What is the best way to take Anginine?

[Phil Spencer]

I have been suffering from coronary arterial spasms lately (like a heart attack but no damage) I have been given Anginine to take when I feel an episode coming on. I got into trouble with my wife when she found out that I have been taking them whilst sitting at the traffic lights and then driving off (I do a lot of driving for my job), she says that I should pull over and take the tablet and wait for it to dissolve, I reckon that I am wasting time doing that I am sitting comfortably any way. Who is right?

Coronary Arterial Spasms is when the artery spasms trying to restrict the blood flow to the heart as I regularly take sprain and have taken chloresteral medication for 30 years my blood is thin and I have no blockages so fortunately no mussel damage is done and things are normal otherwise, the attacks don't have any debilitating effect they think that high blood pressure caused by stress has caused it.

So should I pull over to take my tablets or take them on the go??

[Adynaton]

G'day Phil,

Sorry Mate, but I have to tell you that SWMBO or LOYL [depending on which one keeps you out of trouble :p] is right.

Anginine drops the blood pressure, which is why you are advised to sit down while taking it, however if you have a drop in blood pressure and pass out while you are in charge of a vehicle, it can cause an accident leading maybe to injury to either yourself or another person. Not good!:no:

You place the anginine under the tongue and while it is fizzing it is starting to drop your blood pressure, so as soon as you feel the need to take the stuff you should do what she says and pull over, take it and wait 5 mins.

Ady:)

[Chesand]

:whs:

[Toggy]

Don't take those spasms lightly. They can quickly become life threatening.
Mine eventually crushed the artery over a 1" length and it stayed crushed.
Closer to dead than alive before they rectified it.

Ken

[rrobor]

My dads friend and his wife died under an army truck. He drove on at full speed across a corner to under the truck. At autopsy, he was in cardiac arrest, his wife had no issues. Make of this what you will.

[Phil Spencer]

Don't take those spasms lightly. They can quickly become life threatening.
Mine eventually crushed the artery over a 1" length and it stayed crushed.
Closer to dead than alive before they rectified it.

Ken

I have had all the tests and there are no blockages or damage, what has helped is that I take aspirin every day keeps my blood nice and thin and my blood pressure medication actually relaxes the arteries. The doctors said that works in my favour



My dads friend and his wife died under an army truck. He drove on at full speed across a corner to under the truck. At autopsy, he was in cardiac arrest, his wife had no issues. Make of this what you will.

They reckon it is caused by work related stress, need to find another job or retire



G'day Phil,

Sorry Mate, but I have to tell you that SWMBO or LOYL [depending on which one keeps you out of trouble :p] is right.

Anginine drops the blood pressure, which is why you are advised to sit down while taking it, however if you have a drop in blood pressure and pass out while you are in charge of a vehicle, it can cause an accident leading maybe to injury to either yourself or another person. Not good!:no:

You place the anginine under the tongue and while it is fizzing it is starting to drop your blood pressure, so as soon as you feel the need to take the stuff you should do what she says and pull over, take it and wait 5 mins.

Ady:)

I have been slapped around the head been dobbed on to my mates and made to promise not to put work first and pull over, good advice I suppose.

[rrobor]

No no no, I wont let you off with that. Your issue has four causes. you didnt chose your parents well enough. The rubbish you feed down your gullet, You sit on your backside too long, or the mental stress you place on yourself. Mostly if you control yourself you can fix yourself.
But we have but one life, running round the block At 6am cutting out all goodies and eating carrots like some bunny, struth id rather be dead.

[FenceFurniture]

Phil, I was going to just be flippant in response to your thread title, and say that Brad already has, but there is a very, very serious side to this.

I really don't think you'd want to be responsible for killing or injuring another driver et al after causing an accident from dizziness, or being passed out. It can happen from a drop in blood pressure. On two occasions when I had a rapid drop in pressure (for other reasons) I woke up on the floor some time later (don't know how long, could have been 30 seconds or 15 minutes). The second time I was uninjured, but the first time I sconned myself on the very sharp corner of a loudspeaker and pushed the other corner 2" into the Gyprock.

Think about it man.

[ian]

in addition to :whs: taking that medication without pulling over would amount to neg driving

[johnredl]

Mate, on a practical side...I'm a paramedic, so I use anginine daily. Short answer is - sorry to tell you, but ur wife is right. Ur doing the right thing by taking anginine as prescribed for a medically diagnosed condition, BUT, by not pulling over and waiting for only 5 mins you are really running a huge risk. Like said by someone previously, anginine (GTN for short) drops ur blood pressure, if u have one of these episodes and ur body for sone reason has an exaggerated response (there r literally dozens that I could give u) u could crash and kill a kid (worst case).

Best to pull over for a few mins, listen to the radio/cd, send an SMS message. Then get back to things. Really how much difference is 5 mins going to make, dinner will still b waiting for u, and the shops will still b open...and hopefully u won't get to c me professionally!

[Chesand]

I've been slapped around the head been dobbed on to my mates and made to promise not to put work first and pull over, good advice I suppose.

Perhaps you should heed the advice while you are able to.

I deliberately did not state my profession (pharmacist for 50 years) in my earlier post but if you had sought my professional opinion it would be exactly what all the other posters have said.

Many years ago, a friend of my fathers drove through a red light killing others. He was on his way home after being told he was not to drive again because of his medical condition. He faced criminal charges and was a broken man thereafter.

We would hate to hear that you had been in a similar situation.

[Adynaton]

G'day Phil

Now after all this advice about the anginine, we need to have a look at how to keep the spasms and blood pressure down.

Different things work for different people.

Try playing your favourite music, yoga - useful for breathing exercises, counting to 100, with every 10 sectioned off into a different language, and if that is too easy do it backwards:D

Ask yourself will this stress that is upsetting you matter tomorrow or the next day or the next year, in what is important.

Remember when you go on holidays someone fills the gap, and if you are off sick your work place is not going to stop, and if you leave after 6 months you will be forgotten, or only vaguely remembered.

SWMBO is probably more important to you than work as with any ankle biters you may have, even if they are grown.

Instead of stressing about work think about what is in the shed, what that next piece of wood is going to become, a bowl, a toy, a pen, the important things in life - you know WOOD:D

Ady:)

[Phil Spencer]

Thanks everyone.
I have taken on board every thing you have all said and PROMISE not to do it again. I have some nice music in the car and have been working on meditating.

I think the causes were several:


Hereditary blood pressure problems (from my mother) I have had to take a bucket load of pills for the last 30 years
My wife had a workplace accident four years ago and has been left in chronic pain and needs a lot of support dealing with a belligerent case manager at WorkSafe in Victoria has not helped, eg: after the insurance company agreeing to provide a front step it took 18 months to finally get them to do the job, I was not allowed to do it because I was not insured I have a half full lever arch file with letters over this one issue.
what tipped me over was a new manager at work little bloke with a big opinion of himself on my first day back he took me into the board room and started to take a strip off me for putting the company out and inconveniencing him. Looking for another job now might do some consulting work for my self.

So I have slowed down a bit and are learning to smell the flowers (and the wood) with the support of some good friends (and LOML) I am confident I will be around for a long time to come

Thanks again for the advice guys

BTW my doctor just said take these when you get pain no other warnings from him or the chemist, so your advice has been really appreciated.

Phil

[johnredl]

Glad we could help Phil. Have a good day. Next time ur at a pharmacy ask the pharmacist to give u some better instructions on using ur GTN. Doctors administer it soo much that they tend to forget that the general public aren't as familiar with some drugs than they r!

[FenceFurniture]

Doctors administer it soo much that they tend to forget that the general public aren't as familiar with some drugs than they r!

Plus the converse John. Half the time they haven't got a bloody clue, and are just prescribing the latest drug that comes with a free pen. And that REALLY pisses me off! Write ten scripts and you get the writing pad, 20 you can have a pen, 25 and you get the boxed set, 50 for movie tickets, 100 and it's dinner out on us! There was an expose on this a few years ago (probably Four Corners), and as I recall these kind of incentives were found to be rife.

Pin your Doctor down. Ask him why he is prescribing that particular medication for you. Is there anything in it for him? Where did he get that nice little pad with the name of the medication on it? Etc. IMO it should be unlawful for Doctors (of ALL professionals) to receive gifts from super-rich drug companies.

[Chesand]

Plus the converse John. Half the time they haven't got a bloody clue, and are just prescribing the latest drug that comes with a free pen. And that REALLY pisses me off! Write ten scripts and you get the writing pad, 20 you can have a pen, 25 and you get the boxed set, 50 for movie tickets, 100 and it's dinner out on us! There was an expose on this a few years ago (probably Four Corners), and as I recall these kind of incentives were found to be rife.

Pin your Doctor down. Ask him why he is prescribing that particular medication for you. Is there anything in it for him? Where did he get that nice little pad with the name of the medication on it? Etc. IMO it should be unlawful for Doctors (of ALL professionals) to receive gifts from super-rich drug companies.

The drug companies are no longer allowed to hand out the freebies. It was stopped a while ago.
I agree that Phil should ask his doctor and also his pharmacist for more information about his drug/s. The pharmacist is obliged to provide a written handout if you ask for it.

[FenceFurniture]

The drug companies are no longer allowed to hand out the freebies. It was stopped a while ago.

That's excellent Herbie, I didn't know. Perhaps you'll forgive the cynic in me when I say, ok they're not "allowed " to but......They are ridiculously wealthy drug companies after all. If an average Joe like me can find the ninja entrance to buying goods that can't/won't be exported outside the USA then you can bet your life the Drug companies will find a way around it. How's this: "50 scripts and you wife can have a facial", 100 and we'll send HER to dinner for two, 500 and we'll give HER a new set of golf clubs". Cynical...perhaps. Practical solution? You betcha.

A pharmacist called "Herb" eh? Uh-huh.