So far my catheter ablation has been a great success (knock on wood). They wheeled me into the cath room with my heart rate at 125-130 and wheeled me out with it at 70-75. It's been very consistent in the mid to high 70's which is about 5bpm below what my "normal" rate usually is. I have been on Coumadin since 5/12 because they found a clot in my heart when doing a TEE before they were going to do a cardioversion which they had to abort. After the ablation I have had to stay on it for 6 weeks. I have 12 more days and I can stop the Coumadin. I can honestly say that taking it has been no big deal at all. My INR has been pretty stable on the high end (or slightly higher) of the range they want me in (2-3), and the only thing I've missed is being able to take my Advil or Alleve for my aches and pains from a moderate arthritic back/hip and the headaches I had when first starting on Synthroid. Those headaches have subsided but I can definitely tell that my lower back/hip misses the nsaid's.
Having the "opportunity" to take Coumadin for 3 months might even make the decision between mechanical and tissue valve easier if and when that time comes. I'm not a big fan of Lovenox though. Giving myself the shots are not a big deal (I'm better at it than the nurses and it's basically painless). It's the bruising that I don't like. But then again that's been a short time issue until I get in range which seems not to be a problem for me.
Having the "opportunity" to take Coumadin for 3 months might even make the decision between mechanical and tissue valve easier if and when that time comes. I'm not a big fan of Lovenox though. Giving myself the shots are not a big deal (I'm better at it than the nurses and it's basically painless). It's the bruising that I don't like. But then again that's been a short time issue until I get in range which seems not to be a problem for me.
