14 Months & Doing Fine

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Posted by Paul Jenkins on October 29, 2002 at 20:49:16:

I had the completely invasive maze procedure in late August 2001 – see MAZE Stories for more details. I had the procedure just 5 months after being diagnosed with chronic afib. Based on extensive research including this excellent resource I concluded that maze surgery was the only way to get my life back and was worth the minor risk. Like many of the posters here I am an athlete and at 51 I run at least 5 miles daily and tend to be very active. I am also 6’ 7” tall. So I have two of the alleged risk factors. After my maze I felt great - even though I was physically weak my mental acuity had improved tremendously. Based on the postings of folks like Ed Wehan it seemed like I’d be running marathons in no time. Reality was slightly different. I found that running was a real challenge. I could walk or jog but if I tried to run I would hit a wall quite rapidly. For over a year post-maze I experienced runs of bad days when I just felt out of sorts – a little like the old afib symptoms. Also my heart’s response to exercise was very different – sometimes my heart rate would drop when I increased my activity level and take several seconds to pick up. I had a major flutter scare and emergency room visit (search for my past postings to see that one). A little discouraging. Now for the good news – I had always kept exercise logs and I when I plotted running speed & distance over several months I found that I was slowly getting faster and building endurance. I still have great days and not so great days but I am getting better and better.

Bottom line for me and perhaps for you is that the maze is not a quick fix but you can get your life back in time. So if you are having the post maze blues don’t be discouraged – it can and will pass.

Paul

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