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4.79 cm - Female Age 59

Posted by cathkitty70 @cathkitty70, Jun 18 6:33pm

I am a female that was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm in 2015. It's grown from 4.2 to 4.79. It grew 2 cm in the past year. I'm starting to experience some chest discomfort from time to time and I'm noticing some belly pain. I've had some mild back pain in my upper back--dont know if it is related. I'm full of anxiety because it sounds like the outcome if grim. Any words that can help are encouraged thank you.

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sndybch12 | @sndybch12 | Jul 11 11:33pm
In reply to @sabrinaivey "Thank you for your very helpful reply! I'm curious, do you live near the Clevland Clinic?..." + (show)
@sabrinaivey

Thank you for your very helpful reply! I'm curious, do you live near the Clevland Clinic? I wonder if I must journey to a heart center or use local physicians. I live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, specifically, St. Petersburg. We have good hospitals here but there is an excellent facility in Miami, Mount Sinai that has an aortic center. Did you establish care close to home or do you travel to see your doctor(s). Sorry for all the basic questions, I am trying to navigate this as best I can. ~S

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I live in Lakeland Florida. I just saw a doctor here that i was referred to and am waiting for them to decide if i am a candidate for a Stent. Mine is 5.5. If not he said I would need to wait until it is 6 because of the risk involved in open surgery. I really would like to go to The place in Miami but I dont think my insurance is accepted there, Guess I will just hope and pray I can hold out till I can change my insurance company. I will update you on my outcome.

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cathkitty70 | @cathkitty70 | Jul 12 8:04am
In reply to @twocents "I guess in my reply above I didn’t really tell you that I had the open..." + (show)
@twocents

I guess in my reply above I didn’t really tell you that I had the open heart surgery in March. The took the part of the aorta out with the aneurysm and replaced it with a graft. They also repaired the bicuspid valve and aortic root. It is definitely a relief to not have to worry about it anymore. I’m glad it is behind me.

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That's quite the surgery. Was it a tough recovery? How are you doing now? I'm going in for another echocardiogram on July 31st to see what the aneurysm is doing. My last appt., my doctor was a jerk. Its easy for someone to say you need to lose weight especially when they are thin. I'm exercising snd eating very healthy; which I've been doing for a very long time. I've only lost 21 since I saw her back in Jan and she was not pleased. I can only do what I can do. My body loses weight at a snails pace these days. Anyway, glad you made it thru surgery and hopefully you're doing well.

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sabrinaivey | @sabrinaivey | Jul 12 9:06am
In reply to @sndybch12 "I live in Lakeland Florida. I just saw a doctor here that i was referred to..." + (show)
@sndybch12

I live in Lakeland Florida. I just saw a doctor here that i was referred to and am waiting for them to decide if i am a candidate for a Stent. Mine is 5.5. If not he said I would need to wait until it is 6 because of the risk involved in open surgery. I really would like to go to The place in Miami but I dont think my insurance is accepted there, Guess I will just hope and pray I can hold out till I can change my insurance company. I will update you on my outcome.

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@sndybch12 I would get a second opinion. My cardiologist told me 5.0 is surgery (not sure if yours is abdominal or aortic), but it also depends on your size. My cardiologist also said that if mine ever got to be 4.5 he would recommend me to the aortic center, because I am only 134 pounds and 5'5". So, a bigger man, for example, could potentially tolerate a larger dilation. Hang in there, get another opinion, maybe in Tampa, it's not that far. Go to St. Joe's on MacDill and request a cardiac surgeon referral from you PCP. There is also a Mayo Clinic In Jacksonville. PS, I have Blue Cross HMO and my insurance was accepted there, but I would still recommend seeing a doctor in Tampa. Good luck - xoxo

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twocents | @twocents | Jul 13 10:49am
In reply to @sabrinaivey "@sndybch12 I would get a second opinion. My cardiologist told me 5.0 is surgery (not sure..." + (show)
@sabrinaivey

@sndybch12 I would get a second opinion. My cardiologist told me 5.0 is surgery (not sure if yours is abdominal or aortic), but it also depends on your size. My cardiologist also said that if mine ever got to be 4.5 he would recommend me to the aortic center, because I am only 134 pounds and 5'5". So, a bigger man, for example, could potentially tolerate a larger dilation. Hang in there, get another opinion, maybe in Tampa, it's not that far. Go to St. Joe's on MacDill and request a cardiac surgeon referral from you PCP. There is also a Mayo Clinic In Jacksonville. PS, I have Blue Cross HMO and my insurance was accepted there, but I would still recommend seeing a doctor in Tampa. Good luck - xoxo

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When I was trying to decide whether or not to have the aortic surgery, my primary doctor told me to get three opinions and go with the two that were the same. So that’s what I did, two of the surgeons recommended I have the surgery right away because of my small stature and the size of the aneurysm. I hope that helps.

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