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Ankle scan on third week of Jan? 😉

Great news! Whenever I see the word "preop" I associate it with a sex change, so I am sure your op will be less drastic than that ;). Wishing you well, and look forward to updates afterwards.

I haven't had a transoesophageal echocardiogram - in fact I had to Google it to find what it is - so can't help much but wanted to reach out as a fellow Brit. Whatever else we hear about the NHS, which is not all good, I do think this kind of procedure and heart surgery is something it excels at...

Thanks @ATHENS1964 . I think I will take my usual view: "life is bad for you", and keep calm and carry on. In moderation most of the time.

I think I know that lady. This is nothing to do with heart surgery, but some years ago I was on a telephone call at work and was quite taken aback when I asked him for his name, and he said it's Mrs .... Subsequently I met her at an event, and she definitely wasn't Trans!

In addition to the comments in my previous post, and @Chuck C and @pellicle's comments, there are also a number of videos on YouTube.

Another argument for self-testing! You can do it at home (or wherever you are), not needing to see anybody else.

Not sure if you have seen this document, which I regularly post. Whilst admittedly based on a study/recommendation for self-testing by a UK national medical body, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, I initially prepared the document to give to my doctor when I wanted to get my own...

I don't know if low ferritin would cause a need to increase your warfarin dose, but just wanted to mention: in some of us with artificial valves it is the valve itself that is damaging the red blood cells, thereby causing the low iron level. The action of the valves opening and closing...

Hi @Toffeelondon . You'll never guess where I am :ROFLMAO: You mentioned the ticking of a mechanical valve, and I just wanted to say if you want to meet in person and listen to mine sometime, to help assess if it would bother you, drop me a message. (Now there's a pick-up line I haven't used...

Hi @MoAVR . I had my aortic valve (mechanical) and one CABG done in 2013, when I was 48. Is it only your age that leads them to recommend a tissue valve, or are there other factors? If no other factors, I would be inclined to agree with you: "one-and-done" seems preferable. That was my view when...

Excellent news! I don't think I was even able to do a thumbs up after only 24 hours!!

Hi @Jack Julles Jackson . I agree with most others, and say get it done soon. Whilst your valve area is so small, your heart is having to pump harder to get the blood through it. This means the heart wall will be getting thicker, with more muscle. This is a bad thing: my symptoms were severe...

@GreenGiant91 Best wishes for this week! You don't need to think about this until after the op, but in case you do end up buying a CoaguChek meter from the company I provided the link to earlier, to get it without paying VAT you have to phone them on 01685 846666.

We are not alone in wondering! If you type "why is Aust ..." into Google, the top search result is "Why is Australia in Eurovision"! The New York Times explains it here. Israel is the other non-European country in Eurovision, and has been since 1973, as explained in London's Evening Standard...

Admittedly I was already aware of the Baseball "World Series" - all teams are American, plus one from Canada, and only 37% of Americans have passports. But don't ask me why Australia and Israel are included in the Eurovision Song Contest!

The brand I use is Duracell. I leave them in the machine. I have noticed that I start to get error messages before the machine shows a "low battery" warning, but changing the batteries stops the errors.

My CoaguChek XS is now 9 years old. I use a good brand's alkaline batteries.

Ah, thanks @pellicle , I was not aware of the change of definition, and simply thought I was encouraging the OP to confirm her decision was for properly thought out reasons, not making a decision for her. As a gay man without children, I don't have much experience in parenting!

Thank you for adding some background to your decision to rule out mechanical; at least you are aware of the issues. You should beware of future "paternalistic" responses on the forum - it is largely the point of it.