RE: Hi All! - New Guy Here.

[Guest guest]

hi doug,

i live in long beach ,,,,about 14 miles from biloxi. i to was in biloxi

for 6 months in 1960 =61 stationed at keesler going to school..

if from pennsylvania but the hips forced me to give up the snow and ice and

i chose here because ive been here before and i love the game of blackjack.

i also got lucky and met a lady on line a couiple months before i moved

here and she has become my best friend..... we do the buffet and gambling

thing together..... im kind of stuck on her sister but she knows that

most men are pigs and really wont take notice of me...... i keep telling

her that most men grow up at about 55 years and since im 62 she should give

me a break and take me in..... she say -Nuh uh " but ill wear her down

one of these days..

doing the casino thing tomorrow,,, friends coming in from florida..

seeeeeeeeeeeeeee ya

bob in missippi

The hell with the Supreme Court

" " " IN GOD WE TRUST " " "

[Guest guest]

hi fred,

i to suffer from chf and started out in pennsylvania with an e.f. of

10,, last check was about a year ago and it was 40.. i didnt really do

anything except for exercise when i could..... very little exercise as

then i had to use a walker...

i came to missippi in april of 2003 cause the northern docs didnt want to

do the hip surgery. they didnt think id survive... the cardio i picked

here said.... " poppy cock " and sure enough one was done in july and the

other in september..

i had some trouble on the table in sept.. seems my heart stopped and when

they got me back i ended up with several runs of v-tach that didnt last

long enough for me to be zapped. my physical therapist in rehab noticed

that my mind wasnt working properly.. i had trouble finding some words i

wanted to say and made simple mistakes like thinking a fork was a

knife. that only lasted a few weeks and i was back to normal.

i also have the diabetes thing because of my weight and bad lifestyle of

many years.... i behave now for the most part but really have a hard time

with the food... it also scares me to death that i live alone. i ve

told one of my neighbors to snif in my hallway now and then.... i told

him i hoped they will find me before the dog gets to hungry..

funny about the dog,, at the doctors suggestion i adoped a terrier mix at

the spca in december and he has sure brightened my life with his

company... waking me up at 7:oo am isnt the greatest but hes worth it...

time for nite nite,,,,,

bob in missippi

The hell with the Supreme Court

" " " IN GOD WE TRUST " " "

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon

Thank you for the welcome, reassurance and advice, it's

great to be able to " talk " to those that understand what we are

going through.

take care & be well

Doug

> Dear Doug,

>

> You have found a second home with this group. No matter what it

is that you

> need to deal with there are always words of encouragement and

support.

>

> The medical information that is available today compared to my

first icd is

> amazing. You will do fine. Push yourself when you are down or in

a panic, to

> find a calm place. For me when everything push me into an anxiety

attack I

> stop dead and repeat for this very minute this very second I am OK

then I try to

> slow my breathing down and focus on the faces of my grandchildren.

>

> After your icd is installed I believe there is a period of not

only physical

> but mental adjustment for each of us to face. Some make the

transition to

> having a friend bunk in there chest for the rest of their life

will those like me

> crash and burn for a while.

>

> You may not find this humorous but looking back at it I do. When

I got my

> first ICD I had to sign a legal document if I dies they would get

there

> equipment back. For some reason that always just made me laugh.

>

> Welcome

>

> Sharon in Ohio

[Guest guest]

Dear Bob, My hubby just told me that he know you that the two of you were at Kessler together. His name is Doanld WEst. Does that ring any bells he is looking for his Kesseler book.

Sharon in Ohio

[Guest guest]

Doug;

I think you are right about quality vs quantity. My Dad was one of the first patients on amiodarone back in the eighties.... My Dad died at age 63 and he was positive it was the amio that gave him an extra 8 years. My Dad lived 8 years in CHF and that was unheard of back then. My Dad was written up in medical journals because of the results he had on amio - it had not been approved by the FDA in the US yet, so my Dad was a guinea pig. I realize now that alot of his symptoms were side affects from the amio, but that doesn't matter so much because he was convinced it lengthened his life.

But I am 46 and I do see the amio as a last resort drug - no matter what age you are, you still must know the side affects and consequences and make YOUR decision.

God luck to you,

~guin

MOM/Wife in CA

Re: Hi All! - New Guy Here.

Hi Mike Thanks for the welcome - it must be handy to have a wife that is a doc I'm in my mid 60's, but am still very concerned about the amiodarone - maybe it boils down to a decision of quality of life VS duration?take care & be wellDoug> Hi, Doug. Welcome to the . I never did accept the seriousness of > my condition until I got worse and thought I'd better get with the > program. My wife (a family physician) battled with the doctors about > amiodarone. It's one of the few drugs with a black box warning because > of the side effects. My EP said there's no reason for amiodarone > because I have an ICD. The cardiologist differed in his opinion but > grudgingly kept me on sotalol instead of amiodarone. Age is a big > factor. My spouse said that if I was someone in his 70s, the long term > effects wouldn't matter. For someone in his 50s it did matter.> Mike> Please visit the Zapper homepage athttp://www.ZapLife.org

[Guest guest]

hi sharon,,

did you write that your husband actually knew me at keesler????

i was in flight 1209 A at lackland from sept 29, 1960 to Oct 5, 1960. then

i went to keesler and stayed til april, 1961.

i was in the manual radar school... the absolute worst place they can

place you the A.F. nothing relates in the civilian world..

after vermont most of my buddies were shipped to asia and i got lucky and

sent to alaska.... i didnt have to do the nam thing,,,, im grateful for

that now but i sure was upset with the air force when i didnt get to go...

what are the odds that he would know and remember me...

bob in missippi

The hell with the Supreme Court

" " " IN GOD WE TRUST " " "

[Guest guest]

How are you doing now Doug? Are you still

feeling down? Have you come to grips with yur Icd and your condition?

I had a bypassx3 a few months ago and

found out that depression hits so many of us after bypass. They say its part

of the effects of the heart/lung machine. Now I have to wonder because I remember

being very depressed after icd implant and I didn’t have anything serious

, just long qt syndrome and the syncope it had caused. How about the rest of

you? Any depression after icd implant?

Hope you are doing great Doug!, the rest

of you too

Special hugs,

Deb

From: Doug

[mailto:jazzer1@...]

Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005

9:51 PM

Subject: Hi All! - New

Guy Here.

Hi

Just thought I'd introduce myself to the

group.

I had my ICD implanted 11 Jan 05 after

being diagnosed with CHF

and an EF of 20%.I'm all healed up and aside from

2 " memorable " zaps

the first two days I came home from the hospital

all is well.

I guess my main problem is coming to grips

with the seriousness of

my condition and the realization that I am not

invincible - until now

the last time I was in the hospital was to get my

tonsils out when I

was 5,the only sickness I've had was the odd cold

and the only meds

I took was a daily baby aspirin.

Now I'm on 7 drugs, including the

" dreaded " amiodarone - it's side

effects almost scare me more than the CHF.

Since I've been home I've been reading

everything I can find on

the web about heart failure and ICD's, including

about half of the

posts on this board - you all seem to be a very

caring and

compassionate group.

Doug (jazzer1@...)

Please visit

the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb

It's kind of you to followup on my original post.

I'm still coming to grips with the fact that I can't do a lot

of the things I could do before the CHF diagnosis and the ICD.

I tire a lot more easily and sometimes get short of breath-if it

had

snuck up on me gradually it would've been a lot easier to accept.

But I guess I can be thankful I am still here and in resonably good

shape.

I am a Canadian currently living in Florida (for the past 8 yrs),

now due to

concerns about health care, I am selling my mobile home and

returning north,

in order to be covered by the health care I have paid into most of

my life. I can't

say I am very excited about the prospect of long, cold winters and

starting

my life all over again, but in certain things we have little

choice.

Again, I thank you for your concern - take care,

Doug

http://riversidejazz.com/jazzer1/home.html

debra j cruz wrote on 4/22/2005, 4:01 PM:

How

are you doing now Doug? Are you still

feeling down? Have you come to grips with yur Icd and your condition?

I

had a bypassx3 a few months ago and

found out that depression hits so many of us after bypass. They say

its part

of the effects of the heart/lung machine. Now I have to wonder because

I remember

being very depressed after icd implant and I didn’t have anything

serious

, just long qt syndrome and the syncope it had caused. How about the

rest of

you? Any depression after icd implant?

Hope you are doing great Doug!, the rest

of you too

Special

hugs,

Deb

From: Doug

[mailto:jazzer1@...]

Sent: Sunday, February

20, 2005

9:51 PM

Subject: Hi

All! - New

Guy Here.

Hi

Just thought I'd

introduce myself to the

group.

I had my ICD

implanted 11 Jan 05 after

being diagnosed with CHF

and an EF of

20%.I'm all healed up and aside from

2 "memorable" zaps

the first two days

I came home from the hospital

all is well.

I guess my main

problem is coming to grips

with the seriousness of

my condition and

the realization that I am not

invincible - until now

the last time I was

in the hospital was to get my

tonsils out when I

was 5,the only

sickness I've had was the odd cold

and the only meds

I took was a daily

baby aspirin.

Now I'm on 7

drugs, including the

"dreaded" amiodarone - it's side

effects almost

scare me more than the CHF.

Since I've been

home I've been reading

everything I can find on

the web about heart

failure and ICD's, including

about half of the

posts on this board

- you all seem to be a very

caring and

compassionate group.

Doug

(jazzer1@...)

Please visit

the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org

Please visit the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org

[Guest guest]

Welcome Doug,

My husband has the ICD in this family—

his was a surprise while we were in New York last year. We had toured many of the tourist places &

on the 3rd day had rapid heart rate, shortness of breath. His EF was

28%. After his initial “electrical storm” while in hospital he has

been fortunate w/o any other zaps. It was a year last Saturday. He gets tired

but still does most of his other activities.

Hang in there. The depression is normal; Zoloft

has helped him tremendously as well as the counselor in the heart failure

clinic. He has been wonderful for both of us. It is very hard for me to be

medical & yet be the caregiver.

Take care

Janet

Hi All! - New Guy Here.

Hi

Just thought I'd introduce myself to the group.

I had my ICD implanted 11 Jan 05 after being diagnosed with CHF

and an EF of 20%.I'm all healed up and aside from 2 " memorable " zaps

the first two days I came home from the hospital all is well.

I guess my main problem is coming to grips with the seriousness of

my condition and the realization that I am not invincible - until now

the last time I was in the hospital was to get my tonsils out when I

was 5,the only sickness I've had was the odd cold and the only meds

I took was a daily baby aspirin.

Now I'm on 7 drugs, including the " dreaded " amiodarone - it's

side

effects almost scare me more than the CHF.

Since I've been home I've been reading everything I can find on

the web about heart failure and ICD's, including about half of the

posts on this board - you all seem to be a very caring and

compassionate group.

Doug (jazzer1@...)

Please visit the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org

Please

visit the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org

Please

visit the Zapper homepage at

http://www.ZapLife.org