Thanks for all the comments and well wishes so far.
I have an appointment on Tuesday with the Doc who proposed the new diet... now that I've had a few days to absorb what has happened, I'll discuss the reasons for his recommendations.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy: Looks as if you will only be allowed to eat green and yellow vegetables and some fish.

It's not that bad - I can eat skinless chicken and turkey, fish, any fruits & vegetables, legumes, nuts and some limited whole grain bread and cereals. I haven't found it to be too restrictive yet...

motor59, you are luckier than pretty much everyone I've known who had a saddle embolus. It is often misdiagnosed, not caught early enough, or not treated aggressively enough.
You had the definitive treatment; I've never had a patient go through that thrombectomy.

Hats off to your doctors, guy!

I agree with Q above, except in my experience the fatality rate from a saddle embolus is higher than the so-called "widowmaker", which nowadays most survive if caught in time.

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:

The diet that was given to you is almost exactly what we told cardiac patients back when I was a nurse ( in 1980 !! ). Old advice, super strict diets are likely to fail.

It's not just that it's strict. It's utter bunk. Three eggs per week? What a clown. And for God's sake, egg whites are ok? You're literally tossing away the best part of the egg.

Anyway, it's best i not get off on a rant here.

What anticoagulant do they have you on. If it's Warfarin (also known as Coumadin) be aware that there can be pretty severe side effects when used with certain foods and you really need to have your INR tested twice a week when starting out and at least once a week for the entire time you are taking it. BTW, "blood Thinners" is a term one of my doctors just loathed, because they have ZERO effect on the viscosity of the Blood. They are Anticoagulants and only that term because they keep the blood from clotting.

First off, Warfarin is a vitamin K suppressant, so eating something with vitamin K can cancel out your dosage of warfarin. Parsley has 465 micrograms per ounce. Cilanto is very close to Parsley in vitamin K levels. Kale has 232 Micrograms per ounce. All the other "leafy greens" they warn you about have lower levels of Vitamin K. One food in particular to avoid completely is Guacamole because it's rich in either Cilantro and Parsley. When you are on Warfarin it is essential to maintain a near exact constant level of green in your diet from day to day and week to week. BTW, you should actually weigh and keep a log of anything green that you eat. The internet can be a great resource for vitamin K levels of any vegetable.

Once you have your INR levels stabilized you can start exercising. The finest exercise you can do is Walking. Work youself up to 6 miles a day and you'll be in fantastic shape and your weight will head towards your ideal lean weight.

Salt, Sugar, and Saturated Fat is is any fast food that you purchase. One plain and simple rule is you should NEVER go out for dinner to any Diner or Fast Food joint. Pizza should be considered a Heart Attack on a platter, so don't ever eat even one slice. An example, Little Caesars extramostbestest Pizza, 48 grams of saturated fat, 14 grams of sugar, 251 grams of Carbs, and 5,570 mg of Sodium.

BTW, we really don't need more than 600 mg of Sodium. I work out pretty intensely on alternating days and limits myself to about 1100 mg of sodium a day. So I will call BS on anyone who claims they need more due to sweat loss. When I come off an Elliptical Trainer it's with a soaking wet T Shirt.

Saturate Fat. This is an area were you can go too low. At one point after my recovery from Open Heart surgery I was limiting my saturate fat to just 10 grams a day. That led to reductions in Stamina, Muscle Weaknes, and some uncoordinated thought processes. Now I work to stay in the 15-18 gram range and am doing fine.

Sugar. Later medical thoughts on causes for Heart Disease is that the primary cause may not be Saturated Fat, instead it may be Sugar. Sugar is also a primary trigger for Arthritis and other inflammatory disease processes. Bottom line Sugar is becoming to be considered a Toxin. So pay attention to the Sugar levels on any food you purchase with a nutrition label. In addition be aware that Fruits are typically high in Sugar Content. Yeah, too much fruit is bad for you.

Exercise. That is very good for you and Walking is the best exercise you can get. Once your doctor clears you for mildly vigorous exercise start doing some long distance walking. Work yourself to a 14 to 14.5 minute per mile pace and you'll find it's an excellent workout. Before Plantar Fasciitis reared it's ugly head I used to walk 6 miles a day. Now, I'll do 3 miles once or twice a week and do the rest of my "roadwork" on an Elliptical. BTW, the foot motion on an Elliptical is ideal for aiding in healing for Plantar Fasciitis.

As for the Alternating day thing, that was at the "suggestion" of my Cardiologist because at my age I need a bit more time for Recovery. On last years Nuclear Stress test I achieved 14.8 Mets, which my Cardio thought was amazing. Current VO2 Max is at 41 and I score above the 85th percentile in fitness for my age group. Not too bad for a 67 years old ex smoker with Heart Disease, COPD, and Emphysema. Note, I am near symptom free for the SOPD and Emphysema, all I get is some coughing fits that last less than 2 or 3 minutes. I'll also note that if you check on the Net you will find the finest therapy for COPD is moderate Aerobic Exercise NOT some drug.

I will also note that Doctors today are not permitted to talk to their patients about Obesity or lack of exercise because it's led to too may lawsuits. You have to just love it that our own doctors aren't permitted to tell us when we get too fat or engage in really stupid habits like smoking because we thought the doctor was being "mean to us" and sued. Times are when I think we have become a nation of shitheads.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
What anticoagulant do they have you on.

I was on a Heparin IV infusion for a couple of days while in the hospital, and then they switched me to Apixaban (Eliquis). The first week it was 10mg twice a day; I just transitioned to 5mg/twice daily.

Here's an update.

Turns out I was slightly wrong about the diet - or more specifically, the length of it. My Doc wants me to follow that highly restrictive plan not for the rest of the year, but the rest of the month (not sure how I mis-heard that)... so I'm on it for 2 more days. After that, he recommends that I follow the guidelines of the Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet.

You know how they say good things come in threes?
When I got home from the hospital, I tried to do a little light cleanup around the yard, consistent with my discharge instructions to keep active. While fixing a loose section of drainpipe from my sump pump, which runs behind a row of pine trees, between them and a chain link fence, dead pine branches got me. I managed to scratch up my lower legs pretty good, including one that bled a bit. Really didn't think much of it.
Sunday morning I awoke to a swollen left leg, with a blotchy red rash the size of my palm surrounding the big scrape. It was hot to the touch. Back to the ER I go. After an x-ray to rule out debris in the wound and a round of IV antibiotics, they diagnosed it as cellulitis, gave me a scrip for oral antibiotics and sent me home.

I passed this all on to the Radiologist yesterday during his follow-up. His did an ultrasound of the left leg and noted a largish clot they had seen before during the first go-around.
His recommendations are
1- Lets go in and try to remove as much of that clot as possible. This entails another trip to the hospital, where they'll go in via catheter, remove the filter they installed , dredge out the clot, and reinstall the filter. Eventually, (6 months?) the filter comes out too. I stay on the Eliquis. H feels that diminished blood flow due to the clot could be a factor with the cellulitis.
2- Start wearing compression garments. In my case, he says the best option is a pantyhose-style getup, which I am REALLY not looking forward to.

That Doc is in agreement with the diet plan. We'll see what the cardiologist says next week when I see him, but in the meantime I'll kick off the Mayo plan on Friday.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: motor59,

Wow, motor59, you can't win for losing, lately.

Good thing you got that cellulitis diagnosed quickly. Left untreated too long that can have some nasty implications.

Re: Compression socks. I don't envy you, there. I wore those on my lower legs (foot through calves) for a month, following my arthroscopic knee surgery. A roaring PITA to get on. I was seriously happy when my surgeon told me I could stop with them.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Wow, motor59, you can't win for losing, lately.

Ain't that the truth.

I can hardly wait to see what the third lucky event will be.