It's been a while.....
Hi all, Sorry I have been so neglectful of my "family" here. It seems that the further out you get and the younger you are, the less you think this whole experience is ongoing ( I'm officially 16 months out from 4X CABG at 37 years old). True to form, I have found myself slipping into my old ways. I've gained back almost the whole 20lbs I lost post surgery. I got my results back today from my latest bloodwork. The numbers are not good. H.D.L. is only 28 and L.D.L. is a whopping 90 with a total cholesterol of 143. Monday I will be fitted with a Holter monitor to try to diagnose the cause of my ectopic heart beats which average on a good day around 20. I am taking 1mg of Folic Acid daily along with Zocor and generic Tenormin. I also take other meds, but they should not have an adverse effect on my numbers. I have been on Zoloft now for a few months after the doctor determined that I was suffering from post surgery depression before I realized it. (My family is glad he found it because I didn't believe them!) For a while I was successfully fooling myself into thinking this whole thing is behind me but it isn't. It never will be. What I would like from anyone here is some info on raising my H.D.L. I HATE to read so it does me no good to buy books because I never end up reading them. I am not due to see my Cardiologist until April 15th and I dread that visit because he's going to tear me up over slipping back into old habits. Sorry this is running on so long, I just needed to bounce some of this off you guys (and gals) to see what you think. Even if you only respond to scold me, it may help to get me motivated again. Thanks for listening, Brian
In a message dated 3/5/03 6:58:18 PM, warfordfam@... writes: What I would like from anyone here is some info on raising my H.D.L. Hi Brian, My Husband raised his HDL 25% just by taking a tablespoon of flaxseed oil daily. Sarah
An EXCELLENT Book on Recovery from heart surgery is The Heart Surgery Handbook by J. Jude, M.D., et.al. which has been updated and republished as Coping With Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression. 'AL'
If his cardiologist(s) won't help, talk with his Primary Care Physician. PCP's are more concerned with the 'Big Picture'. Best wishes, 'AL'
In a message dated 3/6/2003 1:28:51 PM US Eastern Standard Time, ssskrc@... writes: What I would like from anyone here is some info on raising my H.D.L I KNOW ZOCOR RAISED MINE
In a message dated 3/5/2003 9:56:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, warfordfam@... writes: Brian Those numbers are not bad. HDL is low but I can tel you from experience it is much easier to lower LDL then raise HDL. I had an HDL of 38 and after cycling across the country LA - Boston it was 42 after trip. Your LDL and total cholesterol are decent. Keep at it buddy and don't get discouraged, Harry