ricardo's Guestbook

Hi Ricardo Glad you have an appointment with a heart specialist. After an exam and maybe a few tests, he\'ll hopefully come to a plan to help you. Good luck. Fran

Hi Ricardo, So good to hear from you. I, too, have chest pain from time to time. The sternum bothers a bit and my incision will ache, especially with bad weather approaching. My heart is enlarged some, too, and was told it was because it had to work so hard before the surgery. I also have developed a Thoracic aorta aneurysm. Nothing to be worried about, I\'ve been told. Will keep an eye on it. So instead of going to the doctors once a year, I go every 3 months. Keep telling your doctors, like they always say, the squeeky wheel get the oil, or something like that. Keep bugging, and they will check you out, just to keep your quiet. LOL! I wish you all the best and keep us up to date on how things are going. Hopefully it is nothing, and just aches and pains that you will have. All my best, Diana

Hi Ricardo! Glad to read your latest. Sad though that things are still not perfect. I\'m not sure how the Canadian system works, but are you able to get a second opinion on your chest pain? It may or may not be heart related, hopefully it is not. But not knowing for sure has got to be rough. I don\'t know about you, but whenever I take my car in because something is wrong and I tell my mechanic what I think it is, I\'m wrong. Maybe if you can take the attitude that \"I\'ve got this pain, dunno what is causing it, but I want it to stop\" instead of something like \"somethings wrong with my heart\" it might open up some simple tests that will be conclusive. I know I get some minor sternum pain and muscle pain from time to time. It would bother me a lot if it were chronic. I think thats a common complaint of folks on this site. I\'m not going to say to trust your doctor 100%, but consider what they say as fairly good evidence. If a couple of doctors say the same thing that\'s more evidence. If you do a simple test that confirms what they say, that\'s even more evidence. I think a key thing is to go to another physician and ask them to do an exam and some simple tests. Hopefully that will rule out your worst fears. And if it turns out there is a real problem you\'ll be that much closer to getting it fixed. We\'re pulling for you buddy, we know its been a long road. You\'ve got a beautiful family and we want you to enjoy life with them. -- DVB

Hi there, I agree with Fran, your symptoms should be taken seriously. I can totally relate to what you are going trough, I had almost the same symptoms, so I went to emergency and they did a blood test, an x ray, and an ekg, all showed that my heart had improved and everything was ok. But I had those symptoms again, after several more tests I discovered that while my heart had returned to a normal size and evey test came back super good, I was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. My panic attacks caused chest pains, difficulty breathing, numbness on my hands, arms even part of my face, it also made my blood pressure go up and I had palpitations, at first I found it difficult to accept that panic attacks and anxiety do this but it does. I hope that you are able to get the tests you need to give you peace of mind or to find out what\'s going on. Many blessings to you, Patricia De Leon.

Hi Ricardo, I am sorry to hear you are feeling well and are having problems. I believe you should see another doctor. I understand there are restrictions in Canada when it comes to healthcare, but you know your body and you need to find someone to listen to you. I will keep you in my prayers. God bless!

Hi Ricardo The note from the 27th was from me. I know you are in Canada, but is your doctor a cardiologist? If not, maybe that\'s who you should be seeing to have some tests done to get to the bottom of all your current heart problems. I think your symptoms should be taken seriously by the doctor. Keep us up to date. Fran

Hi Ricardo Happy new year. Wishing you, your wife and child the healthiest year in 2012. We are fortunate to have had excellent surgeons to take care of our hearts.

Hi Ricardo, Yep, one of those down times. Its so early in your recovery, Ricardo, you must give yourself some time. Your body went through a tramatic experience, and its trying to recover from that. My surgery was 13 months ago, and I still have some ups and downs. More ups than down at this point. You may be lifting too much too soon, too, you will certainly feel the effects of that, too. You\'ll get there, takes time. Try not to get discouraged. I know, its hard, been there, done that. We all have, but I have to tell you that I feel wonderful now. You have so much to look forward to, all in good time. I rode my motorcycle for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and did great. It felt great to get back in the saddle again. Back to shooting, too. Life is getting back to normal once again, so give yourself time. You will get there, too. Promise!!!! Diana