Wednesday, July 18, 2018

This Whole E/R Thing is Getting Old

I have been having shortness of breath issues for some months now, including after 90 minutes being a couch potato last night.    This morning walking to the kitchen was too intense, and I was having upper left chest pain.  Nitroglycerin took the pain away,  so to the E/R.  The EKG was normal; the treponin level indicated no heart muscle death,  but I am anemic and the incredibly concerned and engaged E/R doctor thought these might be symptoms of that.   Unsurprisingly, the reduced oxygenation of the blood has many similarities to a heart attack.   He is having my cardiologist jump me in queue for an appointment and having me increase my iron intake.

This anemia might be a product of the hernia surgery,  but when I was in Dallas in May,  a 1.2 mile walk left me utterly overwhelmed,  so I think at most the hernia surgery tipped me over the edge.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Clayton,

    Has your doctor checked your B vitamin levels? Low B can get nasty.

    Jerry

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  2. Time to quit the Vegan life. :)

    My mom would have you eating liver 3 times a week, bloody steak the other four and beans every day to up your "Hierro"

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  3. Jerry: yes.

    Miguel: Mandatory vegan would lead me to armed revolt as much as death camps. They are similar in effect.

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  4. Clayton,

    Be careful with increased iron in your diet.

    Iron can cause dark, tarry stool, and mimic the signs of lower GI bleeding.

    Significantly increase water consumption, and add a supplemnt such as Kirkland Signature Optifiber (Costco brand of Benefiber) to transport increase water to your colon. It is tasteless, odorless and dissolves completely. 3 heaping tablespoons in a full glass of water is a good start.

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  5. Clayton, I have no suggestions to offer-

    But you're in my prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.

    Going through what you're going through is really hard and depressing, but I hope you're keeping your spirits up. Depression can make a lot of things even worse, as I know from experience!

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