Today will wrap up the mini-series about lipo-apheresis and
cholesterol. There are no pictures, so previous warnings won’t be necessary
except to say always discuss your medical situation with your doctors.
Kevin discovered in his mid 40s that his cholesterol had
risen dramatically. He endured three heart attacks and an 85% blockage. He had
a total of six stents installed over the past seven years. After all
pharmaceutical avenues were exhausted, Kevin’s doctors enrolled him in
lipo-apheresis treatments in an effort to control his cholesterol. The hope was
apheresis would prevent any future heart attacks.
Earlier this year, Kevin’s fistula matured and was ready to
be used for the treatments. So far this year, he has had nine successful sessions.
Each time he was treated, Kevin and Anthony were able to tweak settings so the
treatments were more comfortable and took less time. After the fifth treatment
using the fistula, Kevin discovered the lidocaine cream he used to numb
his arm was actually causing mild nausea. He was frustrated since he still felt
slightly queasy during the treatments. He researched lidocaine cream and did a
few experiments by applying the cream when he did not have a treatment. He noticed
he felt ill after about 30 minutes. When he washed the cream completely from
his arm, the nausea subsided after 15 minutes. Since this discovery, he
has stopped using the lidocaine cream. The needles hurt going in, but only for
a few seconds.
During the past several months, Kevin also found a
disturbing trend in his potassium level (thanks to one of his cardiac rehab
nurses). To this day we still don’t have an exact answer for what caused the
drop, but the suspicion is one of the newer medications or a combination of the
medications. He ended up in the ER at one point because his levels had dropped
too low, the supplements kicked in and caused a whipsaw effect. Thankfully he
has stabilized and feels much better. The goal is to work with his cardiologist
to get off some of the temporary meds he needed as a result of the small
blockage from scar tissue around his latest stent.
Kevin has notified his doctors that he would be willing to
participate in a study for patients with high cholesterol undergoing
lipo-apheresis treatment. Our hope is the treatments will prevent any future
heart attacks, and possibly reverse any existing plaque buildup in the
arteries. Kevin still goes to his treatments every two weeks, and will continue
to do so until medical science can create a drug that doesn’t cause debilitating
side effects. We are both grateful for the fact that lipo-apheresis exists. Without
it, the future was cloudy. With it, the days ahead are much brighter.
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