Reports of My Demise are Greatly Exaggerated!

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3/25/2004 11:21 PM

Steve A.

Reports of My Demise are Greatly Exaggerated!     I woke up in a cold sweat Monday morning about 4:00AM- I just did not feel right and could not get comfortable sitting, standing or laying down. I was very weak and there was some numbness in my right arm. When it looked like things weren't going to get any better on their own I called 911, requesting an ambulance because I thought I might be having a heart attack. I put on my shoes and met the ambulance crew at my front door "Yes, it is I who called."         The ambulance crew didn't really think it was a heart attack because I wasn't in that much pain- the pain in my chest was maybe 4 out 10 and the pain between my shoulder blades was maybe 4.5 out of 10 (with 10 being the worst pain you could imagine). They kept asking me those questions the whole trip to the hospital...         The doctor at emergency kinda freaked me out telling me "you are having a heart attack right now!" I was never in very much pain, but just felt very weak. While in ER, it got worse again with me getting very woozey but they brought me back. By 9:00AM I felt great and thought I was ready to go home. Fortuneately my doctors had better sense than me and arranged for an angioplasty on Wednesday. It sounds more gruesome than it is: they run a catheter from your groin to your heart to run tests and clear blockages. My right cardoid artery was partially blocked in two places and they inserted two metal "stents" inside the artery to keep it open.         The procedure (not an operation) was over about 4:00PM yesterday and they had me go home this morning. Last time I checked I still was alive hence the title of this thread.     --Respectfully submitted by     Steve Ahola     P.S. I've been home for 3 hours now and haven't felt like smoking a cigarette yet. So maybe I've finally been cured of my nicotine habit... (I've still have nicotine patches and gum from my previous attempts to give up smoking.)

 

3/25/2004 11:38 PM
CitizenGene	Oh man!!!     That is too damn scary!!! Truly hope that there is no long term damage.     I'm trying to kick a 30 year nic habit...     Gene

 

3/26/2004 1:36 AM

Steve A.

Gene said:     That is too damn scary!!! Truly hope that there is no long term damage.         Well, maybe it is only a temporary setback but I seem to be unable to type the letter "z"... I can no longer hope to talk about the _ebras I saw at the _oo while the sun was at the _enith of the sky at high noon. What the heck, if you are going to lose one letter it might as well be something as useless as "z" or "x"... Wait a minute- I just typed it TWICE! Miracle cure...     Steve Ahola

 

3/26/2004 3:10 PM
jason	looks like someone is in good spirits! A positive attituce will take you a long way. Good luck to you steve!

 

3/26/2004 12:24 AM

Skreddy

Dang, Dude. Glad you're doing alright now.     My mom had a mild one, along with pneumonia (is that how you spell that? how weird...) a few weeks ago and didn't see a doc till days later. She, too, has suddenly found it easy to quit after so many years of finding it impossible to stop smoking.     I quit last July 1 and am so thankful that I finally did after years of trying.     Here's how I managed, if you want to know what worked for me (after trying many other methods)...     Quit Smoking Without Craving or Withdrawal   Sulfonil   It's a sulfur compound that binds to the nicotine receptors and reduces cravings. Usually people cut smoking by half when they take it even if they are not interested in quitting. Sulfonil is made by a company called Thorne. You take 2 caps in the morning and 2 caps in the evening (around the times they usually smoke) and 1 cap every 2-4 hours (depending on how intense the cravings are) during the day. Start 3 days before quitting to allow for the levels to build up.     Find it at http://www.illnessisoptional.com/     DHEA   Our adrenal glands make it and tobacco up regulates DHEA. When you quit smoking DHEA levels crash and it's part of the reason why people feel like crap. Women: 10 mg twice daily with or without food should be fine. Men: 25 mg twice daily. Start the first day of quitting.     Find it at http://www.puritan.com/

 

3/26/2004 12:35 AM
Enzo	Steve, you are the next big winner at "Beat The Reaper." Way to go and take care of yourself.

 

3/26/2004 12:50 AM

Charlie Turner

Steve:       Congratulations, from one survivor to another!!!! You did just what you should have, and what most men don't. You recognised the symptoms, and responded right away.         May 13, 2002, I went to work just like usual, at about 8:00 am. I noticed several laundry carts in the basement hallway(I do maintenance for a hotel), so I grabbed one, and pushed it up the ramp to the parking lot. For some reason, I went into overdrive, and really pushed hard and fast. As I hit the top of the ramp, I felt a sudden contraction in my chest, and then mild pain(like you said, a 4 out of 10, or so). Breathing became difficult, like someone had just cranked down a big old C-clamp on my chest. I was sweating like it was 120 F. I was feeling like puking, and I felt really weak. On the way back into the bulding, I went into the restroom, looked in the mirror, and saw that I looked really pale. I went to the office, and looked around for a clock with a sweep second hand (not digital, because I can't check my pulse with one of those things). I was missing beats left and right, but I managed to count 50 in 15 seconds. Woops! That's not good! 200+bpm. Right then, my GM walked in. I said, "I think I'm having a heart attack!". He grabbed an asprin out of his desk, drug me down the hall to a drinking fountain, and made sure I ingested it( to put it nicely). He threw me in his car, drove quite "briskly" to the nearest hospital, I got out, walked in, and said, "I think I'm having a heart attack!" They threw me into a wheelchair, and we flew back to the trauma ER. I was put into a room, and a few electrodes were hooked up to my chest. Sirens started wailing immediately, and the nurse put her hand on my chest, looked me in the eye, and said: "I don't want you to be alarmed, but there are going to be a bunch of people running in here very fast!!!" I looked up, and saw a wall of people running as fast as they could my way. Now I know what a full code blue response is! I think there 4 nurses shaving spots on my chest, 4 more applying electrodes, etc. I noticed one nurse slowly   sauntering in. She looked at the monitors, and looked at me and said:" Number 1, this is not a normal type of heart attack. Number 2, we can fix this real easily. Number 3, you should be able to go home ina few hours. They had to nail me twice (the first time didn't work) with a nuclear drug called adenosine. The ER Dr said it has a half life of about 15 to 20 seconds in the body. It stops all cardiovascular electrical activity throughout the body. They had to kill me to save me. The second try (with twice as much) worked. The nurse grabbed the tape off of the EKG, and brought it down so that I could see my heart out of control, then where I flat-lined, then where I re-booted. It felt like the flesh had fallen off of my bones, and my skeleton had fallen through the gurney, and hit the floor. Then I sat up, and i felt fine. They let me walk out at about 12:30. I called work, and had the van driver come over and pick me up, and take me back to work. No artery blockage, just an electrical heart fart. But, I did get to the hospital within 20 minutes of the onset of symptoms. That is critical. To anyone reading this, don't f*ck around if you experience the symptoms!!! Get to a hospital NOW!!!   Prompt medical attention is your best friend. The old male paradigm of "I'm ok, it's nothing, I'll be fine, etc is garbage. Your next of kin will be happy you did go for help.           Welcome to the second time around club!!!!! It is really great to still be here, and to be here again!     Charlie

 

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