Damn man. Glad you're still here.
Damn man. Glad you're still here.
Mndsm said:I was *seriously* just wondering about you like two days ago. Didn't know how to get a hold of you to check in with the whole on the wagon thing and see how that was going.
E36 M3 deal about the heart attack- I know how surprise heart problems go. At least you got a really cool scar out of the deal.
What's "the wagon thing," precious?
Good to see you active again and congrats on 3 years sober and surviving the attack of your heart.
Good to hear you made it through that, should get better from here on. Best of luck to ya.
Glad to hear it! I'm sure we were all wondering how you were doing.
poopshovel again said:Mndsm said:I was *seriously* just wondering about you like two days ago. Didn't know how to get a hold of you to check in with the whole on the wagon thing and see how that was going.
E36 M3 deal about the heart attack- I know how surprise heart problems go. At least you got a really cool scar out of the deal.
What's "the wagon thing," precious?
Not drinkin'. I know a few that have gone through that and the challenge it can be. Glad to hear it's sticking for you.
In reply to poopshovel again :
3 years is the best news of this whole thread! Of course, hearing you beat the odds in heart health is great too.
All those youthful years of "clean living" are really starting to pay off? 
Keep strong!
Wow, I love stories with a good ending!
Take it easy and follow the sternal precautions!
How's your head space? My situation was different, since I went for a stress test based on age and family history. I found out I was going for a bypass in the angio test, as my cardiologist said, "We'll keep that picture for the surgeon."
Pretty scared for 6 weeks, then started to get anxious to do it, figuring that if I do all this and have an attack waiting for the bypass, I would be pissed. Also, my "widow maker" left descending artery was 93% blocked. I wouldn't have made it to a hospital.
I think there is a time frame starting from when you find out. About 3 weeks post op, I was feeling pretty good, mentally. Part of the deal here is cardiac classes, to teach you all the stuff you already know, but have ignored for 58 years. I was amused, because people like me were ahead of the game compared to people who discovered they had coronary artery disease when the crushing pain dropped them to their knees...
Same people were fine, a few weeks later at the cardiac rehab walking club. Takes 6 weeks to get used to the idea, I guess.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Yeah there wasn't much time to freak out. It was basically Doctor's office > ER > Cardiological Hospital on day one. Day two was heart cath. Day three was surgery. Can't remember which had what but there were 2 at over 80% blockage and one over 90.
Maybe it's weird but I was the least freaked of any involved to the point where I felt guilty for cracking jokes while the people around me were crying & E36 M3, and had to dial it back out of respect for their feelings. "Too dumb to be scared" became a thing 
Thanks to all for the kind words & well-wishes
When I had the blood clot in my lung here in B'Ham back in 2019 I was goofing that I thought it was just another bad food poisoning event......the stink eye from the nurses spoke a different tune . Stay strong.....
Glad you're still vertical!
In reply to poopshovel again :
I remember that from my whole CHF episode in 2020. Went to the ER. Said I think I have allergies. Havin' a hard time breathing. The fast pass I got to the back and seeing the entire staff of said ER in under 90 seconds told me otherwise. I basically texted SWMBO and was like soooooo......
Fortunately for me other than the whole failure part, all my arteries and E36 M3 came out clean, so no cool scar for me.
poopshovel again said:In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Zipperclub FTW! Man getting those drainage tubes pulled is an experience I hope to never go through again
BTDT...I called the bigger of the two nurses who pulled my tubes a bad name. It didn't hurt, but those corrugated tubes sure feel weird coming out.
Glad you're still with us and a member of the club.
Don't be a bitch. Post those pics. We like gnar.
poopshovel again said:In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Yeah there wasn't much time to freak out. It was basically Doctor's office > ER > Cardiological Hospital on day one. Day two was heart cath. Day three was surgery. Can't remember which had what but there were 2 at over 80% blockage and one over 90.
Maybe it's weird but I was the least freaked of any involved to the point where I felt guilty for cracking jokes while the people around me were crying & E36 M3, and had to dial it back out of respect for their feelings. "Too dumb to be scared" became a thing
Thanks to all for the kind words & well-wishes
I had three days warning before the catheterization, but what did surprise me was how quickly they had me on my feet and out the door. Surgery was Friday morning and I walked out the front door of the hospital at noon on Monday. I had a friend who was 82 do the same thing.
Appleseed said:Don't be a bitch. Post those pics. We like gnar.
LOL. I've told a couple of people, before their surgeries, not to look under the sheets when they wake up. They both did anyway.
Good job surviving your heart attack and good luck with your recovery. You must have earned enough more good luck than bad luck over the years.
My symptoms this last March while shoveling 12" of snow was extreme sweating, fatigue, a kind of numbness going up my left side and down my left arm, and extreme belching. I finally went inside and told the Mrs that I felt awful and wanted to go to the hospital which was only 10 block away. At the emergency room I said that I thought that I was having a heart attack and after what seemed like a million minutes, they said yes, indeed I was. I ruptured the plaque on the right artery which was 100% blocked. After 3 stents on the right side, I had to wait for 2 months for them to heal before I was healthy enough for a triple bypass on the left side which was 90% (edit: 80%) blocked at what was a mutant triple fork of 3 arteries.
(Edit: Pryor to the heart attack, I had severe neck pain which my cardiologist says was my classic warning sign. My SIL the cardio nurse says that the extreme belching was a classic heart attack symptom which I have never heard of before.)
The worst part of recovery was the chest incision which felt like they split my chest open with a hatchet and wired me up with rusty barb wire. Coughing was awful enough until I started sneezing and if felt like my chest was going to explode. Three months later and lots of Cardio Rehab, I am feeling a 1000% better.
I have a family history of Cardiovascular Disease with my dad having heart attacks since his 30's and dying at 62 and an older brother who had quadruple bypass at 63 (I made it to 67). I asked my doctor if I should get a stress test a few years back, but he said I was fine. I am pretty sure it would have shown my clogged arteries back then. Luckily, the cardiologist says that I had very minimal heart damage.
Interestingly, I started donating blood (O-) after 9-11-2001 and have donated 3 or 4 times per year and over 10 gallons since and one of the perks of donating is that they check your cholesterol and blood pressure every time and keep a running record. One day I got a letter from them that said both blood pressure and cholesterol where starting to increase and I should go see a doctor so both have always been under medication control. I have also been trying to maintain a healthy Mediterranean diet because that is my heritage. Unfortunately, that plaque is always growing and growing everywhere inside us.
Now to go earn some more good luck because the only thing I have left is bad luck. 
I'm also very glad you are not dead yet!
As we age, we have constant reminders that we're no longer invincible, like what you just went through (granted, triple bypass surgery is less a reminder and more of a donkey kick straight in the junk). It sucks, but things like this can give us perspective. Live life like there's no tomorrow, and hope you feel better!
Everyone should make themselves aware of their family medical history. I experienced an indigestion type feeling playing hockey. This went on for weeks, it just started happening earlier in the game with each passing week. A buddy looked at me rubbing my chest one night and said it was my heart. I made a doctor's appointment for two weeks later and kept playing ( I'm not the brightest). When I described it to my doctor she thought it was acid reflux, but thought a cardiologist should see me anyway. The cardiologist said it was acid reflux, but then he asked if there was any history of heart problems in the family. My mother had four brothers. All were dead by the age of fifty-four and I was fifty-eight at the time. I was immediately scheduled for a catheter, and no surprise, they found four blockages.
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