Te surgeon sent me home today with an abdominal aortic aneurysm

[Bobbieo]

He said nothing can be done for me. I'm not really freaked out as I'm 82 years of age, five feet four and 125 pounds, so I'm not overweight and fairly active for my age. I haven't smoked for almost 20 years and no longer drink - damn it!!!

Any suggestions as to diet, exercise, aspirin, meds., etc. while I'm waiting to meet the Creator

[Pam-Moby]

1. I have no advice. But I am praying that your health

gets better quickly. hugs

[Fridays Child]

2. Holy damn! I will surf treatment tips for you!

Okay...so far, don't smoke and keep your blood pressure low. I'll see if there's anything else.

But, in the meanwhile, why are you not being considered for surgery? :(

[Bobbieo]

11. Not considered for surgery

Surgeon says it's it too close to my heart and I'm too old!!!

[Fridays Child]

19. I just read that...

...if they are greater than five centimeters in size or if they are rapidly increasing in size, surgery is recommended. What size is yours and are you going to get a second opinion?

Edit: I see that you're in Yuma. Have you thought of coming to Tucson for more options? You know that the UofA has a highly-rated hospital, and I think cardiovascular surgery is a big specialty here.

[Redstone]

21. Get another doctor. My grandfather had an aneurism repaired when

he was a couple of years older than you, and that was twenty-five years ago!

Get another doctor.

Redstone

[SPKrazy]

3. get a second opinion

make sure your blood pressure is good

take care of yourself

make sure your affairs are in order

enjoy the moment none of us know when we will meet our creator!

God Bless!

[Cassandra]

4. Eeeek!

Well, I'd reconsider doing sit-ups.
Seriously, did the doctor give you any recommendations as to diet or exercise, or even indicate that it matters? In the absence of other advice, I would recommend enjoying yourself; do things you enjoy.

[Bobbieo]

16. EEEk Plus

Thar's what the surgeon more or less told me. He siad nothing about size or leakage!!!

[Imalittleteapot]

5. What reason did he give?

Why can't he do something? Age or what?

Get a second opinion!!!!

[kikiek]

6. Are they monitoring it? How big is it and is it leaking? Hope it isn't

painful. I would ask your MD those questions.

[sasha031]

7. oh I am so sorry

should you go for a 2nd opinion?

[elfin]

8. Get a second opinion!

As far as I know (which is not all that much) - it is treatable with surgery, and if not, not necessarily life threatening.

Good wishes from elfin

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. It's like this.... read this... and then we will talk out in the open

right here....

1: Med Sci Monit. 2004 Jan;10(1):HY1-4. Related Articles, Links


Aneurysm: prevention and nonsurgical repair.

Ely JT.

Radiation Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. [e-mail]

The approximately 4000 'normal' mammals that synthesize ascorbic acid produce on average circa 50 mg/kg per day routinely. Although humans have the same needs as normal mammals, they do not produce ascorbic acid at all and, on average, ingest only circa 1 mg/kg per day. The normal mammals' much larger production enables them to continually renew structural proteins, including both collagen, a flexible but inelastic tissue, and elastin, the elastic connective tissue. As a result, many normal mammals maintain a 'youthful' appearance with little gross anatomical change from age of maturity (i.e, first estrus) to more than 20 times age of maturity. In stark contrast, the extremely small ascorbic acid intake of humans does not enable them to maintain a youthful flexibility and elasticity beyond possibly 6 times age of maturity (most have died before 8 times). This loss of youthful qualities in structural proteins results in susceptibility for many forms of deterioration in both appearance and properties of vascular and other structural tissues. One such deterioration is aortic aneurysm, a common cause of morbidity and mortality. We hypothesize herein that improved dietary intake of essential nutrients needed to enhance the renewal of all structural proteins can: (1). prevent this deterioration completely; and (2). cure even large aortic aneurysms without surgery.

Publication Types:
Review

PMID: 14704639

[Redstone]

20. Balls. I simply do NOT believe that Vitamin C can CURE

an aneurism. That's utter rubbish. Once the wall of the artery inflates, it's like a ballon that's been blown up; even if you deflate it by letting the air out, it's not going to be as elastic as it was before.

I hope that Bobbieo can find some help with her problem. But Vitamin C ain't going to be what she needs.

Sorry to be so harsh, because I know you're trying to help, but telling someone that Vitamin C will cure an aneurism is not helpful, because it won't.

Redstone

[ClayZ]

10. Here is what medlineplus says....

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000162.htm

snip>
Aneurysms develop slowly over many years and often have no symptoms. If an aneurysm expands rapidly, tears open (ruptured aneurysm), or blood leaks along the wall of the vessel (aortic dissection), symptoms may develop suddenly.
snip>

[fedupinBushcountry]

12. Get a second opinion

There is surgery that can be done to correct it. Please get another opinion.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

13. Can you get a 2nd opinion?

Doctors don't always agree, nor see a condition in the same way.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. I'd get another opinion

However, my dad has an aortic aneurysm that they found about 5 years ago and he's still going. They do an MRI every 6 months to make sure it hasn't got any bigger. If it does they said they would put in a stent and he's in his 70's. So hopefully, having something like this isn't necessarily an automatic death sentence. Good luck.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

15. Limited benefit from antioxidants.... article.

http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/4/560

Although the present findings clearly indicate that ROS and oxidative stress are locally enhanced in AAA, they do not prove a pathogenic role in the initiation or progression of the disease process. Investigation of the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of AAA would require a large clinical trial using effective antioxidant therapy to be conducted over several years. Considering the magnitude of oxidative stress in AAA and the limited efficacy of nutrient antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, the latter agents might be of little or no benefit in treating AAA. Moreover, our demonstration of an increased expression of NAD(P)H oxidase in the aneurysmal tissues suggests that targeted inhibition of this enzyme may be a promising approach in the treatment of AAA. Thus, the present findings suggest that additional studies to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of AAA are warranted.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

22. Another good/great resource.

http://www.n101.com/Static/HNs/Concern/Peripheral_Vascular_Disease.htm <--- More at link

Nutritional supplements that may be helpful
As with other vascular diseases, people with TAO are more likely to have high levels of homocysteine and low levels of folic acid.4 However, no research has tested folic acid as prevention or treatment for this disease.

One controlled study compared a type of niacin (vitamin B3) known as inositol hexaniacinate to the drug pyridinolcarbamate for the treatment of skin ulcers caused by PVD.5 A placebo was not included in this trial, and both 1.2 grams daily of inositol hexaniacinate and 1.5 grams daily of the drug produced beneficial results in about half of the patients.

As in many vascular diseases, people with AAA often have abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels,6 and their blood vessel walls contain evidence of free radical damage.7 8 However, it is not known whether lowering blood fats or taking free radical-destroying antioxidants will reduce the risk of AAA. The arterial walls of AAA are depleted of large molecules related to cartilage, including chondroitin sulfate,9 10 but no research has investigated whether supplements of chondroitin sulfate might help prevent problems with AAA. Copper is required for normal artery structure.11 Animal studies have shown that copper deficiency leads to weak aortic walls12 and rupture of the aorta.13 Combating deficiency with copper supplements prevented rupture in an animal study.14 Copper deficiency in humans with AAA has been suggested in some studies,15 16 but not in others.17 18 19 No studies have been done using copper supplements to prevent or manage aneurysms.

[boobooday]

17. Do whatever you want, baby

You earned it. If eating healthy and all that will get you more time, then do it, otherwise, if it was me, I would HAVE FUN.

You sound like you have it together. Best wishes to you.

:toast:

[Warpy]

18. Well, make sure you have pain meds on hand

and I'm talking opiates. Aneurysms can leak or enlarge for a long time before anything catastrophic happens, and both can cause back pain, something you'll need to control. As for diet and exercise, just do what you ordinarily do. Aspirin can increase bleeding, a bad thing in case of slow leakage, irrelevant in the worst case. Carefully controlled blood pressure can forestall the inevitable somewhat.

At the age of 82, you really don't want the repair operation, even if it is operable, it's a miserable one and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. However, if I were you, I'd get a second opinion. Another surgeon might look at your overall state of health instead of your age and think repair is worth the risk. Then again, it might be inoperable, period. A second opinion will tell you for certain.

If catastrophe occurs, what will happen is the worst back pain you've ever had in your life, quickly followed by unconsciousness and a quick exit. It's actually one of the better ways to go, in that it's pretty quick, and you stay alert and active until it happens. Then again, you might go out for your daily walk tomorrow and get hit by a bus, so it is not an inevitable end.

I hope you stay alive and raising hell for years to come!

[The empressof all]

23. locking

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