[Rhodes22-list] I'm back from the hospital

[Graham Stewart]

Roger:

This isn't related to the Rhodes topic but I hope readers will indulge me.

I was put on Xeralto back in 2013 after my extensive bypass operation. I developed fairly extreme A-fib at the time. The cardiologist told me that I might not need to continue after a few months. Apparently a-fib  that occurs after heart surgery can be temporary. I asked my family doctor about it in the following months but he told me that the only way to know whether I needed this and other heart medication was to stop using them and see what happens. After such surgery I was not inclined to experiment.

However, I am also diabetic (type II) and have been for 50 years. One of the side effects of diabetes can be bleeding in the eye which can lead to blindness. In recent years I began to experience these problems and about 18 months ago I had a serious bleed in my right eye that resulted in total blindness in that eye - until after 6 months I had eye surgery that drained the eye of the blood, lasered all the bits together,  and after about a month my sight was restored almost to the point before the event. Truly an amazing experience.

I was taking the anticoagulants to address the risk of stroke brought on by  A-fib but I couldn't ignore the fact the bleeding was also a risk for my eyesight so I asked for a re-evaluation of my A-fib given that I had not been aware of any problems over the years since my initial diagnoses. They put me on a monitor for two weeks and also did an array of tests and found no indication of A-fib. In spite of this finding the cardiologist strongly suggested that I stay on the anticoagulants. I resisted so he agreed to reduce the dose to a fairly low level. 

I have found that it is much easier to get put on medications than to be taken off. I went on a strict ketogenic diet 2 1/2 years ago and since then I have been able to stop all of my medications for diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol while maintaining normal levels of the related markers - except for LDL but that is another story. 

All this to stay I hope that the use of Tikosyn might reduce your need for Xeralto. 

These issues become complicated to say the least and I wish you the best as you sort all this out.

All the best,

Graham Stewart
Agile, Rodes 22, 1976
Kingston Ontario







-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of ROGER PIHLAJA
Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2021 10:31 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] I'm back from the hospital

Graham,

Yes, I have been on Xarelto blood thinner since 2018.  While I understand why I need to take an anticoagulant, the downside is that you bruise easily and bleed like a hemophiliac from every minor cut.

I expect to on Tikosyn for the foreseeable future.

I am cautiously optimistic today.  Life is good!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 


Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 5, 2021, at 9:39 AM, Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
> 
> Roger:
> 
> Good to hear that the procedure went well. It is amazing what they are able
> to do on an apparently routine, for them, basis. You must be relieved and it
> sounds like you are getting back to normal very quickly.
> 
> I am going to look up Tikosyn as it sounds like an amazing drug. I assume
> that you will be taking it on an ongoing basis. Are you also on
> anticoagulants?
> 
> Graham Stewart
> Agile, Rodes 22, 1976
> Kingston Ontario
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of
> ROGER PIHLAJA
> Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2021 6:45 AM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] I'm back from the hospital
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> The 3 day Tikosyn loading procedure went pretty well.  They took their best
> guess as to an appropriate dose and I responded well.  When I checked in on
> Tuesday morning, the initial EKG showed me going in and out of A-Fib.  The
> data logs from my implanted pacemaker showed I was in A-Fib ~50% of the
> time!  When they started dosing me with Tikosyn, I reverted back to normal
> sinus rhythm almost immediately.  They didn't have to do an electrical
> cardiac inversion (i.e. shock treatment!) to get my heart back into normal
> sinus rhythm.  They were also prepared to do another cardiac ablation and
> upgrade my implanted pacemaker from a 2 lead to a 3 lead unit.  If they had
> to do that, the cardiac ablation would have been used to kill off all the
> remaining biological pacemaker cells and completely rely on the upgraded
> pacemaker.  It may come to that in the future.  But, for the moment we're
> going to stick with the 2 lead pacemaker and Tikosyn.  They also did an
> ultrasonic echo cardiogram to determine how enlarged my heart has gotten
> after all this A-Fibbing and measure the volume % ejected.  These
> measurements will be needed for the procedure next week.  I was hooked up to
> a wireless cardiac monitor for the entire 3 days I was in the hospital.  So,
> they were monitoring my heart function constantly while I was getting loaded
> up on Tikosyn.  By the morning of the 2nd day of Tikosyn loading, my
> wireless cardiac monitor showed I was in normal sinus rhythm and didn't
> glitch once from then on!
> 
> I actually feel much better.  But, lying about in a hospital is one thing
> and actually living a normal life is another.  So, for an initial cardiac
> insult test,  I mowed my front lawn yesterday.  I felt OK afterwards.  I was
> also climbing up on a ladder measuring the length of my mast for Allyn,
> again with no apparent ill effects.
> 
> I'm scheduled for another COVID-19 test this Sunday.  Then, I have to
> quarantine until I go into the hospital on June 10th for a cardiac
> catheterization procedure.  If nothing goes crooked, this will be a 1 day
> out patient procedure.   But, this is exploratory laparoscopic surgery. They
> might have to keep me longer depending on what they find &/or if something
> goes crooked with the procedure itself.  Thanks for all the kind wishes and
> please keep me in your prayers.
> 
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> 
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>