StrokeSurvivorBlog

On Monday, 1-12-09, Steve saw a Cardiac electrophysiologist for the atrial fibrillation. That’s a specialist who handles the electrical part of the heart. After greeting us, he recommended that Steve take the drug Coumadin (Warfarin). It’s a blood thinner that will help prevent a blood clot which could result in another ischemic stroke. There is nothing the doc can do for the A. Fib. We asked about shock treatment because we heard that it was effective in others, but he said there was too much artery damage for that to do any good. The drug will not correct the A. Fib, only thin the blood. However, it has many horrible side effects…too many that outweigh any benefits.

One side effect is bleeding which can trigger a hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke or internal bleeding. It was originally developed as a rat poison, so that tells all right there. Needless to say, I have no peace about Steve taking this drug.

The doctor didn’t like it that I questioned him about the side effects, and he tried to reassure me that many people take Coumadin and are just fine. However, in my research I found that everyone who took it has some negative side effects. With Steve’s sensitivity to these drugs, it’s in his best interest for quality of life not to take it.

For the last two days Steve had to wear a Holter heart monitor to register how many times he went into A. Fib. We just returned it today, so I don’t know any results yet. They also took a chest x-ray on Monday because of the wheezing, but we haven’t heard anything about that yet either.

Last night Steve felt the congestion in his chest break, and today he’s feeling better and not wheezing nearly as much. So thank you so much for your prayers. He is still very tired, and he sleeps during the day at least another 6-7 hrs. from the time he gets up in the morning.

I’m struggling with a cold, cough, nasal congestion, etc., so please keep me in prayer. My throat feels so raw that when I ate some grapefruit today, it burned all the way down.

Your prayers mean so much to us. It’s hard to pray when you’re not feeling well, so I appreciate all your encouragement, prayers and support during our time of need. You are such a blessing to us. Thank you.