OT: WOYM Thread

[Fleet 1]

MOJO to you Velo.

[Fleet 1]

Just had a donation from a James but i cant find who this is here. Very much appreciated. Aloha

[Hadl2Alworth]

You dont need to remind me. I am very familiar with it. Having gone through it as a kid...but having a Gay brother beaten for being gay in the 80s was my coming out party against Bullies. I did some damage to those scumbags. And by coming out....i mean my rage. lol Im straight. But very close with my brother who died in 93. I now live in his home here in Kauai.

I understand that. I hope all you have now is love...and lots of it!

[Boltjolt]

For the past 3-4 weeks I've been dealing with setbacks in my heart health journey. I'm 65 and still active. I like to cycle and participate in outdoor recreation and sports, softball especially. I've had to have angioplasties in the fall 2021 and 2022. That is where the cardiologists goes into your heart with a catheter and place stents in your coronary arteries to open them up.

The most recent angioplasty, in late October, developed some complications, apparently, and around Christmas I started having some severe chest pain. I was in Montana snow-shoeing when it first happened. It was so frustrating because I've undergone three angioplasties total since I was 59 and I was hoping after this last one in October I would be done and not plagued coronary artery disease any longer.

I saw my cardiologist this week and he was encouraged that they should be able to fix the complication with the latest stent, which apparently has narrowed and is restricting blood flow inside my heart. I have to undergo some tests then he will schedule another angioplasty to go in and fix the problem, hopefully some time this spring.

I am grateful and thankful for many things...

To have a cardiologist who is at the top of his game and who genuinely cares about me as a patient and understands my desire to continue living and active and full live.

To live in a age where advanced medical technology makes heart catheterization possible, the ability to reach inside the interior of the human heart and place stents in coronary arteries with minimally invasive procedures. I'm grateful for the many outstanding people who over the centuries have dedicated their lives to learning about the human body that has led to miracle of modern medical practices today, and to those who developed this technology.

To have a healthy heart despite these troubles, and to learn from my cardiologist that my heart muscle is strong and structurally sound and that my arteries have not hardened, they are still soft and pliable, and that my prospects for living a long and active life are good once we get past these hurdles. (I have a heredity condition that causes my coronary arteries to fill with plaque and narrow or close.)

To have health insurance that covers everything. I'm on Medicare now, but my private insurance plan covers what Medicare does not. I've been able to have all this work done on my heart with relatively little out of pocket expenses. Without the supplementary insurance I would be bankrupt. I know that so many people deal with medical debt, either by not have insurance or not having adequate insurance. I am just so fortunate to have what I have.

My only question is , if you had chest pains, why are they waiting til Spring?

I hope they can fix you up, it just seems the wait is long.

[Hadl2Alworth]

I pray for immediate healing for you, Velo. Sounds like you have too much fun for any heart issues. I admire your spirit!

[Velo]

Velo, keep up the good fight. Heart issues have been top of mind for myself, and all those I hear about. I'm glad I was good with my cardio before my heart attack in 2019, and that my heart wasn't seriously damaged with the quick action of the doctors and cath lab. I'm looking forward to meeting a new Primary Care Provider who is also a Cardiologist outside the VA system this year who might have a different view on what to do beyond meds.

Thank you. I totally hear you on not relying on meds to manage the condition and finding alternatives. I hate the meds associated with this: blood thinners, statins, beta blockers. Right now I have to be on a blood thinner and I've just learned to live with it. But at some point I hope to be able to get off of them. Good luck in that endeavor.

[Velo]

MOJO to you Velo.

Thank you Fleet.

[Velo]

My only question is , if you had chest pains, why are they waiting til Spring?

I hope they can fix you up, it just seems the wait is long.

That is a good question, thank you. The wait is because my cardiologist wants me to do a nuclear stress test first. It's a test where they inject a small amount of radioactive material into your blood stream and then they can track the blood flow through my heart at rest and while I'm working it on a treadmill. It allows them to see exactly where the blood flow is restricted so they know what to expect when they go in with a catheter. There aren't a lot of places where you can have this test done, and the earliest date I could get is Feb. 23. So maybe the first week in March is when I'll have the angioplasty - the catheter procedure.

In an emergency, if a patient is in danger of dying, they can go in with a catheter and perform angioplasty without a pre-test. But it's preferable to have a complete picture of the heart function before going in, which is what my cardiologist wants to do. My condition is not life-threatening, I can still function normally, I just can't exercise or get my heart rate up too much or it will trigger angina/chest pain. If my condition worsens where I start feeling the pain at rest, I will have to go straight to the emergency room.

I've been dealing with this for six years and have had three angioplasties. In each case I've never had a total blockage in my coronary arteries. Total blockages are what cause fatal heart attacks. My cardiologist says this is in part because my arteries have not calcified and hardened, which is the more acute and life-threatening phase of coronary artery disease and is when a total blockage is likely to happen.

[JOJAX85]

I didn't know if this was the right place to put this, but just wanted to brag for a minute. My son just committed to play college football at D2 Carson Newman in Tennessee. Proud Papa.

[Craig440]

We have a neighborhood site on email. It covers a large area around here. People post now and then that they are new to the area and would like to know of a good restaurant, hair dresser, church, etc. Some lady posted this and made me lol


Emily Winterrowd
Blossom Valley • 7.3 mi • Edited 23 Apr •
Hello everyone, my boyfriend and I just moved here and we enjoy really loud music and late night yard fights!

the comments are equally funny.

[ghost]

What about oxidized LDL levels ?
Major props for the cycling...serious cardio right there.
Don't overdo the exercising at age 65, brother.
I do not want the side effects of statin drugs either !
The goal here is to maintain with moderate exercise, and with natural supplements, sterols, high dose fish oil etc.

I overdid the biking and developed prostatitis in the process. But I got up to 25 miles a day.

[Bolt-O]

RIP 'Shaft'. Just reminder, we do have the R.I.P. Thread in the general topic forum, its ok here, though.