WHEW...what a week...handling the pain has not been easy, but the Oxycontin has helped a bit...
As far as the records go....films, X-rays, MRI's...echo's...EKG's, doctors notes before, during and after surgery are all available; and I have every one down to the first EKG I had...you just need to call the hospital and request them. I have mine from my visit to Mayo...they even set me a VCR copy of my echo, etc. On the films, I believe they charge $5.00, for copies...also have my entire doctors report from my first heart cath at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in LA. And lovely Cleveland, from past visits, everything. One thing that is cool about Cleveland, IS you take your chart with you from test to test, so when one test is finished, you can read the entire report. I loved it, because it is always different from what they say, and you can get the entire picture, the entire story. After all its our body, and we need to know these things. Especially when you have surgery OUT OF STATE, what good are all those reports of mine sitting in OHIO?? So, it is imperative for the future that you have copies of everything.
WELCOME...HAVE FAITH, I will tell ya girl, you have just about every symptom there is for CP I am sorry to say. Funny because speaking of reports, when I was finally officially diagnosed about four years ago, I pulled all the reports from every doc I had seen. AND sure enough, at the bottom of one lonely X-ray 14 years AGO it said, "Possible calcification, probable constrictive pericarditis, follow up with MRI and Catscan" The tech had noted this at the bottom. Either my doctor didn't see it, or he chose to ignore it, but sure enough there it was. So that kind of also show's you how important it is to have ALL RECORDS in your hands. I have a whole file cabinet FULL of just my records...sad but true...
Teri, I was not on bypass, they decided because my calcification was so thick, they were concerned about clotting/bleeding problems which can sometime occur with bypass, so they cut on my heart while it was in full motion. I am not sure how he did it, but he did it..I can't wait for my records to arrive for this surgery. You will need to sign release papers, which you can easily fax back to them, I did it before I left the hospital, so they should be here shortly.
Have faith....please follow up, do not let what happened to me, happen to you....and let that diagnoses fly by because the doctors do not know how to treat it. Even a hospital as LARGE as CEDAR Sinai Medical Center in LA could not handle this surgery, but they were honest about it. MOST hospitals are not, and will attempt to do the surgery. DO not unless they can prove some how they are a highly experienced center, or at least as high as Cleveland and Mayo can prove. I know a man who had a pericardiectomy at a low or no experienced center/hospital with bad results, he is so traumatized he will not go back and is dying of congestive heart failure because he is so messed up. Can you get to Mayo or Cleveland? Cleveland Clinic has accommodations called "The Guest House", and its $35.00 a night. Awesome!
Okay guys, I am getting shooting pains, and burning in the insisions sites, and some send me hanging from the ceiling..also, pain in the heart that is pretty sharp, but goes away. Please let me know if this is normal...it sure hurts..Cathy