Elphaba

Well, sheet. I've spent the last couple of years looking after loved ones and watched a couple of them die. I proclaimed no more "medical drama" or any other form of drama for at least the remainder of this year.

Don't ya just love the irony? I have a sonogram tomorrow to find where the blockages are. I'm hoping for nothing more than angioplasty to fix my heart.

I still haven't finished paying off Mr. Elph's cancer bills. This soooo royally sucks.

That's my whine. I'm looking into everything available on the 'net and elsewhere to correct the problem in ways that are within my control. Well, WTF, it's all about diet and exercise...who would have guessed?

Rodney

And possibly stress. I know a guy who bikes and kayaks tens of miles a week, eats an incredibly healthy diet, and still had to have the angioplasty. _And_ it didn't stick, and he needed open-heart after that. He is the most intense person there is. He can get overly excited opening a can of beans. On therapy, the second time around, they concentrated less on his physical condition and more on just getting him to calm down.

Elphaba

I appear calm to everyone, but my stress only shows up in night terrors and physical miniseizures. I'm working on that, without chemicals.

maleficent

Blockages aren't always about proper diet and exercise (my father, even at 72 years of age) is healthier than most 40 year olds... watches his diet, gets lots of fiber, exercises, drinks red wine (doc says this is good), and get - every few years, has to go in for a roto rooter to clear out the blockages... there are drugs (plavix I think) that helps with it...

Good luck with the sonogram... prayers and stuff with you...

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JustJess

Wait, doesn't this mean you get to go to Seattle Grace and have the beautiful Dr. Burke take care of you???

On a more serious note... I'm sorry. I wish I had something brilliant to say and make it better. Please make sure to take care of the stress side of things as well as the physical side. What I learned in Bio this year is that there are honest-to-gods correlations between cardio health and stress levels, and that people under a lot of stress are simply more likely to suffer from heart problems. So while they clean you out... start taking some yoga and meditation!

Sending mental waves of luck and health at you... :*

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

VitaminH

Plavix is actually preventing you from having a blood clot that could lead to a heart attack, the clot could come either from the blockage, or from the stent if they put one in. It's not directly helping the blockage, but it is preventing complications as a result of it.

Some people just have bad genetics man, that's about all it comes down too. Massive diet and exercise CAN do wonders, I know it seems hard, but believe me, I've seen it work.

Anyway, yes it sucks, however just be glad it's caught now when you can do things about it rather than after your first massive heart attack when you'd be severely imparied for the rest of your life.

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"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Elphaba

Amen to that. It is truly great news that it has been caught now rather than after the "big one." I ordered three cookbooks to lower cholesterol and make a happy heart. I suppose I was going to have to learn to cook someday.

Elphaba

Mr. Elph's chest cutter is a McDreamy. I wonder if he does rotor rooter jobs?

JustJess

Hey, if you have to be poked and prodded, you may as well get something fun out of it too!

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.