Time to rant...

[Bryan B]

Just curious, on the 'But then again I'm broke, I'm restricted from working' - how are you affording to buy so much beer? That stuff is not cheap. IMO, if you are capable of playing golf, you are capable of desk work. What kind of work have you been looking for?

Not that it is any of your business how I afford the beer I drink but I'll tell you. I drink cheap beer (at 4-6 beers a day it costs me about 3.00 a day. I do odd jobs around the house for my parents for 10.00/hr (none involving lifting more than 10-15 pounds. They are both in their late 70's so I'm doing a lot of small things around the house that they would normally hire someone to do if I was not staying with them. This is also how I pay for my golf. When I was walking the course which was about half of the times I played before the a-flutter put an end to walking, I used a pull cart and carried an ultra-lite bag with less than the maximum clubs allowed. One of my friends would usually lift the bag out of the car for me and put it back in the car after the round. I still need to get some exercise so I don't become fat from lack of activity before my surgery.

As far as being capable of desk work and what kind of job I have been looking for...I haven't been looking for a job. Here I'll bold it for you for better reading comprehension. My cardiologist has put me on a NO WORK RESTRICTION until I have surgery. I have also applied for financial assistance with vocational rehab to help with the cost of surgery because I do not have health insurance and do not qualify for SS disability or Medicaid at this time. If you'd like to consult with my cardio Dr. Jeanie you are welcome to do so...just make sure you have all of the facts concerning my case. Oh wait...you don't have all of the facts concerning my case do you? Besides...I'm not sure what kind of desk job I'd qualify for since all of the jobs I've had since 1984 have not consisted of sitting behind a desk...at least not all day (maybe a couple of hours a day on average to complete reports after returning from a client site). And if I did find a "desk job" I qualified for...and they did offer group health insurance...I would most likely have a year wait (if not longer) before I could receive any type of treatment for my heart condition due to pre-existing conditions. The cardiology staff at Duke was hoping to schedule my surgery within 3-6 months of putting me on the work restrictions. Unfortunately after initially being accepted for assistance through vocational rehab there was a snag in the process causing a delay, and now the a-flutter is causing a further delay until it can be resolved. But the bottom line is that I need surgery. My aortic root dilation and my ascending aorta dilation has continued to steadily get larger, my aortic sufficiency has continued to get worse, and I have now officially broken the barrier from "upper limits of normal" to plain old LVH. Here are some symptoms of LVH:

Left ventricular hypertrophy usually develops gradually. You may experience no signs or symptoms, especially during the early stages of the condition. As left ventricular hypertrophy progresses and complications develop, you may experience these left ventricular hypertrophy symptoms:

* Shortness of breath (have it)
* Chest pain (I would define it as chest pressure)
* Sensation of rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeats (palpitations) (have it...it's called a-flutter)
* Dizziness (have it)
* Fainting (haven't fainted but have grayed out several times recently)
* Rapid exhaustion with physical activity (have it)

Interestingly many of these symptoms also fit the description for a-fib/flutter. It's also interesting that LVH is a common cause for a-fib/flutter.

 

[Bryan B]

Oh, and your other labs sure look good for the most part. However, albumin is on the low end of normal and so is urea nitrogen. Albumin is sort of a nutrional marker. Low UN can reflect low protein intake as well. Make sure you keep up on your nutrition so the empty calories in the beer don't replace good food.

At the risk of repeating myself I'll say it again. I live with my parents right now...my Mom is an excellent cook, and I eat well balanced meals almost every day with plenty of protein. I asked my cardio today when I went in for my PT INR blood draw and she said there are a number of factors that could cause your Albumin and/or UN to be low. Two that stood out to me are that I might not have had a good meal the night before. Also the tests were taken Tuesday afternoon before I was admitted and I had been in the clinic since 11AM and had not had breakfast or lunch that day. I don't remember what I had for dinner the night before. The other factor is that my NORMAL Albumin and UN levels may always be on the low side of normal. I've always been fairly thin so maybe my body uses up more protein than other people.

When I was going through the months before I was finally diagnosed with endocarditis my WBC was at an 11 at one point. If my memory serves me correctly the normal range is 5-10 so my doctor wasn't very concerned. I went through all of my records as a child growing up with a large VSD and seen at Bethesda Naval Hospital every 6 months. My WBC on those records were consistently at a 7 or slightly lower. This means that a reading of an 11 was actually more out of range than it appeared. By the time my doctor finally agreed to do blood cultures including another WBC, the WBC was at a 15.4...more than double my normal count. There are too many variables to start assuming that my nutrition level is not adequate just because my albumin level is in the lower range of normal.

But I have to give you all credit...you took the six beers a day and ran with it. I guess you'd all make good cardiologists as you form an opinion and don't listen to what the patient is saying. I've admitted that my alcohol intake is excessive. I've also stated that my gut instinct is that my alcohol intake is not what is causing my a-flutter. I know my body better than any other human being on earth. After all I've been living with it and my heart disease all of my life. If I felt my drinking was the main cause of my a-flutter I would admit it because that's the way I am (plus I'd rather get rid of the a-flutter than lie about my drinking habits). I have no problem admitting when I screwed up or was wrong about something. My three guesses would be (in this order) the progression of my main heart issues, one of the drugs I am being treated with for clinical depression, borderline bi-polar, and borderline adult ADD, or hypertension that I've been treated for the last year (and has been under control with rock solid numbers). Or...it could be the alcohol. Like I said I have cut down some on the drinking and I've eliminated one of the psych drugs that has the potential to increase BP and heart rate (although it wasn't doing so before the a-fib/flutter) and we'll see what happens. Right now I'm still in a-flutter, but with the 360mg of Diltiazem and 100mg of Metoprolol I'm on daily it's definitely better. My BP has been running around 100/65 and my heart rate has fluctuated between 90 and 110 at rest. If I exert myself too quickly though my heart rate shoots through the roof and that's when I need to find a place to sit down and take some deep breaths ASAP in order to avoid passing out.

 

[Bryan B]

Finally...I'm done with this thread. I got some good constructive criticism and some criticism that seemed based on personal opinion about my behavior rather than looking at all of the other factors affecting my situation. Either way I appreciate all comments whether I liked them or not.

Now my job is to keep my Coumadin level in range and my heart rate down until they can try cardioversion again in about 4 weeks.

 

[Gail in Ca]

One more question. Why are they waiting on the aneurysm repair? Mine was ready to fall apart at 6cm. Do they let it get larger on men than women? It did seem like you got ragged on for your 6 beers a day, but as a fellow endocarditis survivor, I must add my 2 cents. Now that I've had 3 surgeries and BE in between 2nd and 3rd, I feel really guilty when I drink more than one glass of wine. I was really good about not drinking after my 3rd ohs, but now that a year has gone by I am finding I am saying yes to a wine or rum and coke.
I always have my surgeon's recommendation after my 2nd surgery in my mind, that having a glass of wine once in awhile is okay(I guess once in awhile isn't too often). I don't know whether it's coincidence or not, but since I've been having a bit more alcohol, I have pac's and pvc's. I should've just been a good girl, but that CA wine is so good, and a rum and coke once a week , yumm. But, if I ever have a procedure and the nurse asks if I drink alcohol, they always seem to look down upon me when I say I have an occational drink. It really isn't good for us that are on coumadin, but we just don't want to believe it!

 

[Cris N]

Finally...I'm done with this thread. I got some good constructive criticism and some criticism that seemed based on personal opinion about my behavior rather than looking at all of the other factors affecting my situation. Either way I appreciate all comments whether I liked them or not.

Now my job is to keep my Coumadin level in range and my heart rate down until they can try cardioversion again in about 4 weeks.

Best of luck.