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I want the procedure to work so badly. I know it won't solve everything though. Do you have any advice on what I should be doing or not doing, anything that would help my chances of it working and avoiding restenosis?
The thing is that there are people with no improvements (terrible disappointment) and there are people for whom it really does seem to solve everything (tremendous joy). And everywhere in between. There's no real way to predict. So I wouldn't say that it won't solve everything (it might) or that you will definitely have improvements (you might not).
The advice I'd consider:
Start working out daily, starting right now. Exercise may lead to healthier endothelium and blood composition and may lead to better healing after the procedure.
Eat healthy.
Follow your doctor's advice about anticoagulation. You could ask if a daily baby aspirin is also appropriate, if that's not already prescribed.
Baby your health, be self-nurturing, don't stress.
Drink lots of water.
Whether or not restenosis will occur will depend more on your doctor's choices during the procedure than on anything you do before or after. The doctor might under-dilate, which would result in restenosis. Or he might not prescribe appropriate anticoagulation, which would put you at risk for clotting. Or he might over-dilate, putting you at risk for vein injury. Different doctors have vastly different techniques. I believe that the biggest choices we make are, first, the choice to get the procedure and, second, the choice of which doctor. There are doctors with hundreds of procedures experience and doctors without. The procedure has not been standardized. My biggest advice would be to make sure you know your doctor's answers to some of the big questions on technique (how does he choose balloon size, what anticoagulation is used, how long is a balloon kept inflated, how is ivus used, which veins are investigated).
CCSVI.org is a very good resource too. Wishing you luck and health, westcoast girl. My other advice is to have a follow-up appointment already arranged for a month post-procedure. That's earlier than most doctors suggest but it's within the window of opportunity to remove a clot manually if a clot were to have formed, before the clot has hardened and reorganized.
More theory-based advice that might not be practical is to spend as much time as possible in the week or two post-procedure lying down. Jugulars are open when you're lying down, but the jugulars close down to nearly one tenth their size or less when you're upright. The more flow through the jugulars, the better they'll heal. The more hydrated you are, the more flow there should be. The more you exercise, the more flow there should be.
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