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cathybuck

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cathybuck last won the day on November 5 2019

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About cathybuck

  • Birthday 09/29/1954

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    St. Louis, MO

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  1. Cathy I too go to Barnes for other reasons.  It is a four hr drive from ar. I have a wonderful electrophysiologist here in Arkansas but it is hard to get to see her she is so booked up.  Have had an Ablation for A-fib.  Am not on Tikosyn and Eliquis.  Now having pvcs.  I also have sick sinus syndrome.  Did they put your pacemaker in to stop irregular heartbeats?  Am wondering if I should go to Barnes for my heart.

     

    1. cathybuck

      cathybuck

      Hi Onna - I got the pacer because sick sinus was causing my heart to pause so long I would almost black out. It was unpredictable, but usually happened when I was trying to convert out of afib, so it was either get the pacemaker to stop the pauses or stop driving a car. I haven't had any more pauses since I got it 6 years ago. Pacers can't prevent the afib (they're trying to develop that capability but aren't there yet, as I understand it) but in my case, I think it helped. I had two afib ablations before they diagnosed my sick sinus, and between the ablations and the pacer, things calmed down after a few months and I've only had a couple of short bursts of afib in the last 5 years. 

      I'm happy with my doctor at Barnes, Daniel Cooper, and have also heard good things about Dr. Cuculich. Unless it's an emergency, he's really hard to get in to see too, and the Big Medical Center Bureaucracy can be a pain. I have had good luck e-mailing Dr. Cooper's team with questions through the patient portal.

      It might be worth getting a second opinion at Barnes, but it doesn't sound like you're unhappy with the care you're getting from your current EP, is that right?

        

  2. Someone needs to put a stop to the out of line fight going on about Obama care. My urging.

    cue

  3. Cathy did they not discuss mini maze procedure at Barnes?  

    1. cathybuck

      cathybuck

      Hi Onna - Yes, my EP said that's something to think about if my afib returns, but considering my situation (paroxysmal, no heart disease) he thought I could achieve NSR with an ablation which is much easier on the patient. It's been 2 1/2 years since I've had full-blown afib, so far so good. But if it comes back, I will discuss that possibility.

      I've heard wonderful things about Dr. Damiano - if you decide on the mini-maze, you'll be in great hands.

      Good luck!
      Cathy

    2. onna

      onna

      Thanks for answering.

       

  4. Hi Cathy--

    Thanks for the suggestion.  I've done what you advised and we'll see how responses go.....

    I'm recuperating from a 28 mile bike ride this past Sunday and I feel like I was run over.  Wind was horrible but

    I was determined to do based on in the gym workouts...I am now taking it VERY easy to get past this.  It was

    a wakeup call I wasn't expecting.

    regards,

    Adrian

    1. cathybuck

      cathybuck

      Hi Adrian - it sounds like your body is trying to tell you that you need to take your workout intensity level down for awhile, however much you wish that wasn't the case. All of this really is a wake-up call, isn't it? For a lot of the folks here, afib was our first brush with serious illness/mortality and a not-so-subtle suggestion that we need to make some adjustments, whether that means lowering one's stress level, stopping drinking, cutting back on the strenuous training, or eating healthier and getting rid of excess weight. Each of us has to figure out what applies in our case, and experiment to see what needs to be done. And we do work our way through it. 

      Best wishes,

      Cathy

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