New Meds: - after surgery
Metoprolol - taking one a day - 50 mg (This has doubled last week to tackle my PVC issue's)
Amlodipine Still taking one a day - 5 mg
Plavix Still taking one a day - 75 mg
Old Meds - before heart surgery
Singulair - 10 mg a day (same)
Aciphex - 20 mg a day (same)
Lipitor - 40 mg a day
Low Dosage Aspirin - 81 mg
Incisions:
The only incision I still feel is the "zipper" in the middle of my chest. It is still sore and numb about 1-2 inches on either side of the incision. My last rehab I was lifting light weights (8-12 pounds) with ease & doing walk pushups! And I have full range of motion with my arms and shoulders. I have been putting & swinging a golf club in my family room. The plan is to play golf in 63 days on Easter Monday!
Eating:
Still working on eating low cholesterol & low fat. So far so good. Started keepin a food diary & will add this to my blogs each day at the end of the day. Trying to drink more water during the day.
Exercise:
Since Cardiac Rehab has be stopped again, I will continue to walk two - three times a day and do work around the house. Hope to have a total of 45-60 minutes a day of walking. I will also continue to work on lifting light weights each day for upper & lower body. The only thing I will do is try to keep the heart rate below 100!
Mental Approach:
Still trying to stay positive & prayerful! The PVC's are pushing the mental approach each day. Two reasons - 1 - the unknown (why & how much can I push myself) & 2 - again the waiting game! Like I said my next stress test is next Monday, February 28th. At this point I may find out if the increase in Metoprolol is working. Also, will I be able to go safely back to work & coaching?
hi there.
ReplyDeletejust wana post the recent meds of my dad:
metropolol 50mg for 8am and 25mg at 7pm
Imdur at 6am - anti arrhythmic drug
Plavix 12noon
digoxin half tablet at 12noon..
2 days ago my dad had a slightly high blood pressure of 130/80 and until now he exprience dat blood pressure. According to my dad's dr in his rehab, maybe his heart is now normalizing. but i cant stop worrying since the usual BP of my dad is only 110/70 - 100/80 but now hes reachng 130/80..
tomorrow is the schedule for his cardiologist. hopefully everyting wil be fine.
You really have a great blog.It helps a lot.
Hope youll do great.
Maki
I would not be worried about the one day at 130/80. When was it taken? Does he do it at home? Does he have one to do it himself at home? I purchased one for home & I think it is pretty accurate, but I'm looking more at averages over the week.
ReplyDeleteThe meds you are on are interesting, I will ask my cardiologist about them. My next appointment is the stress test Feb 28th & Cardiologist visit March 8th. All they did so far for me is jack the Metoprolol up from 25 mg to 50mg.
How is you Dad during the day? I feel good other then rehab when they get me to a heart rate of 100-110. Has he had many "runs"? I have had 4-6 in a row & that is when the nurses shut me down.
Glad the blog is helping, keeping you Dad in our thoughts & prayers!
Imdur is used to increase the blood flow to the heart. This is used for patients who have a history of chest pain (angina). When the blood flow is increased to the heart, the oxygen level is also increased.
ReplyDeleteDigoxin is an drug used for many, many years. Its function is to slow the heart rate down. Cardiologists want to keep a heart rate between 60-80 so there is less stress on the heart. Digoxin is used for patients with a history of elevated heart rates.
Jim - you do not need these medications right now with your plan of care - keep your meds where they are until u have more diagnostic testing done to generate a more concrete diagnosis.
Love ya - little sis - Nurse Ratched
Thanks Sis. I just wanted to know what they were so if I heard them, I would know what they do. You just took care of that! Way to go little sis. Did some walking today and still noticed a little flutter on up hill climbs. The extra Metoprolol has not really changed my blood pressure, at 3 PM my BP was at 3 PM - 118/81 - pulse 73 and at 9:30 PM 114/67 and pulse of 60. 6 days till stress test.
ReplyDeletehi there again..
ReplyDeleteim the one who took his blood pressure and i took it after breakfast before i give his medication and i noticed that he had a 130/80 and it was also fluctuating since some hour its 120/70 and sometimes its 130/80 for 2 days. but now its back to 110-80 to 120-80..his pulse rate is alwys aroung 60-65 only. he cannot feel any palpitations or flatters. In his stress test he had bigeminy and some couplets.
well,my dad didnt have any chest pain before. He had just an annual check up last october till we knew he had blocked arteries that need to bypass..
well be meeting my dad's cardiologist today. and maybe shell run away a new tests to check if my dad still has frequent pvs..my dad cannot feel anything or what we call asymtomatic.
by the way, our doctor was telling us to prescribed my dad a new drug which is Warfarin to prevent my dad from stroke due to the pvs that can result to ventricular arrhythmia.But the Doctor is hesitant since my dad has a bad liver and Warfarin is not adviced for patient with bad liver..
Have your doctor told you about the Warfarin?
Interesting things! So far my cardiologist has not not been agressive with different medicines. Hopefully, my sister, who is a nurse, reads this & makes a few comments. Did you read her other posts about imdur and digoxin. The only thing I changed so far is the Metoprolol, and it sounds like your Dad has always been on more then me. I will ask about the other drugs.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the blood pressure is pretty good, I would share all the readings with your cardiologist.
Keep up the good work & keep asking questions! You Dad is in good hands!
Yes Jim you are absolutely right. You have been very healthy and have not been on any cardiac meds prior to your surgery.
ReplyDeleteAs for the anonymous blogger - did your dad have a history of hypertension, angina, irregular heart beats? Is there a history of smoking, high cholesterol, irregular heart beats?
Every patient has an individual plan of care. The art of getting a patient stable, no matter what the medical condition is (ie. blood pressure, irregular heart rhythm, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.)- is the regime of medications tailored to that specific patient according to his/her needs.
It is important for the patient to continue to keep a personal diary to monitor what is going on with their medical condition. The patient then needs to bring their personal diary to the doctor's appt. to share with the physician these findings and documentations.
Take care - love - Ginny
Great posts and even I got some Tips
ReplyDeletehi ginny..
ReplyDeletethanks for that information.
Well, my dad had a history of hypertension but it was well maintained with his medication as well as with his exercises. Before the heart bypass he was slightly diabetic with 110-120mg/dl but his cholesterol is normal. He never had any irregular heart beats and did not have any chest pains nor shortness of breaths.
He is a very active and athletic man.That's why we were all shock after we knew he had a coronary artery disease and needs to be bypassed.
As of now, he had a 24hours holter to check if the pvcs are still there especially that his blood tests including potassium,magnesium,thyroid panel,digoxin toxicity and many more are all normal.
We just don't know what will happen if the pvcs are still there. What management will be the doctor to order. We are all praying and hoping that the pvcs are gone or those are just benign and not life threatening..
I am really inspired and educated everytime i read this blog..
thank you so much
Great to see this blog in action. My original goals were to share my information with others, learns as much as I can about the heart & make this a positive experience.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your father has different issues than I have, but share enough in common to compare notes. Like my sister said in the beginning you need to be your own advocate, that means keeping goods records, learn as much as you can about your situation, and communicate with others.
To me that is the beauty of the internet & blogging. It was awesome to see this entire conversation in action!
I'm anxious to see how the 24 our halter goes with you Dad. Depending on hour Monday's stress test goes for me, I would like to see what that would show me!
Thanks for all the input!!
Jim
Dear anonymous blogger - thanks for all of the input. Yes, it is surprising that your dad has all of these medical issues being that he is an active and athletic man. But, the other spoke to the wheel in determing how our body funcions relies in the area - family history (genetics). Does ur family have any significant history of cardiac problems,diabetes, etc.?
ReplyDeleteIt is imperative to obtain significant blood testing with the items you listed - potassium, magnesium, thyroid profile, etc. Along with this - please - when your father gets his lab tests done - he needs to obtain a hard copy of the results. You can learn what the lab tests are about. It does not take an advanced medical degree in order to understand these basic tests. On the day your father goes for the tests, have him verbalize to the lab tech that he would like a copy of his results.
My daughter has epilepsy and I have instructed her with this process. When she gets her required blood tests throughout the year, she automatically tells the lab tech before getting the test. The lab tech will give a basic form to fill out which revolves around putting in basic data - name, phone number,etc, There are many times that if my daughter gets the test done at 8 AM she is able to retrieve a print out of the hard copy by 4 PM the same day.
One final note - make sure you feel comfortable that things are progressing with the physicians your father is going to for treatment. Sometimes, you have to change doctors in order to obtain a more proactive and aggressive form of treatment. Do you live near a city?
Has your father gone to interventional cardiologists who deal with cardiac arrhythmias?
Good luck to you and your family!
Jim - let me know about your test on Monday. I am glad you are coping so well!!! Hang in there, honestly you will be feeling better soon!
Love ya - Ginny