Oh, I'm sure it will be fine........

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T

Teresa UK

I have my first ever angiogram on Thursday and so, being a good VR.Com-er, I did a thorough search on how everyone before me has found it. Mmmmm, lots of mixed reactions - some of them I really don't like the sound of.... But I keep telling myself that lots of people thought it was a piece of cake, so I hold onto that thought in the wee small hours when I analyse things too much and start to fret. (I'm sure you've all been there.) Strangely, the thing that bothers me the most is having to keep still !! I get a claustrophobic feeling if I have to stay still for more than a minute or so, and I'm always wanting to shake my legs as they get very achey. Anyway, I just wanted to get my thoughts down - therapy, and all that........
Take care, everyone.
 
Good Luck

Good Luck

Hi Teresa...just wanted to wish you well for Thursday. I had an angiogram just over a year ago. I was very worried about it beforehand as everyone had told me that I would be awake during the procedure and that I would be able to see what was happening. Well, on arrival at the theatre, they gave me a shot of "happy juice" and the next thing I knew, it was all over! Can't remember a thing (actually felt a bit disappointed that I had missed it all):rolleyes:

I was told that I had to lie down for 6 hours afterwards. The effects of the sedation meant that I drifted in and out of sleep a lot so I didn't really notice the time passing. If you are at all worried/nervous, just mention it to the nurses on the day and tell them you want as much "happy juice" as they can give you!

Let us know how you get on.
 
Angiogram

Angiogram

I had mine in London, in St George's, Tooting. You need to shave your groin before you get to the hospital. I wasn't given any 'happy juice' or other sedation, just local anaesthetic. It was, for me, completely painless. I watched the catheter on the screen, fascinating.

Once back in the ward I had to lie still for several hours. You will have something to exert pressure initially, to stop bleeding. You will be required to drinks lots. This means that you need to use a bedpan! Don't fight it, you will HAVE to use one with all that water you will be drinking. As you have to contend with gravity slightly and also the built-in reluctance to urinate while lying down in bed there is a knack. Completely relax rather than 'push', just let it dribble out! Sorry if this is too much information! :)

Once you have been back on the ward for a certain length of time you will be helped to sit on the edge of the bed, then to stand. You will no doubt be required to walk up and down the ward for a while, and only once you have been able to do that will you be allowed to leave.

You will be told what to watch for, possible complications, they will spell it out and what to do, ie whether to contact your GP or whether to dial 999!

You must have someone around ovenight, not be in a house alone.

I was sore for a couple of days, no bruising although I know some people do get bruising.

All in all, nothing to really worry about - I would cheerfully have another tomorrow, no trouble.
 
Wishing you well. It may not be a piece of cake (I consider having a piece of cake a very enjoyable experience, and angiograms, no matter how easy they are, can never be considered enjoyable!:D ) but as in most things, your fears are most likely going to be worse than the actual experience.
 
My last cath was done while I was fully anticoagulated and they did not want me to move even to use a bedpan. They decided to put in a catheter for urine and, I have to tell you, it was the greatest because I HATE using bedpans. If you do not mind the idea of a catheter, you might want to talk to them about that option. Drinking lots of water is required to get the dye out of your system and there is a lot of output.

Definitely ask for the happy juice if you do not want to watch the monitors. If you are not interested in watching, there is little reason to be fully awake.
 
Hey Teresa

Hey Teresa

I had my angiogram done in September, at Leicester. I went down to the angio theatre at 5pm and was ready to go home by 8.30. Watching the screen was fascinating. It really did not hurt and I could not feel the catherter going anywhere. The stranest bits were the dribble between the legs when they put the canula in and the feeling of weeing when they flush you. My main advice is when they tell you not to move, don't. This can increase bruising. As well as start off bleeding, but don't worry. I bled as I wriggled my toes, but it was only a vein not the artery. I'm glad they clafiried that. THe other advice is don't lift your neck to talk to anyone. Let them come to you. This apparently also can increase the bruising. I had to lie flat for half an hou, then propped up for one hour, then I could go home. Also once I was sat up I could eat and drink again. I was sore (you know...bruising sore) for a few days, nut that was it.
Good luck and hope you come back all clear.

Take care

Lotti
 
I had an Angiogram about four months ago and didn't think it was that bad at all. I was drugged up enough to be relaxed (didn't think that was even possible). They were also able put a "plug" in my artery when they were complete, so I didn't have to lie still for six hours and put pressure on the puncture hole. I believe I had to lie still for about two.
 
Me too

Me too

I had my first cath in July of last year. Not bad at all. I was afraid and thought it would be the worst thing ever. Then I found out I needed OHS. I also had a plug so I only had to lie with head down for one hour and then head up for one hour and then walk in the hall. Went home 2 1/2 hours after the procedure. You have to take it easy for a day or so. No driving. Limited stairs. Not bad as things go.
 
Ohh I am glad you posted this Teresa...

I am to be booked in for my 1st one of these soon too , and like you am more than a little aprehensive :eek: ...

I would LOVE to watch but I fear it may make me too nervous and then I would faint on them :eek: ...

Do they take a recording of this so I can have a copy of the DVD to watch later?

I will go do the VR.com thing and have a search as well...
 
Painless

Painless

I had mine last january and it was completely pain free. Plus I didn't remember a thing they did! I stayed at the hospital for six hours and then went home. I took the next day off work though because the puncture did feel tender.

Twos days later, since I was feeling so great, I rolled over on my punctured leg and slept,,,big mistake! I woke up about four in the morning unable to bend my leg, which had started to swell. Called a nurse on duty and she called a Dr on duty and they said to get to the ER. They did a dopler echo and determined that I must have dislodged the plug when I rolled over on my leg. Never seen that happen before they said. They put a sandbag on and I layed there for about five hours before they sent me home. My leg from the groin to the ankle turned into a big purple bruise. My biggest worry was that this would delay my valve surgery but it didn't. I went ahead and had that three days later. The leg and the heart turned out just fine.
 
Do they take a recording of this so I can have a copy of the DVD to watch later?

Hi Ton.

I was given a CD recording of my angiogram to take home with me. Due to the "happy juice" I missed the actual event but I was able to view the CD on my PC at home....not that I can really understand any of it :rolleyes:
 
Great...thanks for that Maureen...

I plan to ask for the full-dose of happy-juice...
I am a big wuss when it comes to this stuff
BUT
I didnt want to miss out on the action-movie either...bit tricky eh!...

I will definately be asking for my own copy of the DVD...
 
mine was done about 6 yrs ago. They put me 'out',, did the deed, put a plug in (it dissolved within about a month or so), made their prononcement, sent me home with news of surgery (bypasses). My brother's was done, they didn't put a plug in; he had to lie there for a couple hrs with a sandbag on the spot. He was ok - no surgical procedures in the offing for him. It was not a bad experience for either of us.
 
Maureen, I haven't yet made up my mind about whether to ask for happy juice or not. One minute I think I definitely will, the next that I definitely won't....
Sue, it'll be interesting to try out your recommended dribbling technique (!) - and as far as doing the home-barber-shop thing is concerned, they haven't mentioned anything and I have no idea at all how far I'd need to go (!) so I'm leaving well alone & letting them sort it out....
Lotti, I'm a bit confused about canulas and dribbling, as I'm not sure if you mean a bladder-catheter/wee in the way that Geebee mentioned (sorry, this is all a bit blunt, but that's life...) or the thing they do the angiogram with and some sort of saline flush through the artery/wound? (I'm learning, but I'm not as advanced as you with all the tecchie terms.)
The main thing I'm worried about is having to keep still, as I have such a problem with restless legs. That, and having to be flat on a bed - I can hardly breathe lying down and am usually propped up a bit.
Maybe happy juice would at least help me overcome the urge to wriggle my legs about. Anyway, thanks for all your advice and good wishes. I'll be off early in the morning so hopefully by this time tomorrow evening I can let you know how it all went.
Take care. Teresa.
 
Just wanted to wish you luck and say I hope it all goes really well tomorrow and you're one of those who feels its a 'piece of cake'!

Love Emma
xxx
 
I was so scared of the cath that I told them I had to be out; so not only happy juice, but they put me under. By the time I woke up I was done with the lying still thing and could get up immediately and walk around. No pain, no nothing.

So I highly recommend this tactic if you have great fears about the cath. I also got a good load of tranquillizers in the couple days leading up to the cath.
 
Well, all my fears about having to keep still were a waste of time, as they used my wrist and so I was quite mobile afterwards. An air-inflated wristband kept pressure on the wound and the air was slowly released over about an hour, which was fine. I just have to wear an arm sling for 3 days now. I wasn't offered any happy juice and didn't ask for any - but I certainly would if I had to have that procedure again! Either happy juice, or strict instructions for them to wait a decent amount of time between saying "this is the local anaesthetic" and diving in....... I'd also rather have them go the leg route, as I think probably the artery in your leg is bigger/easier than the one in your arm. 5 people out of 7 having the angio yesterday had the groin route with happy juice/slight sedation and they found it absolutely no problem at all. But the big tattooed bloke next to me who was hard as nails also had the wrist/no juice option and he agreed with me. So there you go, we live and learn. At the end of the day it was just 20 minutes of wishing I was somewhere else, and there are worse things than that. Anyway, the brilliant news is that my arteries are completely clear, so it was definitely worth it. I just wait another month now to see the surgeon and arrange a date for the AVR. Take care everyone.
Teresa
 
Wrist route

Wrist route

Did you ask them why they went for your wrist and not your groin? I have heard of them using an arm but I assumed it was further up, not at the wrist. Was it to do with you not being able to lie flat?
 
No idea!

No idea!

There were 7 of us waiting in a row of (reclining) chairs in the angio suite and the doctors checked each person's wrist pulse. 5 people were told their pulse "wasn't quite strong enough to go that route" and that they would have the entry site in their groin - they were all quite elderly people and that may have had something to do with it, but the chap next to me who was a similar age to me was told that as he was carrying a lot of weight they thought that if his wrist pulse was strong enough they would go that route and he said "great, that'll do me" and I enthusiastically asked if I could have it in the wrist as well (I'm small in height and although I'd like to lose a bit of weight, I'm probably in the average range). They checked my pulse and said it was ok. I didn't think to ask at the time if there was any difference in the procedure, but those who had the groin entry were flat on a bed, doped up/groggy/asleep as they came out and took a while to come to, sit up and then walk to one of the recliner chairs (about 3 hours from end of procedure to sitting in recliner), but they had no recollection of pain or discomfort at all. I and my other wrist-buddy walked in and walked out of the op room and were perfectly mobile, but had been given no happy juice or knockout drops at all, and so had a different memory of the procedure! They had to make several attempts in my wrist - it was difficult to navigate up my arm for some reason, and they were on the verge of reverting to my leg, but I told them to just go for it! which they did....... I have three puncture holes which are really sore, and my arm aches like crazy, but it's not so bad that I want to take paracetamol or anything. Other than that I felt absolutely fine from the minute I walked out of the op room.
 
This is the first time I've read of a member having the wrist used instead of the leg/groin. Disclaimer--I'm not saying it hasn't been posted before, just that it's the first one I remember--and I'm so glad you related your experience. It's always interesting how things are done in different ways, in different places, throughout the world.
Mary
 
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