nasty new condition:
 

thought cancer/PN was as bad as it would get but no! two weeks ago i was rushed to the ER with a myocardial infarction aka*heart attack. *had a stent placed in a damaged artery to keep it open. *now have entered a new, more scary world where i'm terrified of another, more damaging HA which might kill me in minutes. *at least with cancer you rarely keel right over.

i am worried that i won't be able to resume my supplement
routine *since i now have to take an array of heart drugs (aspirin,*lipitor, blood thinner, blood pressure, etc).

i know i need to ask the cardiologist if the supplements may be contraindicated but i thought maybe another PNer has faced a similar issue and found a way to deal.

would appreciate your thoughts on coping!

Meds
 

Yes, be sure to discuss any and all supplements with your doctor. They tried to place stents in my blocked coronary arteries but the blockages were too bad to even get the stents placed. I am on numerous meds for CAD. I am limited to Tylenol as my ONLY over the counter med. NO Advil, Aleve, etc. I also have PN and am on meds for other conditions, too. Sometimes I feel like a chemistry lab. I clear ALL things to be swallowed, other than food, with my doc first. Better safe than sorry. You are correct to inquire about any contraindications.

thank you for your response.

are you not allowed aspirin? i used to eat it like candy especially for menstrual cramps until i got a bleeding ulcer and have not used it until last week (about 50 years later). tylenol has been my all purpose pain med since the ulcer.

what, if any, supplements do you use?

I am already on daily aspirin for cardiac conditions and on blood thinners so I can not take any "additional" aspirin. I only use Tylenol very sparingly due to its adverse effects on the liver. Prescription pain medication makes me so sick that I would rather have pain. When I broke 5 ribs, the doctor gave me a prescription for pain mediction. I told him to either keep it or give me something for the extreme nausea the pain med would cause me. He gave me a second prescription to take with the pain med. I could only take these medications for a very short period of time without other complications. It got me through the first 72 hours of 5 broken ribs. My docs don't allow me to take supplements because what would help with one condition would harm another so I am pretty limited. I take 14 meds daily. I feel like a chemistry lab.

Mrs. D has a whole bunch of info on supplements that may be useful to you. I am not versed in supplements at all.

I would still recommend clearance from your doctor before taking any supplements. There is always the possibility there might be some contraindication for them in your particular case.

when i see the cardio next week, i will show him the supps i had been taking before the HA. i suspect he may pooh pooh the notion of supps. but who knows?

i am on the same regimen that you're on...blood thinner, aspirin, etc. the only drug i am desperate to stop is the antihypertensive. it has set my PN back 1000 fold. ghastly side effects, especially worsening my crappy balance & numb feet.

but hey, i walked 3 blocks (with my rollator) so things are looking up! stay well.
thanks again for your support.

Taking statins (Lipitor) depletes Co-Q-10.

100 mg of new water soluble type or
300 mg a day of the older oil capsule
Type is the average recommendation.
Some doctors still do not know this
However. I suspect that you are using
Plavix and not warfarin? Warfarin has many
many interactions. Qunol is now on Amazon
At WalMart and Costco affordably so
using the older form is unnecessary.

Statins cause PN in some people and are
typically given after a heart attack.
On my"drugs that may cause PN"
I have a link to photos showing this
Damage. Also a new link from poster
Olsen on the new stats of effectiveness
vs harm which are very revealing.
That info may help to decide whether
Lipitor is necessary at all for you.
Stats for women are different than for
men. Please look at Olsen's post I linked
to on that thread . I also have it separately
on the regular forum.

I am on an iPhone and can't copy links or
post as I would like.

hi mrs. d
 

thanks for your info.
i am taking "brilinta" bloodthinner. it looks like it has recently been approved.
the side effects are ok except my pn has migrated to my calves which are crampy & hurt like mad.

i have an app't next week with a new cardio & will run by him the need for lipitor & the antihypertensive. i hope there are better ways than lipitor to lower lipids. maybe fish oil? i don't know if there's any rx to lower BP that has less drastic s/e than metoprolol but i'll ask.

i have some Qunol liquid from costco which i will start taking if necessary but for now i've stopped the lipitor, pending what the cardio says next week.

What type?
 

What type of antihypertensive are you taking? I am guessing a beta blocker considering your conditions. There are calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, ace inhibitors, etc. Different brands within a category also have different side effects. I have been on antihypertensives for decades, one of which I have taken for at least 20 or more years with absolutely NO side effects. The beta blockers have been changed on several occasions for various reasons. Maybe they can change you to something as effective but with less side effects. I am on several different types of antihypertensives. I have some trouble with edema with the beta blocker on occasion, especially if they increase the dosage.

Mrs. D mentioned Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering medicine. I must have missed your post on that as I do not recall your mention of taking a cholesterol medication. Do you have elevated cholesterol levels? I have been on many different statins that did absolutely nothing for lowering my cholesterol levels and they made me feel bad. I was finally put on Crestor several months ago and have had NO side effects and it has worked absolute wonders with my cholesterol levels. Not only are they within normal levels now but extremely good. Even my trigylcerides are in normal range now. I do NOT take fish oil supplements. Of course, the cost is much more for being on the brand name but WELL worth every cent. The generics did nothing. I was also on some other brand names, including Pravachol, when it first came on the market many years ago without good results. I could be the poster child for Crestor. I think it is the best, at least it has proven so for me.

Watch out for potassium depletion as that will can cause muscle cramps. Also be careful to stay well hydrated for the same reason.

Hi Antonina
 

Yes, you should tell your doctor about any other over the counter meds. you are taking. I am sorry to hear that you had this HA after all you had already gone through so may other medical issues.. It just seems sometimes that life throws some real whoppers at a person. Overwhelming is an understatement. A second HA is less likely when you have had the problem corrected, the stint. It is when you fail to do the things you should, with medications, diet, "walking" that things don't always work out well. I have a friend that has several stints after a heart attack and is just doing wonderful, Be concerned, but don't be afraid. Just do all you can do to help yourself. I hope you heal OK, and that life is kinder to you in the future. ginnie:hug:

thank you hopeless & ginnie for the kind words of encouragement & support.

hopeless, i think it was great luck that crestor works so well & with no s/e. because of statins' mostly negative impact on PN, i've always avoided them. but in retrospect, it might have been a wise move. i think brilinta is a beta blocker but i am new to these meds so cannot tell the difference among the ones you mentioned. i will however, do more research.

ginnie, i really appreciate your upbeat post. it's also good to hear that survival is good. i have been trying to change my not so good eating habits. i want to stick around for a good long while.

the report by olsen on statins
 

just read it and it certainly looks like they are worthless. about 98% of the subjects in the study derived zero benefit from them. wth? does not appear to be any efficacy attached to them & you might just as well spend your money on snake oil.

i cannot post the link (ipad) but just search for "olsen" on this site. thanks to mrs. d for pointing out olsen's post.

Hi Antonina,

I was chastised on many occasions over the years for taking myself off of the various statins but they were not working and making me feel BAD. If you HAVE to be on a cholesterol med....... I would ask your doc for Crestor. It works differently on different people so you may not have the positive benefits I have experienced but worth a try if you HAVE to take something for cholesterol. I recently heard some bad things about Lipitor and a relationship to developing diabetes. Don't know if they are true or not. One of my relatives was on Lipitor and had no reduction in cholesterol levels.

I see that you did mention the antihypertensive as being metropolol. Seems cardiologist like it. I was on it for a while and hated it. I was changed by my PCP. I had also taken Atenolol, Cardizem, and several others that I do not remember by name at the moment. I believe all the ones I have mentioned by name are beta blockers. They recently wanted to ADD Norvasc, which I think is a calcium channel blocker antihypertensive, and after much discussion, I talked my way out of adding it to my regimen. My heart rate and BP are controlled but my angina is still frequent. The addition of the Norvasc was to reduce the angina but I was afraid it would lower my BP and heart rate too much with all the other cardiac meds.

Sometimes you have to trial and error different ones to find what works best for you. I was first put on beta blockers for sinus tachycardia. They worked well for lowering my heart rate. I was already on other meds for my hypertension. Beta blockers can have various side effects including dizziness, fatigue, etc. Work with your doctor until you find the right one for you that will provide the proper benefit.

Having the stent should make you feel much better as the blood vessel is now being held open and feeding your heart with all the good stuff and oxygen too. Wishing you much better days. Hope you can get your meds worked out so they "help" you instead of cause you more misery.

Keep us posted. Mrs. D is the supplement expert and has tons of valuable information. There are several others here that are well versed in medications. I can only talk about my personal experiences.

because i was rushed to the nearest hospital, i was treated by the doc who was "on call." * i have made appts with 3 new cardios, 2 who practice at better rated hospitals and the other at the original so-so hospital. i plan to get each one's opinions on meds, diet, lifestyle, etc. *

i hope there's an effective beta blocker they can suggest, as well as a less vertigo-prone & PN intensifying sub for metoprolol. *as for a statin, i believe their efficacy is very questionable and wonder why docs have such faith in them. [see OLSEN post]

have a happy & healthy weekend!

Thanks and a good weekend to you, too.

Most beta blockers have dizziness as a side effect. Sometimes, it only affects you for a few days and your system gets used to it but not always the case. I do hope they can find something that will work well for you. The one I am on now causes my feet and calves to swell with fluid so they lowered the dosage and NO swelling.

My PCP agrees that cholesterol is not the evil it is made out to be and rarely puts his patients on a statin. I trust him implicitly since he saved my life in 1990. I have had the last 23 years of life thanks to him. Usually if he disagrees with the treatment plan of my of my specialists, I defer to HIS judgement even though it may not be his specialty. He always seems to be correct. If we have to be sick, it is always good to have a doc we can trust. I have seen my share of those that would take me down the wrong road and as soon as I discovered it, I hit the road.

sounds like you got very lucky in your PCP. i have been searching for the last 10 years for one...my other one got so burnt out he went to work as an insurance doc! no one has come close to him since in caring & expertise.

i will stay on the quest. be well!

Yes, finding a really good PCP that "fits" for a particular patient is an extremely difficult task. I wish you luck in finding one that really fits with you. I had a great doc MANY years ago and he died. I was lost. Luckily, I found another doc, (my current PCP) and was happy until my insurance changed and I could no longer see him under the new insurance. Found another PCP that almost killed me. Changed my insurance, was able to have coverage of my former PCP but he was not taking on additional patients at that time. I was then on a search. Thank goodness one of my specialists was picking up the slack and caring for ALL of me until I could find a PCP. I wrote a letter to my former PCP asking that he make an exception and take me. He called me as soon as he got the letter and I was back with him.

Now I am afraid he will retire in a few years and I will be on the quest again. There is only 4 years difference in age between my doc and me. I do not blame him if he decides to retire but I dread the day.

It amazes me that with so many doctors, how difficult it is to find one that fits. I still wonder why it is so difficult to find one that is: !) smart 2) listens 3) is available 4) is pleasant 5) informative. Why is it that so many only fill one or two of the above criteria?

Wishing you an end to your quest with the perfect fit for you. Good luck.

doctor quest/go for it!
 

It is hard to find that special doctor that really does listen. One who does all he can and is involved in all aspects of your care. It took me years to find the ones I have now. I thank God daily. My first PCP put me on Morphine and told me I would be on it for my whole life. He was wrong. I found my current doctor, and she was wonderful to me in letting me wean off this drug. She is in integrative medicine, and uses vitamins,( B12 in particular), acue puncture, all kinds of out side the box thinking. A year ago I was in a wheelchair. My PN wouldn't let me walk. Today I am walking and in less pain without the narcotic! It takes a search to find the kind of doctor willing to try. I hope all those on NT, who do not like their physicians will go on the quest to find the one that can change their lives. To me this was nothing short of a miracle. I hope all of those who need a change will go looking for that kind of help. Ginnie

Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself! Exactly the experience my wife and I had through her illness and PN. The good ones are few and far between.

Hi sddave,

I hope you and your wife have found someone that works for and with you. I have always felt that the doctor and patient should work as a team. They bring their knowledge to the table and we bring our experiences. They don't live in our bodies so they MUST listen to understand what we are experiencing. We know our bodies, they know medicine and only when we work as a team can there be answers. Otherwise, we could just go to a checklist and be our own doctor. Seems that is what some do anyway. You say a "key" word and they have just stopped listening and are on their own way down a road they will try to make your symptoms fit. They don't listen to the rest of your sentence. If they had, they would know they were already on the wrong path.