It's official, I'm having heart surgery on Feb 18th...wow, it's real now.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Dammit I want a beer!!!! But I still feel I should wait til I'm not on pain meds or ambien, and have had some rehab. I'm somewhat afraid I'm still gonna hear I have cardio myopopthy, though I don't think so.

It's funny I've been ok with answering questions and hanging out here and not lamenting my temporary teatotalling (except when some whiner complains because he's given up beer for lent.)

And I've been pretty content with my NA clausthaller amber. But maybe because it's baseball season...I'm going to a game tomorrow, AND I've at least 3 threads about wits today and a couple about IPAs I really want some....
 
Dammit I want a beer!!!! But I still feel I should wait til I'm not on pain meds or ambien, 3 threads about wits today and a couple about IPAs I really want some....

I understand completely i really want a beer but worried how it will affect me it really sucks balls :mug:
 
I understand completely i really want a beer but worried how it will affect me it really sucks balls :mug:

Yeah. I figure I'm going to wait til AHA's "big brew" day on May 7th. That's a couple days before I'm supposed to return to work. I assume I'll be off the pain meds by then. I'm using them less and less, like I only needed one pill today.
 
Just had my first cardiac rehab session. It was a bit of a workout, but it was fun. Of course they did warn me that I could possibly have a heart attack today because of said workout, and if I have any shortness of breath/chest pains to go to the ER. LOL, for some reason I find that ammusing... If you can't laugh at your predicament, what can you do?
 
This is cool....In the packet of stuff from the re-hab nurse is a rundown on my cholesterol and measures to improve it. My HDL is 36 and for men it should be above 40. Under the section of "Measures to improve it," it says-

Low saturated fat diet, excercise, weightloss, smoking cessations.

2 drinks/day
And a drink is considered
12 oz of beer
5 ounces of wine
1.5 ounces of 80 proof liquor.

Anyone wanna go out for a shot and a beer with me...A DAY? ;)

Fyi my numbers are pretty good.

Cholesterol (Desirable numbers <200 ) My Number- 114
LDL (<70) Mine 57
HDL (> 40) Mine 36
Triglyceride (<150) Mine 104
 
This is cool....In the packet of stuff from the re-hab nurse is a rundown on my cholesterol and measures to improve it. My HDL is 36 and for men it should be above 40. Under the section of "Measures to improve it," it says-



Anyone wanna go out for a shot and a beer with me...A DAY? ;)

Fyi my numbers are pretty good.

Cholesterol (Desirable numbers <200 ) My Number- 114
LDL (<70) Mine 57
HDL (> 40) Mine 36
Triglyceride (<150) Mine 104

I'm in! I too noticed that my numbers went better after I started having a drink or two a day. My doctor went from mention the possibility of cholesterol and BP meds to being upset that he couldn't find anything wrong!

And this was BEFORE I started on a diet and exercise program! :mug:
 
This is cool....In the packet of stuff from the re-hab nurse is a rundown on my cholesterol and measures to improve it. My HDL is 36 and for men it should be above 40. Under the section of "Measures to improve it," it says-



Anyone wanna go out for a shot and a beer with me...A DAY? ;)

Fyi my numbers are pretty good.

Cholesterol (Desirable numbers <200 ) My Number- 114
LDL (<70) Mine 57
HDL (> 40) Mine 36
Triglyceride (<150) Mine 104


I WISH I had those numbers!!! I workout religiously and while, not on a completely no fat diet, am sensible about what I eat, but, I swear, I can snack on an apple and raise my cholesterol.

Doc: "Your cholesterol's up a little, did you eat today?"

Me: "Yes."

Doc: "Well, there's your problem!"

Me: :mad::mad::mad:
 
I WISH I had those numbers!!! I workout religiously and while, not on a completely no fat diet, am sensible about what I eat, but, I swear, I can snack on an apple and raise my cholesterol.

Doc: "Your cholesterol's up a little, did you eat today?"

Me: "Yes."

Doc: "Well, there's your problem!"

Me: :mad::mad::mad:

LOL!! He may have been talking about fasting before having your blood drawn.

I had borderline cholesterol and my doctor was starting to pitch some drugs. I told him no way. I'll try a diet and exercise first. Starting with addign more beer to the diet!

But my actual diet change was simply less starches and other crabs, especially sugar, and more meat and lots more veggies and fruits.

And I'm not convinced that having cholesterol in your bloodstream automatically makes your arteries clogged. You have a very large amount of cholesterol in your blood all your life. If cholesterol in your bloodstream really clogged your arteries, we'd all be dead by now. I think there are other factors involved, and of course some people are more prone to having heart disease than others, no matter their diet.
 
Wow, just read up on this. Glad you are recovering well. Keep us posted!

Not trying to push the envelope on this site, but I am a Christian pastor and it's not only what I believe, but also what I do for a living, so I'll be praying for you Rev.

I love your insight on this. Thanks for befriending me via this forum and for all your help!
 
BTW, it sucks you can't have a brew. For that I'm most sorry.

I have a pretty terrible heart murmur, hole about the size of a pinhole in one of the valves. I hope it doesn't lead to what you are going through, but at least I see the possibilities. Did you have a history with valve problems and/or murmur? I don't know your whole story.
 
LOL!! He may have been talking about fasting before having your blood drawn.

I had borderline cholesterol and my doctor was starting to pitch some drugs. I told him no way. I'll try a diet and exercise first. Starting with addign more beer to the diet!

But my actual diet change was simply less starches and other crabs, especially sugar, and more meat and lots more veggies and fruits.

And I'm not convinced that having cholesterol in your bloodstream automatically makes your arteries clogged. You have a very large amount of cholesterol in your blood all your life. If cholesterol in your bloodstream really clogged your arteries, we'd all be dead by now. I think there are other factors involved, and of course some people are more prone to having heart disease than others, no matter their diet.

Well, that wasn't an actual conversation mind you, I do fast prior to blood tests. I've been taking fish oil tablet religiously the past few months and they've been a big help.

The cholesterol drugs alway concern me. I'm a bit worried about taking them along with alcohol. They say a couple drinks a day is fine and I can do that, but what about the occasional beer festival? Are those now forbidden?!?! Anyway, lets just say if it comes to that, I will have a lot of questions for the doctor and would probably try to restrict my already restricted diet even more to avoid them as long as possible.
 
well my blood tests today once again revealed my cumiden lvl was to high here we go again they said to quit taking it for 2 days like last time which made it way to low and wound me up back in hospital LOL!!!:drunk:
 
well my blood tests today once again revealed my cumiden lvl was to high here we go again they said to quit taking it for 2 days like last time which made it way to low and wound me up back in hospital LOL!!!:drunk:

Man that sucks. Sorry buddy, that was the biggest reason I opted for a pigs valve, and not the artificial, that and the fact that my surgeon even advised against it for the same reasons, plus natural valves last as long as artificial these days, and even if it didn't in a couple years these procedures will be non invasive and no-big deal like they are now.

So what happens while you are "detoxing" from the cumaden? Do you feel sick or anything?
 
Man that sucks. Sorry buddy, that was the biggest reason I opted for a pigs valve, and not the artificial, that and the fact that my surgeon even advised against it for the same reasons, plus natural valves last as long as artificial these days, and even if it didn't in a couple years these procedures will be non invasive and no-big deal like they are now.

So what happens while you are "detoxing" from the cumaden? Do you feel sick or anything?

Nope dont really feel anything LOL but i was told that pigs valve would only last 10 years and mechanical valve would last 60 years which is why i opted to go the way i did:confused:
 
Nope dont really feel anything LOL but i was told that pigs valve would only last 10 years and mechanical valve would last 60 years which is why i opted to go the way i did:confused:

That's not the information I got here in Michigan, from both the docs on my case and the one's I work with at the detroit medical center/medical school, I was told artificial gets you roughly 25 years, pigs valve roughly 20 years (it could be longer with either, but no by much.)

But what renders it a moot point and why docs are less inclined to go the artificial to have folks having to deal with cumudan, is that they are currently awaiting FDA approval for non invasive surgery pioneered in Germany where they will go in through the leg just like they do when the put in stints and stuff. We'll pretty much go back to work the next day like nothing happened.

In fact the day they released me from the hospital my surgeon and his team left for Germany to train on the procedure. He said already a handful of folks in the us have had the surgery that way as it is. His belief is it doesn't matter which you choose in terms of how long it lasts, within 5 years 99% of the folks will have the non invasive way.

Plus there's also the Davinci Robotic non invasive surgery for Mitral valves and other heart surgeries.
 
well my dr said i was not a candidate for that type of surgery anyway I could have done the ross procedure which uses your own less important valves to replace bad one but they dont do that type around here i would have had to go out of state to get it done :(
 
well my dr said i was not a candidate for that type of surgery anyway I could have done the ross procedure which uses your own less important valves to replace bad one but they dont do that type around here i would have had to go out of state to get it done :(

Sorry about that buddy. That blows. It's not so much the valve, it's that you're having to deal with the cumadin adjustment.

Just got an ID card from St Jude Medical, at first I didn't know what it was. It's the id card with the model and serial number of my Piggy Valve. Had to go online and confirm registration to go into the FDA database. I have one for my pacemaker, it never occurred to me that I had this for a hunk of pigflesh.

Have you gotten any of these things?
 
Hey Revvy, does that mean any time you eat pork (post op) that you're a cannibal? :eek: Not saying to stop eating the wonderful porcine flesh, just curious... :D
 
Or it's a preemptive strike by the valve for when Revvy starts eating ribs? :D

I think a big BBQ is in order. Get a whole hog for it, and cook that sucker up RIGHT!!

just don't eat the heart. i don't want to see what really happens when Revvy divides by zero. ;)
 
Sorry about that buddy. That blows. It's not so much the valve, it's that you're having to deal with the cumadin adjustment.

Just got an ID card from St Jude Medical, at first I didn't know what it was. It's the id card with the model and serial number of my Piggy Valve. Had to go online and confirm registration to go into the FDA database. I have one for my pacemaker, it never occurred to me that I had this for a hunk of pigflesh.

Have you gotten any of these things?

yes it does blow the cumadin lvl anyway and i got my st jude card before i left hospital LOL
 
well just tested today and they have me now taking 2 mg today and 5 mg tomorrow and alternating like that and recheck in one week hope im getting close :mug:
 
Well started cardiac rehab and did 20 min on treadmill only got to 1.7 mph LOL but did ok:mug:

Yeah I can relate. The stuff that WAS my warmup is now my entire "exercise" plan, and something I struggle with. :)

I got through cardiac rehab yeasterday without setting off any alarms on my heart monitor, like I did Friday and Monday. They had me keep the RPMs low on the bike this time, and I made it passed the 6 minute mark where my BP and Pulse Rate spiked and my O2 intake went down to 80% both times. So it's probably more that I pushed too hard like we thought than something was wrong.
 
Well started cardiac rehab and did 20 min on treadmill only got to 1.7 mph LOL but did ok:mug:

Yeah I can relate. The stuff that WAS my warmup is now my entire "exercise" plan, and something I struggle with. :)

I got through cardiac rehab yeasterday without setting off any alarms on my heart monitor, like I did Friday and Monday. They had me keep the RPMs low on the bike this time, and I made it passed the 6 minute mark where my BP and Pulse Rate spiked and my O2 intake went down to 80% both times. So it's probably more that I pushed too hard like we thought than something was wrong.
keep working at it!!!!
 
Really good session today, I am happily sweaty. 10 minutes on treadmill, 3.5 setting with a number 4 elevation. 10 minutes- 1,000 steps on the newstep at number 5 difficulty, and 10 minutes on the bike trying to maintain between 55 and 60 rpms.
 
great job. every step gets you a little closer to that first glorious sip of beer.
 
great job. every step gets you a little closer to that first glorious sip of beer.

I actually had a couple sips (literally) yesterday. I went over to mustanj's place yesterday afternoon- he was brewing. Our buddy Bill who just got bjcp certified was over as well. I brought a bottle of my ginger snap brown ale over for them to try- since it's been driving me crazy. So they drank the bulk of it, and I took a couple of sips of that, as well as a sour and a tripel, of jay's and some of B-Nektar's meads.

In total I probably had 3 ounces, if not less. But it was good. My Ginger snap brown was really well received. In fact they think spicing it up some and it would make a great holiday beer.
 
Back
Top