Most Recent Messages in Conditions, Meds & Tests

Sick to stomach all the time

With my current medications I feel nausea and sick to my stomach all the time. I am currently taking 6mg Warfarin, 360mg Diatoazem, 0.25mg Digoxin, 150mg Toprol daily. 37.5mg Trimaterene is taken 3 days a week.

Which one I these medicines is most likely to cause nausea and stomach problems? I am currently too sick to go work because of the side effects.

I took Amiodarone for three years and stopped taking it one year ago because if was affecting my eyes. Since them...

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Effects of an electrical shock

Well, I finally tested my pacemakers reaction to a shock this afternoon. I wasn’t planning on it, but my Jeep battery went dead so I fished an old battery charger out of the garage.

To make a long story short (short circuit?) I didn’t notice that the power cord insulation was damaged leaving a bare conductor. When I plugged it in I had one hand on the box and the other touched the bare wire. I got a really good? arm to arm jolt, which is the worse kind cardiac-wise. A...

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afib and diltiazem

I had an afib episode Thursday. I called my cardiologist's office, they sent me to the ER. They gave me diltiazem IV until they got my heart rate down, then prescribed oral diltiazem XR 300 mg to replace Diovan for HBP. Since then, I've had sensations in my chest that vary from pounding to fluttering. My pulse has ranged from 48-51 (pacemaker is set at 50), and my bp has ranged from 107/60 to 148/84 but just a little exertion (e.g. taking out the garbage) causes my chest to feel uncomfortable...

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Aricept, Exelon, Reminyl side effects

With all the advertising for Aricept the following might be worth knowing about. I've copied just the part that concerns HR and pacemaker implants as the article was rather long.

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Patients taking a class of medications for Alzheimer's disease and dementia are at greater risk of side effects than many doctors realize, a new study suggests.

The drugs - Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl - are known as cholinesterase inhibitors. As an uninte...

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stress test

hey all I have my first ever stress test tommorow. What should I expect? All I know is that I will be on a treadmill. What are they looking for?

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retrograde VA conduction

Complete blockers out there:

Do any of ya'll have this or know what this means?
I'm trying to decipher my post ablation measurements which state:

AVBCL- block in the AV node
VABCL- midline and decremental

Basically, what I've learned is that post ablation I had Ventriculoatrial block which, in better understood terms, is decremental retrograde VA conduction.

From what I can understand it's when the electrical signal moves backwards from the v...

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Holster

Tomorrow I am going to be set up with the 24 hour holster. Boy, in the last few years, the equipment has really gotten smaller. The first one I had was about the size of a regular cordless phone hand set, and impossible to hide/disguise.

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Flecainide acetate/Tambocor 50mg

Hi pacers!!!

Went to hospital today, had been feeling strange last few days. Had pm interrogation and echocardiagram and the consultant checked me over.

He said that the feelings of whooziness had been caused by the top part of my heart fluttering at up to 300 beats per min for up to 3 mins at a time. Is this what you all call A fib??

Doc said that if it was in the lower chamber I would be a gonner, but in the top it isnt so dangerous. He told me to take half...

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Midodrine...

Hello, everyone! I haven't posted in a few weeks, but am having some troubling issues. I wonder if there are any others on Midodrine that can share any experiences they have had. I have been going along for five weeks post op taking Midodrine 2.5mg three times daily. I have felt better than ever, then all of a sudden, my blood pressure was 162/122 today at work. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and wondered if anyone found that Midodrine was boosting their BP way too high. My card...

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MRI s

Has anyone had an MRI after having their pacemaker implanted? I had heard there was no "safe" way one coudl be performed on us, however my Oncologist wants me to have a brain MRI. Worried about the possibility of some issue he has ordered a CT and PET for tomorrow. In the mean time, he is contacting my Cardio to see if there is a safe way to perform an MRI.
Thanks for any comments or suggestions, Jean

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need info!!

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HI ALL...so glad I have this site to ask for help!
Had adenosine Stress Test and the findings were as follows:
perfusion images:
Post pharmacologic stress images reveal a small to moderate perfusion defect of the anteroseptal wall. On the resting images there is partially improved profusion of this wall.
Conclusions:
The myoview scan shows a fixed defect of the anteroseptal wall. There is also small reversible defect of the anteroseptal wall. This lateral defect...

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astelin spray - a-fib?

I am wondering if Astelin Spray - an antihistimine that rarely can cause a-fibs - is what is causing the increase in my a-fibs. Any one else have this problem? I have a st. Jude pacemaker for a-fibs.
Thanks.

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adenosine stress test results

Hoping someone can explain these findings in plain English! Have been having sob and chest tightness on exertion, had 2nd biventricular pm implanted 1/22/09 due to battery. (I have a complete LBBB...) symptoms continue... Had echo, results good! EF 60%. Had adenosine Stress Test and the findings were as follows:
perfusion images:
Post pharmacologic stress images reveal a small to moderate perfusion defect of the anteroseptal wall. On the resting images there is partiall...

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I AM SUCH A GENIUS!!!

Well, you already knew that, but I shall expound on that a bit. :)

1) I pack my lunch (so that way I know what I'm eating)
2) I prefer dark chocolate (IDK???)
And finally #3...
3) I had a theory and I just proved it true. My notion was that my episodes are (mostly) excercise induced; you see, I have to go up stairs @ school to get to my locker and pretty much every time I go up those stairs, my monitor starts to record automatically (which means it probably caught some...

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Question to be answered

Does any one know what External Counter Pulsation treatments are. I just came across it and have never heard of it before. So this is more to solve my curiosity
Mona

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omega 3

Have any of you tried omega 3 supplementation to lower your heart rate? I just received an e mail from my EP in Cleveland Clinic suggesting that I try this before my total sinus node ablation, which is supposed to happen soon. She says that it's worked in animals, but apparently there's no evidence it works in humans. Do you know about this?

Thanks,
Meredith

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muscle twitiching

I have had a pm [medtronic] for 6 weeks and suddenly developed a consistent muscle twitch in my leg (inner thigh area) after my first pm check-up on 05/01. The twitch is not painful but I can feel it and see it. Does anyone have any experience with muscle twitiching - am I being paranoid or is it just a coincidence that the twitching started on the same day my pm was checked? The twitching has been consistent for 6 straight days.

Thank you!

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The torture has finally arrived...

Last night. I got my event monitor hooked up, had 2 episodes this morning (1 was picked up w/out help from me), and I almost broke it twice this morning w/ in 30 seconds. Pray for me today; not necessarily to get better (although that would be a nice perk), but so that I don't loose what little sanity I have!!! *yawn* I only got 6 hours of sleep last night... Oh, and the Little Box of Hell (LBH) makes the most obnoxious noise EVER!!! So embarassing...

Okay, well I'm done whining today...

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Intravenous Morphine

Is anyone out there allergic to morphine? The last few heart procedures I've had I have gotten hives at my IV site from IV Morphine.
It's just at the IV site and no where else. I'm scared not to take the Morphine because I know that it works really well. I've never been allergic to anything, don't want the hassle of it, and am scared that I won't be able to take anything now.
What else is there to take that works equally well.
I haven't told my doctors because they will definitel...

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Irritation Update...

So after a couple of weeks of developing rash at my pm site, I got in to see a dermatologist yesterday (thanks to the insistence of my pm surgeon). She took one look...and a bit of history...and told me that she felt it was NOT the prep solution from 4 months ago but that it was probably the scar treatment (bio oil) that I had been using. I had quit using it when the rash started but an allergic eczema freight train had already left the station. Apparently, those with sensitive skin are at a...

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You know you're wired when...

You name your daughter “Synchronicity”.

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