Pico de Orizaba

Pico de Orizaba
Taken from Huatusco, Veracruz, the closest town to Margarita's family's ranch.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

If Pfizer could patent oxygen in a pill, maybe my cardiologist would pay attention to the other side of the story... and "getting on with my life"...

My passing days without writing on this blog doesn't mean that there aren't new developments in my investigation into what caused the enigma of March 12th's heart attack.  Probably the main reason I haven't written on the blog is because I've been spending so many hours per day researching into the situation and writing to my mother and other people, such as the nutritionist and the cardiologist... amongst my mundane daily responsibilities... and when I'm through with everything that I'm currently doing, I'm too exhausted or stressed to write on the blog...

All of the blood tests I've requested since March 12th, were not suggested by any doctor...  

With the blood tests I realized that the Beta Blockers caused a massive rise in Triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol... that my homocysteine level was normal and dropping... that I do not have any heart disease or cardiovascular disease markers in my blood...  But, I also realized yesterday that my fasting insulin levels are too high, that I am anaemic and have a deficiency of globulins...  Along with that finding yesterday, my immunologlobulin M continues being too low... What does that have to do with anaemia and low globulins?  

And it's not just about low iron... It's about low percentage saturation of iron, leading to the great possibility of a Vitamin B12 deficiency (typical of J-Pouchers, IBD sufferers and people with Celiac Disease), which means that I am not producing enough red blood cells for transporting oxygen to the rest of my body, which greatly increases cardiac risk, amongst problems with the central nervous system, the liver and the kidneys...  Low Iron caused by low B12 is called Pernicious Anaemia...  "Pernicious" is Greek for deadly...  So, today I had blood drawn for checking my B12 and Folic Acid levels (both are connected or separate causes of different types of anaemia... Folic Acid deficiency is also prevalent amongst J-Pouchers).  

Do you remember what I wrote about oxygen, stress, breathing, asthma, allergies, altitude and heart attacks?  I'm certain I've written much about this over the past week or so.  But I also wrote about this over two years ago about hypertension being caused by a "sudden" altitude change.  Did you know that many people have died of heart attacks on vacations to the mountains?

I had my heart attack less than 12 hours after returning to Guadalajara from Sayulita (the region of Puerto Vallarta).  Margarita and I were on the Pacific coast for 7 days.  Guadalajara resides 5,138 feet above sea level...  In the Journal "High Altitude Medicine and Biology" is was stated, "CHD patients should avoid travel to elevations above 4500 m owing to severe hypoxia at these altitudes. The risk assessment of CHD patients at altitude should always consider a possible absence of medical support and that cardiovascular events may turn into disaster."  At the moment of returning from the coast to the city I wasn't considering myself a CHD patient... But I was very aware of my bout of high blood pressure living in Mexico 12 years and the effect upon my BP of increasing my altitude.  For instance, Aguascalientes is 6,194ft above sea level (1,000 feet higher than Guadalajara).  Our next job is in San Luis Potosi, also 1,000 feet higher than Guadalajara.  For 4 years we worked the fair of Zacatecas, which is 8,000 feet above sea level.  Can you imagine what that fair did to my blood pressure?  

In response to my comment that since the heart attack, none of my blood tests have come back with markers for coronary heart disease, heart attack, cardiovascular disease or atherosclerois... not the Homocysteine, or the Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), or the C-Reactive Protein or Aspartate Transaminase (AST), my mother exclaimed 

That is great Ross but I guess it does leave you scraping your head asking why?  

And then sent me another email suggesting:

Well maybe you will never have an answer and you should just get on with your life and continue eating a healthy diet and exercising!

To which I responded:

Oxygen or lack there of...  

As for getting on with my life...  I was getting on with my life eating a very healthy diet and exercising, when I had the heart attack on March 12th.  And I haven't discontinued my very healthy diet and exercising.  However, I do have this problem that I have two stents in my heart arteries and one (the medicated one) puts me at great risk of another heart attack... believe it or not...  Plus, since medicated stents are very new to the cardiology market, there are no outcome studies or long-term risk studies done... Meaning that they do not actually know how long the patient must be under observation and medicated for preventing blockage (that the same stents were designed to prevent or to improve upon the bare metal mesh stents that are safe without anti-platelet agregation meds a month after the angioplasty)...  

And what if I have the reasoning regarding lack of oxygen (due to lack of hemoglobin and deficiency of Vitamin B12, Folate and Vitamin D)?  I have yet to get the results back from today's B12/Folic Acid tests...  And if it says that one or both are too low, that means that I am anaemic... meaning that I must continue with responding to the situation.

But, I could have "just gotten on with my life" and just followed the "doctor's orders" and I wouldn't have taken NOT ONE blood test (not even for homocysteine) during the 3 months after the heart attack (we're at 9 weeks) and I wouldn't have known that my continued fatigue is related to anaemia... And no one would be asking why.

And one more thing:  If it's a question of Vitamin B12 deficiency, unattended pernicious anaemia results in permanent organ damage.  Who suggested I ask for the tests and who worried about them and who will respond to the findings?  

Do you truly believe I should rest and ignore this stuff?  

It sounds pretty irresponsible, doesn't it?  Especially coming from you, the person who battled to beat the idea of being responsible into my brain.

And I'll continue speaking about you as a teacher:  I hated your harping on coping skills in the 1980s...  However, you may understand that these investigations are truly the only way I've been able to keep my head on straight within the situation.  Do you have any idea how it feels understanding that at any given time my heart could stop... and without any adequately explained reason?

We have money for buying land and building a house.  But, at this moment I find that extremely illogical a focus or endeavor...  That requires the desire to focus upon a semi-near future.  My battle over the past 9 weeks, and it is an incredible battle, is for trying to continue being progressive.  If the cardiologists are locked into a pharmaceutical box that limits their perspective or causes them to ignore other possibilities, then they are not being progressive but recessive.  It's to say, they are treating the end point... and supposedly protecting the patient from a sudden cardiac death.  But, what they aren't doing is bringing the patient back to a healthier state... And that's my question or doubt: is there a healthier state, or is this a permanent change for the negative--the end point...?

It seems to me that the "slightest move" is imminent death...  And, maybe that was the case for a long time now... and why the heart attack came as a surprise.  But, there may actually be a logical explanation.  And the person who comes upon the logical explanation may also be able to answer the utmost important question:  "What does my future look like?  Is it logical to plan for a future now?"

You have no idea what goes through my mind as I'm reading these wonderful books or reading what I find on the internet, along with in the NIH/US National Library of Medicine... "At the very least, before this ends, you will have become significantly informed about what killed you and what has killed so many other people, that maybe could have been prevented..."  That is what fills me these days... filling my mind and developing understanding...  This is called, "Getting on with my life."

Coping skills...

And remember, "breathe Ross, breathe... 

You are holding your breath as you've always done... I know, it's part of concentrating... But, what good will concentrating be for you buried 6 feet below the earth?

Breathe

In through the mouth, 5 seconds, out through the nose, 5 seconds... 6 deep breaths per minute... all the way to your stomach... 

Breathe"

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