Nitroglycerin...

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Three weeks ago I had a "cardiac episode" that had me in the hospital for five days. I was given a bottle of nitro and told.to use it as needed. What does that mean? One under the tongue for pain? Chest pain? Arm pain? I have a high pain threshold. I haven't had any pain yet just some discomfort in my chest. I took one...I think it worked. Anyone have any insight?

[pmdelites]

duh!! ask the doctor from the hospital or your medical professional.

yep you can web research it and ask guys on a provider info/review board, but seriously, would you trust any of us with your life???

[Schwarzer Ritter]

At 9 pm...

They have bigger things to worry about.

[Anonymous01]

Did you get an intense headache and blurring of vision? The nitro is to be taken as an EMERGENCY when you experience extreme symptoms and EMS has been called. They usually don't give it to you until you are discharged.


A more moderate measure are small stainless steel fobs with a gasket that hold 6 full sized aspirin. Chew three and swallow with water, repeat in 15 - 30 minutes.


I have a fob for a full bottle of nitro pills but the thing is pretty good sized and always gets flagged in my carry on luggage. I'd rather haul it out and let a TSA officer inspect it than put it into my checked luggage and have it lost.


Do you have a Medic ALERT ID? Mine has name, DOB, Blood type, major illnesses on the front and major meds on the back, all on a Stainless Steel dog tag that I put on a breakaway piece of gutted 550 paracord.


This isn't my first rodeo....


P.S.: If they gave you a bottle of nitro while you were still in the hospital, you might want to check yourself into a different hospital with a well regarded Cardiac Care unit...

[onthemovie]

I asked my gen prac and my cardio doc, can I take nitro while on viagra, both said no, try and make to ER

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Originally Posted by Anonymous01

Did you get an intense headache and blurring of vision? The nitro is to be taken as an EMERGENCY when you experience extreme symptoms and EMS has been called. They usually don't give it to you until you are discharged.


A more moderate measure are small stainless steel fobs with a gasket that hold 6 full sized aspirin. Chew three and swallow with water, repeat in 15 - 30 minutes.


I have a fob for a full bottle of nitro pills but the thing is pretty good sized and always gets flagged in my carry on luggage. I'd rather haul it out and let a TSA officer inspect it than put it into my checked luggage and have it lost.


Do you have a Medic ALERT ID? Mine has name, DOB, Blood type, major illnesses on the front and major meds on the back, all on a Stainless Steel dog tag that I put on a breakaway piece of gutted 550 paracord.


This isn't my first rodeo....


P.S.: If they gave you a bottle of nitro while you were still in the hospital, you might want to check yourself into a different hospital with a well regarded Cardiac Care unit...

Thanks for the information. The bottle actually says "as needed". I know I have a high pain threshold so I'm never sure if something is really painful to regular people. My "episode" was afted.dragging downed branches out of the yard. My chest felt strange, not for the first time. My stomach felt uneasy, not for the first time. My left arm became sore, that's a first! I drove myself to the hospital expecting an EKG and a return home. Three hours later I was transported by ambulance to a cardiac unit. A few hours later someone told me that enzymes said I did not have a heart attack. Four days later I was released with my little bottle of pills. They found blockages and now I'm looking at a triple.bypass.

I felt odd lat night but not in pain, I was wondering if now was the time.

[Yssup Rider]

Really? Hope you found some information you can use here!

[Schwarzer Ritter]

This is not to replace research or professional advice which I am getting both.

I'm looking for opinions based on experience; first person or second hand. Third person is less than reliable.

I'm curious about discomfort and recovery time. Best estimate is six to eight weeks of down time followed by a month of very restricted activity.

I've been reading about stints but other problems indicate by pass surgery is the best option. Don't hear many people talking about their stints.

[Anonymous01]

I never had pain. I began to perspire like I walked out of the shower with my clothes on. Then I had trouble getting a full breath of air (just like Covid), then I laid down on the living room floor and everything turned to black.


There are no "normal" symptoms. My older brother went in for his annual checkup. Then he heard sirens arriving at his MD's out-of-hospital clinic. Then the EMTs walked into the examining room and put him on the stretcher and took him in for quadruple bypass surgery. Over 11 hours on the surgical table.

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Next Monday I have my consult and I'm expecting that they won't let me leave. So I go prepared for a long stay. For some of you I have another week to make your lives miserable and then I go dark.

[Anonymous01]

Good luck.


Heart surgery sucks any way you look at it, but if they put you on ketamine or roofies and keep you conscious it's so they can check if the stent(s) have seated properly... if they knock you out completely, it's more serious.


No big deal as long as you wake up.

[Jacky S]

I had a stint installed last year, and I resumed my normal activities the next day with just a wrist brace for five days to stabilize the artery they went through.

Stints are preventive medicine, so to speak. They keep arteries from getting clogged, causing a true heart attack, where the heart muscles can be damaged. It is amazing how proficient the Cardiologist has become “installing” a Stint.

As for The Nitro pills. If you have any kind of a heart “event”, you will be given a prescription for them, just follow what it says.