Hi everyone, just thought I would let everyone know that after my successful ablation and coming off all my tablets hurray and my Colin feeling much better after his stent and kidney removal we decided to celebrate. The kids and grandkids had been great especially when we were both on the cardiac ward in opposite beds Lol.
We booked a five star hotel in Tenerife , all going well.....THEN I fell, the pain was horrendous, I was taken to hospital in what I can only describe as a transit van posing as an ambulance , had to pay the driver 250 euros for the trip. Was not given any pain relief until my insurance company agreed to pay a deposit if 20,000 euros, which they did. Had smashed my hip and broken several ribs. They operated next morning, can’t even remember 11am Thursday till 11am Friday apart from a load of banging like a building site, apparently after looking on u- tube this is the hammering in of the new hip.
I was kept in 10 days , sent home laying across three seats on plane, caught a sickness bug off the lady in next bed which I brought home , had that for ten days.,lost a stone in weight(only good thing to come out of it, I had been going to slimming club prior to the holiday ha ha)
I am now on one crutch and three months on.
I am now told I am desperately low in vitamin D and need to take tablets for this , take an acid tablet once a week, on calcium tablets and iron tablets. Now got to go to hospital for appointment after having a bone scan.
Is anyone else on this cocktail of drugs for bones please?
By the way was very surprised that no one asked my family about past medical history or heart problems before operating!
Makes me thank our NHS even more.
Love to everyone,
Ursula x
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MydogBrandy
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Your experience sounds awful. I cannot imagine going thru all of that. I hope things are getting better for you both. It made me think of the old saying “ what doesnt kill you makes you stronger!!! “. Stay strong💜 Hugs.
Am doing thanks on one crutch now, in full charge of remote and meals on wheels are great, bless Colin, Looking forward to spring and summer and hopefully get natural vitamin D then x
As we age it becomes increasingly difficult for our skins to make vitamin D. A 70 year old makes one third the amount a 20 year old does! In order to do so we need to sunbathe consistently with as little clothing as possible ( face and hands for a few minutes will not cut it if one is very deficient despite the nonsense put out by the health advice). The window for making vit D in the UK runs from approximately mid April to early September and is shorter the further north you live. Pollution also impacts the amount of UVB and if you take a statin you have less cholesterol to make vit D out of. So taking a supplement should not be regarded as taking a drug. If you are very deficient you should have been given very large loading doses to get your levels up quickly. You mention being overweight. Large people need even bigger doses of vit D. Vit D deficiency is insidious . There is some research that shows it can affect balance and muscle tone and lead to falls in older people . Do you know how much vit D a day you are taking? Your experience in Tenerife sounds awful. Hope you are making a good recovery . But do not become complacent. Keeping up a good level of vit D as we age is an ongoing task and as someone else has mentioned it is important in other areas of health like supporting the immune system.
Thanks so much for that , you are very knowledgeable , I pick up my tablets tomorrow so I don’t know what dose I will be on. The weight thing is my obsession with being slim, only 5 pounds overweight at the moment . The fall was due to carpet and tiles side by side not being fitted correctly causing a trip hazard. Brand new 5 star hotel as well. Will take on board everything you have said and a big thank you for your time explaining it to me. Will keep in touch,
I am happy if I could help. 5 pounds overweight by what measure? Did you know that those with a BMI in the overweight category are more likely to outlive their slim sisters? Please let me know what dose your tablets are. Unfortunately supplementation even on prescription is sometimes less than adequate in the UK compared to here in France. The levels for deficiency also differ .
At our age we need to think about enjoying what life we have left not feeling guilty about an occasional treat . Unless sugar precipitates your afib the odd slice of cake is not going to harm. I eat 2 pieces of dark chocolate every evening and I am far more than 5 pounds overweight according to BMI. My doc has never once suggested I lose weight . I eat healthily and not that much as I get full quickly. I get fed up with the weight police . By the way vit D is not a vitamin. It is a secosteroid hormone. It is hard to get enough from food .
That is a loading dose. My sister was given something similar when she had the problems with her parathyroid gland. I think the not sitting down is more to do with the "acid"tablet you mentioned. She never said anything about not sitting down with the vitamin D. I have had loading ampoules here of 200,000 iu several times and never been told that.How many weeks do you take it for?
Six weeks, it definitely says the not sitting down bit on this prescription. To be honest I take the acid one once a week on a Sunday and the full glass of water, not sitting down for half an hour and not being able to have my breakfast till after doing this seems hard watching the clock or am I a total wuss, think it’s Cos I am still on crutches It’s just that I am quite out of breath in a morning, think it’s my broken ribs and the position I am sleeping that might be causing the morning breathlessness. So this not sitting down is going to be Sundays and Wednesdays now lol .
It must be very hard crutches and broken ribs. I came off our motorbike a few years ago and hurt my ribs-only bruised but the pain was bad. It was hard to take a deep breath . I cannot for the life of me imagine why one should not sit down after taking D3. What you need to make sure of when you finish the course of D3 is that it does not go down again. A loading dose like that over 6 weeks should get you up to a good level . Ideally you should be tested at the end to see where your level is and then you will need to take a much smaller daily amount that you can buy in Boots to maintain . I used to get high dose ampoules but my levels always plummetted and the doc changed my prescription to daily drops . I am not sure if they are available in the UK.
Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. Yes I will be asking for a blood test for that and my iron as I take big dose of that too. I think you are right I will ask if I can have a prescription for small daily amounts if my levels get back up. Are you French or are you English living in France?
I have double nationality. Originally from Lancashire though I lived in various parts of UK before moving to France. I'd be surprised if you got vit d prescribed on NHS in maintenance doses.
Oh that’s interesting I was born in Austria and Mum was Austrian, often thought about applying for dual nationality but wouldn’t know where to start. All my relatives are over in Austria. I was born on a British military hospital so given British citizenship.
With regards to the Vitamin D on prescription will let you know after I have asked for it. I also double it, I tried to get the vitamin sips for my Colin after he had his kidney out along with the cancer as he was not eating but they refused so I bought Complan from the chemist.
My husband's mum was Czech but her family originated in Austria. His dad was German but deprived of his citizenship so all his family have now got German citizenship as Germany is restoring citizenship to the descendants of those who were deprived of it during the war. You could apply to the Austrian Embassy to see if it is pssible to get Austrian citizenship and how to go about it. Then you would not lose your European citizenship.
Thanks for that, think I will do that. I know when I had heart trouble before my ablation , I was taken into hospital with svt whilst on holiday in Austria and they were amazing. It was there where I learned that drinking loads of ice water quickly controlled the attacks I was having. Still went ahead with the ablation after 18 years which was wise.
Interesting about your connections with Austria, my dad was in the British army as a paratrooper and met Mum , I stayed till I was three and then we all came to England , so my first language is Austrian /German and it’s weird because I just swing into conversation when I go back! Suppose it’s because it was my first language. My Colin couldn’t believe it when he first went with me. Ha
Hey, I have just emailed the Austrian Embassy in London, they got back to me straight away with a Sorry No. Apparently only victims f Nazzi prosecution and their dependants can get citizenship not children of Austrian mothers who were born in wedlock before 1983😥 topical of the way my luck is going at the moment lol x
What irony, to have the opportunity to celebrate, with good reason, only to end up where you are now, I'm so sorry things have turned out this way for you.
You ask about the medication you will now have to take, and I can only say that after breaking both hips at different times some years ago, I too was put on calcium and Alendronic Acid tablets after a bone density scan showed I had osteopaenia, and I took these for several years, to good effect.
As you say, thank goodness for the NHS, it sounds like you are being well looked after to try and prevent a fall like this (and I sincerely hope it won't happen again) having such a devastating effect. I wish you all the best for your recovery. Kate
Thanks so much Kate, as I said it’s ironic that I was off tablets after 18 years with heart trouble and now this. Thanks for reassuring me that these tablets made you feel better. Is this a stupid question but is it the fall that makes the bones weaker or is it that it has come to light that I had this condition before and it hadn’t come to light? Ursula x
I think the latter, as having a BDS is usually only offered once a traumatic break has occured, as a way of investigating the reason for it. It would be useful if it were offered to everyone over a certain age, but I guess it's a bit too expensive for that to happen.
Oh thanks that’s nice to know, I will ask the question in May when I go back to the hospital and come back if I find anything more out.
So how are you now. Are you still on any tablets for your bones or is all ok now. I am assuming mine is an age problem now I am 71 but to be honest I was as fit as a fiddle before the accident.
Oh what an awful experience especially after all you had (both) been through. My bone specialist (encronologist) advised me to take vit d - which i have on prescription. I had a bds scan after leg break which showed low density in hips. The acid tablets upset my stomach so was glad to have vit d instead. In my area bds scans are done every 2 years but! Make sure you make a diary note as the wait times are long & i have had to keep chasing each followup at least 6 months in advance. By the way the vit d has certainly helped me these last 3/4 years to avoid colds etc. Hope the recovery continues to go well for you
Thanks so much for that info. I will make a note of that , I was told that the acid tablets which I take once a week have to be taken whilst stood up with a full glass of water, and not to sit down for half an hour, strange but there must be a reason. I am just shocked that all these tablets have started after a stupid fall. Mind you it has made me paranoid now when I go out. Terrified of falling again, knocked my confidence a lot. Thanks for your wishes.
I take double dose Calcium, double dose multi vitamins, Vitamin D and Sea Kelp each day. I’m meant to take Pregaday too (iron) but it gives me severe diarrhoea.... ugh. These plus my heart drugs and lansoprazole....
Is your calcium and vitamin D on repeat? I’m on iron too but it effects me the other way lol. I always thought you got all your vitamins from food as I do eat healthily but obviously as we age we need help. Regards Ursula
Oh don’t get me wrong yes I will take them it’s just that I had been on heart tablets for 18 years until my ablation last January ,then came off everything and drug free🤗 Then I have this accident and ..........here we go. 🤣 x
Well vitamins aren’t hard drugs are they? Nothing to worry about at least. I get mine on prescription btw. I have a pre payment certificate so don’t really notice the cost.
Gosh, I remember when this happened to you; I am sorry you are still having to use a crutch. I have calcium tablets prescribed but that's all. Hope you get your vitamin D sorted out, best of luck.
Thanks Irene , got to muddle on eh? Are you on calcium tablets forever ? Were you prescribed them after a bone scan? Love this site where you can get advice from others.
My first bone scan was probably about 20 years ago when I was in my late 40s. I decided to have it done and paid for it. I had another done about five years later and my bone density had decreased quite rapidly, my GP told me it coincided with stopping HRT. So I have been on calcium tablets ever since. I agree about this site, I learn something every day!
Thanks Irene just picked up my very very high dose of vitamin D 50,000, which I have to take 2 once a week with full glass of water and not sit down for half an hour. I have to do the same with the acid tablet but on a different day. Also taking the calcium tablet and iron tablet. As I say, did not have a clue before I went on holiday that I had any problems at all. Still having trouble with my cracked ribs when I lie down and on one crutch now.
Wow, you sure have been through a rough time, best wishes for full recovery. You might check with your ep re the new meds. Calcium on its own? Anti acid.meds can lower your magnesium which is v important for heart health,also I've "read" they are not good for bone health. Talk about swings and slides. Calcium is hard on the kidneys. Have a long chat with your pharmacist and remember you are your own best advocate. Hugs and healing.💕
Goodness me! You’ve certainly been though it, I bet you’re so glad to be home. Well that was a massive test for your heart so on the plus side at least your AF didn’t return! Take care x
Thanks Maura , yes it was a blessing and you are right I suppose a great test. Ablation was the best thing I ever did. Last year was a terrible year for both myself and Colin, that was the reason we decided to have a nice holiday. Now hopefully after this happening I am hopeful that 2020 is going to be our year. We celebrate out golden wedding anniversary next month so looking at a better year hopefully.x thanks for your kind wishes. Xx
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