Indeed- It's often "Factor V Leiden" - inherited genetic predilection to thickening blood.
Where's Uenth?
- Thread starter Pavlov's Dog
- Start date
Indeed- It's often "Factor V Leiden" - inherited genetic predilection to thickening blood.
That's easy! She's right next to the guy eating a tuna fish sandwich on rye.
Time for an update. Kind of a roller coaster thing. Lots of doctor's appointments. A huge setback when Hub fell going up the steps to our entryway after a doc appointment. Sprained both ankles and lots of bumps and bruises everywhere. That was in December. Set him way back physically. He's pretty much healed from that and now has to work on regaining as much strength as he can, which is harder the older you get.
Anyway, we saw a vascular surgeon in Jan. She doesn't want to do any surgeries (by pass or stents) until necessary to protect the integrity of the leg because there are limited to the number of surgeries you can do. So, if you do it prematurely, you run the risk of an amputation if the by pass fails and another cannot be performed. That all made good sense to us and we'd rather proceed conservatively at any rate.
She wanted Hub to see our cardiologist because his pulse was way too high and he's had some issues with shortness of breath and crazy fatigue some days. So we saw the cardiologist yesterday. A quick EKG confirmed that he has atrial flutter (a cousin of A-Fib). Usually blood clots in the heart go along with it but since Hub's already on blood thinners, he's fairly confident that he won't find clots. So, Hub has to have a procedure done on an outpatient basis. They will put a scope down his esophagus and make sure there are no clots in the heart. Once they know he's clot free, they will shock the heart and that should restore it to its normal rhythm. If you let the heart continue to beat that rapidly all the time, it will literally wear itself out. He didn't really say what he will do if he finds clots, I'm guessing he would need to go in and surgically remove then but I'm figuring that he probably won't have any, based on doc's opinion. We should be out of there in about 3 hours and back home so that's not too bad. That procedure will happen on the 10th. Will be good to get it done as he should not be as fatigued or short of breath, which, in turn, will make it easier for him to be more mobile.
So, things aren't great but not horrible either. Just trying to roll with the flow and see where things go from here.
Anyway, we saw a vascular surgeon in Jan. She doesn't want to do any surgeries (by pass or stents) until necessary to protect the integrity of the leg because there are limited to the number of surgeries you can do. So, if you do it prematurely, you run the risk of an amputation if the by pass fails and another cannot be performed. That all made good sense to us and we'd rather proceed conservatively at any rate.
She wanted Hub to see our cardiologist because his pulse was way too high and he's had some issues with shortness of breath and crazy fatigue some days. So we saw the cardiologist yesterday. A quick EKG confirmed that he has atrial flutter (a cousin of A-Fib). Usually blood clots in the heart go along with it but since Hub's already on blood thinners, he's fairly confident that he won't find clots. So, Hub has to have a procedure done on an outpatient basis. They will put a scope down his esophagus and make sure there are no clots in the heart. Once they know he's clot free, they will shock the heart and that should restore it to its normal rhythm. If you let the heart continue to beat that rapidly all the time, it will literally wear itself out. He didn't really say what he will do if he finds clots, I'm guessing he would need to go in and surgically remove then but I'm figuring that he probably won't have any, based on doc's opinion. We should be out of there in about 3 hours and back home so that's not too bad. That procedure will happen on the 10th. Will be good to get it done as he should not be as fatigued or short of breath, which, in turn, will make it easier for him to be more mobile.
So, things aren't great but not horrible either. Just trying to roll with the flow and see where things go from here.
Positive thoughts for hubby and you. Life does indeed present challenges and rewards.
For those challenges, faith, family, friends, and a damn good doctor go a long way.
For those challenges, faith, family, friends, and a damn good doctor go a long way.
It's late and I'm exhausted so I'll try and be brief.
Hub started having excruciating pain in his right foot this weekend (that's the leg with minimal blood flow due to the Peripheral Arterial Disease or PAD). We saw our doc on Monday. They x-rayed and did blood work checking for infection. X-rays showed no infection in the bone which is always good to hear but the blood work was "troubling" and they put him on 2 antibiotics. Foot looked horrible Tuesday morning so I took a shot with my cell phone (yes, I broke down and joined the 21st century - knew this road trip would happen sooner or later and one less thing to organize) and sent it to our doc using their "portal". We had a follow up appointment today. The redness/streaks were much improved but there was some nasty looking black below the toenail, which I asked the doc what that indicated as it didn't look healthy to me. She agreed, conferred with another doc and they jointly decided the appropriate course of action was to send him to ER for evaluation, though they expected that he would be hospitalized, either to put him on IV antibiotics or to perform the bypass surgery on the artery in the leg. It was a VERY long day. ER did blood work, X-rays, a doppler ultrasound and then a CT scan and conferred with the vascular surgeon in Lincoln. About 6:30, the decision was made to send him to Lincoln, via an ambulance, so surgery can be performed, probably tomorrow. We think we acted quickly enough that no amputation will be necessary but, if so, he is damn lucky and he is very aware of this. I left the hospital right after the call was made to transfer him to Lincoln as I had lots of "stuff" to get taken care of. Most important was getting a pet sitter to look in on Arlo and Missy. We lucked into a young lady who is a vet tech and house sits for some friends. She came over this evening and spent about an hour with the dogs. Arlo was a bit standoffish but by the time she left, he was sniffing her and I think will be ok. Missy made another BFF so things should be good on that front. She also showed me how to use GPS on my cell phone since On Star doesn't cover mine anymore (a 2009). I also called my mechanic (his wife is a friend and a customer) to make sure that my vehicle can deal with a road trip - I just had it serviced about 3 weeks ago. I will have to rent a vehicle for his trip home as my HHR is the panel truck variety and has no rear seat and no way will those legs tolerate being down for an hour and a half or longer. So think I have all the main bases covered. I'll drive to Lincoln tomorrow in the afternoon and then head home before rush hour traffic. Stay home on Friday (my fused back is not going to like the car time but so it goes) and with luck, he will be discharged on Saturday. If not, I'll do the same drill on Saturday and then play it by ear until he is discharged.
Anyway, the crux of the problem is that he nicked a toe when clipping his toenails. Many diabetics loose feeling in their feet and toes (neuropathy) and because of that, he didn't feel that he was clipping flesh, not a nail. It didn't appear infected until Monday morning and it was just a little more red than normal (diabetics get weird coloring on their feet and toes). So another PSA, if you're a diabetic, have a podiatrist clip your nails. It's well worth the cost to prevent this. However, hub was still going to need the bypass surgery, he just wouldn't be worried about losing a toe, foot or leg.
That's the Cliff Notes version. Night all!
Hub started having excruciating pain in his right foot this weekend (that's the leg with minimal blood flow due to the Peripheral Arterial Disease or PAD). We saw our doc on Monday. They x-rayed and did blood work checking for infection. X-rays showed no infection in the bone which is always good to hear but the blood work was "troubling" and they put him on 2 antibiotics. Foot looked horrible Tuesday morning so I took a shot with my cell phone (yes, I broke down and joined the 21st century - knew this road trip would happen sooner or later and one less thing to organize) and sent it to our doc using their "portal". We had a follow up appointment today. The redness/streaks were much improved but there was some nasty looking black below the toenail, which I asked the doc what that indicated as it didn't look healthy to me. She agreed, conferred with another doc and they jointly decided the appropriate course of action was to send him to ER for evaluation, though they expected that he would be hospitalized, either to put him on IV antibiotics or to perform the bypass surgery on the artery in the leg. It was a VERY long day. ER did blood work, X-rays, a doppler ultrasound and then a CT scan and conferred with the vascular surgeon in Lincoln. About 6:30, the decision was made to send him to Lincoln, via an ambulance, so surgery can be performed, probably tomorrow. We think we acted quickly enough that no amputation will be necessary but, if so, he is damn lucky and he is very aware of this. I left the hospital right after the call was made to transfer him to Lincoln as I had lots of "stuff" to get taken care of. Most important was getting a pet sitter to look in on Arlo and Missy. We lucked into a young lady who is a vet tech and house sits for some friends. She came over this evening and spent about an hour with the dogs. Arlo was a bit standoffish but by the time she left, he was sniffing her and I think will be ok. Missy made another BFF so things should be good on that front. She also showed me how to use GPS on my cell phone since On Star doesn't cover mine anymore (a 2009). I also called my mechanic (his wife is a friend and a customer) to make sure that my vehicle can deal with a road trip - I just had it serviced about 3 weeks ago. I will have to rent a vehicle for his trip home as my HHR is the panel truck variety and has no rear seat and no way will those legs tolerate being down for an hour and a half or longer. So think I have all the main bases covered. I'll drive to Lincoln tomorrow in the afternoon and then head home before rush hour traffic. Stay home on Friday (my fused back is not going to like the car time but so it goes) and with luck, he will be discharged on Saturday. If not, I'll do the same drill on Saturday and then play it by ear until he is discharged.
Anyway, the crux of the problem is that he nicked a toe when clipping his toenails. Many diabetics loose feeling in their feet and toes (neuropathy) and because of that, he didn't feel that he was clipping flesh, not a nail. It didn't appear infected until Monday morning and it was just a little more red than normal (diabetics get weird coloring on their feet and toes). So another PSA, if you're a diabetic, have a podiatrist clip your nails. It's well worth the cost to prevent this. However, hub was still going to need the bypass surgery, he just wouldn't be worried about losing a toe, foot or leg.
That's the Cliff Notes version. Night all!
Prayers for you and Hub. Hopefully they get the surgery and its a speedy and full recovery.
I share everybody else's wishes, Uenth.
Just a note about your story--this is a good reason why senior citizen guys should bite-their-lips and get a pedicure once a month. You avoid this problem and (I hear) they're relaxing as hell!!!
OK, so here's the very latest. UGH!
I called this morning but too early to be able to talk. They have patient phones cut off so they can sleep. Whatever. He called as soon as the lines were open but didn't really know anything. I was out walking Missy and walked in the door to hear the landline ringing (I'm sure he lost the post it with the cell phone number on it). Had like 2 minutes to talk as they were ready to take him to surgery. They are removing the entire toe (I knew that color was not good when I saw it yesterday). Then surgery again tomorrow to perform the bypass. 3 or 4 days in the hospital and they will only release him into my custody, He has cousins who live close and they wanted to drive him here but I'm sure they need to talk to me about caring for the toe amputation area.
So, he wants me to stay here until he is discharged instead of driving back and forth, Can't stay there as our pet sitter just comes in twice a day to let them out for 10 or 15 minutes and isn't here at night, so staying in Lincoln is not an option.
Yes, gentleman, go get your pedicures and enjoy them
I called this morning but too early to be able to talk. They have patient phones cut off so they can sleep. Whatever. He called as soon as the lines were open but didn't really know anything. I was out walking Missy and walked in the door to hear the landline ringing (I'm sure he lost the post it with the cell phone number on it). Had like 2 minutes to talk as they were ready to take him to surgery. They are removing the entire toe (I knew that color was not good when I saw it yesterday). Then surgery again tomorrow to perform the bypass. 3 or 4 days in the hospital and they will only release him into my custody, He has cousins who live close and they wanted to drive him here but I'm sure they need to talk to me about caring for the toe amputation area.
So, he wants me to stay here until he is discharged instead of driving back and forth, Can't stay there as our pet sitter just comes in twice a day to let them out for 10 or 15 minutes and isn't here at night, so staying in Lincoln is not an option.
Yes, gentleman, go get your pedicures and enjoy them
Praying all goes well with the procedures and that you have peace knowing he is in good hands!
Best wishes with your Hub!! Also, please check your private messages. We have a prize for you from the Spring Game Contest!!
LOL. Too late, the toe was amputated yesterday. Just the bypass today. Can't believe I just typed "just" the bypass today. That's a very long surgery according to the vascular
A hellish day but it's ended up pretty good.
Hub was supposed to call me before they took him back but 24 hours post op on amputations sucks. His sister's pain was off the charts around that time and he was as well, so he forgot he was supposed to call. I finally called and talked to his nurse around 1:30 and he was already in pre-op. I had a major meltdown at that point and, uncharacteristically for me, turned into a fountain of tears and could not turn it off. Nurse was wonderful and got hold of his pre-op nurse who told me what was going on and then let me talk to hub for a few minutes. I was glad I talked to her as Hub hasn't memorized our cell phone # yet (it's a new thing, about a month is all) so I gave the nurse the number and asked her to make sure to give it to the surgeon as my brother was picking me up at 5 to take me to the Vet's Club for supper (which was a wonderful break). One of my besties came over and spent the afternoon with me until my brother came over. We picked out paint for the new kitchen and just chewed the fat. We were still at supper when the vascular surgeon called. They did NOT have to do a bypass. Went in through the groin and scraped a ton of plaque out of the artery and then used the balloon technique down to the knee and was satisfied with the blood flow to that point. Below the knee was too occluded for the balloon so she put in a number of stents and is now pleased with the blood flow. He handled the surgery well enough. Surgeon said that the earliest he will be discharged is Monday and he may still need to go to skilled care for a few days until his mobility is where it needs to be. I won't be surprised if he needs skilled care at all.
Anyway, big brother and I had a good time and it was great getting away from it all for a while. Got home and couldn't get the damn key to open the front door. Back door key is on another keychain which was sitting in the living room. I had just called my brother to come rescue me and gave the key one more hard twist and it reluctantly turned and unlocked the door. I think it just needs some graphite which I have. We rarely come in the front door as generally trips are from the grocery store, etc so we come in the back door. That was disconcerting as all get out but I was well pleased that I did get myself in so my brother did NOT have to rescue me. I'm now about ready to crash for the night.
Hub was supposed to call me before they took him back but 24 hours post op on amputations sucks. His sister's pain was off the charts around that time and he was as well, so he forgot he was supposed to call. I finally called and talked to his nurse around 1:30 and he was already in pre-op. I had a major meltdown at that point and, uncharacteristically for me, turned into a fountain of tears and could not turn it off. Nurse was wonderful and got hold of his pre-op nurse who told me what was going on and then let me talk to hub for a few minutes. I was glad I talked to her as Hub hasn't memorized our cell phone # yet (it's a new thing, about a month is all) so I gave the nurse the number and asked her to make sure to give it to the surgeon as my brother was picking me up at 5 to take me to the Vet's Club for supper (which was a wonderful break). One of my besties came over and spent the afternoon with me until my brother came over. We picked out paint for the new kitchen and just chewed the fat. We were still at supper when the vascular surgeon called. They did NOT have to do a bypass. Went in through the groin and scraped a ton of plaque out of the artery and then used the balloon technique down to the knee and was satisfied with the blood flow to that point. Below the knee was too occluded for the balloon so she put in a number of stents and is now pleased with the blood flow. He handled the surgery well enough. Surgeon said that the earliest he will be discharged is Monday and he may still need to go to skilled care for a few days until his mobility is where it needs to be. I won't be surprised if he needs skilled care at all.
Anyway, big brother and I had a good time and it was great getting away from it all for a while. Got home and couldn't get the damn key to open the front door. Back door key is on another keychain which was sitting in the living room. I had just called my brother to come rescue me and gave the key one more hard twist and it reluctantly turned and unlocked the door. I think it just needs some graphite which I have. We rarely come in the front door as generally trips are from the grocery store, etc so we come in the back door. That was disconcerting as all get out but I was well pleased that I did get myself in so my brother did NOT have to rescue me. I'm now about ready to crash for the night.
Good news about the worst part. Your better half ( just messing with you ) is probably gonna need a cane for balance, even if he doesn’t want to use it make him . The loss of balance is tuff to accept. But the falls are real .
Keeping you two in my heart
Keeping you two in my heart
He's got a walking stick, in the back of the car still from our trip to the doc's on Wed. If a cane will work better, that's not a big deal to me and falls (for me) are terrifying because I don't want to do anything to screw up my now mostly pain free back. Thanks for the advice!
