I hate getting old, and it worries me if SHTF that I won't be up to it

[Pandaz3]

I am in 'decent' shape and rounder than I should be. Shortness of breath, tiredness, etc. Had a cat scan of heart, showed blockage, went to cardiologist and had a cath, stent in one artery, now I am healing up. I wonder if the pills they are giving me are slowing me down or its the recovery (been almost 2 weeks) and I dislike being slowed down.

Really hard to say, but I would suspect the pills first. I was feeling poorly and after a dozen trips to 'Doctors' for them to find and fix a problem after telling them each time it was heart symptoms they finally did a cat scan. Then it was Oops you have a SERIOUS blockage and need Bypass right away. After the bypass I was not feeling better. Well according to them it was because of me being crazy and unappreciative, after complaining a half dozen times and finally another cat scan, it was discovered that I had more blockages that were unseen before. Now came a series of stints and finally we seemed to have gotten everything.

I think the Doctor should change you pills, if that doesn't work....rescan.

 

[The Heretic]

Saw the cardiologist yesterday. It is okay for me to do manual work/exercise as long as I stop when I have chest pain.

More tests next week.

 

[DeanMk]

...baby steps, Heretic, Baby steps...

 

[Pandaz3]

I have a friend, 74, who just finished his tests, He does a multi-bypass next week. I worry about him, but I am fairly confident he'll make hunting season. Bambi is the one who needs to worry.

 

[The Heretic]

Apparently my blockage is not bad enough to intervene - yet - as it might cause more harm than good.

So I guess I have to wait until it gets worse - or I have a heart attack.

 

[Mephistopheles]

You know you look bad when women open the door for you.

 

[Mister Bisley]

View attachment 463067

Saw the cardiologist yesterday. It is okay for me to do manual work/exercise as long as I stop when I have chest pain.

More tests next week.

Glad to see things are on the up and up my friend

 

[JustSomeGuy]

The big one for me is the growing amount of time it takes me to recover from what I used to consider minor injuries. Just about a month ago I tried doing something myself (moving a roller table) that I've done hundreds of times alone. Wound up with an incomplete impact fracture to my left tibia. I walked it off, finished the job and called it a night. The next morning it was obvious it was "broken" so I headed off to let the Doc have a look. He did his thing and told me it's probably going to take "at least 6 months" for it to fully heal. 6 months!?! I've had far worse injuries, and not one of them took anywhere near 6 months to heal. Sucks getting old, but I'm fighting it tooth and nail.

 

[The Heretic]

So, per EKG and second stress test (non-nuclear this time), there seems to be nothing structurally/electrically wrong with my heart (cardiologist has to review). The NP said that leaves "small blood vessel disease" (the small blood vessels of the heart being blocked/clogged/etc., which can be treated with meds) or my lungs that are causing the pain. I see the cardiologist later to review.

I am thinking this is just because I am out of shape - had this kind of pain since I was a kid when I really pushed hard (to my limit) while exercising. My limit is just much lower now because I am out of shape and 50 years older (it would not hurt for me to lose 40 pounds either).

Has everybody had some chest pain and tightness when younger and you exercise so hard that you run out of breath and have to stop, or is that just me? I always assumed that it was normal.

So far (not including last stress test), I've used about $45K of insurance benefits so far (not including my $5K of out of pocket). Going to do a sleep study and other expensive procedures this year too while I have my deductible and out of pocket limits met. All those years of paying for health insurance and doing almost nothing with them - now I am getting some back.

 

[IOM]

I see, now at what age, does one become "Old"...???

 

[Certaindeaf]

I see, now at what age, does one become "Old"...???

Good question!















lol

 

[Pandaz3]

I see, now at what age, does one become "Old"...???

For you Seventeen, for me Seventy-Seven. or maybe I got that backward,

On another note I always seemed very able for twenty seconds or twenty feet when I was a kid but that quickly trailed off. When I got the quad bypass in 2004 and afterwards did another Cath scan they found all those little blockages and started adding stints here and there and removing and replacing damaged ones, till they were satisfied. Five procedures to get it all harmonized. They said it was congenital for the most part and that could not be seen at first as they thought the reduced blood flow was from the big blockages, once those blockages were repaired, then the little ones showed up better.. It has been eleven years since my last stint and I feel pretty good...considering the other ills.

 

[techiej]

Other than injuries and occasional illness was in reasonably good shape until I hit my mid-50's.

In the past 5 years I've had 10 procedures (fully under) for 7 different problems and it takes longer to recover each time. Sucks getting older but beats the alternative .

The only depressing part for me is that I know a lot of the Dr's & nurses whenever I check in @ a hospital and have a bunch of regular specialist Dr's.

 

[DeanMk]

Afflicted with a "fat foot" for about a week.
Literally, my right foot has puffed up like a balloon.
Doc thinks my salt intake is too high, so I need to "diet" for a while and wear compression socks and elevate my feet when possible and see where that takes me.
He also noticed my BMI has exceeded "40" and I got a tongue lashing on that, so now (once again) I need to lose 100 lbs....yippee.


Dean

 

[Argonaut]

View attachment 463067

Saw the cardiologist yesterday. It is okay for me to do manual work/exercise as long as I stop when I have chest pain.

More tests next week.

Nitroglycerin is your friend..............good luck

 

[The Heretic]

Nitroglycerin is your friend..............good luck

I have the nitro and I consistently carry it with me, but I don't think it is my heart that is causing the chest pain.

 

[Argonaut]

I have the nitro and I consistently carry it with me, but I don't think it is my heart that is causing the chest pain.

Have you tried it when you have chest pain? It is actually pretty benign stuff as long as you don't overdue it and it is truly magic. If you take too much, it will give you a headache.

 

[The Heretic]

Have you tried it when you have chest pain? It is actually pretty benign stuff as long as you don't overdue it and it is truly magic. If you take too much, it will give you a headache.

I have not, because the pain does not persist if I stop what I am doing and rest a few minutes and because I don't think this pain is caused by my heart.

The problem is, IMO, that it doesn't take much for the pain to start; If I went to the end of my private road and walked up to the upper end (about a quarter mile) at a brisk pace, I would be huffing and puffing and having the pain. The being short of breath is worse than the pain though, because if I keep going I will simply collapse.

Mostly I am going thru all of this because:

1) It is past time that I did it and had all of the tests/etc.
2) I want to make sure that I am healthy enough to work hard enough to get back in shape without having a heart attack. So if all the tests say my heart can take it, then I can just work at it, increasing as I am able until I get my stamina back.

It is just taking a long time as I go in for a test and then have to wait for 3 weeks to get a follow up face to face with the doctor to have him tell me I need another test. But now I am at the point where I feel I can safely do what I need to do as long as I stop when the pain is bad enough, and I am out of breath. I already notice I am a little better.

 

[Argonaut]

Do you understand how the Nitro works? It expands your blood vessels giving more flow to the heart. Seems like if it works, it would be a clue to your pain. Off course, you need to lay off the purple pills for a while

 

[The Heretic]

Do you understand how the Nitro works? It expands your blood vessels giving more flow to the heart. Seems like if it works, it would be a clue to your pain. Off course, you need to lay off the purple pills for a while

Yes, it is a vasodilator - I've had those during some of the tests - one of them made me more out of breath.

I suppose I could try it but I have thought that just stopping for a few minutes was enough I did not have to take it.