Alina's Photos

Susan Lynn  Alina - I'm thinking about getting tested. My parents and siblings all had high cholesterol despite eating a healthy diet. My LDL was 212 at last check. Luckily, I didn't have any heart blockages during my catheterization nor did any of my family ever have issues with their arteries. . What do you do to manage it?

Alina FH  Susan, it is always a good thing to be tested if you have had family proof of high cholesterol when the lifestyle was good, in my opinion. Genetic testing is more available now than ever before. I take 80mg of Lipitor, 10 mg of Zetia daily and 150mg injectable Praluent every 2 weeks.
May I suggest checking out The FH Foundation's site for lots of resources - thefhfoundation.org. Also, on my blog I have more info about my lifestyle, meds, doctors' appointments, heart history: livingwithfh.blogspot.com
Let me know if you have questions. Thanks and good luck!

Alina FH  I should also add that my cholesterol is around 600 with no meds and at 224 at the last check, so still not normal. The LDL is 180. Not optimal but the best we can do with the meds I tolerate.

Catie B  Beautiful ladies! It's so awesome you met and spent time together! Delighted to read your post and see this lovely photo.

Adam Pick  This warms my heart. Thank you Alina and Barb. You have made my day, my month, my year with this picture. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Barbara Laurie  Hi Alina! We had the best time with you and your hubby, you welcomed us with open arms and it was great to finish all our "heart story" updates! You're in our prayers❣️ Happy 4th anniversary☀️💕💕💕💕

Alina FH  Adam, thank you for a wonderful initiative building this site & community. The lessons I have learned here, the community you created are priceless assets that have made me stronger in my journey with heart disease. Thank you.

Wanda Mroz  You guys look wonderful! I wish I could have been there! Someday I hope to meet you both... hugs💞💞

John Xu  Hi Alina, I am new to the website. Thank you very much for the detailed descriptions of your journey of undergoing OHS and recovering. You are my hero! I just wonder whether you have done Lp(a) test. It's a genetically encoded number but there is hope new medicine in trial could change it. http://www.lipoproteinafoundation.org/?page=UnderstandLpa

Barbara Laurie  Love love ! I met Nicola, from London here on HVS and my sisters met her in person in NYC during Christmas! They all had a fun day, visited Tiffany’s etc. Hoping to meet her this year with her hubby, Lord willing! Oh, ladies! What a treat!

Kate Watson  Aww I'm so jealous! I wish I could meet both of you in person. Someday, someday! Also Alina, I think I have those same shoes :)

Barbara Laurie  How’d I miss this? What a beautiful couple, and picture....Merry Christmas 🎄🎉🎄🎉Happy, healthy new year-

Clayton Mcarthur  Making decent progress ,walked 3 miles today at one shot see the cardiothoracic surgeon tomorrow for the first time and hope that he allows me to drive

Wanda Mroz  I feel that way too... my surgeon signed my pillow, and everyday as I put it on my bed, I thank him for fixing me.

Linda Richards  Enjoy ! I took my first flight to Turks and Caicos just 3 months after surgery (I had minimal invasive) You so deserve this vacation! Where did your cruise leave from??

Alina FH  Thank you, ladies! Linda, our cruise left from Miami, to Honduras, Belize and Mexico. Much health to all of you!

Wanda Mroz  You look marvelous! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. You most certainly deserved a vacation like this. Hugs!

Wanda Mroz  Oh that is beautiful. I've seen that before. And I've always wa nted one. Maybe it's time to get myself one! 💞

Darlene Smith  Oh how I miss the Rockies! I loved my time in CO, from 1997 until 2011 when I moved to the east coast. Stunning photo! Have a wonderful new year!

Wanda Mroz  This is beautiful Alina! Great job! I've bee to Capital Reef National Park in Utah.... I have friends that live there. This reminds me of it. 🌅🏞🏔

Barbara Laurie  Yay!! So happy for your good outing Alina🌻 I'm so glad you gave it another go and found out all was well❤️❤️

Alina FH  Thank you, guys! Barb, always happy to hear from you! Thank you, always, for being my inspiration! An easy week to you! 💕❤️😻🙏🐾

Barbara Laurie  Our beautiful friend😄 Congratulations !💕❤️💕 This would make a great scar selfie on Adams other page.🐾🐾😄

Wanda Mroz  Alina you look marvelous! And your scar looks good! Mine is almost all faded now. 👍🏻💞. Heal on!

Bob Fessler 
Darn Alina. I'd hoped you were thru your ordeal but there must be a little bit of cleanup left. Work thru this and get better soon! Keep us informed as a lot of us, like me, care about you. Here are some prayers for you.

Alina FH  Bob, thank you for the kind words and for the prayers! Ditto right back at you! I hope you're doing well and getting everything checked out.

Jennifer Cohen Louthm  Hi Alina, did they check your potassium and run a full Cbc? If not you may want that done. Low salt and potassium lend to low BP and can wreak havoc on us. I hope your recovery smooths out.

Alina FH  Hi, Jennifer - they did a full CBC and metabolic panel, kidney functions and all. All of that came back normal. Thanks.

Emily Rowley  Sorry to hear your INR is out of range, what is your INR meant to be? For me on Coudamin that would of been good number. Great both machines are precise.

Alina FH  Emily, my range is 1.5 to 2, because of the on-x valve, where the INR can be lower. Thanks and I hope you're doing great!!

Denise Campbell  Alina. I have the on x. My range is 2.5-3.5. Mine is mitral replacement. Is yours aorta?

Alina FH  Hi, Denise, yes, mine is aorta. The FDA approved this last year (http://www.onxlti.com/fda-approval-onx-aortic-less-warfarin/ ). I hope yours is working great and you're managing your range. Mine has been a challenge.

Clare Auten  Alina, I have an On-X too. My doctor gets nervous if I go to 1.5 so he likes me to be 1.8 to 2.4 so your number would be great for me.

Chris Vereb  2.4 sounds fine. I know that On-x has been allowed to be managed lower. So long as you don't go much above the 2.4 I wouldn't really worry about. I would be glad that my machine matches the clinics...☺

Alina FH  Chris, YOU GOT IT! I was ecstatic today. Such a huge relief. I know now that I can trust it, and I can measure it however often I feel like it.
And yes, typically, if it's too high, I won't worry too much about it. The low is what REALLY scares me. However, I will say, for some odd reason it spiked to 3.1 last week and that was eerie. Especially since I had no idea why. Nothing else changed in my diet or meds.
I just wish I knew the magic trick that keeps the INR at some sort of stable level. But they tell me all the time "it's not an exact science". If feels mostly like a guessing game, really.

Barbara Laurie  Alina, I was supposed to be weaned off the Coumadin July 1st, but for reasons I can't fathom my Cardiologst from UCSF suggested to my DR. Hear to keep me on it, indefinitely! I don't have a mechanical valve!
BTW my home health nurses use that same machine, just to get a quick read. Then send my blood to the lab. They usually match. Soooo glad you're happy with your machine, really they are usually very good. I hope you won't have a roller coaster forever! Best❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Denise Campbell  Alina my inr was steady, but the last couple of weeks I'm a little low. It is scary and so unsure to always be anxious or having to think about it. I want to get a monitor for home.

Alina FH  I know it calmed down some of my nerves to have my own meter, Denise. It's not cheap, but some insurances cover it, and to me, it was worth the peace of mind. Good luck!!

Wanda Mroz  That's great Alina! They used a portable one on me once when I was off Coumadin but it gave too high a reading.... They explained that because of blood platelets some people's blood won't get a good read. Glad yours does and Barb's! Barb I'm just guessing that they may keep you on the thinner because you can't move around a lot yet and it does prevent clots? Just a guess of course... Hopefully as you heal and get more movement they may wean you eventually. Alina I hope your numbers level off soon. 💞🙏🏻

Elaine Cutri  My On-X range is 2.0-3.0. My cardiologist was not comfortable with going below 2.0. My old INR range with the St. Jude valve was 2.5-3.5. 2.3 looks pretty good.

Kevin Lee  Hello Alina and everyone. I couldn't help but notice the meter and the conversation about the on X valve. I am scheduled to have my aortic valve replaced with the on X in about 30 days. Honestly can not say that I have given much thought about monitoring the blood thinner with everything going on so I am curious. Is the meter a requirement? And what would you guys recommend as a quality meter? Last question, are there any requirements for maintaining the meter?

Thanks everyone

Alina FH  Hey, Chris. That's right. He was saying that patients never calibrate the device which can go outta balance somehow, but they keep relying on it, instead of coming in and checking it at the clinic. He was concerned that the devices at home are not calibrated and kept within standards like the ones at the clinic, and they are not reliable. I will still go to the clinic, however often they ask me to (right now it's every 10 days). But when the appointments will be spread apart, or when I travel (rarely, for weeks at a time), I can have an idea of what my INR is doing. Plus, I am still figuring out how to keep it in range, even at 4 months post op. :( So, keeping a close eye on the INR in relation to what I eat , meds I take, changes in routine (like travel), etc relieves some of the worry. I hope this makes sense.

Chris Vereb  I see, that makes sense. I am also diabetic so I check with that machine as well. Every once and while they would tell me to bring that machine in to test against theirs. I did not get the On-x for my aortic the surgeon in my case used one called Top Hat by Sorin. The surgeon said my INR should be between 2-3. Well the cardiologist says 2.5-3.5. I don't want it over 3 because of my manual labor job. Well that's another story. Have you tested yours against the clinics while you were there?

Denise Campbell  I want to get one and my Coumadin clinic said the same thing about not getting one. How much are they. B

Alina FH  Chris, I did not test it against the clinic's, because I lierally just got it. But that is a great idea. I was going to take it at home the same day as my clinic appointment and check. I do have an on-x valve and my rage is 1.5 2.0.
Denise, the kit I got was $720, last week on Amazon and it comes with test strips and needles, and everything you need. It went up since then, but this is it:
https://www.amazon.com/RoC-CoaguChek®-Product-Kit/dp/B01FJE7FF4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1466995917&sr=8-4&keywords=coaguchek+xs
Not cheap, but you only buy the machine once.

Barbara Laurie  What a great idea! We have a program here that you can rent an INR machine if you'll be on blood thinners more than 90 days. And it zaps the info to the Drs computer! I have home health come do a blood draw as I don't want to give up the use of my few available fingers, and I hope to be weaning off in July. But, way to take charge of your care, you know what will make you feel better Alina. And checking accuracy with the clinic is great. I do so every 6 months with my blood pressure cuff, oxometer and scale. (Maybe that sounded over the top??😄😄)
Love hearing how you are dear one, God Bless❤️💕❤️

  I've been using Alere INRatio 2 for two years, bi-weekly test I do myself are sent to doc thru Alere's website. It's accurate, but I have no ideal what it cost as everything was set up by Cardio with my insurance. I'll never get off of blood thinners so this saves me a lot of time and gas not having go to the vampires every other week.

Alina FH  David, you made me chuckle. Barb, SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU!! I hope you're feeling better every day. Emily, it was pretty expensive, at US$720, but the machine itself is more than US$400 of that, and you buy that once. I'll still go to the clinic, but not as often. Thanks, all.

Barbara Laurie  This is just one of those add on hmmms that makes me want you, Alina, to compare your machine with the clinics for awhile. Today I had my blood draws, and my nurse used the exact INR machine "just to get a quick idea" my number looked fine, until the actual lab number came through! So I had to adjust my meds for the night until my dr appt on Thursday, so, keep a good eye on your machine, we want you to be safe and healthy friend😄❤️💕❤️💕❤️

Alina FH  Thanks, Barb!!! I completely agree. I am not giving up the clinic visits. I want my machine in addition to those, just for peace of mind, when the clinic visits are too spread apart. That's one reason I don't think the insurance will cover my expense. They cover one or the other. You be safe, as well!! 💕💕❤️

Barbara Laurie  Thanks Alina, Good thinking. I wanted the machine ne too, but the price! Yet, if I was taking Coumadin for the duration I think I'd buy it too..nothing like having back up!❤️💕❤️

Kate Watson  Yay for being in range! My doctor's office also does not allow for patients to do self testing for the reasons your surgeon talked about. I can see how it can become a problem but I'd also like to have one just for peace of mind and to see how different foods affect my INR. I agree it would be especially helpful when traveling. At some point, I may just have to splurge and get one but it is a lot of money out of pocket.

Alina FH  Aw! Thanks, Kate. He was way cool today (well, he always is) and gave me some good news, for a change (more later), so I asked him to pose for a picture. He's a fun guy, on top of his amazing expertise. I am lucky!! I hope you feel better this week.

Alina FH  Thanks, Peggy. He has a beautiful mind, and he absolutely loves what he does. And he has more personality than any doctor I have ever met, and I met quite a few. I am very lucky, for sure.

Kate Watson  Oh no Alina!! This is one of my great fears! I know I will panic when it occurs. What did they do for you? Did they have to give you Vitamin K IV or stitches? Hugs to you!

Alina FH  Hi, ladies.
Denise, it bled for about an hour at home. I was not able to stop it. Then, it bled for another half hour or so till my husband took me in, and I got seen.
Kate, there was nothing to stitch. The piece of flesh and skin went into my garbage disposal. It's just a big, gaping hole. They put an anticoagulant bandage on it (like Curad blood stop) - it's like a square gauze with medicine in it to make it clot. The first one did only part of the job, but it was still bleeding, so they added a second one. I just sat there waiting for the blood to stop coming through the small gauze, and it took about 30-45 minutes more for it to stop. Then, they put more regular gauze and a compression bandage on. I am not able to take it off for 48 hours and no weight lifting with this arm. The gauze STUNG pretty bad, and the first night was rough - the compression was more than I could take and it turned my finger blue. So, I loosened up the tightness a bit, but did not touch the gauze. The #1 restrictiin is to not get it wet. The anticoagulant gauze is part of me now and it is the actual scab. If wet, it will peel right off and the bleeding starts again. So, until it heals on its own and it falls off by itself, I am wearing a water proof cover on my finger to keep it dry.
No Vitamin K, either, Kate - just local stuff. They said if the bandage didn't work, they would have cauterized the vein.

Barbara Laurie  Alina!!!Augh! Sorry friend😕 Hope that the healing goes well..my word girl, you've been through so much! ❤️ You're in my thoughts🌷🌷

Alina FH  BARB!!! You have gotten us beat, girl, in the "been through so much" department! You are amazing! SO glad to see you type again and staying in touch. I hope your healing is on point and you're doing much better. Miss your sweet face and your kind words to all ... Thank YOU for just being. **Hugs**

Wanda Mroz  OMG, Alina! When I was on Coumadin that was my biggest worry! Please be careful! I hope it heals quickly. Hugs.

Kate Watson  Ugh that sounds like quite an ordeal! That's going to be a challenge not to get your finger wet. Well I'm glad you are on the mend and that it wasn't even worse.

Denise Campbell  Great picture Alina. Looks like you had great weather. We had rain all day. I have a question for you. Your on Coumadin since you have an on-x valve. How do you mange alcohol. I know it makes the inr go up. I've been having a glass of wine about once a week. Curious how others work it in. Thanks

Alina FH  Hi, Denise,
We did have sunny weather but very windy.
I drink about 4-5 servings of alcohol a week: it's either a glass of wine mixed with water (I like to dilute my wine) or non-alcoholic beer (that's what I have in the picture). I was told that up to 1-2 glasses a day every day should not affect the INR at all. Also, I was told that whatever I drink needs to be consistent, so I can have as much as I want, as long as I have the same amount every week. Works the same as food.
I don't drink much alcohol (hence the diluted wine and the non-alcoholic beer) because it makes my heart race if I have stronger things.
My INR is still weird, though - I am trying to be very consistent with all I take in and it does what it does every week. Last time it was at the bottom of my range (1.5) for the On-X valve, and the two times before then it was 2.4 - which is too high for me, but I swear that I changed nothing in my weekly intake of anything.
I am checking it tomorrow, and who knows what it'll do again. They increased the dose again last time AND they switched me from Warfarin to Coumadin, because they said the name brand seems to be less sensitive to very small differences in food intake. We'll see.
I hope this helps.
Be well.

Mary Wagner  I have never had an issue with drinking. I have wine mostly but also cosmos. I usually only drink on weekends and never more than 2. It seemed to take about 10 weeks following surgery to even out.

Denise Campbell  Wow. My inr needs to be 2.5-3.5. I have an On-x in Mitral valve. My Coumadin clinic said alcohol raises ur inr so she said I can have one drink a week or we would need to change my dose.

Alina FH  Hi, Denise, yes, it will raise the INR (make you bleed more, clot less), so yes the dose will change, too. They set my range (one On-x aortic valve) at 1.5-2. Maybe the 2 valves make a difference?!

Emily Rowley  Lovely 🏡 Gardening can be relaxing, I too enjoy it. How did it feel getting back to Gardening? Take it easy Alina ☺

Alina FH  Thanks, ladies.
Emily, I did everything VERY carefully slow. I did not lift anything heavy. I took a 30 minute break for lunch and I lasted about 5 hours of planting and pruning and weeding, before I had to stop completely, for the day. I was drained. It was not very hot, so that helped with my stamina. Mentally, though, it felt amazing. And my diastolic BP was better than it's been in a week, after this, which was encouraging. So thankful!!

Alina FH  Hey, Tracy,
Just posted the update about the first day. Some surprises here and there and some soreness and lots and lots of tiredness, but I made it. Looking forward to what this all will mean tomorrow. :-)
Hope all is well with you.

Lilly Black  That's awesome! I remember feeling that way, too. Avoiding the slightest of inclines for so long, and it just feels so great to be able to climb a hill with no chest pain or breathlessness....I hear you, Alina. Keep at it....one day at a time! Congrats!

Lise Bowles  Congratulations! I was in SLC for the first time in July, this was well before I knew I had mitral valve regurgitation, I had a very difficult time climbing up a few hills, I thought it was because I am getting older, good luck with your progress!