A Small Post

No real news on the implant front! I had a meeting with Dr. Pocock this morning regarding a change or rather an addition to my medication list.

Apparently I left Dr. Novak's office on December 22 before they could give me a prescription. That, I found amusing because they told me to get dressed and leave. In the letter to Pocock they made it sound like I ran for the hills after being examined.

For those of you who are counting or wondering what and how many drugs I'm taking here's the current list.

Bupropion 150mg - 2x a day
Carvedil ol 25mg - 2x a day
Digoxin 0.25mg - 1x a day
Rampril 10mg - 1x a day
Lipitor 10mg - 1x a day
Warfarin 5mg - 1x a day
Spironolactone 12.5mg - 1x a day
Symbicort - as needed (inhaler)
Salbutamol Sulfate-as needed(inhaler)
Nitro-Dur 0.2- 40mg Patch released at .2mg per hour at bedtime

Vitamin B-50 - 1x a day

I thought of a question while I was driving into see Dr. P so I asked about possible side effects of these drugs on my Liver. He said my Liver should be fine. He also mentioned that the new Spironolactone will increase my Potassium level so now I have a standing order for that blood test as well.
This drug will counter some of the Potassium loss caused by the Lipitor .
That means I won't have to eat so many bananas.

That's a good thing because I had started dragging my knuckles on the ground and raising my hands over my head in a waving motion when I laugh.

New Stuff

I went and saw my GP Tuesday morning. It was great seeing him first thing in the morning, he is way more relaxed.



I ended up getting two prescriptions.

The new Beta blocker dose was changed to 25mg twice a day. The other prescription is for a Nitro patch. It helps my breathing at night. This way I don't have to sleep on a pile of pillows. I tried it last night and got to sleep in a normal fashion. There is only one catch, Nitro drops your blood pressure and gives you a headache. Fortunately for me, I didn't have the headache until about 5:45 am. After staggering into the kitchen and finding the Tylenol I climbed back into bed and then peeled off the Nitro patch.

It's great to get medication to resolve health issues but the side effects are really irritating.

I did a little research on Stem Cell implantation to revive heart muscle. If I went to Duesseldorf treatment is available. Researchers have been working on this precedure for about 10 years now. When you start digging for information on this work it's like a maze. UBC keeps coming up but I can't find anything solid about their research. I would gladly volunteer for clinical trials.

Here's a link to the German site.

http://www.xcell-center.com/treatments/diseases-treated/cardiovascular-diseases.aspx

Just Waiting Again

Yes the many shades of waiting continues.










I have a meeting tomorrow with Dr. Pocock, really it's a prescription renewal but we'll go over Dr. Novak's plans for me.

This morning I got a chance to talk with my Rona Manager Super Sue Tibbits and found out she will be moving back to Calgary. She is a bright, energetic and gifted manager and we share a birthday. I am sure my Rona friends will miss her as much as I will .

We had a good chat and I filled her in on the progress or lack there of my treatment. No matter how much time seems to drag there is progress and that's the main thing. Now my 4 doctors have a plan, that should improve my quality of life. Most of you realise that waiting is not my forte. I like to keep busy, but when I can't walk more than 40 feet without getting short of breath it gets a little tedious.

Hopefully my next post will include my surgery date.
Ta Fer Noo

A New Year

Things are good!

I am waiting to hear when I get my surgery. I am hopeful that in this New Year I will be able to put some my past issues behind me.

As things develop I will of course send along the information. Thanks for all the support over the past year and have a very Happy New Year.