'The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.' Isak Dinesen
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'The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.' Isak Dinesen
This group is always demanding photographs, so here we go. A before and after shot of the artery on the right side of my heart. I also have movies, but I can’t figure out how to upload them to the board to include the required viewer :confused:
As for my recovery, it is going very well. The cardiologist says I can return to sky diving in about three months :) : Meanwhile, I’m enrolled in something called HealthFit where they suggest lifestyle changes to help prevent a recurrence of the “event.” Not too bad, but I do need to give up Costco hot dogs )<: The nurse will keep calling for six months to nag about things and try to keep me on track. I think she already notified the local Costco .:)
My cholesterol numbers are very good compared to earlier. I’m now on a low dose of a statin drug (Zocor?), but it appears that diet change was already working and the numbers were coming down before the event. In case you wanted to know (BTW - the total number now gets ignored):
DATE Total TRI HDL LDL
12/6/06 176 269 29 93
5/25/07 194 332 33 95
6/27/07 108 134 27 54
As for how long I’ll be on medications, it looks like aspirin (low dose) is for life. Plavix for one year – this is an “anti-platelet” drug to keep the blood cells from clotting or collecting on the stent. The Beta Blocker and the statin have not been given a time line, but my guess is that the statin drug may be around for awhile.
I go for a stress EKG next week and an echocardiogram the following week. The echocardiogram will let us know the extent of any damage to the heart muscle. Considering my seeming rapid recovery, I’m hoping it’s good news. Maybe sky diving in two months . . . I’ll see if I can get a copy of the echocardiogram to post at my next update :D
Oh yes, a note on cost. Summit, the coronary hospital, sent a informational bill. The three days, angioplasty and a stent totaled out at over $76,000. The ambulance was “only” $3,360 for the 16 mile ride between hospitals! Yikes! It’s no wonder those who loose their insurance can end up destitute. And these costs don’t even include my provider’s costs for the ER. That four hours has to be another bunch of dollars.
One other note. The ambulance company sent a second bill to Kaiser for services on June 18, the day AFTER I was transported. I called Kaiser to complain (even though I’m not liable for the bill) and they contacted the ambulance company. The company said it must have been another Kaiser patient as they could not document the service. That second bill was for another $1600. I’ve heard that ambulance companies can sometimes be a bit less than upstanding. Guess that comes from bidding too low to get the contract and then needing to find more revenue to survive.
(Oh yes, and don’t wear your watch or jewelry when riding in one. Those things tend to disappear.)
Glad to hear you are recovering fast....not sure about the skydiving tho??? The tone of your post is 'chipper'. GREAT. Best of luck with cutting down on the meds. Take care Bill
Bill
Sounds like you are in good hands, and well on your way to skydiving again. when will the Doc's let you go sailing???
bill@ariel231
Really THANKS for the CSIPs.
It's amazing what a little epoxy and fabric will do.
If I didn't know any better those photos could be paintings by Turner of Big Ben in London fog.
It's a little like bringing your Ariel into the yard, bringing yourself into the OR for major repair. You have to trust the PROS. At least in the yard they don't wear white coats and call theirselfs DR. But you still are contributing to their life stye and their kids college funds. Wonder if the ambulance company is not Family?
My Provider is Medicare. Which worked for my little sew the face back on cosmetic repair. My employer picked up the hospital tab and I got a dozen bills in the mail from all the players. I'm going to stop eating bacon which I do every Sunday, when I make faces at Reality and celebrate Diversity.
Real question:
How did you bring your TRIGLYCERIDE level down so quickly and dramatically!!!! AND your LDL. Medication?
Yes, it was the medication. As my history shows, oatmeal at breakfast and diet changes did help (total Cholesterol was 222 a couple of years ago). But for me, it took the statin meds to do the job. My primary care physician was hoping we could get there without the meds. Maybe if I'd stopped eating those Costco hotdogs . . . :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by ebb
WoW! It has been awhile since I've been here, I just drop by for a quick post.
Bill, I'm very happy you are recovering! As Ebb says, WATCH that diet!!
Bill - Glad to see that this is all turning out well, and that you will be hale and healthy in no time. :) Ready for some skydiving. :D
So - are you going to sue Costco? ;) lol j/k
Stay healthy, and keep the good attitude that you obviously have (good job!). I'll keep you in my thoughts. :)
Last week was a treadmill ("stress") EKG. Wednesday this week was an echocardiogram of the heart (similar to ultrasound viewing). The results from the stress EKG were "normal," which I guess means OK. But more important, my cardiologist phoned on Thursday to tell me that the echocardiogram showed no injury to the heart muscle from the "event." That is really good news! Of course, there's still all those prescription drugs to take . . . :(
[Note: I was not serious about the earlier sky diving mention :o ]
Sounds like all is as well as can be.Keep 'behaving' ;) take care Bill