Cardiac cath. test results in overnight hospital stay...

[Mike From Michigan]

I had my cardiac cath. test yesterday which went very well - very little pain like everyone said. However, because I was a "rare case" where they could not plug or stitch the incision because it was not at the aortic head (or something like that), they had to use old-fashioned direct pressure and then I had to lie still for 8 hours. They also wanted to keep me under observation because they wanted to fully hydrate me with an IV because of my AVR surgery on this Friday. Well everything was going fine (except for my back ache) when they took a look at the incision area after I had dinner (about 7 hours after the procedure) and saw a big ugly hematoma. The nurse quickly applied direct pressure for about 10 minutes to push the blood back in and the next thing I knew I was being admitted for overnight observation and had to have a sandbag over the area for 6 more hours. I was discharged today and have a HUGE black/blue/purple mark and some tenderness to show for it...

Oh well, may this be the "worst" thing that happens in the next few weeks...

Mike

 

[Ross]

This is what I love about people going for a Cath. They're all worried about the procedure, when it's not really the procedure that gets you, but the lying still for hours afterwards. I had some problems also. When it was all said and done, I looked like a bus had hit my right side and ran me over. Black and Blue for almost 2 weeks.

 

[Yaps]

Me too..

Me too..

This past January they put 3 stents in my hip, oh did I hemmorage.. it was bad.. Ive always had to stay ..for 5 days at least .. do all of you stay in the hospital that long?I can't get out of it..they always keep me 5 days..sometimes 6-7, this last one I had to have a lovenox shot before I left..went back to work 2 days later. I depise sitting in there so long. Feel guilty, give the bed to someone worse then me.. , but ...never happens.. Love Yaps

 

[tobagotwo]

Mike, that just sucks. It doesn't always pay to be unique.

Maybe you've gotten rid of all your bad luck up front, though. May the Deity please take that into account when you're recovering from your surgery.

Best wishes,

 

[Rich]

Hi Mike,
Sorry you had a problem.
I also had mine the 'old-fashioned' way, laying on your back for that length of time is no fun.
Hopefully things will get better from here out.
When my wife had her cath a few years ago they used the collagen plug.
Except they had trouble pushing in that plug and ended up totally blocking the artery which then required immediate surgery to repair the artery.
So maybe the old way isn't so bad.

 

[Randy'38]

3 Time loser

3 Time loser

Mike:

I've had three caths. The first one in '93 was the standard way. Had a pressure pad for about 6 hours but still had a big bruise down my thigh. The next one in '98, they used the collagen plug. After six hours, I got up and started to bleed immediately, resulting in an overnight stay. The last one this past April was a standard pressure way again. After 6 hours I got up and went home with no problem. I had a dime-sized bruise! So you never know. Sorry you had such a problem. Good luck in your surgery.

Randy'38

 

[Georgia]

Bummer, Mike. But frankly, that bruising is just preparatory to the bruising you'll have after surgery. Not a pretty site, but it's sortof like a carny sideshow - just can't stop looking at it.

Glad that's over; now just one more mountain to scale . . .

 

[KathyH]

Mike, sorry you had the problem with the cath, but like you said, hopefully the problems are over with. On a lighter note- after surgery it was wierd to see all the post op heart pt walking around. All the sternums were swollen just at the top of the hospital gown. I thought we all looked like a bunch of aliens from a science flick.
Good Luck with your surgery.
Kathy H

 

[dawnwit15]

Wow

Wow

Mike
As Bob H. put it, that sucks! My first surgery was a balloon valvuloplasty and I had to lay flat for 24 hours so I feel your pain my friend. On top of not being able to sit up or bend my knees, they had me on a bed pan instead of keeping a cath in to dispose of urine. Can you believe that? Since you also had to have the IV hydration, you can probably attest to the fact that it makes you have to pee every 15 minutes. Imagine this-I had to push the call button for the nurse to come in and roll me on my side so I could relieve myself in the bed pan. How humiliating! All sense of modesty was lost at that point. I laugh hysterically when I think back on it now.
Like you said, I hope that is the worst of it for you. Hopefully your surgery will go smoother. Hang in there!
Dawn

 

[medtronic of borg]

black and blue marks

black and blue marks

Arn't they pretty!!!!
Med

 

[McCln]

Mike

Mike

Sorry about what happened. I am sure you are feeling a little better now. I hope you never have that happen again. But we all know that things can happen that we cannot control. I hope that this incident does not deter you from going through the cathe again. Just glad you had no other problems and came out okay. Take care.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve

 

[Jed]

Not Fun

Not Fun

Hi Mike,
Your situation with your cath sucked, big time. Sounds like alot of people have their war stories, lol. Mine sucked big time too. The procedure went great and the plug worked great but thats where it all ends. When the rolled me out of the procedure room my chest was full of fluid. I had to keep caughing up this fluid. I asked the doctor why this is happening? I felt great going in there. He said it must have been the dye they put in the cathader. So he gave me Lasix to rid the fluid and that caused my blood pressure to drop, way low. I think it was in the 69 range. The nurses and Dr freaked out. They said my lips were blue. They put me on dopamine to get my blood pressure up. Well that dang Lasix was taking effect, i had to pee like a big dog, lol. One of the nurses wanted to put a cathader in me and i yelled NO! The Dr laughed and said give him a urinal. Right there in the hallway i did my business, lol. When you gotta go you gotta go, lol. All modesty was out the window after that. Well to make a short story long, they admitted me for the night and most of the next day to stabalize my blood pressure. I felt great walking in there. They darn near killed my butt. Glad they reacted like they did just wish it didn't happen. I guess it doesn't always go as smoothly as they would like. In the end they realized my heart wasn't as strong as they origionally thought so they pushed my VR forward. I was supposed to have my surgery yesterday but a echo on my carotid arteries showed narrowing so, back to the drawing board. Grr Anyway my results from the cath were great, the test almost killed me though, lol. Keep the faith and god bless, Jed