Private Proactive Angioplasty

[jago25_98]

Does anyone here know anything about getting angioplasty abroad for people who aren't yet in a desperate situation? For me it's an inconvienience and I'm working hard at managing circulation problems.

I'm pre diabetic and watching things very carefully. I'm also exercising as best as I can but my circulation to my hands and feet is a bit more. Of course I will be looking at diet more (herbs) and also get into hot and cold showers. However, there's a possibility that all of this may not work - I've a long way to go as I'm only 31 and I have limited control of my diet when I'm working at sea. Exericse is only sometimes a problem too...

I want to know what options there are for the future. Is there somewhere I can go to get my arteries pushed out? Then again, perhaps something like this wouldn't help because it could all the small arteries rather than some main ones in the legs or arms.

My problem areas are my second toe on my left foot. This has stopped me surfing in cold water. That has progressed a bit and now my feet also go numb when cycling. Also my hands go numb when I lie on my back and use a mobile phone or read a book. It's getting to be a major problem for me now as I can't do everyday things. That said, my legs aren't about to fall off so I don't want to trouble the NHS about it.

I'm already avoiding sugar and if I lose my displine I block it with Gymnema Sylvestre.

I got a feeling people might say "This is generally for people with a major problem like gangrene" or something like that but I've never agreed with reactive medical option and I treat my body as an athlete would - throw the money at it early, especially if there's low risk with intervention and no cost to the NHS.

I have private medical insurance with BUPA from work at the moment but this will end in a few months when I change work. The cover never seems to cover anything so I expect it will be useless in this case anyway. However, I also hope to move to Argentina and there is a lot of very cheap and reputable medical knowledge there albeit usually about 10 years behind so that could be an option too. I would certainly spend a few thousand just so I can lie on my back again and read a book.

Your thoughts?

 

[mrburden]

Hi,
I have read your post but my reply is basically based on the title of the post. I have had peripheral vascular disease for many years now. It started with the neuropathy and also areas that became numb. When it first started I was told that because the main blockages were below my knee, angioplasty was not possible. Since then angioplasty has been developed further and it has become possible to perform it right down to the ankle. I had this done last year when 2 of my toes started to change colour and become cold and painful. The surgeon that performed it is, in my opinion (and that of very many others), one of the worlds leading vascular surgeons. He was completely happy to do the job on my right leg but at the same time, even though I offered to go privately with him, he refused to do the same to my left leg. This was because he believes that doing the surgery before it is needed can produce more negative effects than positives. As you mention, the smaller vessels that may not currently be blocked can suffer from the movement of the blockages and again, at the present time, these cannot be cleared.
My angioplasty was only successful in clearing the blocked vessels for about a month. The surgeon then performed a "popliteal-to-distal" arterial graft and amputation of the toes because the small vessels had become blocked following the angiogram. Eventually my lower leg had to be amputated.
I really don't believe that I would have kept my leg whether the angioplasty had been done or not but I think I probably had longer using it because the angioplasty was done later rather than sooner. I think that in some cases the damage has been done before the neuropathy and pain is noticed, so what ever is done afterwards to "prevent" the problem is likely to be too late.

 

[jago25_98]

Thanks for the info and the warning.

This really is credence to early diagnosis and making sure people can put 2 and 2 together and easily get tested preemptively without feeling like there should be a massive need to do so or feeling like a hypochondriact.

Sounds like I already have some damage and what I have to focus on is preventing it getting worse.

I've started alternating cold and hot showers. This has already made a minor improvement to my feet but haven't noticed anything to my hands yet.

Thanks for sharing. I feel very fortunate to have what I have and I'll try to remember this and use it to hit the gym more. A high heart rate can dislodge fat deposits (incidently, it's very little known but fat deposits actually tend to lodge onto a combination of bacteria and calcium usually from milk... something I think about in children...)

...so I'm going to check out intervals at a very high heart rate. Some unconfirmed research has shown as long as you don't work the heart at max for more than 40-60secs and you have a base of health without too much clogged arteries the heart is protected.

Also, I noticed a finding regarding blood glucose and the circadian rhythm in the news yesterday. Something about a protein involved. So sleep and when we eat is important. How much his helps someone who's already with clear neuropathy in terms of further prevention I don't know but it's good to hear these good pieces of news. It's important the knowledge gets disseminated.

 

[jago25_98]

I want to follow up on this for anyone who may be reading this.

After a month off work I had been diving and exericing regularly. I found that the symptoms went away. My doctor suggested I was imagining it.

As such, I slacked off a bit and went back to eating sugar foods as they are very difficult to avoid.

Then it all came back.

Cursing myself for having ever believed I could have been imagining it I'm now working on fixing it.

So that's:
- avoiding sugar altogether. None at all.
- high intensity training. just 8mins a day is making a big difference but I'm on nightshift 12hrs a day at the moment and every day I miss it the effect is then immediately evident the next day
- cold water/diving. This is very useful to know. Freediving seems to help. I don't realy know why but I'm definately going to do more of this

With all these things you can do a lot to reverse problems. Got to be careful you don't dislodge something big and give yourself a heart attack but it's really good to know that the cause isn't lost.

Please spread this info far and wide if you find if works for you. If I had followed any of the doctors it could have been much worse by now.