Posted by Carl Plaskett on November 10, 2001 at 15:10:52:
In Reply to: Thanks posted by Joel Smolen on November 10, 2001 at 11:50:00:
Joel: Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you also try an ablation earlier this year? If so you are remarkably similar to many of us.
John Behle's post reminded me again of how I came to visit this site as soon as Jack started it up. While I had learned of the maze a few years earlier, I knew of no recipients. In the first couple of months of this board, I saw several exciting maze success stories, and each time, tears would well up from excitment. When I finally told my EP on 11/4/00 that I wanted to do the maze ASAP, as amiodarone was ruining my lungs, he immediately set it up at the CC.
When I went to the CC in January, I was resigned to the fact that the maze had to be the answer, because everything else had failed, and I was getting about as depressed as John. I just didn't care for life the way it had become.When I got to see Ed Wehan smiling and out of the CC only 4 days post-maze, I could hardly control myself. I called my wife at home, in tears of joy, to tell her how good he looked, and that I was going to push to have them do the maze just as quickly as possible while I was there. They did it 3 days later, after my tests
were complete, and I awoke a few hours later to see that I was in NSR. I have not looked back, and have regained my enthusiasm for life and good health. I take 1/2 asprin a day, and may cut down on that.
You are fortunate to have a doctor who recognizes the long term effects of amiodarone. If he is hesitant about the maze, my former EP, who scheduled my maze before he left Tampa for Ft.Myers, is returning to Tampa on 12/15. He is as conscientious a doctor as I have ever encountered, and I would heartily recommend him if you drop me a note.I was not in afib all of the time, but it got to where it was almost like clockwork, every other day, unless I set it off with alcohol, MSG, fatigue, anger, altitude, and that was after I had an ablation and took amiodarone for 18 months. Prior to that it was 3-4 days at 165 BPM, then a day or so in NSR, then a repeat cycle. That was with Tambocor (300mg 2x/day).
As far as people having problems years after the maze, I believe that if you go back and check the various sites, I have only seen a handful, including some from the early years of the maze, who have not been helped significantly.If you would like to talk to or see a live mazer, send me your phone #, as I no longer have it.