Author Topic: UPDATE: Graybeard (Read 1325 times)

De41mag · « **on:** January 28, 2005, 01:35:52 PM »

Just spoke with Mrs. Greybeard about an hour ago.
Bill is resting fine.
The dye test showed NO bolckage. VERY GOOD NEWS! :grin:
No stints or anything needed. She said the next step was to check out his lungs. Which will come later. She told me that Matt said "He just needs to loose some weight."
I think this goes to show that there is power in prayer.
If I hear of any further news, I'll let you know.

Dennis

Big Blue · « **Reply #1 on:** January 28, 2005, 02:01:05 PM »

Dennis,
Thanks for the update! That is certainly good news, and I'm sure a relief for Mr. and Mrs. Greybeard. The weight thing is a problem many of us share and while not easy to overcome, it's more managable than other health problems.
Thanks,
Don

quickdtoo · « **Reply #2 on:** January 28, 2005, 02:17:55 PM »

Thanks Dennis!

Tim

BamBams · « **Reply #3 on:** January 28, 2005, 03:09:43 PM »

Wonderful news! I've been wondering how it went. Thank you very much for posting the update!

Ditchdigger · « **Reply #4 on:** January 28, 2005, 03:56:31 PM »

That's great news, I was afraid that if he had luck like some of us,they would put him in the wrong operating room and give him a sexchange operation or something just as bad. :-D :-D Digger

Brett · « **Reply #5 on:** January 28, 2005, 04:00:47 PM »

Praise the Lord! That's great news, thanks for kepping us posted De41mag.

Markus · « **Reply #6 on:** January 28, 2005, 04:12:13 PM »

That's great news. I thought about him a lot today. Thanks for the update and he's still in my prayers.

MtJerry · « **Reply #7 on:** January 28, 2005, 04:21:28 PM »

Thanks for the undate - wish him and his family well.

Nightrain52 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 28, 2005, 04:57:36 PM »

Thank the Lord for this good news. I hope they can find out what actually causing his problems.

Deadeye47 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 28, 2005, 06:43:21 PM »

:shock: Wow...I guess I missed the boat on this.....glad there is some good news on everything...been there myself on the heart problems....prayers for speedy recovery....please keep us posted....

jbtazgrabber · « **Reply #10 on:** January 28, 2005, 07:08:45 PM »

THAT REAL GOOD NEWS,,,,,JB

James B · « **Reply #11 on:** January 28, 2005, 10:34:24 PM »

That is good news. On goes the battle with the weight. No second bowl of that prairie dog stew for GB.

jim_in_fla · « **Reply #12 on:** January 28, 2005, 11:43:09 PM »

That is GREAT news!
The power of Prayer never ceases to amaze me.

All the best to you and yours, Bill.

Jack Crevalle · « **Reply #13 on:** January 29, 2005, 03:06:18 AM »

Wow, that is good news. Praise be.

jhm · « **Reply #14 on:** January 29, 2005, 04:20:16 AM »

Its all those Blueberry Pies he eats, he will have to cut back to a couple a day and hold strong at that :-D Great to hear he is doing fine. As always

JIM

nipprdog · « **Reply #15 on:** January 29, 2005, 08:24:45 AM »

Good news!!

Graybeard · « **Reply #16 on:** January 29, 2005, 10:30:36 AM »

Thanks guys.

Quote

That's great news, I was afraid that if he had luck like some of us,they would put him in the wrong operating room and give him a sexchange operation or something just as bad.

Well Digger, I reckon some of that must have been going on. Now when they get you up to pre-op they ask your name and date of birth and it must match what's on the braclet on your arm. They also tell you why you're there and make sure that agrees with why you think you're there. :eek:

Yup glad to find the old ticker is OK but I've sure got a major breath problem that has to be worked out. No doubt Matt is correct on the weight. Bot me and Faye are at least 100 pounds heavier than we need to be. Getting it off is not so easy tho.

Will continue working with the doctors to rule out as many things as possible and see what has to be done. Thanks for all the prayers and concerns.

Bill

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #17 on:** January 31, 2005, 10:51:14 AM »

I guess I missed the boat too. Absoubloominlutely fantastic news. I hope they do find wut's up with ya.

fish280 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 31, 2005, 11:18:27 AM »

hallelujah. :wink:

Haywire Haywood · « **Reply #19 on:** January 31, 2005, 11:46:19 AM »

Sprinkle everything you eat with either Varget or H110.. that'll cure both over-eating and smoking too. :-D

good luck with the lung thing,
Ian

marv · « **Reply #20 on:** January 31, 2005, 01:50:18 PM »

Hope and Pray the Docters find whats wrong, Glad to see you
back up and able to talk to us, Good luck on further test, hope all
come out good you and yours are still in our prayers. Marv.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #21 on:** February 02, 2005, 03:55:44 PM »

Graybeard posted in the moderators forum last night that he was headed back to the Doc today, he hasn't posted back yet today, so let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers.... :wink:

MSP Ret · « **Reply #22 on:** February 02, 2005, 04:07:57 PM »

Consider it done, he's there....<><.... :grin:

Graybeard · « **Reply #23 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:03:48 PM »

I met with my cardiologist yesterday. The story he told me was some different than the one Faye said he told her last Friday.

I do have several blockages. I think the majority of them are correctly called pulmonary irregularities. These are the very earliest stages of blockages. One on the left side of my heart however had a 20% blockage. At this time no action to correct this is indicated he says. In addition to that the echo gram showed that the walls of my heart have thickened from the very high blood pressure over a long time.

Today I met with my GP to continue the program we have begun to define what is causing the shortness of breath I am experiencing. He has me set up for a pulmonary function test on Friday and then I will be seeing a pulmonary specialist to follow that up.

I've now got two new medications to take on top of the double handful I already take. One of them is Lipator to drive down my cholesterol and I think he said the other one is to further help the three BP meds I'm now on to lower my BP still more. Even taking three different meds for it I still have high blood pressure.

No definitive reason has been found so far for the shortness of breath I'm experiencing. So testing will continue.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #24 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:08:04 PM »

Thanks for the update, sounds like yer in good hands in more ways than one! :wink:

Ed in AL · « **Reply #25 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:18:29 PM »

Good luck, Bill. I can relate to the blockage part.

I have a 100% blockage in the artery feeding the lower third of my heart. They could not open it up, and a single vessel bypass is not usually done. Fortunately, my heart has developed collateral flow around the blockage. Still not full capacity, but better than nothing. I take Lipitor along with an ace inhibitor, a beta blocker, and a baby aspirin. The idea is to try to keep things from getting worse. If I exert myself too much, I can get out of breath too and my chest start to tighten up. A doe reminded me of that around Thanksgiving.

Give the doctors a chance, and we will keep the prayers coming.

JPH45 · « **Reply #26 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:22:11 PM »

FWIF......

Bill, I'm 45, be 46 in April. In October of 2000 I had a heart attack. They put a stint in and sent me home, nothing about diet or anything else. I continued smoking for nearly 2 years after (I was burning 3 packs a day) It was not being able to breath that made me finally quit. I ate a BIG bag of 'tater chips to kill the cravings, these days whenever I want a smoke I just try to take a deep breath, that solves it for me. I take 4 meds a day + aspirin. I don't have insurance, so I have never been able to find out what is causing my breathing difficulty or chest pains. October coming will be 5 years, if I get to make that I will be ahead of the stastistics. I'm determined to make Mark Twains quote my reality, "There are lies, damned lies and stastistics" Good luck friend, and have fun at that prarie dog shoot. I have never in my life had more clarity about what is important. You and Faye take care of yourselves, and thanks for this place to pull up a seat and have a sitdown. God Bless,

John

Paul5388 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 02, 2005, 08:32:20 PM »

FWIW, the VA will treat any veteran, regardless of income. If you have to co-pay on meds, it's only $21 for a 3 month supply of each prescription. They will take insurance if you have it or a means test will determine your eligibilty for free meds, but be forewarned, you have to make less than $3000/year or some such low figure for free stuff.

There are outpatient clinics in many towns that may only have a population of 50K. Locally, we have one in Lufkin, Longview and Palestine.

I was referred to the VA during a screening at the local VFW. Seems my BP was around 240/140, and was later determined to have been service connected during my second tour (I joined the second time when I was 40). I take a few meds that aren't covered by service connection and I co-pay those.

Quote

If you take LIPITOR, tell your doctor if you feel any new muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of serious muscle side effects. source

I case you haven't been warned, this is a common side effect with all of the statin class drugs.

I've been taking hands full of pills for over 6 years now, trying to control my BP. I guess I was fortunate to have my battalion PA as my primary care PA at the VA. We have tried a lot of stuff that either didn't work or the side effects were too severe (loss of libido and energy is common, especially with beta blockers), but you don't always have to put up with side effects. Just tell the Dr. the quality of life is unacceptable and there needs to be a change.

Sorry for the ramble, but there are a lot of vets that don't know health care is available for them.