Re: Got a PVA scheduled finally

[Guest guest]

We finally got Orgain scheduled for his ablation!!!

Dear and Orgain,

Congratulations! Please be advised that Bruce's experiences with that hospital

were very unusual. (I am incensed at the administrators of that hospital for

what they did to Bruce. Talk about unprofessional, incompetent, uncaring

behavior! I've never heard of A-Fib centers treating people like that. You

should get far better treatment at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.)

A-FibFriendSteve

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Just thought I'd add something here. I believe its leafy, green

veggies that can affect your PT/INR results. (That's the blood tests

Orgain will be taking once on the Coumadin.) For example, my PT/INR

levels were right where they wanted them. Then I had huge salads two

days in a row, and then went in for a PT/INR test (the last one just

prior to my procedure) and my levels changed drastically.

I think the key though is consistency in your diet. Large salads are

not part of my regular diet. Hence, when I ate them, it had a large

affect on my PT/INR. If eating salads like that all the time were

part of my diet, then I'm sure that the proper dosage would have been

figured out very quickly. As it was for me, my dosage only required

one minor tweak after I started on it.

Also, I think put something in there about the TEE and not

sure if it was necessary. I was very apprehensive of the TEE and I

sort of got the impression you were also based on what I read. The

whole idea of having a tube put down your throat just gave me the

willies. But the whole experience wasn't bad at all. I'll put it

this way. If someone came in this room and told me I had to have one

of two procedures done to me right now, or something bad would happen

to me and I had to choose between the TEE or the " finger procedure "

of a yearly physical. I would choose the TEE. :-)

Bruce

> > Hi everyone,

> >

> > We finally got Orgain scheduled for his ablation....> He was also

> told to start Coumadin one month prior to the procedure so that

> > he would already be regulated on it. Is it very difficult to get

> the

> > correct dose figured out? The nurse said that he might have to

> have his

> > blood drawn every four days for a while until it got set right.

> So, any

> > advice on what to expect from the whole Coumadin experience would

be

> > appreciated.

>

> Hi, ,

>

> I have been on coumadin a couple of times, just briefly, when I was

> possibly going in and out of afib. The doc gave me a standing

order

> slip to take to the lab, so that she could just send me in there

any

> time. As I recall (this is probably not quite right), it was every

> few days for a while. I don;t know how long it would have taken me

> to stabilize on it, since she had me discontinue it after I had

been

> clear of afib for some time.

>

> I have read other people in here post about foods that can affect

the

> situation. Apparently they are not off limits, your hubbby would

> just have to be consistent about how much of them he eats. I

forget

> what they are... They are foods that contain vitamin K, I think.

> That's also found in some multivitamin supplements.

[Guest guest]

> We finally got Orgain scheduled for his ablation!!!

> Dear and Orgain,

> Congratulations! Please be advised that Bruce's experiences

with that hospital were very unusual. (I am incensed at the

administrators of that hospital for what they did to Bruce. Talk

about unprofessional, incompetent, uncaring behavior! I've never

heard of A-Fib centers treating people like that. You should get far

better treatment at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.)

> A-FibFriendSteve

Steve, having had my PVA at the same facility as Bruce, I learned one

thing about big medical center hospitals. While I did have to wait

for my TEE as well, I was forewarned by the dr. in advance that

because of emergencies, there was the possibility my procedure would

have to be postponed, since they are just beginning to do the PVA's

and the Cath Lab has to be free for the rest of the day. In spite of

having to wait around for my TEE (because of an emergency with the

patient before me) once I was under their care I encountered nothing

but professional, competent and caring behavior. I would not

hesitate to go back and I really hate to see comments like yours when

we are only just beginning here. And to be honest with you, I had an

appointment to go to Cleveland, before Dr. Cheng came to Houston, and

it took me weeks just to get anyone there to return my phone calls.

St. Luke's and Texas Heart Institute are top-rated facilities, and

there are people from all over the world coming for various heart

procedures. Dr. Denton Cooley who, I believe, was the 1st dr. to do

heart transplants, is with St. Luke's and is still doing

transplants. I would not hesitate to recommend St. Lukes as a place

to have a PVA.

[Guest guest]

Hi:

> Just thought I'd add something here. I believe its leafy, green

> veggies that can affect your PT/INR results.........snip

Hello Orgain: The Key with me was to change to a diet that contained

more fish and to include a vitamin E supplement....as recommended by

a listmember...I wish I could remember who that was?....

These are the veggies I ate mostly for the 4 weeks before my

cardioversion....Iceberg lettuce,tomatoes,corn,potatoes,sweet

potatoes,garlic....Any veggie that I was in doubt about I didn't

have.

I insisted on a CBC with differential....A recommended hemoglobin

and hematocrit for a man is l5 and 45 respectivelly and check also

and see that your platelets are in the normal range(that is part of

the differential, the higher they are the stickier and more prone

they are to forming blood clots) Please remember to get a hard

copy...and that may be gotten via fax a day or two after bloodwork.

I personally insisted that my hematocrit be at 42 being female and

went for therapeutic phlebotomies of l50ml X4 before my

Cardioversion... and when my hmt was below 42, I had the cardiov.

and it was a success.

I also ate very little fortified with iron foods such as a fourth of

a bakery bagel,and very small portions of pasta,bread,and cake.

Consumption of iron will thicken the blood. In addition, I also cut

down on naturally high iron meats and poultry.

Please note that the average food that has iron in it is about 4%

but fortified foods may contain as much as 20% iron (bakery bagels

is an example). Do not cook in cast iron pans during this period.

My INR reached a high of 3.7 because I had reduced my meat and

chicken intake and stuck with eating fish, Vitamin E, garlic,

ginger and the above veggies. I hope that helps you and don't go

overboard on the garlic and ginger. Regards to you and

Congrats on getting the PVA scheduled. Isabelle

[Guest guest]

Hi:

> Just thought I'd add something here. I believe its leafy, green

> veggies that can affect your PT/INR results.........snip

Hello Orgain: The Key with me was to change to a diet that contained

more fish and to include a vitamin E supplement....as recommended by

a listmember...I wish I could remember who that was?....

These are the veggies I ate mostly for the 4 weeks before my

cardioversion....Iceberg lettuce,tomatoes,corn,potatoes,sweet

potatoes,garlic....Any veggie that I was in doubt about I didn't

have.

I insisted on a CBC with differential....A recommended hemoglobin

and hematocrit for a man is l5 and 45 respectivelly and check also

and see that your platelets are in the normal range(that is part of

the differential, the higher they are the stickier and more prone

they are to forming blood clots) Please remember to get a hard

copy...and that may be gotten via fax a day or two after bloodwork.

I personally insisted that my hematocrit be at 42 being female and

went for therapeutic phlebotomies of l50ml X4 before my

Cardioversion... and when my hmt was below 42, I had the cardiov.

and it was a success.

I also ate very little fortified with iron foods such as a fourth of

a bakery bagel,and very small portions of pasta,bread,and cake.

Consumption of iron will thicken the blood. In addition, I also cut

down on naturally high iron meats and poultry.

Please note that the average food that has iron in it is about 4%

but fortified foods may contain as much as 20% iron (bakery bagels

is an example). Do not cook in cast iron pans during this period.

My INR reached a high of 3.7 because I had reduced my meat and

chicken intake and stuck with eating fish, Vitamin E, garlic,

ginger and the above veggies. I hope that helps you and don't go

overboard on the garlic and ginger. Regards to you and

Congrats on getting the PVA scheduled. Isabelle

[Guest guest]

Hi:

> Just thought I'd add something here. I believe its leafy, green

> veggies that can affect your PT/INR results.........snip

Hello Orgain: The Key with me was to change to a diet that contained

more fish and to include a vitamin E supplement....as recommended by

a listmember...I wish I could remember who that was?....

These are the veggies I ate mostly for the 4 weeks before my

cardioversion....Iceberg lettuce,tomatoes,corn,potatoes,sweet

potatoes,garlic....Any veggie that I was in doubt about I didn't

have.

I insisted on a CBC with differential....A recommended hemoglobin

and hematocrit for a man is l5 and 45 respectivelly and check also

and see that your platelets are in the normal range(that is part of

the differential, the higher they are the stickier and more prone

they are to forming blood clots) Please remember to get a hard

copy...and that may be gotten via fax a day or two after bloodwork.

I personally insisted that my hematocrit be at 42 being female and

went for therapeutic phlebotomies of l50ml X4 before my

Cardioversion... and when my hmt was below 42, I had the cardiov.

and it was a success.

I also ate very little fortified with iron foods such as a fourth of

a bakery bagel,and very small portions of pasta,bread,and cake.

Consumption of iron will thicken the blood. In addition, I also cut

down on naturally high iron meats and poultry.

Please note that the average food that has iron in it is about 4%

but fortified foods may contain as much as 20% iron (bakery bagels

is an example). Do not cook in cast iron pans during this period.

My INR reached a high of 3.7 because I had reduced my meat and

chicken intake and stuck with eating fish, Vitamin E, garlic,

ginger and the above veggies. I hope that helps you and don't go

overboard on the garlic and ginger. Regards to you and

Congrats on getting the PVA scheduled. Isabelle

[Guest guest]

Hi:

> Just thought I'd add something here. I believe its leafy, green

> veggies that can affect your PT/INR results.........snip

Hello Orgain: The Key with me was to change to a diet that contained

more fish and to include a vitamin E supplement....as recommended by

a listmember...I wish I could remember who that was?....

These are the veggies I ate mostly for the 4 weeks before my

cardioversion....Iceberg lettuce,tomatoes,corn,potatoes,sweet

potatoes,garlic....Any veggie that I was in doubt about I didn't

have.

I insisted on a CBC with differential....A recommended hemoglobin

and hematocrit for a man is l5 and 45 respectivelly and check also

and see that your platelets are in the normal range(that is part of

the differential, the higher they are the stickier and more prone

they are to forming blood clots) Please remember to get a hard

copy...and that may be gotten via fax a day or two after bloodwork.

I personally insisted that my hematocrit be at 42 being female and

went for therapeutic phlebotomies of l50ml X4 before my

Cardioversion... and when my hmt was below 42, I had the cardiov.

and it was a success.

I also ate very little fortified with iron foods such as a fourth of

a bakery bagel,and very small portions of pasta,bread,and cake.

Consumption of iron will thicken the blood. In addition, I also cut

down on naturally high iron meats and poultry.

Please note that the average food that has iron in it is about 4%

but fortified foods may contain as much as 20% iron (bakery bagels

is an example). Do not cook in cast iron pans during this period.

My INR reached a high of 3.7 because I had reduced my meat and

chicken intake and stuck with eating fish, Vitamin E, garlic,

ginger and the above veggies. I hope that helps you and don't go

overboard on the garlic and ginger. Regards to you and

Congrats on getting the PVA scheduled. Isabelle

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I think Dorothy is close on her point. Since this procedure is new

to the Houston area, there's going to be kinks in the system until

everything gets worked out. I think it'll take a while for that to

happen. I can well imagine that Cleveland (and other centers) go

through similiar growing pains.

I do think the quality of the work they are doing here in Houston is

top-notch. Once my procedures actually got started, they were fine.

It was all the administrative stuff that did not flow smoothly for

me.

Bruce

> > We finally got Orgain scheduled for his ablation!!!

> > Dear and Orgain,

> > Congratulations! Please be advised that Bruce's experiences

> with that hospital were very unusual. (I am incensed at the

> administrators of that hospital for what they did to Bruce. Talk

> about unprofessional, incompetent, uncaring behavior! I've never

> heard of A-Fib centers treating people like that. You should get

far

> better treatment at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.)

> > A-FibFriendSteve

>

> Steve, having had my PVA at the same facility as Bruce, I learned

one

> thing about big medical center hospitals. While I did have to wait

> for my TEE as well, I was forewarned by the dr. in advance that

> because of emergencies, there was the possibility my procedure

would

> have to be postponed, since they are just beginning to do the PVA's

> and the Cath Lab has to be free for the rest of the day. In spite

of

> having to wait around for my TEE (because of an emergency with the

> patient before me) once I was under their care I encountered

nothing

> but professional, competent and caring behavior. I would not

> hesitate to go back and I really hate to see comments like yours

when

> we are only just beginning here. And to be honest with you, I had

an

> appointment to go to Cleveland, before Dr. Cheng came to Houston,

and

> it took me weeks just to get anyone there to return my phone

calls.

> St. Luke's and Texas Heart Institute are top-rated facilities, and

> there are people from all over the world coming for various heart

> procedures. Dr. Denton Cooley who, I believe, was the 1st dr. to

do

> heart transplants, is with St. Luke's and is still doing

> transplants. I would not hesitate to recommend St. Lukes as a

place

> to have a PVA.

[Guest guest]

Thank you very much for correcting my impression. Every facility runs

into emergencies that force postponements. It's great that St. Luke's

and Texas Heart Insititute do PVAs.

A-FibFriendSteve

datort2001 wrote:

>

>

>

>>We finally got Orgain scheduled for his ablation!!!

>>Dear and Orgain,

>> Congratulations! Please be advised that Bruce's experiences

>>

>>

>with that hospital were very unusual. (I am incensed at the

>administrators of that hospital for what they did to Bruce. Talk

>about unprofessional, incompetent, uncaring behavior! I've never

>heard of A-Fib centers treating people like that. You should get far

>better treatment at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.)

>

>

>>A-FibFriendSteve

>>

>>

>

>Steve, having had my PVA at the same facility as Bruce, I learned one

>thing about big medical center hospitals. While I did have to wait

>for my TEE as well, I was forewarned by the dr. in advance that

>because of emergencies, there was the possibility my procedure would

>have to be postponed, since they are just beginning to do the PVA's

>and the Cath Lab has to be free for the rest of the day. In spite of

>having to wait around for my TEE (because of an emergency with the

>patient before me) once I was under their care I encountered nothing

>but professional, competent and caring behavior. I would not

>hesitate to go back and I really hate to see comments like yours when

>we are only just beginning here. And to be honest with you, I had an

>appointment to go to Cleveland, before Dr. Cheng came to Houston, and

>it took me weeks just to get anyone there to return my phone calls.

>St. Luke's and Texas Heart Institute are top-rated facilities, and

>there are people from all over the world coming for various heart

>procedures. Dr. Denton Cooley who, I believe, was the 1st dr. to do

>heart transplants, is with St. Luke's and is still doing

>transplants. I would not hesitate to recommend St. Lukes as a place

>to have a PVA.

>

>

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