An update on John's condition. After much research we ended up deciding not to go with the stent. We went for the pre-assessment and were annoyed by how each step (EKG, talking with a nurse, brief examination by one doctor to determine if the arteries in his wrist and groin were acceptible for the angiogram) was accompanied by the complete assumption that we would be giving consent. We were supposed to talk to a 2nd doctor (the one who would do the procedure) but he never showed up for us or 4 other men going through the same thing. They said we'd see him the next morning. We were all given instructions to arrive at 6:45 am the next day to be prepped for the angiogram and sign the consent form (consent to the angiogram meant mandatory consent to a stent should they see fit.) We had read some good articles on stents (see links and titles below) and were convinced that it was an unnecessary, unhelpful and risky step to take. The thing that really got us was that even if you have an 80% blockage stented it's most likely going to be the new, thin unstented 10% blockage that will cause problems. And the list of possible complications was scary!
We found a Canadian source for Liposomal C
http://www.livlong.ca and John is now taking 2 x 1000mg packets a day. He was taking Cardio-C 4 times a day but has been having problems with loose bowels and backed off to 2 times a day, but is still having issues. We're not sure if it's the C because some of the people he works with had been sick and altho John almost never gets sick, this whole thing has stressed him out. 3 or 4 times a day/night he's having to make a dash for the bathroom.
He stopped taking the Amlodipine Besylate.
He is still taking the Clopidogrel Bisulfate 75mg - 1 once a day but has not had any black & blue marks at all.
He has eased back on his Metoprolol Tartrate from 75mg twice a day to 25mg twice a day.
He is still taking the Candesartan Cilexeti Hydrochlorothiazide (Atacand) that he has been taking for several years 12.5 mg once a day. The cardiologist who diagnosed his blockage and put him on all these meds had told him to keep taking that as well as the other drugs. As I mentioned before, even the doctor's nurse was surprised at that.
He is wondering if he should still be taking aspirin.
We have ordered some serrapeptase from Enerex Botanicals - 60,000 IU which according to one site we found suggested they be taken 2x a day on an empty stomach.
http://www.agriorganics.com/natural.php?Pid=46John hasn't seen our family doctor since we got back but will be going soon as he has to get prescriptions renewed. There's sure to be some arguments there. He had told John he practically guaranteed he would be getting a stent.
He still gets a throbbing/tingling in his left arm if he walks up hill too fast but it stops when he stops. We live in a small village and John walks 15 minutes to and from work 5 days a week, for groceries, everywhere. We gave up a car about 15 years ago and just rent when we need one. At 5'11" and 165-170 lbs he's in pretty good shape but now he's very tired all the time. Doesn't feel he's getting enough sleep but then can't sleep well with the bowel issues. We are planning to start some yoga to see if that helps him relax. He's never had any health problems so this is difficult for him and his work situation changed quite dramatically recently and that adds to the stress.
Once again, any opinions or comments that would help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Donna
These are the articles that helped us to decide.
The George W Bush stent case: An incredible teaching opportunity on the basics of heart diseasehttp://www.drjohnm.org/2013/08/the-geor ... t-disease/An electrician’s [cardiac electrophysiologist]
view of smooshing blockageshttp://www.drjohnm.org/2010/05/electric ... smooshing/Do you really need that coronary stent?https://myheartsisters.org/2012/05/23/d ... ary-stent/Do You Really Need A Stent? Three Questions To Ask Your Doctorhttps://www.verywell.com/do-you-really- ... nt-1745720