Gore-Helix and Nickel allergy ? for Amy and anyone else with info please

I had an asd closure on april 22.
If you are given the choice for surgery and not an implant i would go for it. Surgery may leave you with a scar and longer recovery at the time. With an implant you still face that if it doesnt close or if you get a blood clot.
I also can not wear any kind of cheap jewelry.Has to be nickel free or gold. Was told it didnt have any nickel in it and believed my Dr. There is nickel in them. Mine is an amplatzer septal occluder which is the highest in nickel. It has been a month and still having cronic hives and became dermatographic.(skin writing)Which i didnt have before implant .All the allergist around me when they find out why i want tested either wont see me or say i need to be seen at the cleveland clinic.(which is a long ways from where i live )It is a whole lot easier getting them put in than it is to get them out.
This is not to meation all the chest pain and tachy that is going along with it. chest pain is anywhere from what i can imagine bengay rubbed in heart ,bunch of stick pin ,ice pick, electricity or charlie horse in my heart would feel like.also my blood pressure rises then all of a sudden falls.when it falls i become very weak, start stumbling and get a very bad headache. Then it will rise really fast and i can feel the pressure in both veins in my neck and then pressure in my head feels like someone needs to pop the cork.
They are now trying to tell me my adrenal glands are causing all my problems.Having a very hard time believing them but waiting on test results.
I know there is success stories but i wish i had followed my first gut reaction.Not let the Dr scare me over having open heart surgery and with his this is sooo much easier story . My Dr isnt the one stuck wearing this i am.
Right now i am considering the Melisa test . They can test your blood to see what metals you are allergic to but is costly

does anyone know of a good doctor--anywhere--that does these closures with the least amount of problems?
Such as Cleveland Clinic? or Johns Hopkins, etc.

I am also concerned of allergy..I am being tested for nickel and titatinum allergies..but doctor wants to use the Helex.

I also have been diagnosed with Platypnea Orthodeoxia...anybody else?

Are there any doctors in the midwest that anyone would recommend for PFO closures?
Also, what devices have the least amount of symptoms?
Amplatzer? Helix? etc.?

Percutaneous Closure Devices for PFO Repair :

Link:  http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/congenital/pfo.aspx

MyPFO - I had my ASD repair in August, 2011. I have had very few problems. I had a 12mm hole which had gone undetected on all my studies. My initial heart problems began with runs of SVT. I had an ablation three years ago which has been successful. I began coughing last February, followed by a cardiology appointment in July. We knew I had about 7 small pinholes (from echo and MRI). I called the surgeon and he said lets fix it. Interestingly enough, once the MD was in (via the groin), he found my 12 mm hole. I now have a Gore Helix implant covering the 12mm hole as well as a few of the pin holes. I will have more tests in January to determine another implant to cover the remaining holes.

I think the questions you need to ask yourself are how big is the hole? Are their other smaller holes around on the septal wall. I signed a consent to do cardiac cath but allow the MD to open my chest if he needed to. We had an OR ready and waiting. I am soooo thankful at 44 that I chose the route I did. I have an amazing surgeon who listens to me. The initial cardiologist (for my rhythm disturbance) came into the cath lab when they visualized the larger hole. She was astounded and when I finally was coherent she said, no wonder you felt so crappy. I am blessed that she listened to me and was willing to order the "million dollar" workup.

I am still tired but each day gets better. I have had to come off the plavix as well, my blood was getting way too thin. I looked like the human bruise.
Not sure if this helps but I am a success story!

I just had my pfo/asd closed last week using the gore helex device. So far, everything looks good but I have not yet had a follow up echo. My one piece of advice would be to NOT go home the day of the procedure. My procedure was done at 1:00 pm and I went home after and this was a mistake. Had a scary episode of palpitations, extreme nausea, hot and sweaty, couldn't sit up. My husband almost loaded me in the car to go straight back to the hospital, but the symptoms thankfully subsided.
Otherwise, now 6 days post-op, I am feeling pretty well with the exception of the thickness in my chest and ringing in my left ear. I have a call into neurology about that one.
Otherwise I feel great and am wondering if I can begin to work out. I agree with other posts to this site indicating that post-op direction with this procedure is quite vague.
Thanks to Mistle30 for earlier reply. I hope you are still doing well!