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Explains your concern about heat Explains your concern about heat Well, I guess that explains your concern about negative feedback. I use an INRatio and I didn't look for any real bargins when I bought it. The medical supplier I purchased it from dropped its asking price 50% when company...

Got Heat? Got Heat? Why would you catch heat for owning two meters? It's interesting in a good way that you got matching readings from both machines. That should boost your confidence in both machines. Is there enough difference in the cost of test strips to make one of the machines more...

Second Opinion Second Opinion Good luck with the second opinion. It's never good news to hear about a member needing to do valve replacement surgery again. Bottomline, artificial valves have a better track record of longevity. Speaking of records, here's another case of, "Geez, my doctors...

Liability? Liability? Interesting comments in response to the initial post, but I'm curious... since when do replacement valves, tissue or mechanical, come with any kind of guarantee of longevity? Sure, on occasion, there's been some kind of class action law suit or recall if defective...

Click... click Click... click Body acoustics vary among individuals. Sometimes I can hear my valve click... most often I can't. -Philip

Purchase v. Lease Purchase v. Lease I decided to purchase my monitor. My insurance company initially refused to pick-up the tab, but after six months of battling I did get reimbursed. I prefer to test weekly and sometimes do twice a week if I feel it's necessary. Insurance never has paid for...

Adjustments Adjustments I can't speak to the pacemaker issue as I don't have one of those, but I've had a few of years experience with coumadin. Perspectives vary regrading adjustment to coumadin. I had lots of questions fairly early on, but my adjustment was pretty quick. It quickly became a...

Graft Longevity Graft Longevity As others have noted, my surgeon and cardiologist told me my dacron graft should be working just fine when the rest of me quits. This said, there always seem to be exceptions and with valve replacements as well as aortic grafts there are never any guarantees...

Great Story Great Story That's a great story! While i never pursued military service, I really wanted to pursue a civilian pilot's license as I was growing up. Unfortunately, when I tried to pass the required physical, the doctor refused to pass me due to my heart mumur. Despite this, the...

Upcoming Upcoming God speed, Tam... look forward to hearing how things go. -Philip

Exercise & INR Exercise & INR Metabolic rate impacts my INR. Regular exercise tends to speed my metabolic rate up so it requires higher coumadin doses to keep in range. I seldom have the same number week-to-week. It typically moves up and down within my range if I dose correctly. I try to...

Juice Juice Drink plum juice... it tastes good and keeps things moving. -Philip

Ebay & Comparing Results Ebay & Comparing Results I know several people who've purchased from e-bay suppliers and done okay. They tell me checking the expiration date on the strips is essential. I've never had much luck with attempts to verify results from my monitor with tests from a lab...

Weights? Weights? I was doing light weights with lots of reps around week four of my cardio rehab program. Keep in mind, I started my rehab program when I was two weeks post-op. They had me using some kind of big rubber band things during week three of the program. -Philip

Good Cleaning? Good Cleaning? Other than being told not to eat anything past a certain time the night before surgery, I received nothing to clean me out before surgery. The way they expalined the B.M. issue to me was that the meds they use during surgery simply shut things down. It just takes...

HR Drop after Exercise HR Drop after Exercise No James, I've not noticed my heart rate staying-up after exercise. Here's an example: I did 2.5 hours on my road bike this morning. My heart rate during the ride peaked at 171; my average was 154. As I sit here writing this my resting heart rate...

Tanning Tanning Here's a possible alternative... I was riding with a group of cyclists out of Phoenix a couple of weeks ago. When we stopped for breakfast several members were discussing alternatives to give our white feet and ankles some color to blend with our tanned legs. Several members...

Metoprolol Metoprolol They tried to put me on Metoprolol following AVR surgery, but I broke out in an extreme rash within minutes of taking the first pill. Needless to say, I was off it pretty quick. They did put me on something else (another beta blocker), but the name of the drug escapes me...

Age? Age? I was originally diagnosed with a bicuspid valve when I was in seventh grade... that made me maybe 13. I avoided surgery with no symptoms until I was 51. -Philip

Clothing Clothing Experiences really do vary and you'll figure things like clothing out when your surgery is done. Personally, I didn't have any issues with clothing. I wore whatever I wanted. -Philip