thanks for the feedback....

[Guest guest]

thanks for the feedback in response to my first post.

I reside in , British Columbia...

occasionally I develop edema in the feet and calves... i was told to elevate my

legs and

was given a diuretic. However dehydrating my body then gave rise to

a gout outbreak (for that, i was told to drink plenty of water and take

colchicine).

A delicate balance, to say the least. The gout seems more painful and crippling

than the edema, so I continue to drink plenty of fluids.

My doctors are primarily concerned with improving my health in the short term

(i.e. i will shortly undergo an overnight sleep study in a hospital and likely

proceed

to CPAP therapy.) The doctors are trying to stabilize my heart's arrhythmia and

increase

my general sense of well being. I have slept VERY poorly for the past 5 months.

NAC is not covered by my provincial medical plan (nor is CPAP equipment) but

I will start taking the recommended 1.5 grams daily, next week.

I have found a source of time-release NAC. It costs twice as much as the regular

formula. Is there any known advantage to time-release capsules?

My subjective evaluation (based on the increasing frequency of coughing and

frequent

shortness of breath) is that my lung condition is getting worse. However,

whenever I have

been in ER (4 times during July and August, for heart issues) and been given

supplementary oxygen, i felt a lot better.

When the sleep study is done, I will be seeing the lung specialist again -- and

will

raise questions about supplementary oxygen and the possibility of another CT

scan in the

next few months.

In the meantime i will read the posts in this forum, for whatever i can

gleam....

I have no living family and get by on an adequate government pension (providing

that extra health care costs do not mount up) -- so I do not have the option of

becoming

disabled by illness, of whatever sort. The electrocardiologist that I see says

that if the

arrhythmia does not decrease, he will recommend a pacemaker/defibrillator

implant (a

device that I understand will cost the Cdn health care system about $50,000).

Since late June, counting all of my tests and medical appointments, I would

estimate I have

cost the system over $200,000.... (in the U.S. costs would be nearly double

that).

I have strong reservations about imposing upon society to such an extent -- and

the end

is nowhere in sight. (My reservations concern me, in particular, not as a

general social

policy for others.)

However, for now, I will do whatever the doctors advise... in the hope of

attaining a

reasonable " quality of life " for at least one year, if that proves possible. I

am trying to be

realistic, not pessimistic, but have not yet found the line between the two.

johnH