I would be interested in corresponding with anyone else who's had a heart transplant. I'm male 49 yrs old and had my transplant in California 5 and a half years ago.
133961
Looks like there are a few online chat sites and support groups for transplant recipients\n\nhttp://groups.msn.com/TransplantSupportLungHeartLungHeart\n\nhttp://www.transweb.org/people/recips/resources/support/nocal.html\n\nhttp://www.amdahl.com/ext/batrio/calendar.html\n\nhttp://www.otsfriends.org/\n\nhttp://www.changeofheartsupport.com/
281097
i work with many transplant pt in the icus. id say most times the liver is good for about 20 years then you will need another transplant. but no worries. medicine is always progressing. i have had one pt. get a liver at age 3 then 21, and 40, came through fine each time.
234590
city of hope national hospital is the best!!!! I had chemo, radiation n surgery there 4 a cancer the doc's @ usc thought would kill me  n 2 months. I had a rare cancer ( Thymoma) and it was very aggressive but the doc's from city of hope got everything under control i've been in remission for 8 yrs now!!!! im in the medical journals there too the doctors are always bragging about my recovery when i go every  6 months for check ups. City Of Hope is located in Duarte california near Pasadena the phone # there is 626-359-8111 I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!
247056
I had this surgery Aug. 2004 and have lost 115 lbs.  I also had United Health care.  I started my search for a doctor in March, did the required siminars for education; had to have an upper GI, a stress test, see a psychiatrist and lots of bloodwork.  So, totally, it took me 5 months to get all of prerequisits done.  Then, I interviewed with the doctor and he did everything he could to discourage me.  I wasn't discouraged but I was anxious.  I think this a psychological thing to see if you REALLY want this surgery.  It took approx another month for his office to get United to pay for my Rouyn-Y and they paid 100% because I met the criteria.  I did not consider the lap-band because alot of the lap-bands become overgrown with tissue and you require another surgery.  Also you have a saline catheter on your stomach where the doc will increase the fluid in your band and this can get infected.  I know alot of docs that have stopped doing this proceedure because of these problems.  If you have any pre-existing conditions such as back pain, high blood pressure or diabetes you have a better chance of getting the surgery.  You have to be at least 100 lbs. overweight.  Also they will want proof that you tried to lose weight in a "normal" fashion for an extended time.  Like, your Weight Watchers notes or menus; or whatever other thing you tried and how successful you were.  it's a pain in the butt getting everything together, I can tell you that.  But it was worth every minute.  The surgery for me was laproscopic; 5 small punctures that healed very quickly; I was walking the next day alone in the hallway and went home the second day.  They will check for leakages (you drink a fluid and get an exray) and I had none.  AFter that, it was a matter of following a clear fluid diet for a few days, graduating to protein drinks for a couple of weeks and then going to "baby food", ground up protiens in small amounts supplemented by protein shakes and alot of water.  There really wasn't much to my surgery; it was very easy for me.  It's not an easy thing to do or maintain as so many people think.  You use it as a tool to teach yourself how to eat properly. You will feel full with 4-5 bites.  Eventually, you will level out.  I did not feel deprived at all of food. Now I can say that it was one of the BEST things I ever did for myself!!!  I'm very happy with my results and with myself.  My diabetes is under control and I no longer have to take insulin.  My 3-month A1C test was 6.6 last time and it's never been that low.  My blood pressure meds were reduced by half.  I had my knee replaced and I'm walking great by not carrying all of that weight around.  it was really tremendous!  check it out thoroughly and satisfy yourself first.  I made myself sick for nothing preparing for the surgery and it was a breeze.  Good Luck and God Bless...:)
340747
I had a heart transplant and my doctors made me wait six months before I could go have my teeth cleaned. I also have to pre-medicate before I go now.
67079
On the 17th of Feb I walked into a hospital and fell down with a heart attack, when I woke up I was stable in the emergency room, the doctor said he was going to run some test in the morning.  The next morning I was feeling much better and they took me down and did a ultra sound on my heart and said it looked fine, then they took me over to do a stress test.  I could not walk on the treadmill cause I just had back surgery about 4 week ago so they did the tes chemicaly through my veins, it was to take about 4 min to do.  About 3 1/2 min into the test I felt very weird on my left side and was then told I was having a full blown stroke.  I was then rushed up to the ICU floor and I was not feeling so good, aparently I was in critical condition.  Mind you a week before this I also found out I had a bleeding ulcer in my stomach.  Anyway the doctors did some MRI's and CAT Scans on me and could not find where the blood clot was that was causing my stroke and they also could not get a hold of my wife.  About an hour and a half went by and I was more coherant so the doctor told me that I might die if they could not get the blood flow back in to my brain, so then he told me their was a new drug called TPA that might find the clot and dissolve it but that I would only have a 2% chance of living through it because of my ulcer and bleeding in the brain, there was only a 3 hour window to be abel to use this medicine and 2 hrs have already passed.  I decided a long time ago I was never going to be a burden to no one including my wife so I told the doctor to give me the TPA, and he did. I went into a coma for about 3 to 4 hrs but I did wake up and saw my lovely wife Lisa crying beside me, I told everything would be ok, she smiled a little.  About six hours had passed with no improvement until I looked down at my left toes and saw they were moving, talk about the best feeling you ever had in your life...so an hour later I was moving my fingers then my arm then my leg and I stayed up for the next 24hrs just moving my left side.  The doctors said my face lifted back into place, no more droop.  By Sat the 20th I was on my was home still a little week but with a clean bill of health.  The doctors said I get to go back to work next Monday and I feel great.  I have decided to take life by the horns and do everything I always wanted to, I just signed up for a Tai Kuan Do class.\n\nSo yes you can pray for me, pray this never happens again.\n\nThanks \n\nDon
257894
I'm already an Organ Donor
367911
my dad passed away when he was 42 from heart attack...\nso i share the same concern with you\n-first try to control the diet by reducing fat in it encourage  fruit and vegitble intake \n-by the age of 20 let them do lipid profile test to see the amount of fat in their bodies\n-avoid hypertension(don't add extra salt for their food)\n-avoid smoking\n-avoid alcohol \n-avoid obesity\n-do exercise \nwhat i want to tell you here is that for ischemic heart disease there are unmodified risk factors and modified risk factors \nunmodified it means that you can not change it as ;age,male gender,family history,race\nand the modified risk factors which i told you above how to beat\nwish you luck
372648
my husband  did and at the time i found out it was on the cards we had only been together for 8 mths,he said he would do it before i even asked,truly a wonderful ,beautiful caring man,we will be celebrating our 6th year together in march,if it was the other way around i would of in a heartbeat...thanks to all those people out there that have put themselves on the donor list,or helped out,supported and just been there for a seriously ill person.
242175
I went through this when my husband had open heart surgery.  Contact your local community services, they  have emergency family care and they will help you financially.  Also check your local charities.  Ours helped with the light bills during this time of need.  We donated back to them when he got able to go back to work.  Good luck to you and your husband, I know this is a scarey and trying time for you both.  You are both in my thoughts.
355176
Consult a transplant doctor who will get you the database for possible recipients.
344516
I have to operate on an open heart patient... but I figure he can wait, i mean he has already waited a long time in the heart donor line so what is a few minutes while I answer some of these dumb questions?
572434
I' m not sure why at this point someone has not addressed surgery. Is she being followed by a cardiologist? Unless something else is the cause of what sounds to be heart failure, it seems like her regurg. is finally become symptomatic. Has no one approached her about surgery? Has she been told for some reason that she is inoperable? You definetely don't want to jump into surgery if you dont need to. I feel like I need more info to adequately answer your question though. What I would do is direct these questions towards her doctor, preferably a cardiologist. Has she had a heart cath yet?  If not, maybe see if its time. Email me if you find out more or if you have anymore questions. Im a RN in the cardiovascular ICU, I specialize in heart surgery. Good luck to you guys!
670487
Frankly I think that you'll be much happier with this decision.  It's a very tricky process to give to man so late in his life, so it's going to take patience on your part during the healing process.  I'm sure it will feel a little different to you, but probably in a good way.  I don't know anyone who's actually gone through this, but there is a very detailed episode on sex and the city about it - you should watch it!
540651
I can't speak for the others, but I had a bi-lateral lung transplant on 08/26/04 due to Cystic Fibrosis.  The surgery and medical charges related with the recover were $250,000-$300,000.  There are also the immunosuppression medications that are necessary for the rest of my life and those are several hundred to several thousand dollars a month depending on the patient's insurance/medical program coverage.\n\nIf temporary relocation is necessary, which is not uncommon, then there are costs for that as well.  With my transplant program we are required to stay in the area of the hospital for 3 months post surgery and it can be longer if there are complications.  It's rarely, if ever, shorter.  There is also the time from when you're notified you're "at the top of the list" until the appropriate organs are available.  Depending on the match requirements that can be a short or long period of time in addition to the availability of the needed organs.
491642
I like your first responder, am a praying, studying follower of God!  I would be honore to share in your faith experiences and vice versa!  My email is pinkpearl0872@yahoo.com.  \n\nIron....If you are willing to participate in this journey or anyone else...please feel free to write!\n\nGod Bless!!!!
593524
My Bro in law had a transplant 3 years ago (Heart). He worked thru the hospital and sent a letter anonymously to the donor family and eventually they agreed to meet with him. Your husband should be able to work out something similar with the hospital that harvested the organs