OT- Had a real bad Weekend

[Bigahh]

Guys I am starting this topic because if It can help just 1 person avoid what happened to me this weekend it will be well worth it. I suffered a Heart Attack Thursday night, and got to the Hospital just as a 2nd was starting. I ended up having a 99% Blockage of the Left Ventrical Artery of the Heart. It is better known as the "Widow Maker" Less than 10% Survive a Heart attack from a blockage of this Artery. The Great news is, and it is a miracle that I have no Damage to the heart which means I am already recovered! Just have to recover from the area where they went up my Leg to put a Stint in. Its a bit sore, and beat up. The point I really want to get across to anyone who reads this is DO Not sweep the Early Warning Signals Under the Rug like I did! I am of that 10% who Survived, but would not want to roll those dice again. I had signals for 10 years, and ignored them, Don't make that same Mistake guys! Needless to say I was headed down a Dead end road with my Diet, but I now took a Turn, and things will be different! I still have Lots of Triggers to Pull before its over, and I hope all of you do also!

[C. Cash]

Praise to the Lord for His mercy on the way Bigaah! So glad you made it through and are on the mend my friend.

[pwl44m]

Thx for the post Bigah, it wiil soon be 2 yrs since My last treadmill. I am not having any problems but definitly need to get the Diet under control. Praise God that U made it through this one. I too have a couple Stints. Prayers up for U.

[TedH]

Glad you're still with us! Sometimes we need a wake up call to go ahead and do what we know we should have been doing all along. Take care of yourself my friend.

[kimwcook]

You're a lucky man. Priase the Lord you're still amongst us so you can pull those triggers.

[Bigahh]

Thanks Guys! It was a great feeling to see the sun come out this morning.

[gamekeeper]

Glad to hear you made it, I had a similar heart attack last Spring. Sure makes you sit up and think about your lifestyle.

[Blaine]

I'm so glad you dodged the bullet....Can't afford to lose any more of the Good Guys....

[olyinaz]

Glad to hear that a good guy beat the reaper!

I dodged the colon cancer bullet myself earlier this year so I'll piggy back on your message to ask once again that guys "just get over it" and get that exam done sooner than later. The life you save may be your own!!

Good news. Hope you're feeling better today.

Best,
Oly

[Dave]

Glad you are still among us! I am sure the sun is shining a little brighter today and the world is a little sweeter. Good luck with the diet and exercise.

[Booger Bill]

I recently got a colonopsey test. Outside of drinking the bardal the night before the test wasnt bad. In fact I remember being rolled in and telling the women they had a crappy job and then I woke up in recovery. Think I also might have told them they knew every AH in town and thats when they put me out!

[Borregos]

Glad you made it ok.
Thanks for posting.

[Stan in SC]

You have to watch the warning signs and take appropriate action.In June ,2008 I had a quadruple by-pass.It ain't fun at all but it beat the alternative.Pay attention to how you feel and even if you feel hale and hearty have a stress test.Most of all watch your diet.

Stan in SC

[Nath]

Not nice. Glad you fix'n.

Walking up and down a range with targets is a good start, then there is cranking a loading press

Nath.

[Newtmaker]

Yep, this past Nov 17th was my one year anniversary of a triple bypass. I too had had warning signs but never an actual heart attack Luckily my operation was a total success and I must say I had no problems with recovery! PTL! Been going to the "Y" two to three days a week and watching the diet since then. I do feel a lot better!

Stay well and keep up the new lifestyle! It will pay off in the long run!

Walt

[dkmlever]

A couple of you mention the "warning signs" and not to ignore them, maybe you could list some of these warning signs as a big help to others.
Glad you made it!

[OldWin]

Glad you are ok. Something like that must really put things in perspective and make the good things in life seem that much better.

[wecsoger]

Don't buy any lottery tickets! You may have used up the rest of your luck. (grin)

Seriously though. What's killed a lot of us men is the willingness to "John Wayne" through the symptoms. All well and good but it's hard feeling like a hero when someone is doing CPR on you. If you're even conscious. Really sucks for the guy or gal on the other side of that. (don't ask me how I know that!)

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Condition ... mePage.jsp

HEART ATTACK WARNING SIGNS
CHEST DISCOMFORT
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

DISCOMFORT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UPPER BODY
Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH
with or without chest discomfort.

OTHER SIGNS
may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

[Beaker]

In June 2008, I lost my brother to a heart attack of the very same artery, the "widow maker". He had just turned 52 a week before. Praise the Lord you survived.

[.45colt]

I lost My Dad in 1981 to such a thing.I Thank God You are on the mend.Prayers Sent.

[BenT]

Glad your still with us. My father had a triple bypass when he was 49. He totaly changed his diet and started walking everyday. He is still around at 80. So change your bad diet habits my friend and you'll be around for a long time. My father has had some health issues this last year . I feel lucky because , I could of lost him 30 years ago.

If you any of you have a history of heart disease in your family, spend the money on a good physical. My older brother got a stint a few years a go at 43 . Then 6 months later my first cousin at 45 got a stint. Both of them had a sharp pain in their arm. I spent 2 grand on my copay for the test. It involved an MRI , treadmil and dye in the arteries. I spend too much time by myself in the woods , hunting , cutting firewood , etc. Well I got clean bill of heart health ,I'm 46. So now I don't have to worry about tipping over while alone in the woods.

[20cows]

Praise the LORD!

[stretch]

BAD Weekend?!?!

Man, you just had the weekend of your life!

Glad it all worked out for you. Really.

My Mom went to the ER 4 years ago on Dec. 7. She
"wasn't feeling well", and insisted my Dad take her to
the hospital around midnight.

She woke up 8 hours later with a triple bypass, a repaired
heart valve, and a new heart valve under the hood. (I asked
her if they included a free oil change too, but then I'm a
rotten kid! ) I call her up every year around this time and
wish her a Happy Birthday!

You've certainly got something to celebrate this year, too.


-Stretch

[AJMD429]

A couple of you mention the "warning signs" and not to ignore them, maybe you could list some of these warning signs as a big help to others.
Glad you made it!

One of the EARLY warning signs is when the doctor says "Your blood pressure (or cholesterol or sugar or weight or whatever) is 'just a bit on the high side'."

The doctor is at that point 'testing the waters' to see if you're the type person who is willing to take treatment, or if you're so hostile to the concept of diet/exercise/taking medication that they may as well not waste their time on you; better to spend it on someone who will work with them. Putting off treatment may or may not be 'reasonable' at this point, but putting it off and not following-up means the doctor will write you off as someone who could care less about health.

Another is when the doctor says "I know your insurance doesn't cover this medication/test, but I still think it is a good idea." Same thing; is this a patient who actually cares more about staying healthy and alive than he does about paying for his new motorcycle, or will he just gripe if you try to get him to do anything his insurer doesn't cover?

Guys who don't have wives to more or less coerce them into going to the doctor, have a rougher time of it. Women are used to maintaining their bodies and health, and every year after about age sixteen they undergo exams and answer questions about body functions that most guys can barely handle starting when they're forty years old.

If your doctor is willing to treat you like they would their own family member(s), as in offer the best care possible, and discuss reasonable alternatives from there, work with them. If they are an 'assembly-line' doctor more interested in this year's benefit package, offered by the insurer or HMO or hospital who employs them, you need to reconsider. If you had a really nice vintage gun, you wouldn't take it to some cheap-hack gunsmith, so why do you cut corners on your body...?

I've even had patients literally in tears, saying "Well, we hate to do it, but we're going to have to change doctors, because my husband's company changed insurance plans, and your not in network." Now the average amount of money a person spends in their primary care doctor's office per year is about the cost of eating at Wendy's once a week, and the 'other' stuff like CT scans, colon scoping, blood tests, etc., can be sent to 'in-network' facilities, so once they think about it, they realize that with their deductible and co-pays, they'd probably be spending nearly that much at their 'in-network' primary care doctor's office anyway. It's amazing how they get 'bluffed' by their insurance companies and employers into almost 'giving up', changing doctors each year to whatever doctor is deemed most 'docile' by the insurer, and they may or may not develop any rapport with before the next 'change' they're pressured to make. Stand your ground!

Test-wise, a good deal 'outside the system' is the carotid ultrasound screening (usually done in conjunction with aneurysm screening) that's $100 and advertised pretty often on the radio. Some blood tests are nearly USELESS because they find disease too late - things like 'plain' blood sugar testing (1&2 hour glucose tolerance tests, and fasting INSULIN levels are far better) and 'plain' lipid panels (the Liposcience NMR lipoprofile is WAY more accurate than any calculated or contrived 'ratios' I've seen). There is a test called Lp-PLAC-2 that is probably better than the HS-CRP for picking up vessle inflammation. Getting your free and total testosterone is also sometimes very helpful, because if it is low, your "normal" PSA value may be concealing a prostate cancer, which will only show up with a rise in PSA once your hormone level is normalized (plus you'll likely feel better if an abnormally low level is treated). The labs mark up these tests hugely because the insurance companies enter into contracts with them that more or less force them to, but you CAN negotiate the prices down into reasonable ranges. Besides, you just have to decide whether it is more important to live another ten years longer before the first stroke, or to have enough money to buy that new Leupold. Take your pick; until Obamacare is fully phased in, you DO have the choice.

[Bigahh]

A couple of you mention the "warning signs" and not to ignore them, maybe you could list some of these warning signs as a big help to others.
Glad you made it!

I will not list the warning signs of an actual heart attack as someone already did, but some early warning signs I had that were up to 3 years ago! I swept them under the rug, and it almost cost me , and my Family.

1. Pains in my legs, especially while sleeping.
2. When I would stand up I would get dizzy, and Light headed for up to 30 seconds, and any sounds were wavy. My Heart didn't have enough blood to pump. I am really ashamed of this one! And it went on the last 3 years! I blew it off as something else.
3. Unexplained weight gain of 5 pounds or more in a weeks time. This happened to me in the prior 2 weeks. Weigh yourself often, and watch for retained water in your feet, and legs. I lost 30 pounds in the 3 days I was Hospitalized after my Heart could do what it was suppose to do. These were the 3 Biggies with me. Someone may be able to add to this.

[Malamute]

You definately dodged that bullet, glad you made it alright. My dad had a buddy that lived hard and fast. He was a fair bit overweight, drank and smoked, ate grease and junk, etc. One day he "went toes up on the carpet, making gurgling sounds" as my dad says, and that was the end of him. He was in his 50's.


A couple years ago I was feeling worn out, had chest pains off and on, etc, so went to my Doc, he set me up for a treadmill. Did that, and they said "you're all right,...we think". They wanted me to do another type. Off to the big city I went. They did another tradmill, shot some raioactive sludge in me and put me in a hog trough and ran a camera around me to watch my heart, did ultrasound I think, and something else. They said there was no sign of blockage, but I had an extra heartbeat now and then. The Doc prescribed Prilosec OTC also, which took care of the chest pains, and said to cut me stress level. I got off easy, it could just as well been a heart problem.

[Ysabel Kid]

Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. That was TOO CLOSE!