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Just a follow-up to give an update. I underwent an MRI of my head, with and without contrast, this afternoon at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN. My valves are St. Jude xxx.101 models, implanted in 1993. I took the St. Jude letter of limitations to the appointment, they took it and...

Thanks for the response, Sweetmarie. It sounds like they are adhering to the limits set forth by St. Jude in their official letter, i.e. Tesla 3 and 15 minutes. The extra 5 minutes is probably no problem. I have no scan scheduled at this time, but my doctor is checking to see if Vanderbilt...

I am encountering similar questions. I have St. Jude xxx.101 aortic and mitral valves, implanted in 1993. I have an ear problem that needs a detailed MRI for diagnostic purposes. The St. Jude letter gives limits on exposure when using a 3 Tesla GE scanner, which is apparently what my local...

Hi Bethann, Your experience in diagnosing Nathan's problem parallels my own, though I was retired at age 63. After months of examinations by several doctors, and treatments for "sinus infections, etc", I continued to have "fever of unknown origin". When I was hospitalized for this condition...

My wife and I, both in late seventies, have the lights and zig-zag patterns, but normally, no pain. Mine started about a year after OHS following endocarditis, to install St. Jude mechanical aortic and mitral valves. My wife has had no heart surgery. We have never defined a triggering...

My wife developed an irregular heartbeat, but has never had heart surgery of any sort. Our cardiologist placed her on Atenolol and magnesium oxide, which slowed her pulse significantly, and the problem seems to have mostly gone away. The down side is that the slow pulse drags her energy level...

A couple of years ago, my cardiologist told me that he appreciated the nice things that I had posted about him and my surgeon on this site. He had found it while searching for some information on-line. Since he also teaches, he has to stay up to date to keep ahead of his students.

My GP, an Internist, agreed with me that, as a retired engineer, trained in data analysis, I could probably do a better job of adjusting my Coumadin dosage to maintain the proper INR than he could. He provides a standing order to his lab, so that all I have to do is walk in the side door and...

I went through that last year. I survived on beef broth and Jello. Surely you can make Jello. Leave room for some ice cubes by shorting the water, then add the cubes and stick it in the refrigerator. In fairness, I will admit that my wife made it for me, but I think even I could do it.

Its nice to see that you got a response from your medication change. I agree that it needs to be watched, to be sure that it doesn't continue to rise. Just be sure that, if they change the dosage next week, they don't reduce it more than 10 or 15%.

I take an 81mg aspirin each morning after breakfast, and my Coumadin about 12 hours later. I have not recognized any stomach problems.

Never mind the color question. I figured it out.

Dayton - How did you get the colors to work correctly in your signature? I have had no success with that option.

Missy - I logged in, then clicked on settings, at the top of the page. In the list at the left, I clicked on paid subscriptions. I then clicked on the box in the center, where it said order. From there I selected something like "six months, $25", then PayPal, and went through the PayPal...

Congratulations on getting the new site up and running. I finally found the way to subscribe with PayPal, and, that permitted me to re-establish my avatar and signature areas. Thanks!

Hi Snoviper, I had endocarditis in 1993, at age 63, and was treated for "fever of unknown origin" and sinus infections for several months before a heart murmur was detected, and the correct diagnosis was made. I went through the antibiotic route, both in hospital and at home, and decided to...

The easiest way to regulate Warfarin dosage is to total up the dosage for a week, and find tablet combinations that allow small changes in that total. The two cases that you report in your posting shows your latest dosage is 32.5mg/week, up 44% from the previous dosage of 22.5mg/week. This is...

Hi Sue943. Is there a connection here? I also had kidney stones, requiring lithotripsy, at the same time I was dealing with endocarditis. The endocarditis was the more serious, but the kidney stones were more painful! Jim N.

I was finally diagnosed with endocarditis after several months of "fever of undetermined origin" in 1993. After treatment, both in hospital and at home, with two intravenous antibiotics, I had surgery to replace the damaged mitral valve and the aortic valve with St. Jude mechanical valves. I...

I requested information from St. Jude Medical. They gave me a link to a position letter that is normally made available to "Medical Professionals". The letter gives limits on the allowable magnetic field and spatial gradient, among other things, under which their valves can be scanned safely...