Upbeat Update!- June 11, 2009

It has been more than 3-months since surgery and I feel great. A couple of scares since my last post, all of which occured in the Month of March.

The first, a car accident. I did not have any injuries , but as a cautionary measure, I went to the hospital to make sure all was fine.

A couple of weeks later my central line fell out of my chest. If you recall, the Flolan medication is a very potent drug and immediate discontinuation of the drug - for even a few minutes - can result in adverse effects; shortness of breath and chest pain are just a few. I am happy to say, I was off the medication for about 1.5 hours and did not feel any differently. The situation was scary; emergency room visit and surgery to replace the catheter. The upsides; emergency room and surgery were accomplished that same day and this incident did not cause any major set-backs to my recovery; soarness from the surgery and keeping a close eye on the catheter site were the worst of this experience, from a health standpoint. There was a financial set-back, more bills!

I had my 3-month follow-up visit on May 7th. The visit to Dallas included; an MRI, echocardiagram, bloodwork and Dr.'s visit. My pulmonary pressures are back down to the 50's range, which is exciting because last year around this time they were up in the 80's. I have been instructed to discontinue the coumadine and lasix medications, Yeah Again! And the best news of all, I have started decreasing/titrating down on my Flolan. So far, I have succesfully gone down 10 ng in one-month. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!!!!

Since my May 7th visit, my ALT and AST levels went from doubling the normal levels to 5 times the normal range, which means my liver is "injured". While the most likely cause is the Tracleer medication-which can cause liver dysfunction-the generous amounts of libations I enjoyed during the month of May is also a factor for the dramatic increase. I have been asked to discontinue the Tracleer, while my liver functions are closely monitored with weekly (CMP) bloodwork, but also think it's wise to limit the alcohol.

You all may be wondering why all the indulging in May? Please see my next post....... COMING SOON!!