CHF, pacemaker, stents and WLS

Well, I hope this hasn't already been discussed "ad nauseum" too, but if it has . . . tuff crap. I have all three of these and was looking to hear from those who have had WLS with these conditions. Looking for info, insight, whatever. Thanks in advance for your input guys.

Brian here...Had double heart bypass and a heart attack (minor).  They wanted to put a pacemaker in me, I chose to not have it done.  I just want to enjoy life.  Pacemaker would be one more thing to have to worry about.  

Thanks Brian. I wish I had passed on the pacemaker and gotten a second opinion. Turned out I didn't need it. My problem was that I had sleep apnea and it caused my heart rate to drop into the 20's when I slept. My heart WAS fine - until they jumped the gun and decide I need the pacemaker without doing a sleep study first. After the pacemaker was in, I still was having problems, so they decided to do the sleep study and BINGO!! That was my trouble all along. But guess what - tuff shnit - I had signed the "release" and that was that. Too bad, so sorry, hate it happened . . . but oh well. Needless to say I changed heart doctors.

Hey Bob.... Looks like you are coming down to the wire here...the questions are flowing and you are thinking... very nice, do you home work and no surprises... Ok the way I understand it...the stent, and pace maker, they are going to be non issues if you get cardiac clearance... If you are presently in CHF  mode...they will probably give you a big dose of lasix, and dry you out,,,then do the surgery...here again, the cardiac clearance... now post surgery....( i didn;t have any of these , because i'm at half you age) ok post surgery...You should do quite well with these maladies...With less strain on your heart...the pacemaker may not get fired up so often....and there should be less need to have future stents....the weight reduction shoudl lower you cholesteral....and with the heart pumping more effeciently they chf should improve... Now you know...the damage you have done to your poor 94 year old body, in the past....that damage is done, and some things have the chance of resolving....but it ain;t gonna turn back the clock...but it may feel that way... A fat azz like us does not realize how much extra strain we put on our body and lives carrying around this tonnage .... So minus the mass....life becomes a lot easier.... oh....this happens every couple months....a new group comes along, and asks all the old questions....we all start at different times....but us old timers, we learn and reinforce by teaching others..... Now you being a southern boy....after surgery, you will come on all panicked,,,,,How do I scramble eggs with out bacon grease???? Russ

Thanks Russ. You're right about my  mind working overtime as things start to come together and I hopefully get a surgery date soon. I sure don;t want to be a pain in the arse with all the questions, but you "post-WLS old timers" are a treasure trove of info for us pre-op and newbies. I knew that this 130+ extra pounds I'm carrying around since my heart attacks is killin' me slowly, even before my cardiologist confirmed it.  So I'm doing my research here with real live folks who have been through this already. I'm also posting some on the TN and AL forums to get info and feedback. But I find that for the most part, the guys here are more atuned to what I expect to go through and have the same basic reactions. I sincerely value and appreciate every one of you guys, your insight, knowledge, and warped senses of humor.   I feel like I "belong" in this looney bin!   LOL And as for the scrambled eggs - I've already faced the fact that PAM spray will have to replace the bacon grease> Boy, I hope it comes in "lard" flavor!! Hehehe!!  

I still keep a small container of bacon grease in the fridge. I just use it sparingly. You just can't cook green beans without bacon grease. Mind you I only use a table spoon or smaller for a pot of green beens. Just that little bit wil give it some flavor. When I make corn bread for every one else. I use veg oil in the corn bread but I put a spoon full in the cast iron skillet when i am warming it in the oven. I eat turkey bacon but my granson gets the real thing. I save about a 1/2 cup when I cook it for him. It lasts quite a while, a little goes a long way.  pan head

come to the DS forum, post op you will not have a special diet, or any diet at all, and fats are a staple. Its done different than the RNY and is thought to be far superior by many, just finding the right surgeon is hard. but if you ask about guidance will be there.
I almost had a pace maker for A fib. but found the Arrhythmia center at NYU, had a simple procedure, for them anyway, similar to having a stent installed and had the a fib cured. the doctor there had a bowl of pacemakers he removed from patients *****ally didn't need them.

Hello Bob....I'm one of the oldest guy's in here I think... (I'll be 61 in April) I came to this room about a little over a year ago. I had CHF in 2004 and my EF was around 8% to 12%. I was around 460 LB at the time. I had a sleep study done about a month before all that went down and I stopped breathing about 118 times per hour. Needless to say they put me on a CPAP. I was in the process of trying to get WLS done before all this happened and that really put a stop to it. My heart doctor at that time told me there was no way in hell that I could have the procedure done due tom the damage done to my heart. Well I waited about a year or so and asked the doctor again if I could go under the knife, rods or what ever, and he said he didn't care but I would be rolling the dice. I thought what the heck...look at me now!...what do I have to loose?...as far as he was concerened he had me in the ground already....then I found this board and these guy's are really great. They will answer any and all questions you might have. I changed heart doctors to a specialist in CHF. He has been great. I'm stuck at 315 LBS now for some reason even though my wife and I now have joined a gym and go there 3 times a week (not bad for a guy who couldn't walk 150' before I had to sit down and catch my breath) and I walk the other 3 day's on my treadmill. I wasn't a weight lifter but I was a lifter of weight not including my own body. I was an "old school fire sprinkler fitter". I'm not ready for the senior olympics or anything like that but I'm a hellava lot better shape that I've been in over 20 years....if you have any more questions feel free to ask these guy's they are a great help. Let me know how you make out on your  weight loss journey....also if you have any questions you need to ask me feel free to e-mail me or post on this board. I read it a couple times a day. Dave