Sharing a personal cautionary tale

[brucets 94]

Boy! Some real horror stories here. Glad you folks are doing okay now.

I had a fainting episode about 5-6 years ago and ended up with a pacemaker/defibrillator. During that whole process I was told that I had had a serious heart attack at one time. I couldn't remember having anything like that, but several weeks later I vividly remembered it. I was on a BEA flight from LHR to MAD in the mid 1970's when it happened. We had just left the ground, but I didn't alert the stew and just told my buddy I was having a heart attack. We spent the next 3 days an Toledo buying swords and armor to decorate my basement. When my wife picked me up at DEN I told her what happened and we went directly to Swedish Hospital at about 2300. They did the EKG, etc and said they saw nothing. eventually the pain went away and I forgot about it.

With all the bourbon and vodka I consume, along with all the carbs, it's a wonder I don't have diabetes.  Reading these stories gives one reason to pause though!

Stephen, I always wondered what happened to you, after your sudden departure from AVSIM. You were sorely missed by all!! Allen (Chock) too disappeared for  several years, I believe for medical reasons as well. We're grateful y'all are back.

Bruce

 

 

 

 

[John_Cillis 2,406]

27 minutes ago, brucets said:

Boy! Some real horror stories here. Glad you folks are doing okay now.

I had a fainting episode about 5-6 years ago and ended up with a pacemaker/defibrillator. During that whole process I was told that I had had a serious heart attack at one time. I couldn't remember having anything like that, but several weeks later I vividly remembered it. I was on a BEA flight from LHR to MAD in the mid 1970's when it happened. We had just left the ground, but I didn't alert the stew and just told my buddy I was having a heart attack. We spent the next 3 days an Toledo buying swords and armor to decorate my basement. When my wife picked me up at DEN I told her what happened and we went directly to Swedish Hospital at about 2300. They did the EKG, etc and said they saw nothing. eventually the pain went away and I forgot about it.

With all the bourbon and vodka I consume, along with all the carbs, it's a wonder I don't have diabetes.  Reading these stories gives one reason to pause though!

Stephen, I always wondered what happened to you, after your sudden departure from AVSIM. You were sorely missed by all!! Allen (Chock) too disappeared for  several years, I believe for medical reasons as well. We're grateful y'all are back.

Bruce

 

 

 

 

You have to be very careful with alcohol, your pancreas will work one day then just stop.  I had pancreatitis drinking no alcohol at all.  Why?  Because the body turns certain substances you consume into alcohol.  Now some of my family drank moderately all their lives, never had any problems.  I used to drink but now just every six months or so I might have one beer.

As for carbs, I had a high carb meal yesterday and needed four units of insulin when I got home.  Diabetics should not be afraid of injecting insulin.  Choose the stomach, rub it liberally with alcohol, and pinch about an inch.  No feeling of the injection whatsoever, I do better than the nurses in the hospital.  Some choose the upper thigh but I was heavily advised the insulin works better in the stomach, so I heeded that advice.  Took several days of practice to get it just right.

As for flying, I won't fly IRL again, not even trikes.  Dizzy spells can just creep up, especially when I turn, so when I drive I take sharp but gentle turns.  Oddly though when I flew to and from London this year, I did not have any dizzy spells or nausea and I was probably at the height of blood sugar levels then.  I did drink liquids, especially water, often.

Went to see my general practitioner yesterday and my blood pressure was 115/75 and my heart rate 80, he said my heart was doing very well.  Pretty good for being 56.  There was no copay with my Medicare, I appreciate the government's assistance with my illness.  My ex-wife has told me to keep everything documented.

John

[John_Cillis 2,406]

4 hours ago, Jude Bradley said:

So you've seen our green and pleasant land... :)
 

I still remember flying into Shannon, it was so beautiful and green, especially the countryside around the airport.  I went into the terminal while I was there and some of my classmates made currency exchanges there.  They were returning the currency in "Silver Certificate" dollars, very rare and collectible, redeemable in silver.

One day I will take a tour of Ireland, on my European tour several of the Aussies took a tour of England and Ireland first.  Since I am part Irish Catholic I appreciate the culture there.

John

[brucets 94]

6 minutes ago, Cactus521 said:

You have to be very careful with alcohol, your pancreas will work one day then just stop.

John - That happened to a good drinking buddy(retired CO Express pilot) about 6 years ago. He spent a week in the hospital and hasn't had a drop since. He said it wasn't hard to do, but every year he goes to the Reno Air Races with the same guys and he's the only one with O'Doul's. (he's been to every Reno event except the first one)

My blood pressure is usually on the high side last week it was 175/15. I'll be 80 in Feb.

As I recall you went to LON from PHX. Do you live in the PHX area? I live in SCW.

Bruce

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Yes, I live in central Phoenix.  When I went to London I took the BA non-stops in Premium Economy.  Cost more but more comfortable and thus less jet lag.  Service is very good on the airline and the in-flight entertainment options are astounding.  I have a video of my takeoff from Heathrow and my final approach into Phoenix but I haven't posted them on Youtube yet.

John

[SpiritFlyer 987]

2 hours ago, n4gix said:

Thanks for sharing Stephen. I've found over the years that it is very cathartic to share one's burdens with others. I have a memory of sharing our stories of diabetes during the conference in Kansas, but perhaps my memory is faulty.

In any event, I'm delighted to hear that you seem to be stabilized now and are able to enjoy life once again!

Take care old friend and may the Lord's blessing continue to give comfort.

Hi Brother,

Yes, your memory is correct. That was when things were just going from bad to worse. I think I was taking between 60 to 90 units of insulin a day then (which sounds like the good old days now), but was swinging wildly from a low of about 200 to occasional 600-700 sugar levels.

My memory tells me that we spent all night debating the fundamental differences between Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism until we discovered we knew hymns in common, and sang them as loud as we could (at maybe 4:00 on the morning). 

I remember that you have a beautiful voice! That left little room for differences after that.

 

What a prescription for peace on earth and goodwill toward men!

 

God bless you too old friend.

Kindest and fondest personal regards,