Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rpm on January 08, 2008, 01:21:39 AM
-
At 8am I am scheduled to take a nuclear stress test. I have a bad, bad feeling about this. I've had it for several weeks. I'm probably just worrying about nothing, but with the way my luck has run lately (and it has been really bad the last year) I just can't shake it.
The last time I took a stress test I wound up on the operating table getting angioplasty. They pump you full of radioactive dye and put you on a treadmill untill you reach peak heartbeat. They take a bunch of pictures and make you run the treadmill again and take another set. I never made it to what they consider peak for my age last time and I've had some chest pain off and on the last few weeks and had to take 3 or 4 nitro tabs. I have'nt told anyone about taking the nitro, including my cardiologist. Stubborn, stupid... you make the call.
I've come to consider the O'Club members my friends. I've shared things with you that I don't with people I interact with in person on a daily basis. This time tomorrow feel free to call me whatever you like. Fool, liberal, hypocrondriac, ect. because I've probably earned it. But if I don't make it back here, just know that I value all your opinions, whether I agreed with them or not and I stood behind my opinions because that's what I honestly believed in.
Hopefully, I can buy you all a beer at the next AH Convention.
(http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/TEE_ZION/FS1919~Frank-Sinatra-My-Way-Posters.jpg)
-
RPM, hope things go well fella.......if I ever get to one of the AHcon's - I'll take you up on that beer (Hey, I'm cheap, I'll admit it......if its free, its for me...lol..
:D
Wurzel
-
Good luck. I may disagree with your views, I may find your presentation disagreeable. But I wish you good luck.
-
Good luck, RPM-Just don't let passing the test itself stress you out.
-
"I won't die before Ex#3, I won't die before Ex#3, I won't die before Ex#3"
Seriously rpm.
I'm wishing you well. I know what it's like to get a close call.
-
That post made no sense! :D
Take it easy RPM..
-
Best of luck to you!
:D
-
<---43 here and was suffering acute angina for 3-4 months before I decided to go to the emergency room. They cathetered me and found 4 blockages, stinted 2 and ballooned 2. Quit smoking Christmas day after smoking for 26 years. Let's not talk silly or stubborn as I am severely hard headed.
Have had what I call minor chest pains and have gone through about 60 nitro tabs since August of last year. Scheduled for a 3rd nuclear stress test in March. If they find more problems then so be it.
You'll be fine RPM, technology these days is great. I actually had fun calling all my friends when I was 50 sheets to the wind on valium and stuff after the catheterization.
-
Good luck man...
-
RPM you'll do just fine!
They also have an alternative to the treadmill. They can add some juice that increases the heart rate while you just lay there. Doesn't hurt.
Had one angio done on me..which freaked me out. They can fix any blockages they find while they are doing it.
Things are gonna be okay RPM. Modern technology is so far advanced that they will do anything to save a librul... Besides Hillery needs your Vote!
:aok
Mac
-
I think RPM should stay away from this board for about a month just to **** with us. LAWLZ.
Good luck RPM, we'll see you when you get back.
If you ever find your way to Houston, and God knows why you would, the beer's on me.
-
:) :aok Best wishes to you rpm. Holler once you're back home & rested a bit. :)
-
Good luck RPM. Don't die please. Isn't death against one of the forum rules?
And yea, pretty silly not telling the doc when you take nitro... The doc might be thinking "he's got a partial blockage... the next time he complains about chest pain it means we gotta go in and fix it" or something like that. A friend of mine waited until the full-up heart attack and it took him almost a year to get straightened out.
So anyhow, good luck :)
-
I have always felt that if you don't go to the doctor that they won't find anything wrong with you.
I agree that I don't like your views or the way you present them but wish you the best and.. I have hope for you in any case.. you are smart enough to grow up I think once you start learning to live a little and stop worrying about a bunch of stuff that is none of your business.
lazs
-
Good luck RPM. We all gotta go sometime but I don't think it's your time yet. Hang in there.
-
One thing is sure, at least for me. There will not be an angioplasty in my future. I'll find a doctor that will do a real bypass.
-
Well that dont sound fun
Like others have side, I find your "views" completely wrong...but in the real world, outside this BBS, I do wish you well.
-
I took the stress test a few years back........was out mowing the lawn and had a sharp pain jolt through my chest. So went to get checked out.
I found the stress test both disconcerting and comforting...an odd mix.....that they surround you with heart doctors and nurses and medical techs just in case your heart explodes on the treadmill. I just thought to myself "well, if its going to happen then no better place " They couldnt find anything wrong so what the hell.........just go on living.
Good luck rpm...it all evens out in the long run.
-
Good Luck
-
good luck bro. hope it goes well.
thoughts and prayers.
!
-
Well I didnt have anything like Yeager did...but I discovered my egronmics and posture at work was giving my right pectoral muscle some pain. Having just had a coworker have a heart attack, that seriously freaked me out. Thus began my own course into being a heart healthy hypochondriac!
It wasnt until anoter coworker mentioned he had the same sort of forearm pain, pectoral muscle pain that finally made my mind wind down some. Now I stretch and get up more frequently from the desk.
Since I work at a hospital, I see things that I wish I didnt! For example, I have to wander past the angioplasty dept to trade out backup tapes for various systems. Im used to seeing older folks there, but Im seeing guys my age (38) thru there. Yeeps!
The best you can do is eat healthy, exercise and try to be preventative!
-
Good luck! We'll have Ex-#3 come and bring ya flowers! :D Just kidding, good luck!
-
You'll be fine. I'm having a stress test too this Friday but it's not nuclear. This is embarassing as I don't know what they call it (my wife is thrilled with my indifference) . My Echocardiograms and ekgs are good but they want to know why I have high blood pressure. It's probably from reading this BBS:rofl
Cheers,
gusman44
-
Good luck RPM.
-
I was right. It was silly.
It didn't go smooth, but I survived. I had a couple runs of irregular heartbeats and they took an extra set of pics. Apparently I still have some blockages. I get the lowdown when I go back.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, but I wasn't sure about getting thru this unscathed.
Oh, and the beer offer still stands.:aok
-
glad you survived :D , what do they suggest about the blockages?
-
I'll find out after he examines the pics.
-
Originally posted by rpm
I was right. It was silly.
It didn't go smooth, but I survived. I had a couple runs of irregular heartbeats and they took an extra set of pics. Apparently I still have some blockages. I get the lowdown when I go back.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, but I wasn't sure about getting thru this unscathed.
Oh, and the beer offer still stands.:aok
Good news. *whew*
-
Great to hear RPM. My best friend is the co-owner of the biggest saloons in Houston (he says Texas but I can't verify that). Let me know what your brew of choice is and I'll guarantee a night of fun at his place.
http://www.bigtexassaloon.com
-
Do yourself a favor, and seek at least one other opinion. After going through this with friends and family, I've noticed that the only people who don't eventually get a bypass after either angioplasty or a stent are very sick and cannot handle surgery, or die, usually from another heart attack.
I am NOT saying this to be cruel or to scare you. On the contrary, I'm saying this because EVERY PERSON I've seen that went ahead and had the full bypass done did a lot better, and every person I've seen that got angioplasty did not do nearly as well.
Yes, bypass is more radical surgery, and somewhat more risk is involved. However, it removes both the blockage and the damaged arteries, and if you change your diet and your life style somewhat, the problem is solved on a more permanent basis. With far less chance of more heart issues, especially if it si done before the heart is damaged very much.
My best friend found he had serious blockages this time last year, at only 43. He had the full bypass done, and he's like a new man, no more blood pressure problems or any of that. The surgeon told him if he'd make the small changes to his diet and life style, it would be like he'd never had any blockages at all.
The flip side is my Dad. He had a heart attack, and had angioplasty. For 6-8 months he did pretty well. He changed his diet (to the extreme, Mom rinsed hamburger after scrambling it, on the very rare times when he had it) and began walking. He did everything he was asked. About 18 months later, he had a major heart attack, and then they did the bypass. His heart never did fully recover, and his recovery time from the bypass was much longer, the damage was already done by the second heart attack.
In any event, best of luck to you, whatever route you take.
-
Sound advice.
-
glad you made it brother.
:aok
-
Ive read the same things Captain says. Stents are a short term solution to a problem. There was a recent article (Google it) debating whether people should be stented or put on statins. The study seemed to say, without saying it, that Dr's are relying too much on stents, when statins could reap the same gains.
And for bigger blockages, bypass surgery reaps the most success.
If you already have stents and blockages, are they having you take asprin and other meds?
I take 2 baby asprin a day (162mg total) since I inherited Luten Factor V, a clotting blood disorder. Just part of my preventative regiment Ive discussed with my Dr. My Dad had a blood clot in his leg that was caught early. But he's on blood thinners and the like.
(I also made some diet changes 3 years ago, thanks to Toad's info on cholesterol. I gave up all soda, drink lots of green tea and water. I read great de-calcifying articles about pommegranate juice, so I added that to the diet. Im trying to avoid the issues my father and grandparents had)
Point being, I'm hoping they just dont medicate you and not gve you some good nutritional advice too.
Good luck, man
-
Originally posted by rpm
At 8am I am scheduled to take a nuclear stress test. I have a bad, bad feeling about this. I've had it for several weeks. I'm probably just worrying about nothing, but with the way my luck has run lately (and it has been really bad the last year) I just can't shake it.
That nagging feeling is the knowledge that you know you're not treating yourself well. Too much alcohol, tobacco, food... not enough exercise.
Best of luck. ;)
-
Originally posted by Sandman
That nagging feeling is the knowledge that you know you're not treating yourself well. Too much alcohol, tobacco, food... not enough exercise.
Best of luck. ;)
Weird, I just mentioned you in another thread today lol.
-
I'll be praying for you Mike. <
> to you bro. Keep your chin up and look forward, not down and away.
Jay
-
Originally posted by LePaul
Ive read the same things Captain says. Stents are a short term solution to a problem. There was a recent article (Google it) debating whether people should be stented or put on statins. The study seemed to say, without saying it, that Dr's are relying too much on stents, when statins could reap the same gains.
And for bigger blockages, bypass surgery reaps the most success.
If you already have stents and blockages, are they having you take asprin and other meds?
I take 2 baby asprin a day (162mg total) since I inherited Luten Factor V, a clotting blood disorder. Just part of my preventative regiment Ive discussed with my Dr. My Dad had a blood clot in his leg that was caught early. But he's on blood thinners and the like.
(I also made some diet changes 3 years ago, thanks to Toad's info on cholesterol. I gave up all soda, drink lots of green tea and water. I read great de-calcifying articles about pommegranate juice, so I added that to the diet. Im trying to avoid the issues my father and grandparents had)
Point being, I'm hoping they just dont medicate you and not gve you some good nutritional advice too.
Good luck, man
The stents they used on me are the drug eluting type (Cordis Cypher RX CXS23300) that constantly give off statins for years. I'm also taking Plavix, Lipitor, Verapamil, Atenolol and asprin. I now watch my cholesterol and fat intake and am heavy on anti-oxidant foods. I drink POM and green tea daily and lots of oatmeal.
Man, what I'd give for a chicken fried steak smothered in cream gravy some days....
-
Sounds like you are trying to do all the right things. Have you added fish oil and flaxseed to the mix? (I mix in some ground flaxseed to some yogurt every morning). Omega-3s help out a lot.
I've noticed my blood pressure has gone down a few notches. I used to be in the 120/80 range...which is good, but now I've brought it down to 108/60 at my last checkup.
Keep at it, I do wish you well. (Who else will argue with me?)
-
I've tried Fish oil and Omega3 suppliments. The statins I take kind of negate the effects, tho. Some days I feel like that pic of Bobby Riggs wolfing down a plate of pills. (caution: seriously dated reference)
And yeah, you got to have someone on the other side of the fence. Otherwise you just look weird arguing with no one.;)
-
good luck with your test!:aok