On December 31, 2003, my husband David awoke at 3:30a.m. with chest pain and shortness of breath. For the past week he had been having problems with chest pressure and shortness of breath. He had made an appointment with his cardiologist for January 2, 2004. Since he did not experience any difficulty during exercise (at age 62 he still played soccer with the over 40 guys) he didn't feel that it was serious. He refused to let me call an ambulance but did let me drive him to the hospital 10 minutes away.
Once we were at the hospital, he was given medication to control the symptoms. In the cardiac cathertheization room the doctors found that four arteries were more than 95 percent blocked.
Apparently his cardiologist and cardiac surgeon, who had just finished another bypass, saw his chart and wheeled him right in to surgery. They did not believe he would live to see the New Year without immediate attention.
The worst part about his post surgery recovery was that it worsened a back problem and the nursing staff failed to follow orders properly in removing drainage tubes. This caused a psuedoaneurysm and necessitated a second surgery.
The follow-up care included a course on exercise and diet. He was limited to 3 eggs a week, skinless chicken, skim milk, fish twice a week, cooking using olive oil and using smart balance in place of margarine and butter. I was very careful to make sure that I did my best to keep to this diet regime.
Over the course of one year David kept to the diet and joined a local gym. He lost twenty five pounds. His highest weight was two hundred and nine pounds right before surgery, obese for a 5’9” (175 cm) man. Unfortunately he reached a plateau and started gaining back weight. He was discouraged and felt more chest pain. At his cardiologist’s direction he took 50 mg. of metoprolol daily along with a statin drug.
At his physical in March of 2005, the cardiologist told him that his blood work was not good. His LDL was high, his HDL was low and his C-reactive protein was off the chart. We had never heard of CRP before but an eleven reading on the scale was not a good number. The doctor told him that he was not going to be in the survivor group unless his medications were increased. He was put on 5 mg. of Lipitor per day, which would be gradually increased after a six-week observation period, along with Metoprolol and other statin drugs. He was to return for further examination and evaluation after six months. He still complained of chest pain as the trial period progressed. David had taken 50 mg. of a statin drug right after his surgery and the side effects were terrible. He was barely able to lift his head and at times he would lose consciousness and fall asleep. He suffered from back and leg numbness as well, along with severe shooting pains in his thighs for which Neurontin was prescribed.
Not wanting to take these prescribed medications, which he believed were causing many of his pains, but afraid not to, he continued as directed by his cardiologist. By May he was taking 10 mg. of Lipitor and 25 mg. of Metoprolol along with another statin. He was still suffering from an occasional blackout when he stood up too quickly and was complaining of increasing muscular aches all over, especially in the shoulders and legs.
My sister had been researching osteoporosis and "found" Eat for Health, which she sent to me. I finally felt hopeful. Would David go along? We talked about it and agreed that we would follow this new eating style for the next three months, until his next doctor's appointment. It was different! There were days when I didn't know which took longer—chopping the vegetables or chewing them. Dave missed the flavor of salt, meat and mashed potatoes. I missed sugar and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I made a promise that I would not ask him to eat a diet that I would not eat myself.
I have to admit - David grumbled. But we found that we really like the bean-burger recipe and our daughter Julie loved the baked tofu pizza. One good recipe led to another. After a while we all looked forward to the next new recipe and tasty meal. David started to really lose serious weight. It just came off easier and faster than ever. He lost 20 more pounds (9 kg) by September.
The statins had started to build up in his system and the pain returned. He went to the lab for blood work. The very next day the nurse called and told him that she had never seen a recovery patient show such an immediate decrease in total cholesterol. He had dropped from 195 (5.05) (right after surgery) to 120 (3.11). His LDL was 48 (1.24) and his HDL was 56 (1.45). As a result, he informed his cardiologist that he would stop taking all his prescribed medications for a while but would seek immediate help if anything appeared to go wrong.
David has lost a total of 60 pounds (27.3 kg). This past July he played 10 soccer games in 3 days during an adult soccer tournament of the United States Adult Soccer Association in Wilmington, North Carolina. We are both enjoying good health and continue with the Nutritarian diet and exercise on a regular basis. It has been a complete change of life style. It was a bit difficult for David to get used to at first, but we now find that we both enjoy our meals and can eat as much as we want without gaining weight.
David and Juliette C.