nervous about my medical appt thurs

[renie]

Hi everyone , I have been suffering from low/ very low B/P in my left arm , right arm is normal to slightly low . this causes me dizziness . my doctor discovered this when I had a nucular stress test before my knee surgery a little over 2 months ago . I had a CT scan with contrast to check my aorta . the doc says a narrowing of that artery is sometimes the reason for lower B/P in the left arm . if this is the problem there are 2 options . im trying to think positive till Thursday , and if all is well with the test I will start doing some exercising . doc said not to do any till I know whats going on .PS. WISH ME LUCK . much love renie

 

[Cheyenne]

Hi Renie, Good Luck with your doctors appointment. Think positively! Hopefully it isn't your aorta. The good news is they found you have a problem. This way they can fix it. What if you hadn't had the knee surgery, you may not have known about your arm until a much later date, and that would not be good. All will be fine Sending hugs..

 

[dancinbr]

Find a top cardiologist !!!

Hi everyone , I have been suffering from low/ very low B/P in my left arm , right arm is normal to slightly low . this causes me dizziness . my doctor discovered this when I had a nucular stress test before my knee surgery a little over 2 months ago . I had a CT scan with contrast to check my aorta . the doc says a narrowing of that artery is sometimes the reason for lower B/P in the left arm . if this is the problem there are 2 options . im trying to think positive till Thursday , and if all is well with the test I will start doing some exercising . doc said not to do any till I know whats going on .PS. WISH ME LUCK . much love renie

Hi Renie,

Yes, this can be serious. I hope when you say doctor you are talking about a cardiologist.

I see you live in Western NY. I don't know how far you are from New York City. However, there are some pretty good Best of Doctors in New York City.

I would recommend you seek one out if you aren't already seeing a good cardiologist.

Secondly, I would recommend that you have your Doctor prescribe a cardiac catscan. This will give him a 3 dimensional view of your entire heart. From this catscan you can see just where any blockages are in your arteries including the aorta. I have had two cardiac catscans. I know my aorta is 50% blocked and my other arteries are in the 40 to 60% range. I have been on supplemental therapies now for the last 4 or more years to see if I can stop/reverse the progression of plaque within my arteries. The weight loss is also going to help.

I have also had an angiogram a couple of years ago. I tell you all this since I did this as a preventive step. I have no symptoms of any kind that I have cardio vascular disease, but it is there. I go and see my cardiologist now twice a year at St. Francis Hospital here on Long Island, the top hospital in NY and ranked very high in the nation for care of cardio vascular disease.

It is very important that you pursue this and resolve it. Don't let time go by. I don't mean to scare you, but this is important. You want to get to the bottom of this ASAP and correct any issues that you are having.

Ralph

 

[Karenina]

OOH, the hits just keep on coming. Thinking about you and praying too

 

[renie]

thank u Ralph , I had a cardiac catscan with contrast , and had 2 angiograms in my life . I also had like 3 stress tests . I live up near buffalo and Niagara fall , we have gates vascular institute . when I referred to my doctor I was referring to my medical doctor . he said once he gets the results he will refer me to a cardiologist . I see medical doctor Thursday . when I had my last stress test it was nucular and they put the B/P cuff on my left arm b/c they had the IV in my right ,at the start of the test my B/P was 80/60 something . then they told me to lay down and it went down to 70/50 , and it didn't raise during the test . thank you for your help Ralph. one more thing Ralph are you able to exercise with you condition ?

 

[dancinbr]

I have no restrictions

thank u Ralph , I had a cardiac catscan with contrast , and had 2 angiograms in my life . I also had like 3 stress tests . I live up near buffalo and Niagara fall , we have gates vascular institute . when I referred to my doctor I was referring to my medical doctor . he said once he gets the results he will refer me to a cardiologist . I see medical doctor Thursday . when I had my last stress test it was nucular and they put the B/P cuff on my left arm b/c they had the IV in my right ,at the start of the test my B/P was 80/60 something . then they told me to lay down and it went down to 70/50 , and it didn't raise during the test . thank you for your help Ralph. one more thing Ralph are you able to exercise with you condition ?

I have no restrictions as far as exercise goes. I am completely asymptomatic. Had I not had cardiac catscans I would never have known that I had any blockage what so ever. A nuclear stress test is only useful in showing blockages that approach 90% and you are showing some symptoms such as shortness of breath and/or sweating profusely, etc., etc.

However, since I am aware I have been following therapies and taking supplements that hopefully stop progression of plaque and perhaps reverse the blockages as well.

 

[renie]

thank you Cheyenne . I love this group is gives wonderful support that I really don't have in my life . I have 5 sisters but they live far from me and have very busy lives . . much love Renie

 

[renie]

Ralph thank you for you insight , about 2-3 years ago I had an angiogram and was told there were no blockages and my heart looked good . my pcp informed me that the reg angiogram doesn't check the aorta , so he said after he gets the results from the cardiac catscan if needed I will have another / different angiogram . I also will get a GOOD cardiologist . thank u everyone for your concern . much love Renie

 

[dancinbr]

Ralph thank you for you insight , about 2-3 years ago I had an angiogram and was told there were no blockages and my heart looked good . my pcp informed me that the reg angiogram doesn't check the aorta , so he said after he gets the results from the cardiac catscan if needed I will have another / different angiogram . I also will get a GOOD cardiologist . thank u everyone for your concern . much love Renie

Call it angiogram or heart catherization. When my cardiologist performed the procedure he examined every single major artery in my heart. He though for sure I would need a stent. However, the radiologist had "overread" the cardiac catscan. The radiologist had said a 60-80% blockage in my aorta. However, it turned out to be 50% via the heart catherization (angiogram).

I am doing fine.

Ralph

 

[renie]

Well tomorrows the big day for my apt with my PCP . I just wanted to thank everyone for your support , I will let you guys know what I find out

 

[fkrebs]

Renie, good luck with your appointment. Prayers coming your way.

Frank

 

[Cheyenne]

thank you Cheyenne . I love this group is gives wonderful support that I really don't have in my life . I have 5 sisters but they live far from me and have very busy lives . . much love Renie

I understand completely Renie. Right now I really have no one that gives me much support either. I have a son and two daughters that live far away. Once I had it all, a wonderful husband of 42 yrs. that I married at age 18. He lived his life to love and please me. My mother loved me more than anything, too. Plus my father and sisters were good to me. I guess I was a bit spoiled. They are all dead now and I am so on my own. I do have my autistic grandson who lives with me and he is the light of my life. I also have a few good friends who live out of state.

This forum has meant a great deal to me, I have friends here I can talk to about my weight loss journey, and no one who hasn't lived through this can understand as well. We are all like brothers and sisters who are bonded close by our common goal to lose weight and get healthy. I love you all and appreciate the great support I have received on this forum.

Cheyenne

 

[fkrebs]

Cheyenne, you always have us. We are your shoulder to cry on, a raised hand to high five when your happy and anything else you need.

Frank

 

[dancinbr]

I understand completely Renie. Right now I really have no one that gives me much support either. I have a son and two daughters that live far away. Once I had it all, a wonderful husband of 42 yrs. that I married at age 18. He lived his life to love and please me. My mother loved me more than anything, too. Plus my father and sisters were good to me. I guess I was a bit spoiled. They are all dead now and I am so on my own. I do have my autistic grandson who lives with me and he is the light of my life. I also have a few good friends who live out of state.

This forum has meant a great deal to me, I have friends here I can talk to about my weight loss journey, and no one who hasn't lived through this can understand as well. We are all like brothers and sisters who are bonded close by our common goal to lose weight and get healthy. I love you all and appreciate the great support I have received on this forum.

Cheyenne

Cheyenne,

My eldest son, Michael, now 47 was born without a thyroid gland. From age one and up he was severely autistic. My wife and I worked hard to get the most out of him. He didn't start to talk until he was about 9 years old. My wife would take him to the special school and after school go over to St. Charles in Port Jefferson and go for speech therapy. The therapist probably spent a good 1 1/2 years to just get him to look at her. You cannot learn to speak until you look. Anyway, a long story short, we worked every single autistic behavior and turned it around to a good thing. He loved to spin, spin himself, spin wheels, spin spin spin. So we taught him how to work anything that spinned. He learned to load the washer and turn it on. He learned to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer. He learned to ride a tri-cycle and eventually a two wheeler. He learned to mow a lawn with the power mower and do it safely. Today, he is in a group home. He has an fifth or sixth grade reading level, he loves his PC and he is quite a character.

So if you ever need to talk to someone about that autistic grandson, I am here too.

Ralph

 

[dancinbr]

I understand completely Renie. Right now I really have no one that gives me much support either. I have a son and two daughters that live far away. Once I had it all, a wonderful husband of 42 yrs. that I married at age 18. He lived his life to love and please me. My mother loved me more than anything, too. Plus my father and sisters were good to me. I guess I was a bit spoiled. They are all dead now and I am so on my own. I do have my autistic grandson who lives with me and he is the light of my life. I also have a few good friends who live out of state.

This forum has meant a great deal to me, I have friends here I can talk to about my weight loss journey, and no one who hasn't lived through this can understand as well. We are all like brothers and sisters who are bonded close by our common goal to lose weight and get healthy. I love you all and appreciate the great support I have received on this forum.

Cheyenne

Cheyenne,

My eldest son, Michael, now 47 was born without a thyroid gland. From age one and up he was severely autistic. My wife and I worked hard to get the most out of him. He didn't start to talk until he was about 9 years old. My wife would take him to the special school and after school go over to St. Charles in Port Jefferson and go for speech therapy. The therapist probably spent a good 1 1/2 years to just get him to look at her. You cannot learn to speak until you look. Anyway, a long story short, we worked every single autistic behavior and turned it around to a good thing. He loved to spin, spin himself, spin wheels, spin spin spin. So we taught him how to work anything that spinned. He learned to load the washer and turn it on. He learned to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer. He learned to ride a tri-cycle and eventually a two wheeler. He learned to mow a lawn with the power mower and do it safely. Today, he is in a group home. He has an fifth or sixth grade reading level, he loves his PC and he is quite a character.

So if you ever need to talk to someone about that autistic grandson, I am here too.

Ralph

 

[Cheyenne]

Cheyenne,

My eldest son, Michael, now 47 was born without a thyroid gland. From age one and up he was severely autistic. My wife and I worked hard to get the most out of him. He didn't start to talk until he was about 9 years old. My wife would take him to the special school and after school go over to St. Charles in Port Jefferson and go for speech therapy. The therapist probably spent a good 1 1/2 years to just get him to look at her. You cannot learn to speak until you look. Anyway, a long story short, we worked every single autistic behavior and turned it around to a good thing. He loved to spin, spin himself, spin wheels, spin spin spin. So we taught him how to work anything that spinned. He learned to load the washer and turn it on. He learned to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer. He learned to ride a tri-cycle and eventually a two wheeler. He learned to mow a lawn with the power mower and do it safely. Today, he is in a group home. He has an fifth or sixth grade reading level, he loves his PC and he is quite a character.

So if you ever need to talk to someone about that autistic grandson, I am here too.

Ralph

Thank you so much Ralph, I really appreciate that. Thanks for telling me about your son, it helps to know we are all in this life together.

Josh is 18 yrs old now. Josh learned to talk late. He wasn't housebroken unti he was 11yrs.old, but he is very gifted at playing video games and that is all he wants to do 24/7 if he had his way. He is very affectionate and loving which is a little unusual for an autistic child , I think. His parents lived here with us when he was born and they have moved back here and out again several times. Now they live out of state. I raised three of my grandkids but two went back with their parents recently.

Thanks again, Ralph.

Cheyenne

 

[dancinbr]

Thank you so much Ralph, I really appreciate that. Thanks for telling me about your son, it helps to know we are all in this life together.

Josh is 18 yrs old now. Josh learned to talk late. He wasn't housebroken unti he was 11yrs.old, but he is very gifted at playing video games and that is all he wants to do 24/7 if he had his way. He is very affectionate and loving which is a little unusual for an autistic child , I think. His parents lived here with us when he was born and they have moved back here and out again several times. Now they live out of state. I raised three of my grandkids but two went back with their parents recently.

Thanks again, Ralph.

Cheyenne

You are simply a wonderful, caring and loving human being.

I am proud to know you. I have seen many grandparents end up taking care of their children's special needs children.

Ralph

 

[Karenina]

Thank you so much Ralph, I really appreciate that. Thanks for telling me about your son, it helps to know we are all in this life together.

Josh is 18 yrs old now. Josh learned to talk late. He wasn't housebroken unti he was 11yrs.old, but he is very gifted at playing video games and that is all he wants to do 24/7 if he had his way. He is very affectionate and loving which is a little unusual for an autistic child , I think. His parents lived here with us when he was born and they have moved back here and out again several times. Now they live out of state. I raised three of my grandkids but two went back with their parents recently.


Thanks again, Ralph.

Cheyenne

It's a small world. I, too, have a severely autistic grandson. He's 11, has no speech, and is still in diapers. How did you handle puberty? We are just starting with that.

 

[renie]

thank you for you support , my mom was my best friend she passed on 12 yrs ago . she was only 53 my fiancé lives with me and loves me but he was raised a little different then I was , not that its a bad thing , but his family isn't as close to each other like mine is . if my sisters lived closer I'd had MUCH support .

 

[dancinbr]

It's a small world. I, too, have a severely autistic grandson. He's 11, has no speech, and is still in diapers. How did you handle puberty? We are just starting with that.

Puberty was a day to day decision as to whether or not we were going to be able to keep my son home or that he had to be institutionalized. It was holy terror as he approached puberty. Then quite suddenly he just calmed down. We made it through the storm and things go so much better.

I have seen too many times when it went the other way for other parents that I know. One has an older son that simply lost it completely, became completely unmanageable and they had no alternative but to commit him to a special home that handled the really hard to handle and violent children.

It is so sad.

So, patience and prayer is what is required.

Ralph