Another heart attack
 

I can hardly believe it. Two heart attacks and I'm not even 42 yet.

Juat like the first one, this one happened in the wee hours of the morning while i was on-call dealng with an idiot tractor trailer driver. This time I did't have the shortness of breath or the sweating like I had before. I thought it was gallstones or something and I drove myself to the emergency room. They gave me aspirin, nitro, and it went away. I was all ready to get up off the table and go back home since the EKG didn't show a heart attack. Then the blood tests came back and the first one showed normal but the other test they do came back elevated indicating a mild heart attack. I went in at 3am on Saturday morning and they released me on Monday afternoon. What I don't get is three months ago i had a heart cath test that came back clear.

I'm starting to think that I might need to look for a less stressful occupation, but finding one at my age that pays the bills the way my current job does might be difficult.

Anyway, just a reminder to anyone no matter what your risks might be; if you ever have chest pain that lasts for more than fifteen minutes, get thyself to an emergency room right away. Don't try to drive yourself like I did, if you're alone, call 911.

Jeepers Christ pal, I really feel for you.
I've been on cardiac meds for atrial fibrillation near 6 years and I'm but 45 and built like a brick *****house.....same thing that felled my Dad at 42.

It really,really sucks...I have the ambition and desire but my body fu*kin'lets me down every time.now we can add osteo-arthritis and another murmur and sinus tach to the mix........Gonna get a pacemaker in a couple months.

Meanwhile the "old man"takes his Lopressor,Coumadin,Digoxin,Gabapentin and codeine with repulsive regularity,already had 2 TIA's on account of low coumadin levels.........

Maybe one day this sh* will end....................painlessly:mad:

Carlton we are on the same meds, except i add clonazapam, norvasc, clonodine, cymbalta, and of course the 420 for my neuropathy and general feeling of wellness even though that's not always the case. I'm too young to wish for a painless end to this, though i did refuse yet another cath. My last one left me with a hematoma all the way down to my knees.

I grow my own 420 and have a doctor friend who scrips Xanax,without which I could not function as anxiety often accompanies heart trouble,especially when I get up in the morning and fell as though I will pass out......Like Shakespeare said,you had to be there......

At least it keeps me from drinking...........too much:D

Crap Bill, take care of yourself.

I'm trying Kuan, really, I am. I used to weigh 350 and now I'm down to 196 so i took care of that part of it. No one told me that losing weight quickly will give a person gallstones! When they took my shirt off to put the EKG stickers on my chest the first question that they asked me was "how long ago did you have your gastric bypass?" and I told them no, I lost all that on my own. I look terrible under my clothes.

Carlton my doctor gives me a script for xanax for the same reasons but it's the extended release variety, and I don't feel it at all, can't even tell if it's doing anything. I need to talk to him about getting the traditional variety.

Cripes Bill (and Carleton), that's some scary *****! I always figured when I turned 40 (in 3 years) I'd really start paying more attention to my health. I probably ought to start now since both of my maternal grandparents were ticking heart and kidney timebombs. I'm at 275 now, but I should really get things in gear.

Glad to hear that your (relatively) o.k.

So long as I'm around for my daughter and can enjoy my ancient cars and hunt upland birds I'll be happy.Hell,I've lived 3 lifetimes already so aside from my simple pleasures life has no particular hold on me,let ol'Scratch take me when he will.

Ask,no,TELL your doc you want 1mg Alprazolam...blue pills...Break it in half and place it in your mouth,don't swallow it,chew it and place it under your tongue,this is called "melting"it. Take it from an old druggie,it's much faster acting in that manner,say about 5 minutes.

You did the right thing. Trucking = Stress
Sometimes I just tell people I work in adult day care.

Man, Bill, that's not good news. I'd agree that keeping your stress levels down might be helpful. If you can't switch jobs, you might want to try some meditative techniques. I've found them useful sometimes in reducing stress.
On the upside, my neighbor had lots of heart attacks and survived for long time. He was in his 70's poor, didn't like taking public assistance so avoided the hospital and doctors even after the doctors told him he would die without bypass surgery. He did have nitro. I don't know how many times I found him collapsed in the yard or laying on my porch after having a heart attack. I'd prop him up (he was a big guy--about 250 lbs and I couldn't move him too far), wait until he came around and he'd get up and continue on with his life. He lived for quite a few years in that condition. So, with the help of modern medicine you should be better off.

Bill- Sorry to hear this and am glad you went to the hospital to get checked out and didn't ignore it. Glad your still with us.

Wow..you guys better take care of yourselves.
My brother had a heart attack, he never woke up. He was only 35.

Kerry, I've had two others that were not medically documented that I've never mentioned here. The only reason i know what they were is now i have experience. All of them were triggered by stressful events. Good to know that someone can survive a bunch of them for a long time. I hope i still have a long time. LOL I can always stress about worrying about stress.

TX76513 we say the same thing. We have all sizes of trucks and it seems like the larger the truck, the smaller the grey matter. I hope I've not offended anyone, but i better not worry about it. :)

Pay attention now.....for every 5 lbs you are overweight, your heart has to pump 1 extra mile every day.....more wear and tear on that little fist sized muscle...besides we like to see you get that giant 60" plasma screen t.v. in 18 years...