also take advair 500,and pro air plus prednisone for 10 days.It has been hard.before this last afib my asthma was under control.Can NOT stand the medications but myarrythmia doctor thing they work and want me to stay the course.Asked another DOC. and he suggested ablation. any opinion? and please if you have tried tikosyn tell me how you felt.THANKS a million.

[DeltaDawn23]

What's the book about loving your life?

[mido55]

Thanks so much for ur reply

[mido55]

Thank you sooooo much.I can't believe how active you are in helping other members.Thanks again

[Viki81]

Hi, you are young.... i would do the ablation. I had svts, had an ablation 3 weeks ago, and i'm feeling much better. It's scary, but if the medications don't work... you should try the ablation. You can return to the medications anytime, but the older are you getting,the ablation has more risks...
Anxiety is the worst thing, i'm trying  to be calm , don't get nervous anymore, nothing it's worth it! My health is the more important thing in my life. I'm reading a great book about how to love my own life, and taking everything easy. Everything is happening for a reason, so don't stress yourself. When you lose you job,it's not the end of the world. So good luck, and hope, you will make a good decision.

[Jerry_NJ]

It is my experience that surgery (any risk procedure) is taken only if lower risk methods don't work.  So, I read you doctors still believe medication is the safest way to go.

However, if symptom relief and/or side-effects are not manageable an ablation could be the best hope.  If this is your case you should be sure you doctors know how troubling your condition is with the medication regiment.  I'd think they would consider an ablation if they believe such has a high probability of success (here I'll offer 80% or better is a high probability - it is never 100% certain to work)