Recent content by stephenismycopilot

As far as I know, he has neither, but is excited about the new generation of tissue valves' longevity and the possibility of TAVR, which I know has been dangled like the proverbial carrot for decades. That and avoiding warfarin (and I did not ever really stabilize on it during the three months...

Chiming in a year later since the thread popped up again. I was 37 when I got my Inspiris Resilia in January of 2020 at the suggestion of my surgeon at UCLA, who lauded the advances in the technology and said, "You'd be crazy to get a mechanical valve!" He put in the biggest one he could fit. No...

I had pretty much settled on mechanical when I had my AVR at 37... until 5:30am the morning of my surgery at UCLA Reagan when my surgeon said (his words), "You'd be crazy to do mechanical." His thinking was that the Inspiris Resilia would have a few more years on previous biological valve...

I had my AVR with Dr. Benharash at UCLA in January 2020. Everyone was excellent, and even the food was pretty good! I recommend the cajun fish and mashed potatoes. Looking forward to reading your updates!

Yep, warfarin for the first three months to make sure you don't clot while it's healing. Eight weeks of recovery after surgery, which means no heavy lifting, etc. They also don't want you driving and even limiting your trips in a car. Your sternum's wired shut, so until the breastplate fuses...

I got the Inspiris Resilia on my surgeon's and cardiologist's recommendations last year at age 37 at UCLA Ronald Reagan. I was planning on going mechanical, but with the advances made with the new tissue valve technology (something about wet storage as opposed to dry) and TAVR options, in his...

A little over a year with my Inspiris Resilia here. Baby aspirin every morning, along with carvedilol for blood pressure. I have a follow up echo in May, but it's routine. All follow ups after surgery show it was successful and the valve is working like a champion. As for me, I made some big...

Mine was somewhere in the $200k range at UCLA in 2020. And of course with my luck, it was discovered, tested, diagnosed in December of one year and operated on a couple weeks later in January, so I had to hit my deductible two years in a row! Thank goodness for ACA/Obamacare, which quite...

I'm 38 and went with the Inspiris Resilia at my surgeon's recommendation. Everything working as it should so far, and I feel physically better and more capable than I have in many years.

I just noticed you are in Portland, and now it all makes sense! Good luck and West Coast high five from Los Angeles. 😎

Cannabis has to be decarboxylated to activate the THC. This can be done simply and easily in an oven, though there are also dedicated gadgets. THC is fat soluble, so it needs something like cream, butter, coconut oil, etc to bind to. I make a nice milky chai or sleepytime herbal tea with ABV...

Stay safe, enjoy life, and see as much as the world as you can!

I have the Inspiris Resilia. And while it's new (my surgery was in January of this year), my surgeon was confident that this would be a game changer. I'm 38 (was 37 when I had at the valve replacement) and he said, "You'd be crazy to get a mechanical valve" with these new bioprosthetics and the...

Keep your chin up. A rough few weeks ahead, but it'll pay off in spades!

I love my Fitbit. The step goals keep me active (I have mine set to 13k/day, which is easy for me to hit with a couple leisurely walks or one or two longer walks each day). I also use the sleep monitoring, which I have found does keep me more aware of getting myself to bed and waking at a...