gtfpv's HEART SCARE.

[gtfpv]

AS THE TITLE SAYS, i had a heart scare and was admitted to hospital in the emergancy department for 2 days .
i'll tell the story , and i ask that you just be considerate and dont flame this thread over anything you may not agree with , in which case i'll ask a moderator to close it .
i worked 4 mn shifts last week and had the weekend off , on thursday night i developed a toothache quite severe , my daughter was booked for a dental on friday so i made her appoint the priority , took panadol for the pain and hoped it wouldnt get to bad before monday so i could then get treatment for the tooth , i received a call for MN SHIFT ot on saturday night so worked ot , took nurofen and panadol 4 hourly for toothache , during saturday night the pain worsened , when i came home i took 2 panadien forte and went to bed at 7.30 am , at this point on sunday morning i hadnt slept since friday night , i went to bed and woke at 8am with severe burning toothache , the panadien hadnt kicked in yet , i also noticed a small pulse pain in my chest ,i asked my wife to contact an emergency dentist as i couldnt stand the pain as i lay there at about 9 am the toothpain started geting better , at which point i noticed the slow pulse pain in the chest still there . i got up . after 2 hours of this mild pain every minute , i decided to cancel the dental and go to the doctor, i did this , and got sent to hospital emergency with a gp letter, scary place indeed, within 1 minute i was on a bed with wires needles and nurses and doctors everywhere , my ecg was abnormal but my awarenes was fine , at this point panic set in , they ask me if i was cold , i wasnt , they tried to take blood from my arm and none came out , they said it would work at my hand and blood did come out of my hand , a senior emergency doctor stated right side heart block and couldnt understand whats going on , look at him he said he is conscious and ok , makes no sense, i was then sent for a chest xray which was good . i then laid in emergency for several hours waiting for blood gas results , they came back negative= good .
at this point i was given grim news , i could die at any minute if i have what they suspect, a clot on the lungs pulmanary embolism , the blood test discluded this , and so did the xray, but the ecg showed them a different story , i was then imformed i have a choice, a very high radiation cat scan equivelent to 4 1/2 years of sunshine in 2 minutes now , which would double my risk of cancer or wait 48 hrs for a lesser / safer scan , the doc said i may die waiting , i decided to take the now option and go high dose scan under his advice ,
i went straight down to radiology, and got thrown into the scanner , the radioligist cam over to me and told me straight , this scanner is high dose 4.5 years in 20 seconds, it was thought the cancer rate was 2000/1 20 years ago , 1000/1 10 years ago today it's 620/1 . and he said in his opinion it is closer to 1%, furthermore he suggested my xray was clear, my bloods were clear, indicating no sign of a clot, my feet werent swollen , i have no cough, and no pain when breathing in ,however an ecg symptom of a clot , that is only 1 indication out of several , he said in 12 hours i could get a different scan equivalent to 7 1/2 months radiation instead of 4 1/2 years , a much safer option, he also stated that this is part of a study , do i wish to proceed, i then declined .
this was now a horrible experience , as i may have just killed myself , a was then transferred back to emergency , the 3 docs said i'd made the wrong call, but the radioligist believed i made the right one .
after 1 more hour the doc said he was going to treat a clot with blood thinners regardless, he said he is going to treat me as if' i'd had the scan and it confirmed a clot . the treatment was blood thinner injected in my stomach, 2 times in 24 hours , whilst waiting for the safer scan .
over the next 24 hours i was in short stay emergency with bloods taken 6 hourly meds for toothache , anti biotics , and fluids , and monitored intensley , everything remained normal other than ecg tachychardic .
i then had the safer scan , which came back negative for clot, i was then told , it is not definitive but very low probability , as the tests cant be definitive , then i was booked in for a stress test, and informed that if i pass this the the test results would be confirmed negative , if not i would have a heart attack on the treasdmill and possibly die there . at this point i'd only managed 4 hours sleep over 36 hours , anyhow i passed the stress test, with a sprinting finish with no chest pain or irregular heart beat .
i was then discharged with a letter saying i did not suffer a heart attack , all tests were negative, and due to the stress test am unlikely to have one ,
the shest pain was deemed unknown cause .
think of the stress in that .
in saying that, dont take risks .
i would say out of 10 people admitted with chest pain 5 go home without a heart attack, 4 are saved and one die . this is just a guess through the many i shared a room with over 2 days .
overall though it's amazing how they save people . it's where you want to be if this happens . beofre i was let out everything including my ecg was normal accept my pulse which was around 100 . after 16 hours sleep at home , i feel great and my pulse is normal .
i wont take my health for granted anymore , i'm cutting down on coffee, going to take up more consistant exercise , only work night shifts when rostered, go to the gp more , will get myself a cardioligist that knows my history , may look into anxiety, and get regular tests and medications accordingly . i am blessed i have left with a good health bill , but i will not take this for granted. lifes different when you go through something like this , the biggest worry is not yourself ,but your loved ones . give em a hug and tell them you love them FOREVER. i was given the oportunity to do this . if i part company , there isnt anything i can do about it , but it is important to know the message can stay to people you love .

[XR6_661]

Crazy stuff. At least you went in...I bet a majority would dismiss the chest pain and not go to the quack.

Good to see it's given you the kick up the rear to better your lifestyle though. I've made a big lifestyle change late last year/this year and feel worlds better for it.

[Fled74]

Damn, that would have scared anyone. Glad to hear you're doing better.

[gcg2503]

Sorry to hear

Wishing you a speedy recovery

PS: was it Clexane injected into the stomach?

Hopefully they injected into different spots...do the injection sites look very bruised?

[dave289]

Sounds a bit scary mate. And noticed your only about a year older than me. Hope all is fine. Was curious to know are you carrying any excess pounds or been a smoker at all ?

[Bud Bud]

Wow that is some read! Good to see that you are Ok. I had a mate drop dead in front of his work colleagues abort 10 years ago at the age of 38 so you just never ever know. I bet I would have made the stupid decision to see the dentist instead of going to the hospital like you did, well done.

OK what actually happened in the end? What were the findings and what caused the symptoms? And lastly why on earth would you think that anybody would have flamed your post? Most people care enough to wish you well even if they do not know you.

Bud Bud

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

giant wall of text

wow gtfpv that's intense, not just for you, not just for your loved ones but any adult.
If i remember correctly you're in your 40's, which really isn't that old.
We had one fella at work here drop dead at 59 just last month. Same old story unfortunately, didn't look after himself and 'burnt the candle at both ends'.

Money is great, but as we all know, there's no prize for being the richest man in the graveyard.

[Spudz27]

I would be pretty overwhelmed by all that and I am used to it. Would have been clexaine they injected into your stomache. Right now I am actually suffering narrowing of the pulmonary arteries, it puts a lot of stress on the right side, thankfully as I am on blood thinners (17yrs now) clots are not a concern for me. Glad to see it wasn't major and you are o.k. I thought by the end you were goinv to say your tooth had caused percarditis (inflimation of the heart sack) as an infection in the mouth can cause this and or infections of your heart valves.

[TEKILA]

wow that was a real eye opener to how we cannot take life for granted.
I am only 21 and that your story really hit me.
I hope you are ok and pull through fine. thanks for sharing.

[DJM83]

Mate thats a scary moment right there. Wishing you a speedy revovery

[Stav]

1 IN 4 die on the spot :( . Life is a gift and we choose how we live it. Focus on gentleness..kindness and calmer life. We live the ratrace and I guarantee you we are not coming back here. Glad to hear you are ok. As you may know this topic touches a raw nerve with me as I did have a heart attack several years ago. Did they check you for an ulcer? An ulcer can produce those sypmtoms as well.

[gtfpv]

yes it was clexane , 2 doses , bruising very small, the emergency doctor did check my tooth , they seem to think its unrelated , and not an ulcer , i requested the anti biotics just incase , and he agreed to my request . i cannot go to the dentist for 3 more days , due to the clexane . but my toothache is dissapearing today .
it was documented on the treatment plan , the final result was all tests negative , patient has not had a heart attack, he reached maximum exertion on stress test with no evidence of heart problems. ,

ohh and yes i'm in my early 40s , there were 2 men in the room with me , one 25 , the other 26, also a 16 year old girl , and several in thier 50's and 60's .

[GK]

That's quite an ordeal!

Glad you're okay and I guess it's a blessing in disguise that you can take stock of things and make some good adjustments.

How many would be given the green light and go back to "situation normal"?

Good onya I reckon.

GK

[Grega]

yes. heart stuff is a real eye opener.
i watched my mum and dad go thru heart surgery over the last 18 months. dad always had a good diet, was fit ect. he had 5 bypasses. mum on the other hand smoked like a chimney until she was in her 60's (they are both mid seventies now) and she had 4 bypasses.
somewhere thereafter i got checked as i'm late 30's now and i got a clean bill of health, but, i eat better and do get regular excercise now also.

one thing i will say - i had a scare some years ago - it was after working late nights, no sleep, burning the candle at both ends. lack of sleep and work will get to you after a while......take it easy....lots of lessons this time around, make this one count otherwise you will be here again next time to live out those lessons you didn't learn.

[JC]

I went to hospital once when I drilled my finger. After an xray, a clean of the wound etc, they sent me home with a bandaid.

[mickyyyy]

My dad had a quadruple heart by pass and his main artery was 86% blocked and once they done the test he was in surgery the next day.

Scary stuff and health is not to be taken for granted and we all must take care of ourselves.

Hope u get well soon bud

[Franco Cozzo]

At least you did something about it, my Dad was having severe chest cramps and he thought he was having a heart attack, was going to call the ambulance, but then thought he'd wait it out an hour to see if it goes away....


Well lucky he only has gall stones, otherwise he'd most likely be dead, lol wait an hour...

Originally Posted by JC

I went to hospital once when I drilled my finger. After an xray, a clean of the wound etc, they sent me home with a bandaid.

Dad's cousin did the same thing, except cut the tip of his thumb off with a grinder, went into hospital, came out with a bandaid and golden staph.

[gtfpv]

aside from everything , i noticed how we as humans are , we are like machines, we have been turned on , we work, we play out our lives, we strive and we worry, any day we can break down , be repaired, or switched off .
the things i thought about , were my role , not my work , not my house, not my money, not my car . but things like my wife, my kids, my dog, and then a real look at myself , i could see my shortfalls , what was important , and what isnt, a lot of our life is unimportant , the arguments, the worry , the disagreements are all unimportant and mean nothing !!! i saw myself and had answers as to why i'm like i am , it just came out , i wish i could explain it, but when your in that situation , your ideals and excuses fail. you see it like it is , you understand yourself and you see yourself , in a way you never did before . like a child . i knew where i hadnt matured and i had some answers why .
i'll stop there , dont want to sound cocky .

[MNM96]

A few years ago years ago, you were making a habit of crashing cars. If that didn't give you a heart attack, nothing will!
Stay safe GTFPV. I tell my family they mean the world to me every day, and I make sure they know what it means also!

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

aside from everything , i noticed how we as humans are , we are like machines, we have been turned on , we work, we play out our lives, we strive and we worry, any day we can break down , be repaired, or switched off .
the things i thought about , were my role , not my work , not my house, not my money, not my car . but things like my wife, my kids, my dog, and then a real look at myself , i could see my shortfalls , what was important , and what isnt, a lot of our life is unimportant , the arguments, the worry , the disagreements are all unimportant and mean nothing !!! i saw myself and had answers as to why i'm like i am , it just came out , i wish i could explain it, but when your in that situation , your ideals and excuses fail. you see it like it is , you understand yourself and you see yourself , in a way you never did before . like a child . i knew where i hadnt matured and i had some answers why .
i'll stop there , dont want to sound cocky .

A few years ago I had a bike crash. It was on a dirt road, with 3 mates. I was bringing up the rear and took a hard fall, knocking myself out.

I came too, I feel, about 10 minutes before my mates came back looking for me. I was very groggy in that time, but what I thought about in those few minutes was amazing. The clarity I have reading your posts is amazing.

People, never take for granted whats important!

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

only work night shifts when rostered,

I have to agree with the night work one. I am the exact same. I have only done 1 overtime shift at night in 2 years and don't want to ever again.
Surely night work cannot be healthy so I only do when rostered.
Best of luck with your health.

[Fled74]

My youngest daughter had heart surgery when she was 3 months old. We almost lost her due to a "small" complication after the surgery but the docs saved her.
That one incident woke me up. I now take every opportunity to hug and kiss my girls, and to show them Daddy cares.

Stav is absolutely right: Life is a gift.

[Feathers]

My Dad had an 'episode' with other week. Scared the crud outta me.

A few years ago while driving a bus he felt his heart start racing and was getting dizzy, but he completed the job and got back to the yard. Then got someone to take him to the local hospital.
They found he has two electrical pulses in his heart that stimulate it to beat, rather than one like most people.
Sometimes they get crossed, and cause his heart to race. He's had it since birth, but it never happened until he was 57. They gave him a drug to slow it down, and ket him in for a few hours for tests, then released him.
I'm sure they said that if it happened again, to come into emergency and get the injection again, as it causes stress on the heart and damage.

So the other week, he'd been working pretty hard on preping and spraying a bus we've bought, and working into the early hours of the morning on it, alone.
He started feeling dizzy and had a sore throat, so he packed up and came home.

I was awake, and when he told me what was going on, I offered to drive him to hospital, but he declined and went to bed instead.
So I spent the night worried out of my mind.

Next morning he said he was fine, and that it had passed almost as soon as he lay down with a cold towel on his neck.
Apparently this was what the cardiologist he saw after the first incident told him to do if it happened again, but damn he could have mentioned that a bit earlier.

Especially given he had a few signs of a heart attack happening, and he's in a high risk group (overweight, smoker, works too hard, and is 60 this year).

I mentioned it to one of his old school friends who lives near the depot, and now he won't let Dad work alone at night, which makes me feel much better too.

[TheSneakiness]

My father in law just went through this type of thing over Christmas last year.

Had a dizzy spell and chest pain, wasn't offered an ambulance, just a drink of water and told to finish his shift, was then asked at the end of the day if he was OK which he responded "not really" and still again at that point wasn't offered an ambulance so drove home only to be picked up by an ambulance when the mother in law found out.

Long story short, he has an irregular heartbeat (not sure how it happens, but it's like the chambers aren't synchronised or something to pump out the blood coming in) which is caused by stress.

[Barnaby]

For those of you here that are on rotating shifts, do what you can to change jobs or even careers. The statistics for people who die young doing shift work is huge. The really sad part to me though is the people who die within 3 years of retiring after a life time of shift work. The poor bastards work their guts out all their life and keel over not long after starting to live the dream...

[Spudz27]

Guys if any of you want to talk to someone who has severe cardiac issues, or you have qusetions send me a P.M. I have never said all my issues on here, but to give you an idea I have had anurism in my aorta, 2 valve replacements, I am on drugs to control tachycardia and ectopic beats (all my surgeries have damaged the wiring of my heart), I am currently awaiting surgery as my pulmonary arteries just decided they wanted to narrow, I have a long list of other stuff, but I am also proof it is not the end of the world, as a kid I still played sports, I am now an ambulance officer, although my current issue has put a holt to that for now. Anyway again if anyone wants a chat or has questions related to what can be expected from surgeries, test etc, feel free to send me a P.M.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

For those of you here that are on rotating shifts, do what you can to change jobs or even careers. The statistics for people who die young doing shift work is huge. The really sad part to me though is the people who die within 3 years of retiring after a life time of shift work. The poor bastards work their guts out all their life and keel over not long after starting to live the dream...

how do you know about the statistics . ? what are they . i have been doing it for 20 years and dont know of this, only a guess , but havent seen stats > if there are stats they arent publisised , and people arent warned about them .

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Spudz27

Guys if any of you want to talk to someone who has severe cardiac issues, or you have qusetions send me a P.M. I have never said all my issues on here, but to give you an idea I have had anurism in my aorta, 2 valve replacements, I am on drugs to control tachycardia and ectopic beats (all my surgeries have damaged the wiring of my heart), I am currently awaiting surgery as my pulmonary arteries just decided they wanted to narrow, I have a long list of other stuff, but I am also proof it is not the end of the world, as a kid I still played sports, I am now an ambulance officer, although my current issue has put a holt to that for now. Anyway again if anyone wants a chat or has questions related to what can be expected from surgeries, test etc, feel free to send me a P.M.

hang in there mate . thanks for the offer . i guess the one thing with you , is you know , others dont .

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

hang in there mate . thanks for the offer . i guess the one thing with you , is you know , others dont .

Cheers. I do know what to expect and what can be expected, hence my offer to those with questions. I have seen first hand my knowledge put others at ease, I got a comendation because a parent who's newborn was going on RFDS due to heart issues got me as their attending and we spoke at great length, I also spoke to her parents and husband. She sent a carx e plaining how speaking to me had taken such a weight off her shoulders and a pic of her son. So I know it can be useful to talk to people who have been tbrough it, hence the offer. Oh I also had to show her my scar as she couldn't believe she would be lucky enough to get me lol.

[Lightning Strike GT]

Glad it turned out for the better - back in 2008 I had a bilateral PE a clot in both of the arteries - no pain in the chest just very breathless, dizzy and all my extremities went a shade of blue - my O2 blood level was between 76 - 79% Was on a heparin IV and Clexane in the hospital - self clexane injections at home and warfarin for 18 months
Do not muck around with the heart at all - you only have 1