This one with the Cardiologist that I have been waiting on since about freaking April.
So far, so good, I have avoided getting the old Uninvited Finger In The Ass up to this point so there’s that.
Adjusted the medications, right after my main Doc did last week. I swear these people don’t communicate with each other even though my medical history is right there in front of them.
Wants me to start taking aspirin, buy a blood pressure testing collar and start keeping an eye on it.
I made the mistake of walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator on the way in and they freaked out when they checked my blood pressure. 172/80 thereabouts.
They checked it again right before I left and it was still high at 150/70 but at my regular Doc the other day their electronic tester showed 150/70 and I told them that it was wrong. They went and got the old manual cuff and it showed 132/70.
Yeah, OK.
Still taking BP pills every day, waiting to see if they play with that.
After a whole bunch of messing around, the Cardiologist going so far as to draw pictures on a scratch pad to show me what’s going on, I basically told him that I was tired of the screwing around here.
I originally went to the doctor about this in April. This is July and none of them has done jack shit except schedule tests and play with the medications.
I flat out said to him that you know what the problem is and you know where it is.
FIX IT and quit screwing around because I am tired of the games.
So supposedly I finally got through to him, he wants to schedule a Cat Scan to show exactly where the clogs are and how big they are. Then he also supposedly scheduled an appointment with the Vascular Surgeons.
Apparently the major issue is that besides both Femoral arteries being completely plugged, there is a smaller artery not too far below where the Aorta splits off into each leg that snakes around to the butt cheeks, The one on the right side is also plugged and that one may require actual surgery because it takes off at a hard ninety degrees.
We shall see.
Something kinda weird I found out, because this has been going on for quite some time and because what I do for a living generally requires a shit load of walking, my body has grown brand new, smaller arteries that bypass the clogs, trying to fix its self.
I had no idea that was even possible.
So there ya go, now you know about as much as I do, which ain’t much.
The human body is pretty good at some things. I don’t recall whether I’ve heard of spontaneous generation of arteries though.
Good to hear that you managed to get some progress. I’ve heard other stories about the medical types dragging things along. Just gotta smack ’em upside the head, I guess.
Best of luck with the smoking. I do know how tough it is.
Yes, it DOES happen! My wife had her artery in the left arm “harvested” to replace/bypass the two clogged ones. I had learned in Biology that the human body does indeed grow new capillaries nd veins and arteries as necessary around damaged tissue. This is just another miracle of designed given to us by Heavenly Father.
Good luck and hang in there with the smoking cessation. Chew lotsa gum!
We’ve had cows that get bad IV bottle treatment in both neck veins (the veins actually rotted out) go on to live for years. So yes, the blood can find its way. But then you have to use milk veins in the belly there after for treatments if needed.
Good on you to get them to check old school.
Those arterial vessels that developed to compensate for the blocked native vessels are called “collaterals”. A similar thing happens in the heart if the coronary arteries are significantly obstructed. Humans can grow collaterals in response to chronic ischemia (insufficient arterial blood supply relative to metabolic need (“demand”). Pigs can grow coronary collaterals also, but dogs generally can’t. For whatever that’s worth (relevant to animal models of ischemia — not calling you a pig, unless you choose to identify as such).
I know you’re not asking for advice, but I’m putting in a few cents. Sorry. Ask the vascular surgeons about risks/benefits of percutaneous intervention vs open surgical. Percutaneous im this context is med-speak for unblocking the arteries via catheter — they basically go through the skin (“percutaneous”) into the blocked vessel and sort of rotorooter the blockage open. If the blockages are bad enough it may be surgical bypass with grafts are the only option. But it’s worth making sure all potential options are considered.
Yeah, I’ve looked into this a bit.
They actually have a Roto Rooter type gizmo they can thread in with a tiny rotating “D” bit cutter and a vacuum tube that sucks the debris out now.
I think they call it Rotorex or something like that.
I had to go look it up. It would be nice if they have one of these babies.
https://youtu.be/AwvdlJE6zRE
I wonder what kinda Morse or Brown and Sharp tapers the rooter bits use? Good luck, old man. Hope you get better quick. We all gotta’ load of bull-shit saved up.
I’ve had a fast heart rate for years, [I’m 72] no cholesterol no high blood pressure and no other problems but the Saturday before Easter I had a mild heart attack. It turned out I had two blockages. One 94% the other 99%. Easter morning around 9 AM they wheeled me into the operating room, put in two stents, and wheeled me out 45 minutes later with only a tiny dot on my right wrist to show for it. Amazing difference.
Wouldn’t ya knw it, 5 years ago I was talking with my Cardiologist about my heart, he was telling me I needed a new Aortic Valve (Stenosis had set in, I had a bad backflow from the bad valve leafs) but there was “no rush”. Well, he scheduled me for July 6th… “no rush” indeed!
Here I am 5 years later, still kickin’ and tickin’ (I have the metal-leaf valve).
Two short comments,
Apple cider vinegar (with mother) cures heartburn (but it hurts while it fixes)
And it cleans up clots. Apocryphal .
Nicotine constricts blood vessels.
When you quit for real expect a 3 week “flu” where you will cough your guts out.
This is the cilia (like the waving arms on a coral) waking up and realizing what a goddam mess it is in here.
Cough medicine just makes it last longer.
Which is why I vape.
No tars and crap to cough up, I can smell again , and I smell better, I can go up stairs without wheezing, no more brown sock bottoms, or yellow pit stains. I can even jog a smidge without doubling over.
Plus no cravings, at all.
Consider the vape.
https://www.elementvape.com/geek-vape-s100
Get plain no flavor and Lean to live with it. No flavor means no smell.
Adjustable from giant clouds to a tiny trickle of vapor that nobody even notices in theaters or restaurants or any place you get trapped for hours.
50/50/12mg is for a pack a day smoker.
The bottle (in Canada. ) is 20$ and lasts me a month. Pack a day.
Cheap as dirt.
Another vote here for vaping. I like Element Vape too, though I now buy from a local shop almost exclusively. I quit cigs in 2010. Thought I’d gradually reduce the nic until I was at zero, and then quit the vape too. I’ve reduced the nic concentration, but with the increases in wattage and vapor production, I doubt it’s made any difference.
Due to the FDA’s noises over time, I’m fully equipped to make my own juice, and I use only rebuildables. The damn feds could clamp down all they want on vendors, and I’d be good for many months. But I still buy pre-mix juice. Back some years, it was a major money saver to make my own.
Phil would need to get to zero-nic juice to get the main benefit, since it’s the nicotine that’s a cardio problem. But yeah, all the other benefits are worth it too.
As for smell, heck, any vape juice smells better than ashtray odor. At a previous job, I got told I smelled like apricot. No, I don’t vape any fruity stuff. I stick with tobacco flavors, though there aren’t any that really reproduce it well, IMHO. When I make my own, it’s better.
Every day I drink a cup of Hibiscus Tea (with a tsp of honey).
Doctor visit today.
BP 108/78
Your mileage may vary.
Case study
https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2008/study-shows-consuming-hibiscus-tea-lowers-blood-pressure/
My very best wishes to you Phil. But I have no doubt that you will slay this (health) dragon and come out intact on the other side. You have exhibited a great deal of grit, determination and perseverance in your life and this problem will be no exception. Besides, you have Kevin to help you navigate the healthcare land mines. 👍🏻
We need your voice Phil. You have brought together a like minded community. A community that cares about you, loves you, appreciates you and prays for you.
Oh yikes! Too sappy? Oh well, it needed to be said. Females gonna be emotional females.
Love you all
Yes…the human body does create collateral circulation to bypass deficient vasculature. But it’s never as good as the vessel that is blocked. Having vascular surgery to correct a blockage is not without risk. The primary risk is that some of the clot/calcification/plaque can be dislodged and travel to other parts of the body where it lodges in a blood vessel smaller than the piece that was dislodged. When this happens you develop ischemia in the tissue distal to the new blockage. In the brain this is a stroke. In the heart it’s an MI (heart attack), the lungs it’s a Pulmonary Embolism. Any of these can be serious or fatal. It’s not a surgery to be taken lightly. Your best bet is to have the procedure done at a teaching facility hospital. You generally get the best care at those and they have the needed facilities and staff to immediately deal with any complications. But based on what you have spoken of in the past it sounds like you don’t have a lot of options other than to try and unblock all the occlusions.
In the mid sixties my tough old indian grandmother (father’s side) developed severe clotting in the main artery feeding her lower body. As a desperation move they tied it off and hope the blood would find alternate pathways. At the time the golfer Ben Hogan was the only other person they had ever tried this on, according to her doctors. She lasted another twenty years, dying by falling and hitting her head on her lawn mower while mowing her yard, it broke her neck.
Doctors 4king about isn’t confined to the Notional Health Service, then. Last week I got a letter from rheumatology saying they couldn’t order my methotrexate because I hadn’t had a liver/kidney function blood test since January: this was a duplicate of the letter I got in May. I’ve pointed out that someone isn’t doing their job properly as I had the tests – one in their department – in March and May. No reply so far so we’ll see if the stuff arrives on time . . .
All I know is if you let a doctor get their hands on you it’s all down hill from there.
I find that when I go to the doctor, the machine blood pressure always reads higher than the cuff. BTW – the diastolic pressure – the lower one, is the bad one. If your’s is 70, that’s astonishingly good. When the old lady left and my BP went nuts it was 198/110. I told my brother that and he said with him he’s see that as the medication is working.
BTW – they stopped the finger up the ass sometime back around here. First time I was told that the doctor (not my normal one, took five minutes to explain why he wasn’t going to shove his finger up my ass. I told him I was good, no need to explain.
The next year’s physical, back to my normal GP, I told him that story as a laugh and he said that in all his years he’s never found anything by penetrating a dude’s bunghole. It’s a PSA test that would show a prostate problem every time.
The UFIA is nothing compared to the other tests. No personal experience, just know a couple guys. The flow test – discomfort somewhat dependent upon how good they are with putting in a catheter. From what I’ve heard, getting biopsy samples is no fun at all.
I was worried about the biopsy pain too. I had 2 elevated PSA tests in a row and doc gave me option of repeating or going with biopsy. Nervous but opted for the biopsy. He first deadened area with lidocaine and then took 12 samples from different sections. I could hear the “snap” of the collection instrument each time but only felt a tiny amount of pressure, no real pain, a mosquito bite is way worse. Glad I got the test because he found 2 types of cancer, one was the normal slow growth type but the other was described as very aggressive. Opted for the robotic surgery and good thing I didn’t delay because the cancer had reached the layer just beneath the outer edge so it was still contained. When in doubt, get it done and don’t fear the biopsy.
One reason your BP is high at a doctor’s (or dentist’s) office could be “White Smock Syndrome”. It’s true in my case.
I take a BP first thing in the morning before I do or drink anything, and my 7-day running average is 112/65 — which is not bad when you consider I’m 72 fucking years old, 15 pounds overweight, and still smoke a pack a day.
If I go to the dentist, however, it’s about 145/75. And they give me blank looks when I try to explain it. My doctor laughs when I tell him about it.
The BP unit I use is an Omron BP7100. Not the top of the line with all the bells and whistles, but when I check it against the doctor’s mercury unit it’s spot on. You can find one for under $40.
Two pieces of advice regarding a home BP machine: get one with an arm cuff, not a wrist cuff, and whatever you get, check it against the one in your doctor’s office.
Have a Dr. note saying no auto BP machine. I can read 132/72 without the auto and it goes to 232/189. Sends them into panic every time. Had 2nd heart attack and I knew it so they went for a look. Came in after said your clear as a whistle and call us if you need us again. Bye. My doc said I probably had a very small clot break off but it dissolved by the time they were looking. Heart meds are the one thing I make sure of taking. Prayers and good luck.
God created an amazing machine.
Like Mickey Mantel said, “if I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself”. Oh well, still plan on sliding in sideways at 90 mph into my grave,,,,,,,,with my hair on fire, SAFE the umpire will say.
Check out a book called The Magnesium Miracle. Most westerners get plenty of calcium in their diets. Much like excess calories being stored as fat, excess calcium is stored in the soft tissues like arteries, heart valves etc. You’ve heard of hardening or calcification of the arteries right? Now, Magnesium (Mg) regulates calcium and causes your body to excrete excess calcium. Most westerners (men especially) don’t get anywhere near as much Mg as they need so supplements are needed. Don’t choose just any off the shelf form. The first symptom of too much Mg is loose stool so you want to choose something like Mg Chloride (liquid or pill) and slowly increase the dose each week until loose stool happens then back off half a dose. Maintain that until it happens again then back off half a dose again. You’ll find the sweet spot and should stick with it for life. Mg protects your heart. Show up in a ER with suspected heart attack and they will start you on a high dose Mg IV but by then it is usually too late. The book explains it all. As a bonus, after about 8 months of Mg supplements, you’ll find that you sleep like the dead.
“grown brand new, smaller arteries that bypass the clogs, trying to fix its self.”
Yep, my dad had same.
The Human Body, designed by a Creator who knows.
Stay Strong Phil and Take Care of Yourself.