Quote:
Originally Posted by Blueyes
Janet, first of all I'm sorry your brothers didn't come to get you. Shame on them!
A heart cath shows blockage in the arteries taking blood to the heart. They punch a hole in her groin, put a line up to her heart, put in the dye, then look at any blockage there may be. The dye then has to be filtered back out through her kidneys, which you know.
An echocardiogram is used to see if there is damage to the heart muscle itself after a heart attack. It's just like a sonogram. They put goo on your chest and run a doppler wand around on your skin. That's all there is to it.
You may know all of these things already...I'm just trying to help  I love you and I'm so glad your mom can make her own decisions so you don't have to! |
They explained how to do the cath. My brother had it done twice so he was able to reassure her that she wouldn't feel anything. They also did the echocardiogram, but said it didn't show what they needed to see. The way they explained it, is it doesn't show how much or bad the damage actually is and that is why they need to do the cath. That's pretty much why we decided to wait a few days....to gather more information. You are really helping and now I have more questions for the Dr. That's a good thing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gja1000
Janet, there is some medicine they can give you before the dye (heart cath) to protect the kidneys. It's called Mucinex or something like that (not the stuff you take for a cold. LOL!). Gary has the same problem as your mom, his kidneys are so bad he can't take dye, unless it is absolutely necessary. He takes the Mucinex the day before the dye study to protect his kidneys - I wonder if they could do that for your mom. Of course, her kidneys may be too bad and maybe even the Mucinex won't help. But you might ask.
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I will be asking about this. I hope it's something that will work for Mom. She won't drink meds, she's so stubborn...because she doesn't like to see it, smell it or she'll gag. I'll ask about this and the pill form.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blueyes
It's called Mucomyst. Mike just had some, too. He had to drink it and it smells and tastes like rotten eggs  I heard it does come in pill form, too. |
Thanks for letting me know what it is called, I'll definitely be checking!! You all are the best!