March 9-31, 2005 posts
May. 14th, 2007 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunrabFriday, March 31, 2006
In case you were wondering, I did indeed have the ICD removed. Now I am deviceless. My arm and shoulder are still a bit sore - the surgical "wound" from removing the whole device and letting the resulting "pocket" heal from the inside out is a bit more major than putting the device in was. And my other arm is occupied by a PICC line running IV antibiotics from a portable infusion pump. So it's a bit impaired too. Which is why you haven't seen any long entries here. As soon as the PICC line is removed next week, I'll have a long post about the whole experience, plus a post on today's visit with my regular cardiologist in which I learned that several classes of common antibiotics are arrhythmogenic (cause arrhythmias) and should be seriously avoided by people at risk for arrhythmia!
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Of special interest to women:
Heart devices may help women less than men: study
Mar 15 (Reuters) - Implanted devices designed to shock the heart into a normal rhythm may not be as effective in women as they are in men, researchers said on Monday.
Researchers at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and the University of Connecticut evaluated five previous trials of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and found that ICDs cut the risk of death by 24 percent in men compared with 12 percent in women.
ICDs are stopwatch-sized devices placed in the chest to regulate a dangerously fast heart beat with a jolt of electricity.
Nickole Henyan, lead author of the study and a pharmacist at Hartford Hospital, said the researchers could not explain why men experience more benefits from ICDs than women.
Henyan said the findings, presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, needed to be confirmed by future research. It is possible that other studies that included more women might give different results, she said.
The majority of clinical trials of ICDs have involved male patients.
Publish Date: March 15, 2006
I have been hearing from SEVERAL people just in the past week, who got diagnosed with LBBB, told not to worry, and a couple of years later got diagnosed with heart failure. This seems to be a distinct pattern emerging. You all know I'm not a doctor, so I can't make a diagnosis, but I can sure give you this advice: if your doctor tells you to ignore it, do at least 2 things: (1) get a second opinion, and (2) absolutely INSIST on an annual EKG, echocardiogram, and chest x-ray. If you need backup, print out some of the articles I've reprinted in this blog, and wave them in your doctor's face. You have every right to have your concerns taken seriously!
I have lots of other news, but typing is a bit difficult at the moment. Another post soon!
Friday, March 17, 2006
Well, crap. As you recall, I had surgery two weeks ago, and it wasn't successful - they did not manage to implant the third lead. Now there seems to be an infection in the pacemaker site. Going to have to go back in for surgery Monday morning. 5% chance it's harmless serum, they drain it, I go home. 95% chance it's infected, they will remove the whole pacemaker, which happens to be somewhat more complex and riskier than putting it in was (details provided at some future point when I feel more like typing), and have to stay in the hospital for several days because of the risks and so that they can keep me on IV antibiotics. Crap crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.
Little ray of sunshine, aren't I?
Little ray of sunshine, aren't I?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Of course the incision itself is itching like crazy as it heals, but also some of the surgical tape seems to have induced some contact dermatitis, so there are patches of outlying itching as well.
Aloe vera gel. Benedryl gel. Cortisone lotion. Still itches.
Aloe vera gel. Benedryl gel. Cortisone lotion. Still itches.
