Hey all, Grauz here and I just wanted to let you know having what the Doctors called a major Heart attack SUX! It started last Saturday and being the stubborn ass I can be I ignored the on and off symptoms until Friday morning when there was no denying I was in trouble. Wife drove me to the hospital luckily only about a mile from the house and within 30 minutes I was in surgery where they installed 2 stints on the right side of my heart. The next day I was treated to another surgery and received 2 more stints on the left side of my heart. Results look good however I did do a little damage to the heart muscle that I will be dealing with via meds. Anyhow that’s my fun last 4 day 8 day before my birthday. Lol
Oh apparently the blockages were at 95, 90, 80,and 75%.
You all have fun and be safe out there hopefully I’ll find a game to join some of you with again when I’m a bit healthier and out of the hospital.
a little over a year ago my best friend had a valve 99% blocked and had a stint put in.
(just sharing)
within the first week I drove him back to the hospital as he was feeling a weird sensation (heart). kaiser did everything xrays and all. turns out it’s common for stints to settle in / the user getting use to them.
within the 2nd week I drove him back again. rinse repeat / safer than sorry … turns out same thing. just the user getting use to the stint.
I drove him yet again, for a 3rd time, week 6 after the installation of the stint. same results.
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Keep your nitro on you. I’m guessing you’ll be prescribed that. Once you open the bottle it has a life of 30 days iirc.
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You’ll probably be prescibed Brillenta(sp). My friend had it for one year and the doctor wanted the “Real one” now he’s switched over to a generic. the generic is alot cheaper.
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my friend has 2 of those pill boxes. he splits up his medications into two. takes half in the morning half in the evening. that way if it’s empty he hasn’t forgotten. when he has forgotten he skips the medications and takes the next set at the next interval. *** you never want to double dose or take a dosage before it wears off - good way to end up in a coma or too thin blood ***
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if you haven’t by now get contact numbers into your phone so you can expediate dialing. family + friends who can drive you to the hospital. the phone number to the duty nurse , emergency room , the hospital (your doctor), and the fire department / police department. that way if you are having a bad moment you can dial the fire department, let them kmnow you’ve had 4 stints installed , unlock your front door (so they don’t have to bust in) and lay down while awaiting their arrival to get you to the hospital.
oh, I live with my best friend. combined our poverty level earnings to make it. I’m just sharing some “tips” as I’ve lived through it helping my friend.
just some tips - Tom
The whole taking meds over long periods gets worse over time , your memory plays tricks on you and your not sure if your memory of taking the med was today’s or yesterday’s memory as they all blur into one. I would suggest getting a small pocket book diary and marking it down every time you take it. It stops these moments you will have of did I or didnt I.
Best wishes for a smooth and quick recovery!
Hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery… 
Best wishes and speedy recovery Grauz!!
Best wishes and healing vibes to you!
The one thing you should never ignore is chest pains. Best wishes and get well soon!
Thanks all for the well wishes and advice. I was sent home yesterday with no restrictions and I’m doing well. I was lucky in not doing more damage to my heart than could have happen with me waiting to go to the ER. I also have uncontrolled type 2 diabetes to deal with so it looks like a few changes coming to my lifestyle should I want to make it much past my 53rd birthday in 6 days.
Thanks again all 
Diabetes sucks. Also, high blood sugar lowers your immune system and slows your body’s healing speed.
Things you can do:
Switch to a sugar alternate, most dietitians recommend a natural sweetener like stevia (which is bitter to me for some reason) I use Splenda.
Don’t eat bread. If you like to eat bread choose whole grain bread.
NEVER eat anything made with White Flour (including PASTA. there are whole grain and whole wheat pasta) The more fiber in it the better.
Things with starch like pasta and rice are not good for you as starch converts to sugar in the body.
Coffee flavorings have lots of sugar in it as does cream and milk. Powered Coffeemate is low on sugar, Lactose-free, and tastes pretty good.
Fish and chicken are lower in fat then beef and pork.
Maintain a healthy weight. Fat inhibits your body’s ability to produce insulin.
Keep hydrated by drinking lots of water.
Some teas can help lower blood sugar like nettle tea, green tea, mint tea. I drink green tea and earl grey black, no mlk or sweetner.
Uugghhh I fail at most of these…lol
You don’t have to stop eating the things you love but moderation is king.
Speak with a dietitian if you can. They will have more details then I can provide.
I’m just glad that you’re still around with us. Take it easy. Do what the doctor says. And most of all, keep motoring along. Wishing you a speedy recovery as you do that little things to get back up to speed. What an adventure!
I live w my best friend and a couple years ago we cut alot out of our shopping / eating habits.
In support of Keltryth’s advice : Now a days my spaghetti (sp) is just a bowl with meat balls, mushrooms, and black olives. I tried bothering with the wheat pasta at first but … really I asked myself “What does it do for me?” Helped alot ridding pasta from my life.
White bread … ugh. I’ll get a burger from McDonalds once a month yeah yeah awful I know but I trim the hell outta the bun.
Soda … been over a year+ since I’ve had soda. Just refuse to buy it. I would love a Pepsi or Coke right now but my mantra is it doesn’t enter the house. So it doesn’t get bought.
Gave up going to restraunts like 10 years ago. Cook at home 6 or 7 days a week. Now and then we’ll treat ourselves to a burger and fries or a pizza. Something to satisfy that craving. Other wise it’s all cooked at home and not that processed flavored injected chicken/pork/beef. ie: at costco they have a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts (foster farms). We do a wonderful rotisery kinda bake in the oven a little pirex dish. a little water, non salt spices , a dash of crushed garlic , and oh man … succulent.
If you eat any canned foods , like “health” soups , read the label on the ammount of sugars , sodium , fat. Let alone the calories ie: Bush’s baked beans , Stag Chilli , Chicken noodle soup. Oh how I miss thee but oh well. I think it was a can of Walmart’s chicken noodle soup. something like 4.5 servings and the sodium/sugars/fats/calories were in the double 1000’s once you did the multiplication. lol
At my costco they sell gluten free bread (2 loaf about 9 bucks) by “Franz” Great stuff. Bakery with 2 locations here in the States. You can even order a pizza with a gluten free crust now a days at some pizza places. www franzbakery dot com.
So poiint being … start off small and take time to get to know the food you are eating. Some may surprise you in both positive and negative ways.
Avoid high fructose corn syrup, corn & carrots.
Bread wheat/whole grain or multigrain with real sugar is better then high fructose corn syrup.
Sweet potatoes I prefer the japanese sweet potato.
Steaks lion cuts, pork Tenderloin, fish and chicken breast skinless boneless.
8 years ago found out I had Diabetes it was over 12 took me 6 months to get to 5.6 at that point they removed the short term novolin r insulin and reduced the lantus insulin by 10 units so over the last 7+years I’ve kept it between 6.2 and 6.7
I also drink 4-6 liters of water a day and I also enjoy a coke 2-3 times a month but it is the Mexican Coke as it does NOT have high fructose corn syrup (but it does have real cane sugar)
You need to worry more about Carbohydrates then real sugar
Wait…carrots?
Not that I know, necessarily…I just figure anything I don’t much care for must be good for me. So this would be good news. 
My youngest kid was a Certified Sous Chef with Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Arts.
After I got out of the hospital from my storke (type 2 diabetes was found) she took me shopping and explained what I could have and not have.
Well, perhaps double-check carrots. I don’t like them…so they’re probably OK.
I know corn and peas are bad as they’re, I’ve been told, are “pure sugar” or get stored that way. Carrots are mostly water … right? I snack on them all time. cold with a sprinkle of sea salt. hahaha. yeah I know.
The GI ranking of a food shows how quickly the body absorbs glucose from that food. The body absorbs blood sugar much faster from high-GI foods than low-GI foods.
The glycemic index of corn is 52.
Frozen green peas score 39 on the GI index.
Carrots score 41 when boiled and 16 when raw.
Broccoli scores 10.
Tomatoes score 15.
Unfortunately and I hate to admit it the Diabetes and I have been adversaries since 2004 when it about killed me. I got the upper hand via diet and meds. The problem is since 2015 I’ve been suffering from stress, anxiety, and severe depression resulting in me stopping taking care of myself. So with the heart attack last week I had to make the decision of, do I toss in the towel and completely give up or fight one more time. Since I’m here sharing this with all of you it’s me starting the fight. I’m setting up appointment with new doctors and will be seeking counseling to get help breaking out of the nasty depression cycle that I’ve failed miserably at breaking myself out of.
So hopefully the fun me will return sooner than later lol.
BTW I’m feeling great so much better than I have been feeling over the past few months. It’s amazing how much better your body works when its actually getting the blood it needs.