No More Handshaking | Chocolate Medicine or Venofer®? | More on P.L.E.

Doctors suggest I wash my hands all of the time and try to avoid shaking hands with people. They also suggest I try to avoid large groups of people because they tell me I am extremely immunosuppressed and anything could get me sick. If this happens it stalls the heart transplant. I need to stay free of all bugs. This is tough because I enjoy being with my large family and attending my Church which is my other family.

Chocolate Medicine or Venofer®?
Because of my heart failure I am anemic. So for the past 5 days I have received an iron transfusion through an IV each morning for an hour in addition to the 3,000 other medications I am taking.

Venofer® is used to replenish body iron stores in patients with iron deficiency. It is also a brown, sterile, aqueous complex of polynuclear iron (III)-hydroxide. But, I told my daughter it was chocolate medicine.

Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency disease worldwide. More than 1 billion people have iron deficiency, and about 700 million people have iron deficiency anemia. Iron is an essential nutrient that is needed by every human cell. It plays a valuable role in the transport and storage of oxygen and oxidative metabolism, and in cell growth and proliferation.

PROTEIN-LOSING ENTEROPATHY
SO - I have P.L.E. which is the main reason we're in a rush to get a heart. This disease could eventually kill me. I know it might be boring but I add these blogs to my journal and so I need to document this information:

Background

Protein-losing enteropathy is characterized by the severe loss of serum proteins into the intestine. Normal protein loss in the gastrointestinal tract mainly consists of sloughed enterocytes and pancreatic and biliary secretions. Albumin loss through the gastrointestinal tract normally accounts for 2-15% of the total body degradation of albumin, but, in patients with severe protein-losing gastrointestinal disorders, the enteric protein loss may reach up to 60% of the total albumin pool.

The serum protein level reflects the balance between protein synthesis, metabolism, and protein loss. Protein-losing enteropathy is characterized by more loss of proteins via the gastrointestinal tract than synthesis leading to hypoalbuminemia. It is not a single disease, but an atypical manifestation of other diseases.

Pathophysiology

The pathophysiology of this disorder is directly related to the excessive leakage of plasma proteins into the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. Mechanisms for gastrointestinal protein loss include lymphatic obstruction, mucosal disease with erosions, ulcerations, or increased mucosal permeability to proteins as a result of cell damage or death. Proteins entering the gastrointestinal tract are metabolized into constituent amino acids by gastric, pancreatic, and small intestinal enzymes and are reabsorbed. When the rate of gastrointestinal protein loss exceeds the body's capacity to synthesize new proteins, hypoproteinemia develops.

Medical Care

Focus treatment on correcting the underlying process causing the protein-losing gastroenteropathy. For example, the patient with congestive heart failure may respond to digitalis and diuretics, whereas the patient with intestinal parasites should be treated with the appropriate medication for the infestation.

Diet

A low-fat diet with supplementation with medium-chain triglycerides is theoretically of benefit in patients with lymphangiectasias. However, in practice, ingesting a diet containing medium-chain triglycerides results in increased blood flow with no reduction in fecal protein loss.

Ridin' The Hoverround in Costco!

Man, I can't believe how much fun it is to drive a Hoverround scooter all over Costco! I had seen how much fun the folks were having in those commercials during my daily watching of "The Price is Right" but I never new it was true. The other thing that amazes me is that you can scoot around Costco in less than 20 minutes and still spend almost $500.

On a serious note; and in regards to my PLE (Protein Losing Enteropathy), I finally learned the importance of avoiding fat food. The more fat I eat the more protein I lose from my system. I am also losing a lot of blood in my intestinal tract too. This is also another contributor to my anemia. I am greatly motivated to eat less fat and continue eating a ton of protein.

At Costco I bought protein bars and shakes for my diet. I am also eating a lot of meat, eggs, and anything else with protein. Of course, it is still difficult to avoid some fat.

Overall, it's been a good week. I'm stable and have been fortunate to ride a scooter in Costco for a few hours and go to Church for an hour. Life is good!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

At this time of year I am extremely thankful to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and fasting. I am at peace with my health and look forward to living the next chapter of my life. But, I'm so happy to be feeling better than I was several weeks ago when all I was doing was laying down on the couch, in bed, or in the hospital.

This time of year is very meaningful to all of us and I am happy to have most of my family in town to help them enjoy my favorite meal; Cooked Turkey wings or legs, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Stuffing, Veggies, and Pumpkin Pie.

God is so good to us even if we are going through difficult times. Incidentally, I was able to go to my Church this past weekend. After not attending for several months I forgot how special the feeling is when I go there. The warmth of people who love God and their love and friendship for each other is something I wish everyone could enjoy. I know God loves us and we can feel that peace from Him during our trials if we work within ourselves to let Him in. From my experience it's expressing and focusing on our pure gratitude and thanksgiving of all the things in our lives regardless of our difficult circumstances that brings His love.

Week 4 - Crank that Pacemaker!

Today my congenital heart doctor Angela Yetman had my pace-maker cranked up! I went there exhausted. Tonight, I was able to attend a Church service project. So knock on wood. . . Regardless, I am still listed. I basically need a tune up to be strong enough for the surgery. Oh yea, I carry that pager everywhere. . . They also ordered some steroids to help me since my body won't break down protein. And I'm not even competing in the Tour De' France.

Life is good! My 2 year old daughter Eden is very imaginative these days. She is in the princess stage. She wears these outfits that she refuses to take off. And the kid says to me, "You wear your oxygen." Or, "Lie down Daddy." How cool is that? She's a doll.