Archive: October 2005

Spent 7 hours in emergency today... Went for a walk at lunch time to clear my head and get some exercise. Had gone only a few blocks and started having chest pains. Walked a bit more, but when the pain did not go away, I went back to the office, had a cup of water and sat down. Ten minutes later the pain was gone. Since a similar thing happened last week Friday, I thought it best to get myself checked out. Two ECG's and two enzyme blood tests later (and the obligatory waiting), I was sent home. ECG's were ok, and enzyme tests were negative, so no heart damage. They want me to see my GP and have sent a referral to a cardiologist for a stress test. This appointment is supposed to come through before the end of the week.

Now that I'm doing some research, angina has a few different forms, none of which is very good...

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4472

http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/angina.html

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Angina/Angina_WhatIs.html

The good news is that I just got my appointment for the stress test, next Wednesday. I guess the experts realize the urgency also...

Cholesterol and thyroid test are done, so things are moving along.

I'm doing a lot of resting. Even walking across the street to the mall (fortunately all medical facilities are there) and to the lab is very tiring. It takes me three times longer than normal.

Saw my GP yesterday and he's leaning toward angina. The stress test should be able to confirm that. Even last night there were times that I woke up and felt a tightness in my chest. They use a 0-10 scale to rate pain, and this was a 2 to 3 on that scale.
Going for a cholesterol and thyroid test this morning.

Yesterday was not a good day for me. I counted 8 attacks, 7 in the morning (5:45 to 10:35) and 1 at night (8:30pm). Today was much better. Only a single attack in the morning. My second attack was during the stress test. After getting on the treadmill it took just 5 minutes for my heart to go over the "safe" level. They kept me going for another minute, but I had to make them stop at 6 minutes.
Dr Chan said the ECG results were abnormal. He suspects a coronary artery blockage and has ordered an angiogram. The findings of that angiogram will determine treatment. "Treatment options include rest, medications (nitroglycerin, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG)." See www.danen.org/h/medical/heart for some articles on heart disease.

In addition to the nitroglycerin that Dr Chan prescribed yesterday, my GP also prescribed Lipitor (40mg) today, but no calcium-blockers. Lipitor can cause some nasty side effects but it beats the alternative... My GP wants to see me again in a week to see how I'm coping with the chest pains and Lipitor side effects, then in 2 weeks he wants another blood test (not just to check cholesterol levels, but also possible liver damage). My cardiac functional capacity is rated as a class 3, "ordinary physical activity results in symptoms." There are 4 classes, with class 4 being the worst.
I was warned the angiogram might take 2 months before I can get in. The procedure takes about an hour according to the GP, with a stay of at least 3 hours to make sure the artery they use for the procedure does not pop. If there is just a single blockage and they can reach it with the catheter, they may do an angioplasty on the spot. If it's one of the side arteries and they can't reach it, it will be bypass surgery. Stents are almost never done at the time of the angiogram, and if there are several blockages that are candidates for angioplasty, they may just do one and reschedule the rest. All in all, it could turn into a lengthy process. Bummer...

Went to take my insurance forms to Human Resources today. Had a nice visit with Julie, then an imprompty chat with Murray . Had coffee with Opal, after which I went to see my team. Good thing it was nice and sunny outside so we just stood and chatted in the sun, and I did not have to go up the stairs.

Received a letter this morning that I am now on the waiting list for an angiogram. I will be notified 2 weeks prior.

The doctor figures my attacks are too frequent, so he's putting me on a nitro patch 12 hours a day. This will give me a continuous dose, hopefully reducing painful episodes. I just wonder about the headaches...
On the other hand, the Lipitor does not seem to bother me much.
No word yet on the angiogram...

After 2 days of wearing a nitro patch, here are some observations. Thanks Phil, for your Nitroglycerin link.

The patch is supposed to stay on for 12 hours, then 12 hours off. When I put it on, I get about 2 hours without chest pains, almost euphoric. Then the headaches start. Advil kinda dulls the pain but not really takes it away completely. Face flushing and increased heart rate are also very noticable. Lightheadedness and dizzyness are not a problem, but I get very tired. Not sure if it's the nitro or the Lipitor.

When I take the patch off, it takes about 30 minutes before I feel chest pains again. I'm on 9am to 9pm right now.

I have moved the blog from BLOGSPOT. Still working to complete everything.

A long ordeal of a friend finally came to a conclusion today. After two+ years, a self-admitted pedofile got 6 months in jail. But what is 6 months, compared to the lifetime of pain of two young girls...

We've been cleaning house this week. Well, mostly Cecile has been cleaning... Our washing machine broke earlier this week and today a new one will be delivered. To allow the old machine to be removed, and the new one installed, a lot of junk had to be moved out of the way. Fortunately, some junk even went in the garbage... :)

I am slowly adding entries of my original diary. Eventually I hope to have a blog search engine, which would make it easier to find things.

My GP called me this morning (can you imagine, on a Saturday?) and said my cholesterol is down, but something else is up. He did not elaborate and did not seem too concerned. I'm seeing him on Tuesday anyway, so I'll find out more.
Went for a walk today and did OK. Took my nitro spray but did not need it.

I'm working on a free membership system that will be common to the danen.org sites. Please stay tuned. I will post a note when it's completely functional.
http://blog.danen.org/ has to be visible before the changes will take effect. Login works, and so do view/post comments.

Had Jake and Grace stop in for a visit. Jake had a stent put in last year for his angina. He's a changed man now.
Went to see my boss and past boss to see how we can make things less stressful for me when I go back to work. We'll see what happens there.