Update to cardiologist visit.

[Rienij70]

Good morning dear friends. Have been awake for a couple of hours mulling things over and over in my mind. I am sure you can all relate to this. Had an earlier appointment with my cardiologist yesterday, echocardiogram. Another ECG . Upshot of it is, he wants to do more investigations. Was given the option of invasive test or another echocardiogram and a nuclear scan. Being the hero I am, I opted for the latter. He was surprised after all the years that I had A Fib and a records of various blood clots that nobody had put me on statins. Which he remedied and tablets for angina. So hoping it can all be sorted ( with tablets). Best wishes to you all. Rienij

[CDreamer]

The reason for the statins? Suggest you also take COQ10 if you do take statins.

Many people refuse statins as the blanket all approach to recommending statins does not take into account the recent research data and the HDL/LDL/triglycerides ratio - if statins recommended to lower cholesterol.

healthline.com/health/coq10...

Alternatively - You can boost COQ10 naturally by eating loads of leafy veg and exposing yourself to sunshine - really!

[Rienij70 in reply to CDreamer]

Would love all the leafy green veg. But being on warfarine have to watch that a bit. Now sunshine we will hopefully get more of pretty soon. Will read up about the statins. Thank you

[CDreamer in reply to Rienij70]

I’ve never take Wafarin but was given to understand you adjust the Wafarin dose to the diet?

[Rienij70 in reply to CDreamer]

Hi CDreamer it is not as simple as adjusting the dosage. All foods high in vitamin K work against warfarine. So you can eat say spinach or sprouts, but you would have to eat a similar amount each day. My current dosage is 5 mg warfarine per day. And I have been stable on that for some time now. So to have the maximum protection you have to be mindful of what you eat. My next blood test is the 1st May. I try to eat a good variety of foods and hope for the best. Not much else you can do. The statins are to reduce cholesterol. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. Very helpful 🤓 Rienij

[Hidden in reply to CDreamer]

You are correct, CD. We don't adjust our (hopefully healthy) diet to the drug. Even many doctors, IMO, get this backward. There is a lot I don't know but I've had a lot of experience with warfarin and self-testing and self management. INR's can go up and down for many reasons, even if your diet is healthy and stable. This is one reason for frequent self-testing. Until I got off recently (had a Watchman Procedure in Jan), I tested weekly. It is a good way to keep tight control of your INR and prevent complications. I've read on this post re some who are only tested every 3 months. This gives the INR 90 days to roam all over the map causing problems that may not be picked up in a timely manner. Just my opinion. Thanks for listening. irina

[Rienij70 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Irana it was with interest to me reading about the self testing. I don’t know anything about doing that. I rely on our local hospital. They test the blood, than they adjust the dosage and let you know when to be tested again. 10 weeks between testing this time.

[wilsond in reply to CDreamer]

CDreamer,that was a very interesting link and has given me food for thought. I don't like being on the Statin dose I'm on,and am booked to see GP about this. ( I was 11.5 after a blood test which seemed to cause a bit of a flap) As well as the station,I addressed my diet and exercise and last test was 2.6.)

Have a nice weekend!

[CDreamer in reply to wilsond]

That’s a hell of a drop! I wonder if there was a problem with one of the readings? You may be interested in looking at the cholesterol forum on HU - I learned a lot. My cholesterol went up to 7.9 which also caused GP alarm bells to ring. I refused statins and asked for the breakdown of LDL/HDL & my neuro was delighted with results as my ratio was excellent. I consulted a nutritionist who recommended diet alterations - which included vastly upping my fat intake (avocados, nuts, coconut oils etc) and my total cholesterol fell to 6.5 in a month and I am very happy with it staying there!

Avoid ALL low fat foods from supermarket!

[Rienij70 in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you for all they info. It is very informative. Will have a good chat with the GP when I see him. Will make a list with pointers so I won’t forget to ask relevant things. Have a lovely weekend. 👌😊

[wilsond in reply to CDreamer]

Good point...I am due for a follow up at the Cholesterol clinic 26th April so hope to have a good conversation there.I will do some research here first,thanks for the tip.

I also want to know the ratio of ldl and hdl.I see my GP on 9Th April.

I also wonder if its relevant that I had my gall bladder removed at 42 due to severe infection....? I think the implications are that fat generally is digested ok,but a sudden influx causes overload.For example, if I eat fish and chips (rarely ) I have to be careful portion wise and limit fat for a day or so.

I will up my intake of 'good' fat too.I am pretty good at eating healthily,avoid pre prepared foods etc.

Thank you CDreamer

[meadfoot]

Pleased to hear things are moving forward for you and you will get the appropriate treatment and move forward with a healthier life. Best wishes.

[Rienij70 in reply to meadfoot]

Thank you 😊

[lell1]

Hi there! How can someone who works for the NHS be surprised by the cost cutting of colleagues??

[CDreamer in reply to lell1]

Sorry but I don’t understand the relevance of your comment?

[lell1 in reply to CDreamer]

Hi CD! The reply was to rienij's initial comment and was pertinent to the consultant's apparent surprise at there being no evidence of her being prescribed statins?

[Rienij70 in reply to lell1]

Hi Lell1 I meant to ask how are you coping these days?

[lell1 in reply to Rienij70]

Hi rienij! No way I could go to work, he'll stay in bed all day, nt drink or eat, or eat the wrong stuff! How's the oh?

[Rienij70 in reply to lell1]

Hi Lell1, my OH is about the same, gets a bit tetchy when he gets tired. He does sleep a lot lately. Falls asleep after meals and In between. Cardiologist would like me to speed things up, while my OH is still manageable. If you know what I mean. But I don’t like to be pushed into things. X

[lell1 in reply to Rienij70]

Don't be put under unnecessary pressure gal! There's always respite or day care. Although with your heart playing silly b's don't leave things on the back plate for 2 long. R u still going to the appointment tomorrow ?

[Rienij70 in reply to lell1]

Have been, last week. Waiting for appointment to come through for the Scan in the John Radcliffe. Don’t worry I won’t mess about with my health. 😘

[Hidden]

Hi Rienji70. I'm not a doctor and we all can have different results and reactions to warfarin. But felt the need to jump in. Warfarin is a powerful and sometimes harsh drug. If it were me, I would be nervous waiting 2-3 months for my next INR test. Too long a gap IMO for problems to arise, I would ask my doctor what his rationale is for such a long time between tests. Just a thought. Thanks for hearing me out. Take care. irina

[Rienij70 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you.