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 ??