Hi folks, I came home from the hospital yesterday, where I had the great experience of having my arteries cleaned. I started having some pain Wednesday night and went to the emergency room. After 6 hours, I was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for arterial catheterization and baloon treatment.
Now, all of this happened following a loss of thirty pounds and a dramatic lowering of my cholesterol levels. My lipid profile looks very good except a slightly low HDL number.
I am sure that the doctors who performed the surgery were very good. The surgery went well and the chest pains are gone. But, for the four days in the hospital, I felt like a soldier caught behind enemy lines. Even though I am a diabetic, the hospital meals were carbohydrate laden, with bread and fruits, etc.
I didn't feel very much like arguing with the hospital food services, and/or the dieticians, so I just decided to eat what they brought and get back on track when I came home. I have been low carbing for about 4 months now, and this was my first cheat!! My blood sugars were usually 180-200 while in the hospital. Today, I have them back down to 100.
I wish I had started this WOE several years ago. Maybe I could have avoided this problem. Now it is going to be a hassle when people tell me that they knew this diet would kill me.
By the way, I read some old posts when I first came home, to see if anyone else was in my situation. MTNNEAR, if you read this, please let me know how you're doing now.

Thanks for listening,
Johnie

Johnie,
I am glad that you are home and feeling better. I too wish you had found this WOE sooner and not had to go through that. I know that nay-sayers are going to jump on.... but how do they figure that eating this way for 4 months is going to do that many years of damage...I would tell them that it would have been much worse and harder to recover if it were not for this WOE....
Keep us posted and feel better!

Johnie,

Congratulations on making it through - welcome to the the lucky club! I was having a little trouble breathing so I thought I'd check my asthma meds, and the doctor said "you ain't having an asthma attack, young lady." I was 43 at the time. Turns out I have a huge amount of a blood chemical that causes spot blockages, and have spent almost two years getting it under control. Have the doctor check your lp(a) level (pronounced "L-P little a"), which is not part of a standard lipid profile.

Recent studies have shown that it is a nearly complete predictor of heart attack/stroke risk. It's speculated that this is the chemical that allows the cholesterol to adhere to artery walls, however doctors still do not routinely test for it, even in patients with known heart problems. My insurance has always covered the test cost, though.