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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is There A Medication That Can Increase The Oxygen Flow To My Legs ?

Is there a medication that can increase the oxygen flow to my legs?
My arteries are not supplying oxygen to my legs.The Doctors tell me surgery will not help.I cannot walk a half city block.The pain in my legs becomes unbearable even at a snails pace.It takes usually 10 minutes for the arteries I do have to supply oxygen to my legs so I can continue.(I am 57 yrs. old,had 3 heart attacks,triple bypass surgery,12 stints inserted,high blood pressure and cholesterol)What a mess!The medication would probably kill me,but I would give it a shot.I don't want a scooter,or wheel chair,or crutches.About all I can do is run my riding lawn mower;I want to be able to function.Is there any real Doctors in the house?Thanking you in advance for any good advice...
Thu, 17 Dec 2009
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I am not vascular surgeon, but I think that there are several fronts from which you and your physician can address this problem. 1. The first is at the point of the blockages. Mechanical angioplasty with stents have been used but are not appropriate or even useful in every situation. 2. The next is to reduce the coagulation properties of the blood/platelets with Plavix, aspirin, and Pletal. 3. Another consider is to bolstering the pump (heart) pushing the blood through the arteries. Even if you are not experiencing angina, long acting nitrates (isosorbide mononitrate) can sometimes be useful.to increase cardiac function (and thus push blood through the arteries better). Additionally judicious use of Digoxin can be helpful on this front as well. It may be worthwhile to consider scaling back your b-blockers and calcium channel blocker to a minimal doses as long as you do not have a normally very rapid heart rate or arrhythmias. (Reduce ianotropic restrictions) I have seen these measures substantially improve symptoms - but not eliminate the problem entirely. 4. Next, if you are not on maximum therapy to reduce cholesterol to very low levels (LDL at 50 or below). There are some studies that show beating the levels very low will actually reverse the blockages in the arteries(the studies were specific to coronary arteries but it follows that the same might apply to lower extremity arteries too)...no guarentees here, but we are looking for last resorts and it may be helpful over time. Finally even though you are having symptoms, you should continue to try to keep moving as much as you are able. The body is very resourceful...if a blockage occurs and the muscle is still being used, the body often with grow collateral arteries to supply the tissue. Again this is not an instant fix but if you stick with it you will start to see improvements within six months. I hope this is helpful. Good luck.

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Is There A Medication That Can Increase The Oxygen Flow To My Legs ?

I am not vascular surgeon, but I think that there are several fronts from which you and your physician can address this problem. 1. The first is at the point of the blockages. Mechanical angioplasty with stents have been used but are not appropriate or even useful in every situation. 2. The next is to reduce the coagulation properties of the blood/platelets with Plavix, aspirin, and Pletal. 3. Another consider is to bolstering the pump (heart) pushing the blood through the arteries. Even if you are not experiencing angina, long acting nitrates (isosorbide mononitrate) can sometimes be useful.to increase cardiac function (and thus push blood through the arteries better). Additionally judicious use of Digoxin can be helpful on this front as well. It may be worthwhile to consider scaling back your b-blockers and calcium channel blocker to a minimal doses as long as you do not have a normally very rapid heart rate or arrhythmias. (Reduce ianotropic restrictions) I have seen these measures substantially improve symptoms - but not eliminate the problem entirely. 4. Next, if you are not on maximum therapy to reduce cholesterol to very low levels (LDL at 50 or below). There are some studies that show beating the levels very low will actually reverse the blockages in the arteries(the studies were specific to coronary arteries but it follows that the same might apply to lower extremity arteries too)...no guarentees here, but we are looking for last resorts and it may be helpful over time. Finally even though you are having symptoms, you should continue to try to keep moving as much as you are able. The body is very resourceful...if a blockage occurs and the muscle is still being used, the body often with grow collateral arteries to supply the tissue. Again this is not an instant fix but if you stick with it you will start to see improvements within six months. I hope this is helpful. Good luck.