Almost had to be added to the RIP Thread. Again

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So… A year ago this June I was in a motorcycle accident that busted my fat ass up pretty bad, caused my heart to stop twice, and left me in the ICU for two weeks. Right.

April 9th of this year, I was admitted to the hospital again with congestive heart failure. Long story short, I have high blood pressure (hypertensive) and had been eating a shitload of crap that was not good for me and loaded with sodium. This caused my body to act like a ginormous sponge and greedily retain water that should have rightfully been returned to the environment. This made my blood pressure much worse. The trigger event came about when I got the sniffles and asked Mrs. Boomer to pick me up some decongestant. Not bothering to read labels completely (hell, I’m a guy. We don’t read anything…) I took two doses at the recommended interval. Somehow I managed to see the recommended interval, but totally missed the warning that said “I will kill you if you have high blood pressure and drink me”.

This pissed my heart off and it fought back. I woke up in the middle of the night almost unable to breathe. The only thing that relieved it was to sit up, so I remained awake the rest of the night. Several hours later I felt a bit better but by that time Mrs. Boomer insisted that I make a doctor appointment. So I went. The doc was concerned and sent me down for tests. The results came back and she called and said she was admitting me and to get my ass to the hospital “A-fucking-SAP” (yes, she said exactly that).

They pumped me full of LASIX and kept me for three days, hooked up to all kinds of gizmos and blinky-things. I also had a heart catheterization. This was fun because I LOVE having wires snaked through my veins and into my chest. While I’m wide awake. Oh, and I got nice, new blood pressure meds that actually work now too.

The good news was that I felt much better once the BP came down to sane levels and I had pissed like an entire stable full of race horses (I learned that my bladder will hold over 1.5 liters). The bad news is that when they did the heart cath, they found four blocked arteries in my heart. 2 at 70%, one at 80% and one at 100%. Despite these blockages, my distal blood flow readings were normal, leading them to believe my heart had performed its own bypass. I was referred to the Cleveland Clinic, where for two months I’ve been poked and prodded by a guy who specializes in the re-plumbing of chests. He was perplexed because of how well I appeared to be feeling and was not willing to start ripping me apart until he had more information.

So, after my final test last week (an MRI), I was given the news. I would NOT be having quadruple bypass surgery. Apparently, my heart was severely damaged in my accident, to the point where the bypass surgery wouldn’t be of benefit to me. Therefore, it’s “a lifestyle change” (diet and exercise) for me.

Still, I’m glad I still get to be here so I’ve got that going for me…

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Holy shit, Boomer! That sounds unpleasant. Glad you’re still with us.

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Yeah, double holy shit! It sounds like you’re aimed at the right path, but damn, that’s a hard row to hoe. Glad you’re here and glad you were able to get checked out by a (whole series of) professionals!

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Holy crap…

Force and Lee have pretty much already said what can be said. It’s good to know you’re stlll with us.

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Dang! Take care of yourself! We want to keep hearing stories from you for many years!

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Oh my gosh!! Glad you got it diagnosed, at least, and I wish you luck on your lifestyle change! Imminent death can be such great motivation, right? :worried:

My dad recently had stints put in blocked veins, but his heart had created its own bypass, too, when one of the arteries was completely blocked. Scary, but fascinating.

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Take it easy Boomer. We still need a weapons master around here. Plus you’re fun to hang out with.

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Wow, I think one of my life’s goals is to never go to the Cleveland Clinic, or the Mayo Clinic. I already failed the “never hear a doctor say ‘that’s weird’” goal, twice.

So, is it a drastic diet change then exercise, or can you go straight into torturing yourself?

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I too, am grateful for the opportunity to jump on the “Glad you’re still with us!” bandwagon.

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Thanks all. The diet thing is really not a big deal. I’ve already been living through the “you can’t eat that” hell that is diabeetus, so the low to no sodium / cholesterol add-on is just another hurdle. Exercise for me is the most important thing. I spend 9 hours a day in a 6’ X 6’ cubicle and need to get off my ass when I get home and at least walk. I could stand to lose about 100 pounds which would not only help the heart but would help the diabeetus too. I’m already starting to see weight loss happening and am getting acclimated to the walking part of it. We took the kids to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Michigan this past weekend and took the pedometer to see how far we walked. Over the course of three days we put on just over 10 miles. I didn’t hurt as bad as I thought I would afterwards, so I guess that’s a good thing.

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You might see if your company will spring for a standing workstation. When I got one, my blood pressure dropped about 10 points. I liked my Kangaroo desk so much, that I ordered on for my home office when I decided to semi-retire.