Health update.

[gingerjon]

10 minutes ago, JohnM said:

Damn. Got stopped by the guards at the border. Spent last week in Grimsby Hospital and now in Boston Pilgrim. Looks like leaky heart valve might need attention but that's not confirmed yet. Still trying to stabilise heartbeat and clear lungs out. ######! 

Have they done the tried and tested TRL method of hitting the problem part with a hammer?

[Griff9of13]

12 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Have they done the tried and tested TRL method of hitting the problem part with a hammer?

Or the other standard TRL advice, switching it off and back on again?*  

 

* Friend of mine has actually had that done, but that was to try to stop his arrhythmia.

[JohnM]

No cardioversion as yet!

[Spidey]

Bloody hell, hopefully they get you sorted quickly

[tonyXIII]

Best wishes to a Wigan fan from a Saford fan. Seriously, rugby is irrelevant. Get well soon. (I might need another lift from Craven Park to Paragon sometime)

[MattSantos]

Ive an absolutely beauty of a cut/wound on my shin, multiple stitches.

In and out of the hospital in 30 mins.

 

[JohnM]

Now in Boston Pilgrim. Progress being made.  Cardiologist putting it all down to a faulty heart valve.  More investigations a and im not leaving until diagnosis complete.

Decided to go private. Sid's Garage under the Coronation St arches has put in a low quote for valve reseating and grinding! 

[ckn]

13 minutes ago, JohnM said:

Now in Boston Pilgrim. Progress being made.  Cardiologist putting it all down to a faulty heart valve.  More investigations a and im not leaving until diagnosis complete.

Decided to go private. Sid's Garage under the Coronation St arches has put in a low quote for valve reseating and grinding! 

May I recommend that you forward an email to Jeremy Hunt with a link to your profile here, your steadfast defence of the Tories has done a better job than 99% of Tory MPs and surely deserves to get a more exclusive sort of treatment reserved for government ministers and royalty.

[JohnM]

8 hours ago, ckn said:

May I recommend that you forward an email to Jeremy Hunt with a link to your profile here, your steadfast defence of the Tories has done a better job than 99% of Tory MPs and surely deserves to get a more exclusive sort of treatment reserved for government ministers and royalty.

Oh dear. Give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us.

[tonyXIII]

10 hours ago, JohnM said:

Now in Boston Pilgrim. Progress being made.  Cardiologist putting it all down to a faulty heart valve.  More investigations a and im not leaving until diagnosis complete.

Decided to go private. Sid's Garage under the Coronation St arches has put in a low quote for valve reseating and grinding! 

Whether it's Boston Pilgrim, Sid's garage or Hope Hospital, just get well as soon as feasible.

[gingerjon]

10 hours ago, JohnM said:

Now in Boston Pilgrim. Progress being made.  Cardiologist putting it all down to a faulty heart valve.  More investigations a and im not leaving until diagnosis complete.

Decided to go private. Sid's Garage under the Coronation St arches has put in a low quote for valve reseating and grinding! 

As much as possible stick to your guns on this. A friend was discharged following a 'cardiac episode' (severe) a few weeks ago but because he was by himself he left without really knowing what had happened nor what the future could hold - and now he's discharged the somewhat stretched services here don't have time to go back and talk to him.

[JohnM]

Discharged on Friday afternoon. Various medications and doses decided and administered and vital signs stabilised. Pulse still irregular but under control. Now awaiting outpatient TOE...transaesophagus echocardiogram so they can examine the faulty mitral valve and decide what to do, ranging from nothing , through repair, to replacement. Discharge notes state atrial fibrilation,  hypertension, congestive cardiac failure and mitral regurgitation.  Lincoln and Grimsby hospitals (different groups) liasing to get earliest TOE appointment so they can sedste me and stuff an ultrasound tranducer down my gullet. Discharge notes also note this is was my fourth admission.

Im generally ok for day to day stuff, strolling etc.  but any level of physical activity leaves me short of breath. Can watch games on TV, though.

[Phil]

Mitral regurgitation sounds particularly gross

[JohnM]

Feels it, too!

[Griff9of13]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Can watch games on TV, though

That may not have been very beneficial to your health.

 

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

Discharged on Friday afternoon. Various medications and doses decided and administered and vital signs stabilised. Pulse still irregular but under control. Now awaiting outpatient TOE...transaesophagus echocardiogram so they can examine the faulty mitral valve and decide what to do, ranging from nothing , through repair, to replacement. Discharge notes state atrial fibrilation,  hypertension, congestive cardiac failure and mitral regurgitation.  Lincoln and Grimsby hospitals (different groups) liasing to get earliest TOE appointment so they can sedste me and stuff an ultrasound tranducer down my gullet. Discharge notes also note this is was my fourth admission.

Im generally ok for day to day stuff, strolling etc.  but any level of physical activity leaves me short of breath. Can watch games on TV, though.

You don't do things by halves, do you?

Keep on keeping on.

[ckn]

On 6/4/2018 at 7:23 AM, JohnM said:

Discharged on Friday afternoon. Various medications and doses decided and administered and vital signs stabilised. Pulse still irregular but under control. Now awaiting outpatient TOE...transaesophagus echocardiogram so they can examine the faulty mitral valve and decide what to do, ranging from nothing , through repair, to replacement. Discharge notes state atrial fibrilation,  hypertension, congestive cardiac failure and mitral regurgitation.  Lincoln and Grimsby hospitals (different groups) liasing to get earliest TOE appointment so they can sedste me and stuff an ultrasound tranducer down my gullet. Discharge notes also note this is was my fourth admission.

Im generally ok for day to day stuff, strolling etc.  but any level of physical activity leaves me short of breath. Can watch games on TV, though.

My morning breakfast routine includes scanning through the recent news and press releases on stuff around my work.  I was interested in reading this innovative work around mitral regurgitation at Barts Heart Centre in London.

[JohnM]

Read with interest and rising concern. Today I shall be mainly a sedated outpatient at Boston Pilgrim as they carry out a TOE this afternoon. The paperwork they sent me warns me thst because of the sedation, I must not make any major decisions or sign any documents until 24 hours after the scan.

[gingerjon]

44 minutes ago, JohnM said:

Read with interest and rising concern. Today I shall be mainly a sedated outpatient at Boston Pilgrim as they carry out a TOE this afternoon. The paperwork they sent me warns me thst because of the sedation, I must not make any major decisions or sign any documents until 24 hours after the scan.

The purchase of this beautiful bridge I have right here is not a major decision and in these modern times no signature is required. Just your bank details and a hearty wave of agreement. There you go. All sorted.

(Good luck, hope it all goes well.)

[JohnM]

Update:

I have an appointment last week in July with the Consultant Cardiologist  at United Lincs Hospitals  to " be reviewed urgently with consideration of work-up for mitral valve repair."

Questions are, if anyone knows the answers

1. How do I find out if ULH are any good at this stuff - up to date info.?

2. How do I break out of the tram lines I'm stuck in so I can get the job done at Glenfield in Leicester or other such centre of excellence.

3. Planning to see my GP next week to see what he thinks, but it would be nice to take some supporting evidence with me.

If you've noticed the Internet slowing down recently, it's because I have been using it in trying to penetrate the NHS protective shield which seems to be designed to prevent me finding out anything useful.

[gingerjon]

ckn can probably cover 2 and 3 … are there CQC reports for point 1?

[Stevo]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

Update:

I have an appointment last week in July with the Consultant Cardiologist  at United Lincs Hospitals  to " be reviewed urgently with consideration of work-up for mitral valve repair."

Questions are, if anyone knows the answers

1. How do I find out if ULH are any good at this stuff - up to date info.?

2. How do I break out of the tram lines I'm stuck in so I can get the job done at Glenfield in Leicester or other such centre of excellence.

3. Planning to see my GP next week to see what he thinks, but it would be nice to take some supporting evidence with me.

If you've noticed the Internet slowing down recently, it's because I have been using it in trying to penetrate the NHS protective shield which seems to be designed to prevent me finding out anything useful.

Wotcher.

1. Have a starting look here - see if you can refine to the specific location/ clinic. If you know the name of the surgeon who would do the operation then in theory you can look up stats related to their individual performance for their clinic (better than expected; as expected; worse than expected). NB - the stats calculation on those are highly waited in favour of not embarrassing particular consultants. There is a very high level of statistical confidence needed before a consultant will show up as having a higher-than-expected level of deaths

2. For most people in England there is a right to choose where you receive treatment - any urgency of need versus availability of first choice will need to be considered. Your GP should be able to help/ advise on this. It may be that as you've already been referred to one consultant, you cannot now reconsider that choice (even if you didn't at the time realise you were making a choice - though see next bit below)

3. Good luck! Despite the cliché, you don't have a right to a second opinion - though if you're really unhappy with what your consultant is suggesting and/ or their reputation in the field, you can request one and most consultants who give a damn will be happy for you to get an alternative view. They are likely to need to refer you on though, so again if time / urgency is an issue this may not be an avenue. As ever, prepare for your GP appointment and be clear what you want to get out of it. Ask awkward questions, especially if you see that there are different possible treatments for your diagnosis.

Hope things work out and you are up and about soon.

[JohnM]

Thanks for that Stevo. V. useful.

[ckn]

2 hours ago, Stevo said:

Wotcher.

1. Have a starting look here - see if you can refine to the specific location/ clinic. If you know the name of the surgeon who would do the operation then in theory you can look up stats related to their individual performance for their clinic (better than expected; as expected; worse than expected). NB - the stats calculation on those are highly waited in favour of not embarrassing particular consultants. There is a very high level of statistical confidence needed before a consultant will show up as having a higher-than-expected level of deaths

2. For most people in England there is a right to choose where you receive treatment - any urgency of need versus availability of first choice will need to be considered. Your GP should be able to help/ advise on this. It may be that as you've already been referred to one consultant, you cannot now reconsider that choice (even if you didn't at the time realise you were making a choice - though see next bit below)

3. Good luck! Despite the cliché, you don't have a right to a second opinion - though if you're really unhappy with what your consultant is suggesting and/ or their reputation in the field, you can request one and most consultants who give a damn will be happy for you to get an alternative view. They are likely to need to refer you on though, so again if time / urgency is an issue this may not be an avenue. As ever, prepare for your GP appointment and be clear what you want to get out of it. Ask awkward questions, especially if you see that there are different possible treatments for your diagnosis.

Hope things work out and you are up and about soon.

I can’t better that answer. The only thing I can add is to start talking to them now about post-op care. You can start piecing together the stuff you’ll need and the different NHS services who will deliver it. You can then start with your patient choice stuff and planning for timescales. 

[JohnM]

Should add that I'm not unhappy with what's been done so far. However, because I was taken by ambulance to A and E  to Boston, I now seem locked into United Lincs Hospital who don't have a good reputation overall.  It's just that I'm quite ambitious to be around,  posting on here post-surgery.

Will aim to talk it through with the GP next week.