Hi. I'm posting on here because I don't know where to put this. Hopefully I'll get some positive news. My podiatrist just gave me this earlier and looked at me and said "Melody, this is mild, come back in six months and get another test". I said "But they gave me an appt on Sept 9th, what will they do to me?" He said "Probably more tests, maybe an angiogram". I said "
With the contrast die? but that's dangerous". He shrugged and said "yeah, but not with everybody, and this is mild"

So here is the report.


BILATERAL LOWER EXTREMITY ARTERIAL DOPPLER
FINDINGS:

Right:
Mild intimal thickening noted with plaque formation in the CFA, SFA, POP, PTA Arteries
The Doppler velocity obtained in the SFA Artery is consistent with mild stenosis (30-49%)
The flow CFA, SPA, POP, PTA were predominantly biphasic.
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Left:
Mild intimal thickening noted with plaque formation in the CFA,SFA,POP,PTA Arteries.
The flow CFA, SFA, POP, PTA were predominantly triphasic.

Conclusion: Abnormal Study, Above findings consistent with mild stenosis in the right SFA. Further evaluation recommended.

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Now there are two pages of drawings. Since I can't scan them and put them here, I'll just post what they indicate.

The first page gives the following reading when, under the heading EXERCISE DETAILS:. It says SITTING

Right Hand BFI: 0.95 Left Hand BFI 0.90
Right Foot dABI 1.00 Left Foot dABI: 1.00


Second page gives the following reading when, under the heading EXERCISE DETAILS: Calf-Raises...Reps/Time - 3 min

Right Hand BFI: 0.93 Left Hand BFI: 0.93
Right Foot dABI: 0.99 Left Foot dABI: 0.95

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So there you have it. I have mild stenosis in the SFA
Artery. I'm now going to look up the words biphasic and triphasic.

I hope someone can look at these findings and just say "mel, you are not going to die, keep taking a baby aspirin every day and keep walking up and down your stairs (that's what they told me when I had an eckocardiagram). I passed with flying colors and the lady asked me '
what do you do all day? And I said 'well, I live on the second floor and I have to go up a small flight outside and when I go inside, I have to go up a flight of stairs (not too steep). I do this 4 to 5 times a day by the way.
So far, so good. I have read that when you have this, you should continue to walk and exercise so that is my intention.
Can I reverse these findings? Or what? I will listen to whatever anyone tells me to do. I really don't want any angiogram because of what I heard about the dye. Oh, I have had contrast dye at the eye doctor who takes pictures of behind my eye. Is this the same dye? Never had a problem with that kind of dye.

thanks from the bottom of my heart to anyone who can interpret this for me. You see I have to take care of Alan right now because he HOPEFULLY, go for a Prostate Procedure on Tuesday, but they tried to postpone it because his bloodwork came back with his WTC elevated and saying HE HAS AN INFECTION, and I said 'He does not have an infection, he has severe autoimmune issues, severe psoriatsis, he usually has a slight elevated WTC, and then the doctor went back to review his past blood work, said 'OH, okay, it was the same a few months back, you can bring him in on Tuesday and we'll do the prostate procedure.

I have a lot on my plate here and I just want to put my mind at rest with this velocity and arterial doppler thing.

Thanks much

Melody

I would agree to just wait and have a retest in 6mos.

If your leg does not get colder or stiffer than the other, you would only have to keep your blood from clotting for the most part.

People with PAD develop PAIN in the affected limb when exercising or walking. If you have no pain, color blanching, or cold sensations, then mild is not really bothering you.

The dye for the eye angiogram is fluorescent. And shows up
in the photos they take. It is called fluorescein.

The dye for the leg would probably be radioopaque and show up on fluoroscope and Xray or CT scans.

You could Google ... "dye used for visualization of leg arteries" and find out its name, like this below.

https://www.vascularweb.org/vascular...giography.aspx
This suggests an iodine based contrast agent.

Hi.
what is color blanching and cold sensations? Do you mean am I cold, or does my leg feel cold to the touch?

Thanks

Melody

P.S. forgot to mention, I do have bad knees, osteoarthritis, torn miniscus, etc. Had mri's of them both last year when the back of my knee (well something popped and I got scared) but when I took the mri, they just said "you probably had a cyst that popped". Hasn't popped again, but if I go from a hot environment to a cold environment, the back side of my right knee, well I get a twinge. I walk like an old lady unless it's HOT outside. Then I can walk much better.

I would think if this was serious, I wouldn't be able to go up and down my stairs all day long, right?

People with PAD have pain with exercise and movement.

If your leg turns white and feels cold and you need to wear warm
socks and clothes on it...that implies poor circulation.

As you use the magnesium lotion every day, you may notice changes. You may just be used to what your legs feel like now.
As the circulation improves, you'll notice things you didn't have before.

Hi Melody,

I am glad mrsD has been available to answer your questions.

You had asked if the PAD is reversible. I don't know the answer; yet, I have seen a very interesting film, with very credible experts talking about reversing diseases.

Do you watch Netflix? There is a very interesting documentary named, "Forks Over Knives." The doctors in this documentary talk about how we can minimize and sometimes reverse these types of problems in our circulatory systems...and much more. One of my doctors suggested I watch this film.

It's also available on iTunes and amazon.

There is a web site: www.forksoverknives.com
You may also see the movie trailer at: http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/

I was very impressed with the years of studies these doctors had completed in order to prove their stances.

"Forks over knives" means: Choosing dietary changes over surgeries.

Fascinating documentary. I hope you can see it.


DejaVu

Hi there. I most certainly will look at this documentary.

I changed my whole way of eating years ago. I was severely obese and I got the light bulb moment in my 50's. Why it took me so long, well, I don't know. Thank God I never smoked, drank or did drugs.

I grow my own sprouts. I grow organic broccoli, fenugreek, clover, radish and other sprouts and microgreens. I give them to neighbors and friends. They give me what they grow in their back yards. Last week I got cherry tomatoes, lol. I love greens.

Oh, I have a good question. Greens contain Vitamin K right? That's why people who take a certain blood thinner can't eat too many greens because of the clotting factor in greens.

Does this mean I have to give up my greens for dinner. I eat my sprouts every day in a sandwich or in a salad but I absolutely adore eating a side dish of greens with dinner at night. I love Bok Choy, (any kind of Choy actually), I like kale, I hate swiss chard by the way.

So can I still eat my greens?

Thanks much

Melody