So I am just going to start immediately with stats and then go on to what transpired on the evening of Day 31 (3-15-2017) .
Today’s stats: 3/20/2017
Begin Date: 2/13/2017
Starting Weight: 351.6 Today’s Weight : 327 Total Weight Loss: 24.6 lbs
Days: 35 Average Weight loss: .70 lbs per day
Wednesday evening I was having terrible pain for the second evening in my lower area. I finally ended up going to the emergency department to get it looked at out of fear that I had either torsion or a hernia it turned out to be just a pulled groin muscle. No idea how I did it but thats what it is.
However that was not all that was diagnosed that night. As part of the diagnostics to rule out problems and get to the bottom of the issue they did a CT scan with contrast. The CT Scan revealed I have a 3.6cm Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. I have been devastated since receiving this news, hence the lack of updates here since last Wednesday. This is not good at all especially since I am already on blood thinners and already have had a repair done on my ascending aorta for an aneurysm. That surgery was not easy and it took me months of cardiac rehab to recover.
I never thought I would be dealing with an aneurysm issue again.
At this point I am still waiting to hear back from my doctor. They told me at the emergency department that at the current size they wont do anything for it. However that does not mean it will not or can not blow it simply means the risk of surgery outweighs the risk posed by the aneurysm. This was not present two years ago on another scan and if that is correct and this scan is correct then it grew quickly which is dangerous.
At this point I am continuing to lose weight as quickly as I can. I have also been heavily researching herbal remedies and foods that may reduce the size of it, strengthen arteries, add collagen to connective tissue and help to reduce and remove plaque.
As part of that plan I am now concentrating on eating more beneficial fruit. I have added pomegranate juice to my diet which I will be drinking an 8oz serving everyday for at least a year. As I read actual medical studies stating that reductions in atherosclerosis have been recorded when a patient had done this.
I am looking into Hawthorne berries which are supposed to improve connective tissue, which seems to be the issue here but no genetic test has showed it to be so.
Another I am looking at is Gotu Kola which is a herbal supplement that helps normalize the metabolism of your connective tissue and improves your connective tissue integrity by stimulating the production of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). It helps decrease sclerosis and stimulates circulation.
Garlic protects from cardiovascular disease and interferes with atherosclerosis at many stages
Vitamin C – Strengthens Aortic Wall
Vitamin D – Low vitamin D can cause inflammation of the aortic wall which in turn can cause it to weaken.
Omega 3 – to eliminate plaque on artery walls
However the one catch is that with all of these I have to make sure they will not interact with my blood pressure or blood thinning pills. Vitamin C, Omega 3 I know are fine as I have taken them before. Hawthorne berries and Gotu Kola from what I have read may be problematic.
While I realize my blood thinners are important at the same time they become a moot point if my aneurysm lets loose. I will try to have a discussion with my cardiologist about this but I now he is very much against herbal stuff. I believe their is a way to take these things but it will require daily or every 2 – 3 day blood tests for my INR levels to determine if it is heavily effecting my INR levels.
I do not know what is going to happen with this but I am worried and all I can say to anyone reading this, all your life decisions will catch up to you in time.
Smoking, Drinking, Overeating, Overweight, eating crap food, you may be fine for years but then someday you may end up just where I am right now staring down a loaded gun called heart disease.
It is no wonder heart disease is the top killer of Americans. Just look at the American diet you can’t throw a pebble without hitting something loaded with salt, fat, sugar, fried, grease, butter, lard etc. Al the fast food places are bad news, bacon is bad news yet everyone clamors for it.
Red meat is bad news yet several times a week people go out to eat at a burger joint, a steakhouse and they even have all you can eat meat at buffet type places (nevermind that it is the shittiest, fattest nastiest cheapest piece of meat then can serve you. They just load it with salt and you’ll think it is so tender and flavorful. Most people don’t notice the extreme amount of salt because here is something you may not be aware of. We have more salt added to our food than any other country. When people from the UK come here and eat out at a restaurant the number 1 complaint is the food is too salty. they have a diet of about 2,000mg -3,000 mg of sodium. The typical American diet falls somewhere inbetween 3,000mg to 6,000mg of sodium but usually is 4,000 – 5,000mg daily.
Eating out isn’t the only problem though, even eating at home. Regular ground beef is disgusting I won’t touch it with a 10ft pole. It is full of pink slime (Ammonia) and it is even irradiated. No thanks. Here is an experiment you can try at home sometime. Grab a package of the run of the mill typical mass produced ground beef and then grab a package of the organic grass fed beef (price I know but believe me it is worth it). Take a quarter pound to 1/2 pound of each and pound it them into separate burgers. Now cook each one in a separate frying pan.
Smell each one…. Notice anything?
The run of the mill ground beef has almost no smell yet the grass fed stinks, it smells like burning meat. Well there is your answer the organic grass fed should smell like burning meat. If it doesn’t then something isn’t right. Seriously try this test yourself you will taste and smell the difference between what I call bullshit beef and real beef.
I went on a little bit of a rant there but seriously the American diet is horrible in comparison to other countries. It is salt,fat,sugar (carb) heavy and their is a huge obsession with bread, which is horrible for you. Even more proof is the expanding gluten free sections in the grocery store. You used to have to go to a specialty store to get gluten free products. Now almost all grocery stores are carrying gluten free products because the demand is there. It is fueled by people with gluten intolerance and more people are joining the ranks every day. The food of today isn’t your grandparents food. It is a cheap, empty source of nutrition today compared to the old days.
Back to my problem. I do not know if it was genetics that caused this, a combination of things, or it happened due to the way I was eating. All I can say is it sucks and I am dealing with as best I can and fighting to find a way to fix this. I do not know if I will be successful in finding a way to beat this but at least I am headed in the right direction.