Losing Weight rapidly. Attempting to continue shooting till The End.

Oddshooter:
All my life I wanted to be a biologist. When I was in my mid-forties, I had a chance (Well, Fate decided for me!) to go back to school and finish my degree in Marine Biology, then (since I was diabetic and couldn't dive) a Master's in Animal Behavior. Got my MS at age 50. Applied all over and found a Supervisor at Fish and Wildlife who retired from Maine Game & Fish to go Federal==he figured anyone crazy enough to go through all that at my age must really want it! Started with F & W at age 50, just completed 20 years. Just in performance of my duties and research, I've been snake bit, clawed by numerous animals, stomped, kicked and encountered every large animal in the US in the wild except a polar bear and a muskox!

It's been a fun ride and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
 
I've had tachycardia 4 times over 29 years. Unfortunately it's happened twice in a bit over a year most recently.

The first time I had no idea what is was. The next 2 times I Thought it was AFIB, after a little research. The next to last time the Doc mentioned A-Flutter and the last time he said it was A-Flutter up front.

He then went on to say A-Fib was normally easier to control with drugs while A-Flutter was easier to control with ablation.

I also have mitral valve prolapse and since the ablation my heart skips far less beats than it ever did before.

Best of luck.
 
From the OP,

Isn't it amazing how different AFIB, Flutter. and Tachycardia effects different people.

AFIB is the irregular heartbeat (a car engine with a miss). Tachycardia is a speeding of the heart. (a car engine revving at 7000rpm)
Not everyone with AFIB has Tach.
I believe my AFIB always starts a Tach. My ECG shows me the AFIB graph and my Oxymeter shows me pulse in bpm.


Some people have one event and it wouldn't stop. They get paddles.
Some people have one event that lasts from moments to days.

Some people have one or more events a day.
Some people have one event every year or so.

Some people can convert themselves to sinus rhythm (normal).
Some people require the paddles to convert to normal.

Some Tach takes the heart from normal to 250 bpm in seconds.
Some Tach moves the pulse between 150bpm to 50bpm every few minutes for hours. The Yoyo.

The posts we have here are an excellent view of the many different colors AFIB will show itself.


Prescut
 
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Update from the OP,

To start with, I have a quite extensive medical background for a lay person. Started at Los Angles County University of Southern California medical center in 1968. Taught Continuing Education credit courses for doctors. Taught Emergency Room medical personnel for years. I got funded and set up the first medical clinics on 7 Indian reservations. I still read abstracts and reprints of the latest medical publishings every day.

I only state this as I have been happy to advise with the people on here and elsewhere who ask for my assistance.


Well, I'm back from the Electrophysiologist Cardiac Center in San Diego and survived the ablation. Four cathers up my crotch and one down the throat. It was estimated at 2 hours; it took 6 hours. It looks like the surgery came out well and it was pretty easy. We won't know for up to 3 months.

I interviewed and selected I think one of the very best EP doctors in the country. However, I never saw him before, during, or after the surgery. They tell me he did the procedure, but I don't trust medical personnel to tell the whole truth, just part of it. The nurses on the other hand can get downright candid at times if they trust you. I had two great nurses. I walked into the nurses station with a gigantic box of Reeses candy products first thing and said Hello. It was gone before lunch. I kept specialty Sea Salt Caramels at the room. They came by often to obviously just get the caramel. We were all friends after that. Few people ever recognize them. Not my first rodeo.

On the other hand, The Fellows (doctors in training) that they have at the Teaching Hospital were quite involved. I put it in writing that "hands on" was my Doctor only. My doctor is the Department Head at UCSD and published several hundred research papers. Him, I trusted.


My Doctor had assured me I did not have to spend the night. Unfortunately, I don't think he told anyone else I was severely hospital averse. So one of the Fellows forced me to spend the night, or be escorted from the building. I felt like a captive kidnap cardiac victim that had just been severely threatened. He said I was lying about what the Doctor said. I really disliked this guy A LOT. Arrogant and uninformed is a bad combo. The nurses saw me going for my clothes, intervened, and whispered, "Talk to your doctor". He won't be happy countermanded by a Fellow.
Unfortunately, they had me on anesthesia within seconds of entering the lab.

The hospital stay was like all hospitals for me; a HORROR story. The error rate is just so enormous if you know what's happening. Fifteen minutes sleep total.

At 5am five surrounded my bed and looked like they were about to restrain me so they could do whatever they wanted; ignoring the panic attack I was having from them. My regular nurse convinced them to just back up and give me a second. All my numbers went positive immediately, within seconds. I had averted the unnecessary use of a crash team. They all saw what they had done and there were sorry
s issued all around. They could easily have stroked me out.

In the end, I talked my way out the next morning. I'm recovering excellent here at home and actually getting rest. The heart was sore from all the burns they did, but it feels pretty good today.

I want to mention my Son, who has been nominated for Sailor of the Year, came home and drove me down and stayed with me; except when they forced him out at night. I have trained him in the Gatekeeper role and he did great. I personally would NEVER leave anyone in a hospital environment overnight without Personal Support to monitor staffs every move. I have seen life and death mistakes every day I've spent in the medical field. I would not consider it without a 24 hour Gatekeeper present.
That's the best medical advice I've ever given.

That's enough for today.
I've captured the critical points that occurred and that is cathartic for me. I can now let go of it.

I wake up smiling before my feet hit the ground. I know others have it much worse than me and I should appreciate just experiencing the Dawn. My new mantra is mellow, mellow, mellow.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I already feel like getting out into life again and not just sitting at home and anxiously waiting for the next cardiac event. I'm going through my handloads and getting ready to try the backcountry again. I'm now 35 pounds down with a fantastic diet. I'm still strong from lifting daily and walking the stairs. Everything looks like it's coming up Roses and I have a vault of toys and tools that would make anyone grin.

Thank you all for the incredible support I've been given. I feel blessed.
I relish the opportunity to pay it back and pay it forward as well.

I'm here if you or the family just needs to talk and do some planning.

Prescut
 
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A friend of mine had the same condition. He was operated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn about three months ago. It appears his condition is cured. Good luck to you.
 
Prescut, welcome back and best wishes going forward!
You said "...I would not consider it without a 24 hour Gatekeeper present."
Thanks for reminding me of that.
Some years ago, I had abdominal surgery that left an 8" wound. Surgery went well, got hungry, nurses gave me a snack and left. I started feeling nauseous, pushed the call button - it didn't work. The cleaning lady came into the room and I asked her for help - her response was "Don't worry, a nurse will be along by and by"..., tried to reach a trash can, but with IV tree on one side of the bed and drain and catheter bags tied to other side of the bed, I couldn't move more than a few inches, vomited all over my wound and lay there for 1/2 an hour until somebody finally heard me hollering. Long story short, I got a MRSA infection in the wound. Not good, doc pulled the staples/stitches, extra days in hospital and my wife had the joy of packing the wound and changing drains for three weeks.
If only I had your recommended Gatekeeper.....

Once again - enjoy your new life!
 
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df06,

Tell them congratulations for me.
The Mayo Clinic is really top notch. Their Cleveland hospital may be the very best in the US. Their facility in Phoenix almost had my vote for the surgery. The choice of the cardiac center is critical !!!

I finally decided on San Diego and their new Electrophysiology Lab run by the Doctor I think is as good as they come. All this area is super high tech. Ablations have led medical advances in the last ten years with their mapping and use of imaging techniques. The operating room I just went through was stupendous. I could have spent a week there just playing around with the computer systems.

Do your homework and search for experience, talent, and the latest tech.


Prescut
 
ameridaddy,

It's hard for people, who have not gone through it, to believe how bad hospitals can be at simple stuff. Disclaimer: I love nurses.

It's hard for me to read the stories sometimes because it takes me right back to experiences I've had.

Your story was right at the top of my complaint list. You hit the call button and nothing happens. You hit it ten more times and still nothing happens. You are in the middle of a crisis event IN A HOSPITAL and no one is monitoring your survival. Actually they are ignoring the buzzer most of the time. The nursing station gets a lot of "could you bring me some water" kinds of request that are not critical. They get used to responding only during their hourly rounds.
I had a quad bypass 8 years ago and I was having real issues and kept hitting that damn button trying to get someone's attention. After a half hour, a voice finally came over the loud speaker and said, "WHAT?".
$15,000 a night for a room. The Holiday Inn at $200 a night answers the damn phone.
The hospital administrator, the head nurse, and I had a vigorous conversation. They could accept what I said and change immediately or they could speak with my attorney and publicist. The attorney didn't scare them as much as the publicist. Bad press costs millions of dollars in health care.

The only way for most patients is to have an unbreakable rule; your Gatekeeper is always there and controls all access to you. It was my Son on this trip. They know the plan, the schedule, the drugs, and the problems. They are the center of the cyclone.

You are doped up. The Gatekeeper is sober and strident. They know how to say,"We would prefer not to do that". That phrase is entirely different from refusing treatment. You only lose when you piss off medical personnel. Folks take care of folks they like.

I may need to write a paper on proper selection and training of the Gatekeeper.


Prescut
 
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Just a few notes - my wife has had A-fib for a number of years, and no less than 5 ablations - each worked for a while, and then the problem came back. Everyone's different - hope yours "takes" and stays effective.

She was put on a blood thinner, which has the unfortunate side effect of allowing bruising to take place very easily. This problem was solved by the installation of a "Watchman" plastic device that blocks the area where about 90% of clots form. Her cardiologist has installed thousands of them with very good results, and now she's completely off blood thinners. We are now way less concerned about clots, and thankful that she's off the blood thinners. You can google the device to learn more about it, and the procedure to install it has become a piece of cake. Worth checking out.

Good luck!

John
 
Prescut, really glad to read of your update and I'd think you'd be doing the world a favor if you wrote and publicized your Role of the Gatekeeper paper. I'd sure like to have a copy and I'd make sure everyone in my family read it.
 
Best of luck and to you on your health and fitness. Ever since about age 12 and almost drowning where I was at peace, relaxed and happy and ready to go I have never feared death, BUT wasting and falling apart is another issue. It is one of the reasons when diagnosed with diabetes I took that seriously. Scared "poopless" of possibility of blindness, amputations and then having a better half asking You want to deal with it or face her. I would rather take care of the disease than get cracked over the head with a marble rolling pin. Now the plus with me learning to deal with it has been I have learned an absolutely painless way to test sugar and have shared it with others who just love the way that I have been doing it. It is very rewarding when I tell them and they have a child who is young and then I hear that the little ones tell that I told a way that takes the hurt away and they no longer are scared to test and do it regularly. Very pleased with being able to do that for the little munchkins.
 
oddshooter said:
ameridaddy,

It's hard for people, who have not gone through it, to believe how bad hospitals can be at simple stuff. Disclaimer: I love nurses.

It's hard for me to read the stories sometimes because it takes me right back to experiences I've had.

Your story was right at the top of my complaint list. You hit the call button and nothing happens. You hit it ten more times and still nothing happens. You are in the middle of a crisis event IN A HOSPITAL and no one is monitoring your survival. Actually they are ignoring the buzzer most of the time. The nursing station gets a lot of "could you bring me some water" kinds of request that are not critical. They get used to responding only during their hourly rounds.
I had a quad bypass 8 years ago and I was having real issues and kept hitting that damn button trying to get someone's attention. After a half hour, a voice finally came over the loud speaker and said, "WHAT?".
$15,000 a night for a room. The Holiday Inn at $200 a night answers the damn phone.
The hospital administrator, the head nurse, and I had a vigorous conversation. They could accept what I said and change immediately or they could speak with my attorney and publicist. The attorney didn't scare them as much as the publicist. Bad press costs millions of dollars in health care.

The only way for most patients is to have an unbreakable rule; your Gatekeeper is always there and controls all access to you. It was my Son on this trip. They know the plan, the schedule, the drugs, and the problems. They are the center of the cyclone.

You are doped up. The Gatekeeper is sober and strident. They know how to say,"We would prefer not to do that". That phrase is entirely different from refusing treatment. You only lose when you piss off medical personnel. Folks take care of folks they like.

I may need to write a paper on proper selection and training of the Gatekeeper.


Prescut
Click to expand...

I answered the message you sent me, not sure if it went through.
 
I have a home care nurse and get therapy twice a week. There trying to revive my tired body. The exercise on my bone on bone knees is making matters worse. There's no way I can continue. I need to rest now. I'm looking into stem cell injections but there $8 k
 
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My brother and a friend (a doctor) had successful ablations.


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