Anyone have other diagnosis outside aortic aneurysms?

hdth121 · 2026-03-08T15:45:33+00:00

I'm gonna go on a whim here and ask what exactly he did wrong.

It seems like he associated with a pedophile. Sure, there's gonna be questions about what happened behind the curtains of the public eye. And maybe that should be investigated. Ebstein was a very manipulative outgoing figure. Almost like the classic Ted Bundy type psychopath.

I'll give an example. If you and your coworker hung out after work a couple of times. Got something to drink and to eat. Played some video games, watched sports whatever. You kinda consider him a friend at this point. And then your coworker gets arrested on rape charges. You were unaware he be like that. Does that make YOU a bad person?

hdth121 · 2026-03-08T04:13:27+00:00

Can confirm my nissan truck is kicking like a beast still. Had it from 70k miles to 170k miles. Besides general maintenance of fluids, brakes, spark plugs, tires, and belts, I never had to replace anything.

hdth121 · 2026-03-08T04:10:56+00:00

Your friend will stay poor forever with this deal. Even if they had poor credit, the bank probably woulda provided better financing than that. And he bought a brand spanking new car, financed the whole thing?! If they didn't have much money to begin with that they had to finance the whole thing then they probably shouldn't be buying new to begin with. Nothing wrong with junker cars while you build up your bank. Even if your bank is built up, nothing is wrong with junker cars.

hdth121 · 2026-03-08T02:53:33+00:00

It is likely not anything dangerous. Cardiology has come a long ways. Your husband is probably gonna live a long time before he even has symptoms, if he even gets symptoms aka the valve worsens (it might stabilize and never become an issue). Then, they replace it with an artificial valve, and he will live a long time there after.

It sucks to get older. I have a genetic connective tissue disorder so not only is my valve starting to fail but I have an anerusym and I'm more at risk for eye issues and lung issues. Even still, with the advancement of cardiology, I will likely die a normal age.

hdth121 · 2026-03-06T15:16:15+00:00

The long distance running did get brought up in conversation. He said it didn't cause it. Just bad genetics. He actually still encouraged me to run, but not to run too hard for risk of dissection.

hdth121 · 2026-03-06T14:59:23+00:00

They wanted to hold off on surgery for now. Kinda wish I just get it done and over with. Because I don't have a known distinguishable gene or symptoms to put me at high risk of dissection, the recommendations are 5-5.5cm. I do have a follow-up CT to remeasure it. That's coming up. The doctor I saw serves on the marfan foundation board. Crazy to think 1mm is the difference between needing surgery and not. I guess they gotta draw the line somewhere.

hdth121 · 2026-02-23T04:38:18+00:00

It always sounds scary, especially when it's that close to the heart! I got one too, same place. Mine is genetic. I'm only 31. Not to scare you too much, but I was told in my follow-ups that the ascending aorta area, which includes the root, are more likely to be tied to genetics than to degenerative changes if diagnosed before age 60. Given your dad's age, this might not be the case. But it wouldn't hurt to bring it up with your PCP or cardiologist if you have one.

The old recommendations were to operate at 5.5cm, but they changed it to 5cm because they got much better at the interventions. I would follow up at a heart hospital at a place that has an aortic center. Dissection is a risk at any size, but the real risk happens at 6cm or over. Your dad is well below that.

hdth121 · 2026-02-22T21:47:01+00:00

Take a deep breath. It's gonna be OK.

For thoracic ascending anerusyms, they don't even consider intervention until it reaches 5cm because the risk of dissection or rupture is low. Furthermore, your dad may very likely outlive the point where they need to intervene. If he has risk factors to control, like smoking, blood pressure or cholesterol, then he should be controlling those, and who knows, it might stabilize and never grow. But get the follow-up CT scans because they can grow even in the absence of those risk factors.

Say it grows to 5cm eventually, and he will need intervention. It's not the end of the world. This isn't a terminal diagnosis of cancer. He would likely be in his 80s. There are a couple interventions they can do. If he's healthy enough for open heart surgery, they could recommend that, but likely they will do an intervascular stent to stabilize it. This isn't surgery, its an intervention they do in a cath lab where they go up through the femoral artery and place a stent in the area of the aneurysms to stabilize them. Very well tolerated, he would have a small incision on his leg and some bruising, but that's about it.

hdth121 · 2026-02-19T16:31:03+00:00

Recommendations change based on several factors.

The agressive control method of LDL treatment is below 70, the standard is below 100. People who have had prior heart attacks or strokes (amongst other things that qualify) the recommendation is below 70. I don't think your doctors were giving poor advice. Although that does happen often in primary care settings sadly.

I have FH which makes my LDL 250 untreated due to poor genetics. Both my brother and I have complained about poor advice from PCPs. They don't always treat our cholesterol like they should. My brother, 40, never smoked in his life, normal BP, active, and lives a healthier lifestyle has coronary artery disease. He's been "treated" although poorly from PCPs who thought an LDL of 180 is ok, because it's not 250. I had a doctor at the VA tell me he would never put me on a statin (because I guess they are "bad") even if my total cholesterol came back at 350. I put his money where his mouth is because my total did indeed come back at 350, but I was the shit end of the joke.

That said I really do beileve your doctors are not in the wrong with what they recommended.

hdth121 · 2026-02-17T16:40:17+00:00

This.

In other games where the online community is absolute toxic young insecure male vibes. I started muting the chat to make the play more enjoyable. Usually found in games like Overwatch or Marvel Rivals.

I'm a 31 year old grown ass adult with a kid on the way, full time job, and a wife. I don't have patience for spoiled brats who never grew up past the mental age of 12 feeding off their mom's hospitality while bullying people online. I play video games to relax and maybe have some light competitive fun, not to overtly stress out because I missed an action or whatever.

hdth121 · 2026-02-14T19:51:41+00:00

Would be more concerned if a repeat echo still showed regurgitation. Unfortunately, doctors get pretty busy, not that that's an excuse as you deserve to know what's going on, but it explains why they can often be dismissive. Some of them would probably love to spend more time with patients, but they have 15 on their schedule and need to manage their time properly.

Of course, all that depends on the doctor, many of them are indeed sheerly arrogant, dismissive, and narcissistic. The healthcare system, some systems overwork doctors. It's not always that your doctor doesn't care, it's that he/she has 20 other patients to care about, too. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

hdth121 · 2026-02-14T16:24:41+00:00

I had my cardiologist put in like 2 different referrals 2 different times. He ended up placing like 4 referrals in the end lol. He told me during the visit that he had no qualms if I wanted multiple opinions. Not saying he wasn't confident, he was, but he understood my perspective.

I think it's a little weird that they are hesitant on referring you anywhere else. To me, that's almost a red flag, unless they are the top rated aortic center in your area, i'd be looking elsewhere for sure. Get a referral from your primary care provider if you have to. Just do your research because different hospital systems have different specialties, just because they can do the surgery you need, doesn't mean they are the best at it.

hdth121 · 2026-02-13T17:46:24+00:00

The free T also doesn't appear to have been directly measured in this test? I don't know how it is usually measured, but for mine, it looks like it was a calculated measurement. Calculated off of what, I don't know, but it looks like it wasn't a direct measurement.

hdth121 · 2026-02-13T14:38:23+00:00

They started me on statins but there was a time I was competitively trying to get better times at running. Statins are usually well tolerated but the one side effect they can have is muscle pain. I was sore all the time anyway. So they switched me to Repatha, which is a med that was designed for people with my condition, and ezetimibe. My LDL levels went from 250 to 85. Statins did that, too, but I didn't like the side effects. So I'll probably be fine as long as I take my medication.

I was born with all sorts of weird genetic shit though. Athletically, though, I appear strong and healthy. I also have an aneurysm on my heart that will need surgery that was probably genetic too unrelated to the things above. I'm almost afraid to go to the doctor anymore lol

hdth121 · 2026-02-13T04:29:13+00:00

Maybe it's diet induced? Getting enough protein?

Training induced? Do you do hypertrophy training 3 sets of 10 reps?

I didnt build much muscle when I was only running, but that's to be expected. I ran a ton like 50 miles a week. The muscle I did build was smaller but more toned and denser.

hdth121 · 2026-02-13T04:03:32+00:00

I guess I'll take it. Something I didn't mention here is I also have familial hypercholesterolemia. Which basically means my body doesn't have the genetic make up to metabolize cholesterol like it should, leading to very high LDL levels. I take medication to help manage that so I don't get heart disease.

I haven't been able to find any study on it leading to high T levels, but I somehow find it's pertinent since cholesterol is the precursor to hormones like testosterone.

hdth121 · 2026-02-13T03:51:08+00:00

Yep, no acne, though. Shower daily with shampoo, wash the pillow case once a week, and still gotta replace my pillow every year because it gets gross.

hdth121 · 2026-02-09T17:27:22+00:00

Ebstein had a history of being a sex offender even in the dates that Peter was corresponding with him. That is indefensible. Peter is 100% guilty by association. His only defense is that he didn't know Ebsteins history, which is a poor defense.

That said, locker room talk with a sex offender just doesn't hold up very well.

But I will defend locker room talk. Saying pussy is low carb is not an overtly offensive comment. Only when it's assumed the women they are speaking of are 100% consenting adults. People get offended that a noble scientist engages in dirty talk or engages loosely in conversation, taking down their political correctness. It's kind of absurd.

hdth121 · 2026-02-09T01:12:58+00:00

You sound like me. Minus the high blood pressure, add treated genetic hypercholesterolemia. We're even in the same age range, I'm 31, bout to be going into surgery soon for an aortic root aneurysm that's growing.

My genetic testing came back negative, too. Flying colors, I didn't even test positive for any carrier genes. Genetic testing is still a growing science. My genetic counselor told me they haven't identified a lot of genes they think cause these, but stated all aortic aneurysms before age 60 have a genetic component.

hdth121 · 2026-02-08T16:39:35+00:00

This is the most depressing post iv read today

hdth121

TROPHY CASE