Fifty Plus (50+) - Harrowing Experience - Update On Palpitations

Forgot about your Trigeminal Neuralgia. My mother developed that about 10 years into her re-lapse with MS (the relapse lasted 20 years with no remission until she passed away).

They say it is the worst of the worst as far as human pain. Wouldn't doubt that for one second. A feather could touch her face in a certain spot and she would scream like someone was sticking hot knives into her. And she was a real trooper, took most everything without flinching, but not that. At least you got rid of it.

Well, count me in as a member of the AFib club. It was 15 years ago (age 37) and the doctors never figured out what triggered it but I did. Nothing like a huge dose of chocolate Easter candy along with a LOT of Michelob Lights to get the ticker out of rhytm. It also happened just 2 weeks after my last child was born-had my wife worried sick. My heart rate was in the 160's and I'd have to grab a wall while I was standing up to keep from keeling over as every once in a while I'd get very dizzy.

The good news was the heart cath showed very clear arteries. I've been taking calcium blockers ever since and have not had any repeat occurrences. I quit caffeinated drinks-no tea or soft drinks- but still hit the chocolate pretty heavy.

All of this was before I started riding just 3 years ago, though. I couldn't imagine riding while have a bout with AFib.

I would think that would be asking for trouble--potentially a bad stroke........

Interestingly, my only Afib event was triggered while sucking on a chocolate milkshake at Johnny Rockets. I just can't give up chocolate, but I do have a body fat percentage of only 5.2 %!

.

I keep "feeding" this thread, despite some rather extreme criticism, because I was one of those who felt I was invincible, (as I have noticed many in this forum also feel) and at times scoffed internally at others who had problems.

I mean, I walked, I rode centuries, I weight lifted, etc., etc. Nothing could happen to me! But within a short 3 years, I had Trigeminal Neuralgia, Atrial Fibrillation, Sleep Apnea and continuing, increasing hypertension.

So, I write as a reminder that NONE OF US are invincible, and that what I am dealing with is the most common heart ailment in existence, and YES, life goes on even with these problems, and, despite all, I rode 4,000 miles last year.

I hope it has some meaning to a small percentage of folks out there.

Fox, don't ever stop "feeding" this and other threads. You have written some of the most informative stuff that I have ever read on ANY forum!

DnvrFox-keep posting your info-very interesting and informative.

I'm not totally clear on the stroke issue either. However, my cardiologist said that prolonged issues with Afib could potentially lead to a higher probability of strokes. Obviously you have seen enough pro's who seem to be more versed in this field so not sure why the two would be connected. It's great your still able to keep up the exercise, though.

Related story-my very good friend (also boss at the time) and I were out of town on business. We had a pretty long evening of various alcoholic beverages. My boss is a really huge guy (big frame but could stand to lose quite a few pounds) so he usually tolerates the beverages with no issues and there weren't any problems that night. The next morning I went down to his hotel room for us to make the rounds with customers that day and he was really frightened. He told me about the heart palpitations he was having in addition to feeling like he was going to pass out. I asked him a few questions related to my previous experience with Afib and it sounded to me very much like what I had experienced.

We immediately went over to the local hospital and they admitted him. They did all the tests and confirmed Afib. They started IV's to try and get the heart back in normal mode. The IV's just didn't do any good and he was really getting worried. Again, he was a really big guy so the doctors upped the dosage of the medication. After laying in bed for several hours he had to pee. Immediately after relieving himself in the container in bed he remarked--"my heart just just went back into normal rhythm" and felt relieved in more ways than one!!

We guessed that his moving his arm around may have opened the flow up and allowed the meds to get into his system. Or maybe it was just getting rid of some additional stress. We still enjoy that story......

He didn't want his wife to know that he was having problems so she would not worry so he told me NOT to call her. Needless to say when she found out she was very irritated and I think still has not totally forgiven me for not calling. Hey-he was my boss and my friend and I was just following orders!!

I'm not totally clear on the stroke issue either. However, my cardiologist said that prolonged issues with Afib could potentially lead to a higher probability of strokes. Obviously you have seen enough pro's who seem to be more versed in this field so not sure why the two would be connected. It's great your still able to keep up the exercise, though

Okay, now I understand. The stroke issue has NOTHING to do with exercise, and there is no increase of risk from the exercise. In fact, just the opposite, as the exercise will help in reducing blood pressure overall, to reduce stroke risk in everyone, not just those in AFib.

The stroke issue in AFib relates to the pooling of blood in the atria because the atria are continually in fibrillation and the blood doesn't get pushed through very well and may form clots in the atria. Nothing to do with more or less exercise. To prevent this, almost all folks in AFib are on Coumadin (warfarin) therapy to prevent the blood from clotting too easily.

I (and others) have to have my level of Coumadin checked monthly (or more frequently if it is getting too low or too high) so that will not happen. There is a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke due to this potential clotting factor alone, if not treated with coumadin. If the coumadin gets too high, there is an increased risk of bleeding in the brain.

Interestingly, my only Afib event was triggered while sucking on a chocolate milkshake at Johnny Rockets. I just can't give up chocolate, but I do have a body fat percentage of only 5.2 %!

Man, that is just plain foolish!

Body fat makes no difference, except perhaps with hypertension and sleep apnea.

Yes, you CAN give up chocolate and any caffeine.

Forgot about your Trigeminal Neuralgia. My mother developed that about 10 years into her re-lapse with MS (the relapse lasted 20 years with no remission until she passed away).

They say it is the worst of the worst as far as human pain. Wouldn't doubt that for one second. A feather could touch her face in a certain spot and she would scream like someone was sticking hot knives into her. And she was a real trooper, took most everything without flinching, but not that. At least you got rid of it.

Well, not completely gone. I've been having twinges of pain, and I had a full-blown relapse in June of this last year. As bad as before. Strangely cured by taking two Atavans to calm me prior to a MRI. Poof, it, unexplainably went away! But it recently is returning. The answer probably lies in that the TN nerve near my brain was likely permanently damaged, and the surgery can not repair that, although it cam move the offending blood vessels out of the way, and they do insert a teflon pad to prevent further irritation to the TN nerve.

Today - this am, I am fine!

Fox, don't ever stop "feeding" this and other threads. You have written some of the most informative stuff that I have ever read on ANY forum!

Well, thanks.

Nice to hear a positive comment after all the criticism about "whining."


Is this the "one foot in the grave" forum or the whiners forum? (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=82232)

good morning
i became aware of the full time a-fib problem last june. i started coumadin and digoxin to control the heart rate. also had a very low heart rate of 40 to 42. tryied the cardioversion in august but was not converted. a pacemaker was put in place in september to control the low rate so beta blockers could be started. have not been uncomfortable with the beta blocker, has really affected performance on the bike and everyday living. since have developed a problem with tachycardia. on a ski trip to utah in december my heart rate was over 200 at different times. at my age of 62 that is way to high. the pacemaker check in january i have had 10 times that the heart rate rose over 200 to a max of 224. the pacemaker is amazing it stores that info. it also will monitor the heart rate and control to my breathing. so on monday a av ablation will be done, then the pacemaker will control the heart rate 100% of the time.
will be able to get off the beta blocker and the digoxin for ever. will need the coumadin to control the inr. should be able to get back to the life style that i am comfortable with. if anyone else has had the av ablation i would be interested in hearing your results.
thanks

good morning
if anyone else has had the av ablation i would be interested in hearing your results.
thanks

Please check out the "successful ablation and maze" board at:

http://www.mddietofutah.com/maze/index.html

DnvrFox-Is ablation where they use electrical impulses to "correct" the electrical circuitry/signals to the heart (not sure I've properly described it). If so, a fellow I work with had it done at Duke University. He constantly had an irregular heartbeat (although I don't think it was Afib) and the doctors had tried medication, defribillators (?) and some other things but could not get him permanently squared away.

If what I've attempted to describe is ablation I can find out more info from him. By the way, after he had it done, he's not had repeated episodes. If I recall correctly, if the ablation had not worked they were going to do a pacemaker. He's in his mid 30's........

Just read some of the info on Afib, ablations & maze on the link you posted. Interesting stuff. I suspect my work friend had the catheter ablation based on what I recall. I know they did not do any open heart surgery.

A defibrillator and/or pacemaker is the last thing they would consider in my personal situation. Besides being bothersome and reducing your heart output, AFib is not usually life threatening, as long as you can control your heart rate adequately with meds, such as a beta blocker or digoxin.

You have to be clear as to whether or not it is atrial fibrillation or ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation IS immediately life threatening, as it stops almost all heart output immediately and is one of the most common reasons for inserting a defibrillator/pacemaker. My brother in law has a ventricular defibrillator, and when that thing goes off, it is like a kick in the chest by a horse.


DnvrFox-Is ablation where they use electrical impulses to "correct" the electrical circuitry/signals to the heart (not sure I've properly described it).

Sort of. They use RF (Radio Frequency) energy to heat the offending area to kill the tissue sending out the wrong signals. One common procedure is the PVI, done with a catheter inserted in the leg going into the Pulmonary Vein in the heart area. Another, less common, is open heart surgery where they do a Maze. It is now possible to do a modified Maze with RF. There is also cryogenic (cold killing the tissue) which is in investigatory phase.

i did check the maze and ablation web site.
thanks

good morning
had the av node ablation yesterday. can't believe how well i feel. the pacemaker will control the heart from now on. it is set at 90 bpm until next week when it will be lowered to 80. then the following week agian it will be lowered. the max is set at 120 for now. will be able to ride the bike next week if weather in wisconsin is permitting. i was at the hospital at 7 am and released at 2 pm. people that i have spoke with all say they wish they wouldn't have waited so long, having the feeling i will be saying the same. still will be on coumadin forever, along with the inr checks. but maybe thats a small price to pay to get back to activites and life without limitations.
thanks

good morning
had the av node ablation yesterday. can't believe how well i feel. the pacemaker will control the heart from now on. it is set at 90 bpm until next week when it will be lowered to 80. then the following week agian it will be lowered. the max is set at 120 for now. will be able to ride the bike next week if weather in wisconsin is permitting. i was at the hospital at 7 am and released at 2 pm. people that i have spoke with all say they wish they wouldn't have waited so long, having the feeling i will be saying the same. still will be on coumadin forever, along with the inr checks. but maybe thats a small price to pay to get back to activites and life without limitations.
thanks

Great news!

Hope all goes absolutely smoothly.

Thanks for sharing

I'm glad you are feeling better. I've had a-fib occurrences over the past 10yr, with two admissions to hospital to get the HR stabilized. I've had stress tests and no problems found. I take lo-dose aspirin, but your doc obvioiusly thinks you need something stronger. Try not to worry about it, but keep in touch with your cardiologist. Allowing you to stay 30 days in a-fib with no treatment????? What were they thinking about?

after being identified as a-fib i was put on meds right away. had to waite a certian number of days before the cardioversion could be attempted. also a stress test was done in that time period.
thanks

after being identified as a-fib i was put on meds right away. had to waite a certian number of days before the cardioversion could be attempted. also a stress test was done in that time period.
thanks

He may have been referring to my lack of treatment.

dharleyd - how are things going after you procedure?

I am scheduled for an ablation in August, but don't yet know which week, at Marin General Hospital in San Francisco with Dr. Andrea Natale and Dr. Hoa. Dr. Hoa will do the evaluation on Wednesday. Dr. Natale will do the actual ablation on Thursday.

Dr. Natale is world reknown for his success at ablations, and is based at the Celveland Clinic, but does ablations in CA 2 days per month.

hello
i think i am feeling great but the real test will be next week on the bike. i was told that afterward i would wonder why i waited so long to have the ablation done. i believe i am starting to think that way. the doctor that did the ablation is a mayo doctor from rochester. our local hospital is a mayo hospital. its only been 3 days but everyday has improved.
thanks

He may have been referring to my lack of treatment.

dharleyd - how are things going after you procedure?

I am scheduled for an ablation in August, but don't yet know which week, at Marin General Hospital in San Francisco with Dr. Andrea Natale and Dr. Hoa. Dr. Hoa will do the evaluation on Wednesday. Dr. Natale will do the actual ablation on Thursday.

Dr. Natale is world reknown for his success at ablations, and is based at the Celveland Clinic, but does ablations in CA 2 days per month.


Best of luck to you in August! Dr Natale is superb - you are in good hands. He did a PVA on me over 2 years ago at the CC and I have been afib free every since. If you want to talk to me directly and ask any questons, I will be happy to call you or receive a call from you. Just let me know. BTW, I am 59 years old. It helped me to talk to folks I met through the Maze board on the Internet in order to build up my confidence about getting an ablation or Maze. Regards, Mike Ware

Best of luck to you in August! Dr Natale is superb - you are in good hands. He did a PVA on me over 2 years ago at the CC and I have been afib free every since. If you want to talk to me directly and ask any questons, I will be happy to call you or receive a call from you. Just let me know. BTW, I am 59 years old. It helped me to talk to folks I met through the Maze board on the Internet in order to build up my confidence about getting an ablation or Maze. Regards, Mike Ware

Thanks - that is GREAT news. I will contact you.

Some of you may have been following my palpitations experiences in the traiing and nutrition forum.

In summary, I have been having continuous palpitations, and have sent two separate Fax's to my supposed kAISER doc fully describing them - and they were continuous, with heart rate up to 155, and a very irregular heart rhythm. Then I talked with the doc on the phone, who said she saw "nothing remarkable" in what my heart was doing!!!

So, I received two posts on BFN a couple of days ago from folks in the medical field, strongly urging me to see someone about this problem. I got in yesterday pm with another doc at the Kaiser Clinc. In about 10 minutes he had ordered an ambulance, and in short order I was headed to the hospital.

It turns out I have been having continuous atrial fibrillation for 30+ days, which sort of means that the ventricles and atria aren't comminucating too well, and the atria is totally aflutter about this whole lack of communication. One way of looking at it is that I have been operating on 1/2 a heart (my words, not the docs). The two portions of the heart are out of sync.

What sort if amazed them is that I have been doing 20 and 25 mile bike rides, with no chest complaints, shortness of breath or any other symptoms except I just have not had quite the energy level I have had, and I noticed I was getting passed a little more than usual.

The danger here is that, since the atria is not pushing the blood out properly, the blood stagnates in certain portions of the atria and can clot. If my heart starts pumping real efficiently all of a sudden, and gets in sync, then blood clots can be pushed out into my brain (meaning stroke).

So, I am on blood thinners (warfarin and heparin initially), and a beta blocker to slow down my heart. Even with marked dosages of beta blocker, my heart is still beating at 120 bpm. I will go in for an EKG next week to see, but my heart already feels better in my chest. In about 3 weeks, I will likely get a "cardioversion (sp)" where they put me to sleep and shock the heart to get it back in rhythm. If this works (about 95% initial success rate and then 50% after a year) I can go off of the warfarin.

If not, I will be on the warfarin the rest of my life, or until there is another medical miracle cure.

The night in the CCU in the hospital was absolute heck! I didn't get out of the emergency room until 9:00 pm, then had to get something to eat and get hooked up to machines, and try to settle down. I asked for, and got, a sleeping pill and took it, but it didn't help. only made me groggy today.

People come and go in and out of your room constantly, and about 1:00 pm, another patient arrived, with obvious signs of heart distress - radiating pain, pressure, etc. They contiuously worked on him with nitroglycerin and other stuff, and finally transferred him to the coronary ICU unit in the morning. I slept about 1 hour from 4-5 am.

The good news is that the ticker, besides the electrical disturbances, is in great shape. No signs of coronary artery disease or anything like tha.

I need to lose weight, and I guess this is the final motivation to do that, but that was not the prime cause. In fact, they do not know the prime cause! May be hypertension or just getting older or genetic????

Anyway, I am switching Primary Care Doctors. By chance I had the copies of the faxes we had sent to my PCP about my condition, and you could see the looks of amazement on the other MD's that nothing had been done by my primary PCP!

My release says "physical activity as tolerated" so I can't wait to get a ride in soon.

Anyway, thanks to those folks who wrote telling me to get things checked out!

Darn you work so hard ot stay in shape, eat right, don't smoke, etc., amd you get caught by something like this.

The cardiologist stated:

"Think of this as only a minor annoyance, not as a major problem!"

Amen!



I've been dealing with atrial fib for 25 years now, and I still have a spell of it now and again. I'm on beta blockers, c blockers, aspirin as a thinner, and a few others, one of which is actually a regulatory drug. My doctor wants me to get as much exercise as I can. So I'm getting back into biking. I've learned not to get too freaked out by the fib situation, It's just the way we're wired. There is a surgery that will correct it once and for all (MAZE surgery), but it's open heart, so we'll just keep that on the back burner for now :-)

I've been dealing with atrial fib for 25 years now, and I still have a spell of it now and again. I'm on beta blockers, c blockers, aspirin as a thinner, and a few others, one of which is actually a regulatory drug. My doctor wants me to get as much exercise as I can. So I'm getting back into biking. I've learned not to get too freaked out by the fib situation, It's just the way we're wired. There is a surgery that will correct it once and for all (MAZE surgery), but it's open heart, so we'll just keep that on the back burner for now :-)

The MAZE open heart surgery is rarely used any more, and then only in the most extreme of cases. There are numerous other ways (i.e. PVI) of treating the heart using cryogenic, radiofrequency and now ultrasound techniques. None of these in any way involves open heart surgery. Instead they use a catheter through your veins into the heart.

My AFib is different than yours as mine is permanent, not now and then. That means all the time.

Thanks for your response.

Did 34.5 miles today, my longest ride I have taken since my heart went into permanent Atrial Fibrillation in September, 2004 - and I did fine. I am doing this at about 70% heart output, and I am pretty proud of myself.

Oh along the way, met my wife and took a two mile walk and had a Subway.

Oh, and I did this all in my tights only. In my rush to get off on the ride, I forgot to put on my bicycling shorts. :eek:

50-55F, significant head wind returning. About 5 total miles of gravel road and trail.

good morning
this weekend has been the first bike rides adter the av ablation 2-21. can't believe it, am convinced that i will be able to kick butt in a couple weeks. heart rate is still being controlled between 90 and 130 but the pacemaker can now control the rate to what the body needs. in a month the factors will be changed from 80 bpm to 130. i think i must talk to have it raised to 140, but will try. i just can't believe what the improvment has been in such a short period of time.
thanks

good morning
this weekend has been the first bike rides adter the av ablation 2-21. can't believe it, am convinced that i will be able to kick butt in a couple weeks. heart rate is still being controlled between 90 and 130 but the pacemaker can now control the rate to what the body needs. in a month the factors will be changed from 80 bpm to 130. i think i must talk to have it raised to 140, but will try. i just can't believe what the improvment has been in such a short period of time.
thanks

That is exciting news, especially to me. I hope that when I have my ablation, I will also be able once again to "kick butt."

Thanks for sharing. Gives me a lot of hope.

Good luck with the procedure. I haven't looked in on the forum in awhile but I am glad to see that you have been able to get an ablation scheduled with a pair of specialists. I may have missed the discussion but which version of the ablation are you going to receive, cryo, RF, or Ultrasound?

That is exciting news, especially to me. I hope that when I have my ablation, I will also be able once again to "kick butt."

Thanks for sharing. Gives me a lot of hope.

My ablation is scheduled August 25, 2005 in Marin General Hospital (SF) with Dr. Andrea Natale

HAd my MRI this am to to try tofind out what s happening in my brain with regards to the trigrminal neuralgia.

Stayed in the damn machine for over an hour, but they were not able ti get the IV's in in order to get me injected for the 2nf half - the "contrast" portion of the MRI.

Have no clue as to how important that portion is - we shall see what the MD wants,

Had to take 3 full atavans to make it through the test.

SO, I slept all afternoon, and am just now gettng back in"working order."

Did do a short 6.5 mile ride with the wife, though!

just to say that my heart's with you, i wish you the best of health and great rides.

That sounds like a trying experience. What was the issue with not being able to get the IV's? I would think that would be readily available at any site doing that procedure - the contrast portion is rather important.

That sounds like a trying experience. What was the issue with not being able to get the IV's? I would think that would be readily available at any site doing that procedure - the contrast portion is rather important.

Oh, it was available, they just couldn't get it in my vein(s).

Ouch! Keep us in the loop. As I recall, you are still facing your ablation procedure in August are you not?

Ouch! Keep us in the loop. As I recall, you are still facing your ablation procedure in August are you not?

Brief Update:

Definitely scheduled for ablation in San Francisco August 24th and 25th.

Still have the terrible pain from the neuralgia. So far no solution besides medication from the MD world. Will be seeing another neurologist next week and a neurosurgeon along with a CAT scan.

Still bicycling about 20 miles per day, weight lifting and walking.

Hang in there. It's tough to have two medical issues at once. At least the ablation should cure the afib. For the other issue, perhaps acupunture might help. I had a friend who become a believer in it after being in pain for over ten years with his leg that was pretty much destroyed in a motorcycle accident. He has many, many surgeries to rebuild it and every few years, it would break again. He tried acupuncture not expecting much and it was totally successful. He was astonished by being pain free after so many years. It may not work at all in your case, but you might investigate to see if there is at least a possibility. Keep up the biking - Best of luck to you!

The PVI ablation for the atrial fibrillation in San Francisco with Dr. Natale is definitely a go, but now scheduled for August 26th, rather than the 25th.

Also, my new neurologist removed me from the Tegretol for my trigeminal neuralgia pain and changed me to trileptal (at my request). I can now think again, the pain is pretty much controlled, and, as I predicted, my blood pressure has dropped amazingly from about 140/90-95 during the tegretol period to, this morning, about 93/65 (which I noticed immediately as I almost fainted standing up! And, the INR (warfarin level) has almost returned to normal from being precipitously low.

For those interested, I think we have finally gotten organized and our
ducks in a row regarding the Pulmonary Vein Isolation Ablation set for the 26th:

This will be pretty boring, so feel to disregard. So, here goes!

August 23rd, Tuesday.

Arrive at San Francisco Airport from Denver, Get rental car

Journey to Larkspur and motel

August 24th, Wednesday

Go to Heart scan in Cupertino, about 60 miles south fo heart scan at
11:00 am - takes about 2 hours.

August 25th - Thursday

9:00 am - check into hospital, blood work, meet with Natale's nurses,

11:00 am - get "Heart Card" about 1 block from hospital. The "Heart
Card" allows transmission of EKG's from my heart through a phone line,
and is about the size of a credit card. I will wear it 90-120 days.

Friday, August 26th, 7:00 am.

Go to hospital at 7:00 am.

Procedure starts at 8:30 am, takes about fourl hours. I guess I will be
anesthetized or at least partially anesthetized.

Finish when I finish.

Stay in hospital the night of the 26th

Saturday, 27th

Release from hospital before 11:00 am

Go to motel, stay the night of the 27th.

Then, we are also staying the 28th and 29th and leaving the 30th for
our flight back to Denver. If we feel up to it, we will go see the
Napa Valley, etc.

Maybe we will rent bikes and bike tour the Napa Valley!!!

Good luck with this. I had an ablation for SVT 4 years ago. Although the condition isn't the same, perhaps the procedure is. I was given anesthesia but they told me I wouldn't be completely under. Coulda fooled me - I slept through most of it - only woke up once when they intentionally caused an SVT episode - guess they were looking for the right spot. Again, best of luck. :)

Thanks.

How long did it take for you to "recover?"

Just got in from a trip, been away during this entire thread. First off, glad to hear you had the smarts to continue questioning people and then the take matters into your own hands.
Second, I am happy it seems a controllable condition. (I haven't yet read all the posts, so forgive me if I miss a point or two). I wish you a speedy recovery!!

Just got in from a trip, been away during this entire thread. First off, glad to hear you had the smarts to continue questioning people and then the take matters into your own hands.
Second, I am happy it seems a controllable condition. (I haven't yet read all the posts, so forgive me if I miss a point or two). I wish you a speedy recovery!!

That must have been some trip, as this thread started 09-29-04, 06:57 PM. :roflmao:

Where'd you go?

Thanks.

How long did it take for you to "recover?"

I was up and allowed to walk to the bathroom that evening but that was it. Something having to do with the combo of anesthesia and the wound in the groin area - one of the catheters went up through that major vein in your leg. There was this thing that reminded me of a sandbag that put alot of pressure on my leg for quite awhile. Went home the following day. Was fully recovered in about a week. It was like nothing had happened. What took the longest to recover from, believe it or not, was where the catheters were put in. There was a mark from one on my neck that looked like I had a giant hickey. ;)

That must have been some trip, as this thread started 09-29-04, 06:57 PM. :roflmao:

Where'd you go?

It wasn't that long a trip!! I did not look at the start date, Only glanced into the 50+ forum and found it right near the top, thought it was all new. For the record I was on the west coast of FLA this week. Sacramento Ca recently and in two weeks its off to Italy for a quick 4 days. I have been meaning to mention during my Sacramento trip I was really impressed with all of the bike lanes on the roads, they don't have those here in NC.
In any case I'm glad you got a good laugh.

Have finally now finished reading the entire thread. Good Luck next week Fox. I am sure we are all waiting for a good report.
In several replies on this thread there was commentary about your efforts and output here on the forum. I've got to agree, I find I look for your comments and threads because I find them so readable, relevent (sp) and interesting. You definately create alot of added value to the forum.
Take Good Care!

Have finally now finished reading the entire thread. Good Luck next week Fox. I am sure we are all waiting for a good report.
In several replies on this thread there was commentary about your efforts and output here on the forum. I've got to agree, I find I look for your comments and threads because I find them so readable, relevent (sp) and interesting. You definately create alot of added value to the forum.
Take Good Care!

Well, I will be sure to always read YOUR posts!

:o :o :o :o :o

Thanks.

Okay, I traveled the freeways of California and the streets through downtown San Francisco 60 miles today to get my "Heart Screen" done.

I had previously sent an email to them describing in detail the problems folks have in starting an IV on me. Of course, no one really believes s mere patient - they are all convinced they know more than I do.

So, the "special nurse" who knows about all of this did not show up - she had to attend a neeting.

The radiology guy took me immediately to a freezing room where they keep the machine - about 45F, and, guess what - he couldn't even find a vein to try. I explained that perhaps the freezing room might cause my veins to contract, and would defeat the purpose of what we were trying to do.

So, we wait and wait and wait for the Doc to come to the place, and about an hour later he did. He messed and messed and stuck me, all with no luck.

So, I suggested we use my foot, and that if I stood up, the blood would run to my feet, and that would work.

Anybody here know how tender the top of the foot is to needles?

So, they got it started in my foot, got the machine going - which, however, is calibrated to the time it taked the dye to go from the elbow to the heart, not from the foot to the heart.

So, I lie there on the friggin table, freezing for an hour while they futz around, giving me a bit of dye to see if I have an anaphylactic reaction and die, or if I can take the dye.

Anyway, they finally contact the consulting cardio, who says the foot will definitely NOT work, and they shouldn't be shoving all that dye through the foor anyways!

So, we have to try again tomorrow, when the cardio is there, who will "definitely" be able to get the IV in. sure.

In the meantime, everything I have scheduled for tomorrow is wiped out, so we buzz 60 miles back to the hospital for a quickie admissions, get the INR done "stat" and keep the lady giving the heart card on overtime so I can get it, as it was also planned for tomorrow.

So the INR was 1.8, and I have to "dose up" in the morning to get it to 2.0 by Friday!

So, tomorrow we journey the famous freeways of CA to get stuck like a pig one more day, and then on Friday, the IV thing starts all over again.

Okay, so I awoke at 3:00 am and am a bit tired, but this was truly "A Day from Hell."

Wish me well!

Grin and bear it - It will be worth it when ithe PVA is finished.

You sure make me feel very lucky that I have "good veins" in my arm after reading your report.

Good luck tomorrow.

I wish you well, Fox! Thanks for the update.

Keep up the good fight there.

If you get fixed this will be a forgotten memory in no time.