Blood pressure update.

[audioguru]

Yeah, but your heart rate only went up for what 15 seconds when you were...the wife, no danger there right... Hee Hee

15 seconds is much too short because I am not a "wham bam thank you ma'm" kind of guy. Maybe I rushed the deed 50 years ago.

EDIT: I have been "doing it" for half a century! I wonder how many thousands of times?

 

[Rbeckett]

Thanks Mike, my spread usually is around 45-50 with all the meds working right, but this week has been a lot more activity and traveling so they were a little concerned, but OK'd it under supervision. I have to take my pressure evry 4-6 hours awake and immediately upon awakening and just prior to bed. I'm actually on a pretty tight leash all things considered. I am at a dialysis clinic 6 hours 3 times a week and take all the other measurements and turn them in to the nephrologist and cardiologist so I dont get to stray too far from doctors and medicla folks. I am actually the first survivor of this transplant operation at the hospital that did it so they are very proud of their hadiwork and follow me like a puppy. From what I understand the world wide sucess rate for this surgery is only 20% wake up after sucessfull re-attatchment and movement to recovery. I was told going in that the deck was stacked against me and that I should have my will and all my affairs in order when they discovered the leaks. I'm pretty happy being around and even getting to go to follow ups since I got spine damage from the original infection that took away my ability to walk for about a year too. So not too shabby for an old mechanic huh? And I decided to learn electronics and microprocessor programming to keep busy when I am not in my fab shop playing with metal. Trust me, LIFE IS GOOD!!!!
Bob

 

[Rbeckett]

Nigel, would you and AG like to hear the whole story of what happened to me a little over a year ago? It might be a little long for the forum, but it is an intersting read with all the evnts that took place. If you guys are interested in an insane story let me know.
Bob

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Nigel, would you and AG like to hear the whole story of what happened to me a little over a year ago? It might be a little long for the forum, but it is an intersting read with all the evnts that took place. If you guys are interested in an insane story let me know.
Bob

We're always up for a crazy story

 

[JimB]

Story... Story... Story... Story... Story...

Lets hear it!

JimB

 

[Rbeckett]

Ok, it's a little long but here goes. Background I was 5'10", 285 lbs and healthy as a mule. Never needed a doctor and working in Iraq as a combat vehicle mechanic. Get ready for a much needed R&R, buy tickets and wait at job site in desert for Airlift to Baghdad. Help another contractor lift a 600+ pound tire and wheel assembly. Leave Iraq with slight backache. Arrive in Thailand to begin additional training fpr rescue diver certification. Complete training and set out to enjoy a 3 day trip on a live aboard dive boat in search of whale sharks. Arrive at Hin Dang, drop in on first dive and swim in a school of whale shark. The next two dives are just as good. The final dive of the day we are diving with a swarm of Giant Spotted and Eagle Manta Rays. Get out of the water that evening and lay down for bed. Wake up in the morning with a splitting earache, so diving is off the list till that works itself out. 2 days of seasickness and intense pain later we get back to shore and I go to the local international medical clinic and get a shot to clear up the ear infection and I am getting better. Still have a nagging llittle pain in my back from lifting that tire. I am uncomfortable but continue my vacation as my ears heal. Finish up and head back to Dubai to rally for going back into Iraq. Arrive after a 5 hour flight to Dubai and find myself unable to lift my carry on bag. Report this and get ejected from the company motel and have to find my own accomodations. Convince the company the following morning I need to go to the hospital and I am ill. Spend a day in the hospital and it's decided that I have a back strain. I am discharged with modern Arab pain killers and put on a 14 hour flight to the US. The 2 750MG Tylenols wear off 4 hours into the flight, so I sit, stand and lay down for the next 10 hours. Finally arrive in Atlanta and get the full strip search since I am now nearly unable to walk. Arrive at my home and call for transport, my wife takes me directly to the doctor. Doc says back strain, treatment begins and I get something stronger than an aspirin for the first time. After 10 days of no improvement a Chiropractor freind say something else has to be wrong, sis they take any blood and look for infection? So I schedule another appointment, but cannot even get out of bed to go to the appointment. The first ambulance trip to the hospital goes smoothly, all 23 bumpy miles. The hospital takes a blood sample and sends me to intensive care to start killing the massive infection I have with no name. After 4 days of IV antibiotics they say, we have to stop the meds and let you get sick again because we killed the infection markers and cant grow what you have in the lab. So it stops and I go back uncondious and back up to intensive care. Now the results come back, I am growing Gramm negative and Gramm posiyive infections at the same time, not possible but I am doing it. So the massive antibiotics start around the clock. As the meds fo in they decide I need to have a catscan and find the swelling around my spine from the infection disolving the bone. They prescribe Heparin to keep from getting clots. The next morning I am back in ICU with blood as thick as mud, I am alergic to heparin. So heroic efforts finally correct this and a lung colapses from the abses from the infection. In go the drains and a tube to reinflate the lung. Thats when we find out that Ambien make me a crazy person and I try to escape from the enemy hospital and pull all of that out. At least the struggle against the restraint re-inflates the lung, but I have pnumonia now and I am drowning in my own juice. Now to the iso room for treatment for TB. Only problem is I dont have TB and the meds make me sicker. Finally call hospital agency and get that stopped and get sent to a rehab hospital for antibiotics and drain removal eventually, Since I am imobilized I am getting a catscan every other day to check lung, infection and drain tube placement. Al is good till they find my aorta in my abdomin has swollen to the size of a fist and is starting to leak. This is a kill you quick deal. Another ambulance ride back to the hospital and upstairs to the surgical ward. Outlook bleak, only 20$ wake up that even survive the surgery. But first they have to reverse the blood thinners again. Of course they over do those meds so I am as thin as water and wont clot at all now. 2 days trying to get that set so they can do emergency Aortic transplant. I tell em it's the 27 of June, I dont want to wake up till the 4th of July Nascar race since the only other time I ever had surgery I woke up on the table in real pain. It goes good, I survive and wake up July 2nd, a little early but OK. Now I look like a telephone exchange with all the tubes pipes and plumbing, and I have alreasy lost over 100 pounds. So in goes the feeding tube, which immediately makes me sicker with a reaction to some thing inside the mix. Then they figure out that I had a clot in the only kidney they could re-attatch is whats causing that. Off to dialysis to get the swelling down and water level where it is supposed to be. Back to the rehab hospital after a month longer at the big hospital. Going home soon maybe.... The infection flares back up, this time in my kidney, spine and lung again. Trip three back in tha ambulance. Another 3 weeks on high dollar antibiotics and the decision I should take them for life after all of this. Get sent to a nursing home and start trying to learn to walk again. Fianlly get sent home. I bring home a ton of meds and a nes buddy caled C-Def, which is uncontrollable projectile diarhea. So now I am dehydrating and continuing to loose weight and all of the meds kick in and I am unable to maintain conciosness. Apparently I am in the midst of an opiate overdose. Another trip back to the hospital in tha ambulance and 2weeks in the ICU and 2 more weeks in the nursing home to resolve that. While in the ER this time they decide that it would be a good idea to administer a drug called Narcan. It is designed to rescue heroin addicts who have overdosed themselves and has a very intersting set of side effects. First and foremost it makes you combative, so out come the restarints again. Then it empties you Bowels and your bladder. I promptly urinate on the entire ER staff while my wife is swearing "he's a dialysis patient, I swear he hasnt even got kidneys, I dont know how he is doing that". So I finally get sent home again, with a another new anti-seizure drug called dialntin. 3 months later I get a come hither demand for another Catscan to see if I am having any more drug seizures, well of course I am not. I am taking an antiseizre medication. So the 1400.00 dollars they are demanding for this test will prove nothing. I am weened off the dilantin, and told come to the ER if I start having trouble. I think I got that part figured out by now. And if I had taken the additional Catscan the outcome and direction would have been exactly the same. I am home now, and managed to stay here for just over a year without any more rides in the hurt wagon. I rarely ever go more than 60 hours without seeing or being seen by a member of the medical community in one form or another. So if you know Murphy, he has been living at my house for the last 16 months. If you took the time to read all of this, add the theme music from the circus in the background and you will have some idea of how it's been for me in the last year or so. As it stands, I go to dialysis 3 days a week, and take more pills than any normal human being should be capable of, but I survived murphy and the train wreck of unreported high blood pressure and a little common every day run of the mill infection called klebsiella.
Bob...

 

[Rbeckett]

So, I am having fun, what about you guys? I kicked Murphy out, so you are on your own if he shows up at your houses.
Bob

 

[JimB]

Yes, I did read it all.

That sounds awfull, but the bit which stuck in my mind was the statement:

Report this and get ejected from the company motel and have to find my own accomodations.

Sounds like a great company you work(ed) for, guy is sick - throw him out!

JimB

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

That sounds like a real nightmare, it's amazing you survived it - but at least you did.

 

[audioguru]

Hi Bob,
You have been through hell but returned to life. You were extremely unlucky then got lucky.

I guess I have never been unlucky but instead I have always been lucky.
I was going blind then had two cataracts operations and now my vision is perfect.
I had a heart attack, had two stents intalled in two blocked heart arteries and no damage was caused.
I am allergic only to live rabbits (my daughter has her second one).
Most importantly, I am retired so every day is a Saturday. I do whatever I want whenever I want.

 

[Rbeckett]

Yes, I did read it all.

That sounds awfull, but the bit which stuck in my mind was the statement:

Sounds like a great company you work(ed) for, guy is sick - throw him out!

JimB

Yeah tested me for drugs and alcohol before they would take me to the hospital. Dont drink or drug. Claimed I was unfit to work and booted me onto the sidewalk in an Arab country and had to get my own accomodations for big bucks. All my poor wife could say for about 7 months is "what now". Everyday is a gift.....

 

[Mikebits]

It seems as though your company acted inappropriately, quite possibly negligent. Was this a US contractor? Seeing that you got sick in a foreign land under your companies flag, I would think they are somewhat responsible for your medical care at least. I really dunno but have you consulted with an attorney?

 

[Mikebits]

So let me see if I got this straight. Male 5'10" 285lbs BP? with chief complaint of severe back pain.Original Dx is back strain and sent home with acetaminophen. Pain worsens opiate analgesics administered for pain, sent home.Again symptoms deteriorate, upon return to the ER blood labs reveal severe septic shock. Broad range antibiotics are administered. BP? Narcan given to negate opiate analgesics.
CT scan reveals osteo-deterioration as a result of sepsis. Heparin administered to prevent a thrombosis (Probably made matters worse with aorta ). At this point labwork reveals severe kidney damage. Subsequent Ct scan shows a abdominal descending aortic dissection rupture.
Man, sounds like you went to hell and back. I agree with AG, you were unlucky to have this happen to you but lucky to live and tell about it. Hope things get better for you.
So if I understand the chain of events from cause to effect, it went as follows:

High BP (Possibly from arteriosclerosis) ---> Aortic dissection--->blood leak into abdomen
---> Sepsis of blood----> septic shock--->hypo-volemic shock----> irreversible kidney damage
---> dialysis

Since your body did not reject the replacement aorta are you a candidate for kidney transplant? Is this possible?

Hope things get better.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

My uncle was helping his son move some stuff and complained of lower back pain. Turned out the doc saw something on the x-ray and didn't further investigate. He died of an aortic aneuyrism.

Similar, but with a much worse outcome.

Just recently we learned of a neighbor who was having a tooth filled and complained of a massive headache. The dentist office called 911 and she was diagnosed with a massive brain hemmorage and is currently in a coma. Hopefully she'll pull through, but we were told the prognosis doesn't look good.

 

[HiTech]

Rbeckett (Bob) and I have been exchanging some very nice PMs. He's an amazing person, not only for surviving the almost unsurvivable, but for the optimistic outlook on life he has and practical knowledge of other topics, as well as just being a fun guy to exchange ideas and ****-chat with. We both help keep each others spirits lifted.

 

[killivolt]

Incredible

Rbeckett (Bob) I didn't have time to finish reading your story. However, your experience should be shared.

I was thinking about people on Television. A program called (I shouldn't be Alive).

Good to have you here. (Incredible)

kv

 

[Rbeckett]

So let me see if I got this straight. Male 5'10" 285lbs BP? with chief complaint of severe back pain.Original Dx is back strain and sent home with acetaminophen. Pain worsens opiate analgesics administered for pain, sent home.Again symptoms deteriorate, upon return to the ER blood labs reveal severe septic shock. Broad range antibiotics are administered. BP? Narcan given to negate opiate analgesics.
CT scan reveals osteo-deterioration as a result of sepsis. Heparin administered to prevent a thrombosis (Probably made matters worse with aorta ). At this point labwork reveals severe kidney damage. Subsequent Ct scan shows a abdominal descending aortic dissection rupture.
Man, sounds like you went to hell and back. I agree with AG, you were unlucky to have this happen to you but lucky to live and tell about it. Hope things get better for you.
So if I understand the chain of events from cause to effect, it went as follows:

High BP (Possibly from arteriosclerosis) ---> Aortic dissection--->blood leak into abdomen
---> Sepsis of blood----> septic shock--->hypo-volemic shock----> irreversible kidney damage
---> dialysis

Since your body did not reject the replacement aorta are you a candidate for kidney transplant? Is this possible?

Hope things get better.

Mike, thats pretty close. The kidney failure was from a clot after the cadaveric aortic transplant, but pretty close on the rest. The kidney transplant would be OK, but the lifetime antibiotic supression is an issue as well as the quality of life and mobility issues from the spinal column damage from the original infection causing infiltration into the spinal canal and seating in my major organs. Not much sense repairing the plumbing if the vehicle wont go and the infection is easily re-awakened.

Kiss, that is exactly what was happening to me.

Killi. I shouldnt be alive, but I managed to get past all of it so I just do the best I can with the cards I got and drive on every day. The TV show people would freak out if they saw my med records. Last time it was thinned it was over 1000 pages. And the ins co has paid over a million dollars so far, and the bills are still coming in. It's crazy, trust me.
Bob

 

[HiTech]

As far as "I Shouldn't Be Alive" I believe that both Bob and I shouldn't be alive stemming from our drinking and motorcycling days of old .... let alone our recent health issues!!

 

[HiTech]

15 seconds is much too short because I am not a "wham bam thank you ma'm" kind of guy. Maybe I rushed the deed 50 years ago.
EDIT: I have been "doing it" for half a century! I wonder how many thousands of times?

There's a saying that goes: "I used to do it all night long; now it takes me all night long to do it!"

 

[Rbeckett]

There's a saying that goes: "I used to do it all night long; now it takes me all night long to do it!"

Hee hee, when I was in the hospital near the beginning of this disaster the intern kept asking if I had employed the services of Thai hookers. I finally got irritated and looked at the guy and said, "look i'm over 50, and it doesnt work good any more, so what am I gonna do with it when I run it down and catch it" He finally got the point. The kid musta been 22, barely old enough to shave, let alone drink. Sorry, that may have been a little too.... but you get the point.
Bob