New Years Day Heart Attack ...and

[JimDirt]

Just been feeling better the last few days , so i figured i would let everyone know

For about the last 2 weeks i have had issues with heartburn ... i tried Tums , i tried changing up my diet .. same result , intermittent heartburn ..., i was out plowing the driveway on the 29th of Dec. and had really bad heartburn , to the point i had to come inside and sit down , which also made the heartburn go away a little , so i called my hear Dr. and was told to go to the E.R. , well it was snowing and late afternoon , so i did not really want to drive 30 miles (each way) to the E.R. so i figured i was going to Boise (80 miles each way) to see my wrist surgeon for another follow up (every 2 weeks since i broke it in Aug.) the next day (Dec. 30th) , then go see the Physical Therapist the Dr. had me set up with in Boise while my regular PT was on vacation for 2 weeks (30 miles *each way* from where i live)

After my Dr. and therapy appointments on the 30th , i walked next door to the E.R. in Boise (it was cold/snowing and i had the heartburn all the while i was out in the cold) , i told them the issue i was having with heartburn , and that also on the 80 mile drive to Boise i had some bad heartburn accompanied with what felt like someone squeezing my jaw , they put me on a E.K.G. and took some blood , they came back a few minutes later and said i had had a heart attack , i was shocked !! , so they left me on the gurney/bed and took me to a room , so i am in the room and every 2 hours someone is poking me for blood (my arms are now black and blue)

So i am stuck in there overnight , so the 31st rolls on , and they are doing Stress Test's and C.T. Scan's on my heart , they say that there is blockage , but they can't tell how much , they want to do a Catheter and look at my Arteries ,I ask for a alternative , they said i need to at least do the scan's , no choice , in doing this they need to use Contrast Dye , almost every time i have had Contrast Dye , i have some type of bad reaction to it , so i asked if there was another alternative , they said the dye they use now is better and has less reactions , and they have a neutralizer to diminish and issues IF i do have any reactions

I agree to the scans (the stress test made me feel like i was going to puke) , so i get thru them and they say my arteries are definitely blocked , the Right Coronary Artery was 99% blocked and the Anterior Descending Artery was 100% blocked , my next worry is my bad reactions to most meds , if they do a Catheter , i will need to be on blood thinners for a year or longer , after taking we decided we would TRY me on the meds and see if i can tolerate them

So i seem to do OK on the meds thru the day , so that night (New Years Eve) i was finally able to get a little sleep....About 2am i wake up , my heartburn is back and is pretty bad , my jaw is also hurting again , the nurses rush in as the alarms are going off on the monitor i am hooked to , and they bring in a E.K.G machine (i guess it reads different stuff than the one i was hooked up to in the bed) , so by the time they get me hooked up the symptoms go away (i just had another heart attack) , so they go back , and about 5 minutes later , it happens again , they rush back in with the monitor , and this time they get some readings , so they take those and call the Cardiologist , he says i need to go to the Cath Lab and have and most likely have a Stent put in , so as they are getting me ready about 20 minutes goes by , then just as they get there with the gurney , i have another heart attack , so they give me Nitro and rush me down to surgery , they do a Catheter in my arm , and get the Right Coronary Artery opened up with the Stent , the Anterior Descending Artery , they decide to leave for now and see how i do

So i get to go home later that day (the surgery was finished around 5am) , but on the way i had to stop at Wal-Mart to get my *new* meds , of course they have nothing ready even though the Dr. and the Nurse called to make sure they would be ready for pickup when i arrived so i would not have to wait , so i get a little upset and have some chest pain/pressure , so i calm down and finally (45 minutes later) get my meds...so i get home and my friends that brought me make sure i have everything i need , and they leave ....

I sleep thru the night great and wake up feeling good (its now the 2nd of Jan.), i go to the bathroom and feel fine , so i brush my teeth and (also soak my dentures*thanks to years of Cherry Coke and Chocolate and smoking*#i quit in 2009#), then the pressure comes back over my heart like the night prior , i sit down and it gets better , so i make breakfast , everything goes fine , till i sit down to eat it (i decide no bacon or sausage so i just have 4 scrambled eggs and a glass of O.J.) , i eat and go to put my dishes in the sink and more pressure .... so i sit and it goes away , so i call my heart Dr (not the one that just did the surgery , but my regular hear Dr), he is out of town for the Holiday's but the on call Dr says go to the E.R. , so i call my friend , so while waiting for him i decide i am at least going to wash my hair , so i stand outside the shower and bend into the shower and wash my hair , no issues (weird as i am bending over ,so i would have thought more pressure on my heart) , so i try to dry my hair afterwards in front of the Pellet Stove , as it blows warm air so i will not have to go outside in the cold with wet hair , here comes the pressure again....

So my friend takes me to the E.R. on Ontario ,Oregon (about 30 miles away as mentioned before) , they check me out and of course take more blood , they say my blood work says i have elevated enzymes (a sign of heart attack) but they don't know if its residual from my last heart attacks or new , so they say i am getting shipped by Ambulance back to Boise to the Cardiac Center where i was a few days ago , so after a overnight stay AGAIN , they determine that this pain is Stress related due to all the trauma i have had , from my broken Wrist in August , to the heart attack/s a few days ago , so while they are checking me they take some more X-Rays , then as i am about to get released they say , we need you to follow up with your heart Dr , and with your regular Dr , they say the Heart Dr in 4 weeks and the regular one ASAP , i ask why , he said to get a CT scan to check out the spot we found on your lung ......great....more stress , so i go in on Tuesday to see what it is , they said it was a very small spot , but needs to be checked out with my families history with cancer.........and my broken wrist is still a mess and will most likely require another surgery ...lovely.....

So , how was everyone else's holidays ??

[71swb4x4]

Oofta, that's a lot to go thru. I hope it gets better for you.

[MARTINSR]

WOW, life is precious, we just don't know! Hope things get better for you.

Brian

[mongocanfly]

WOW!!..hope you get to feelimg better..

[nvrdone]

wow !! hell of a way to start a new year. my dad had a similar problem some years ago. had chest pains at work, so deciced to go to emergency. stopped at micky d's on the way.
got to the ER & had low heart beat with no blood pressure. got a pacemaker that same night. I got a call from his wife at 2 am telling me what happened.
not a good way to start a new year, but at least your still kicking. hang in there.

[mdpaulson1]

I'm glad your still with us! take care of yourself!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Sounds like you had the stereotypical male reaction to heart attacks. We think its anything but what it is, or we deny it to ourselves and we delay seeking help. It's sometimes fatal!

Very glad you are NOT one of those statistics.

My dad had a massive heart attack when i was 15 (62 now) - before bypass surgery, before clot buster drugs, etc. so i always assumed I'd have cardiac issues. Even knowing that i delayed two years go when having severe chest pain, thinking it would pass. Turned out to be a gall bladder attack - was blocked, gangrenous, emergency surgery. But secretly i thought i was having a heart attack. BE MINDFUL YOU GUYS!

[iowaboynca]

As I was reading this, i kept telling myself that there has to be a happy ending, because you finished this note to us...

Make sure to take it easy, don't push yourself and get better.

[hogfarm]

I'm 63 years old,had a heart attack on my 50th birthday.I retired 3 years ago and life is good.There nothing saying to can't return to a normal life

[flashed]

Sorry to hear this ,take care of yourself .

[xaircav]

Wishing you the best. I had my first and I hope last heart attack 11/10/16 at age 67.
I hear guys say I'm going to eat what I want and if I die a few years early It will be worth it. The problem is the first one probably won't kill you but leave you incapacitated with huge medical bills. Lying on a gurney, vomit running into my ears while feeling like an elephant was sitting on my chest and then going home to a $40,000 hospital bill made me see the light. My son powell72 was there by my side.

[idbeast]

Sorry to hear this, but glad you are still with us! Take care and get better quickly!

[JimDirt]

Thanks guys , yea , to me 57 is not "old" , but after breaking my wrist in Aug. then this , i was wondering who i pissed off upstairs , i hope that stuff is behind me and i can get working on my dads truck this year , so i can enjoy driving it

I know one thing , Dan In Pasadena is right , you keep telling yourself its everything but what you fear it is , and i am glad that i got thru it .. it sure was a wake up call......

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by JimDirt

...I know one thing, Dan In Pasadena is right, you keep telling yourself its everything but what you fear it is, and i am glad that i got thru it .. it sure was a wake up call......

I truly wish I weren't right but since I did it myself I know its our default reaction.

Jim, You're definitely NOT "old" at 57. Because if you are what does that make me? I just turned 62!

To me its life giving us the finger to get to these ages - nearly through our working years with few or sometimes NO health issues - then suddenly they arrive in bunches JUST as we may be able to enjoy all our years of labor. It just flat sucks.

Yes, I should have ALWAYS made my health more a priority but when I retire at the end of this year I am making myself into my "project". A looong daily walk before the rest of my day starts, eating less of the stuff I've always known i shouldn't eat - no, NOT an unrealistic regimen, just an effort not to slide further down age's slippery slope as fast as it'll happen if i don't.

[OrrieG]

Wow, you gave me flashbacks to my Dad's health issues. He had his first heart attack at 45 from stress. Next in mid 60's, carotid arteries in late 70's and triple bypass in early 80's. Every heart attack was like yours, he never lost consciousness. Take care of yourself and you will probably go a long way.

Also hope you live on the high ground in Weiser, this next week is going to get interesting when it warms up and the floods start. Don't know if there is anything I can do but I'm here is Boise if you need anything and don't want the long drive.

[JimDirt]

Thanks Dan , and thats my outlook , i am not going on a "Jenny Craig" regime , but i am thinking more about what i eat now , so hopefully the artery that was opened up , will stay that way , its funny when i was like 10 , i thought 40 was really really old ... lol

Orrie , i live about 10 miles out on Cove Rd. out near the old Mercury Mine ,(north on 95 , turn just past the old radio station right before getting into Weiser , head east on 10 miles of crappy road) about the 3rd place before the pavement ends , its snowing like crazy right now and there is already well over 2 ft on the ground (closer to 3 ft) , and in the lower (near the road) part of the property when spring runoff hits , it sometimes floods onto the road , so about 70 acres of sagebrush is under water then , but the buildings are 50 ft up on a knoll , , its usually about the same time they announce on the news that the Weiser River tries to crest the Weiser bridge on Hwy95 , and thanks for the offer ...i am trying to get back into the swing of things , i will see how i do when i drive to Ontario , Oregon for my Dr appointment on Tuesday .. , if you saw my arms you would think someone beat me with a baseball bat , i have bruises everywhere from all the needles they stuck in me and from where the Catheter went in my wrist

[JimDirt]

Thanks Dan , and thats my outlook , i am not going on a "Jenny Craig" regime , but i am thinking more about what i eat now , so hopefully the artery that was opened up , will stay that way , its funny when i was like 10 , i thought 40 was really really old ... lol

Orrie , i live about 10 miles out on Cove Rd. out near the old Mercury Mine ,(north on 95 , turn just past the old radio station right before getting into Weiser , head east on 10 miles of crappy road) about the 3rd place before the pavement ends , its snowing like crazy right now and there is already well over 2 ft on the ground (closer to 3 ft) , and in the lower (near the road) part of the property when spring runoff hits , it sometimes floods onto the road , so about 70 acres of sagebrush is under water then , but the buildings are 50 ft up on a knoll , , its usually about the same time they announce on the news that the Weiser River tries to crest the Weiser bridge on Hwy95 , and thanks for the offer ...i am trying to get back into the swing of things , i will see how i do when i drive to Ontario , Oregon for my Dr appointment on Tuesday .. , if you saw my arms you would think someone beat me with a baseball bat , i have bruises everywhere from all the needles they stuck in me and from where the Catheter went in my wrist

Weird it double posted

[OrrieG]

If you have time next time you come to Boise give me a call, I will PM you my number. I would like to get a cup of coffee of lunch. I work for myself so schedule is pretty flexible.