Found a brave cardiologist willing to try an angiogram without starting me on dialysis first: Dr. Dmitri Feldman, the one recommended by Dr. Sanders. Apparently there’s a version of an angiogram that uses very little (<30cc.) contrast medium. Somewhat weirdly, it appears that the first time I’ll meet Dr. Feldman is Monday, when the procedure is scheduled. I’m going to check in with Dr. Bomback, the nephrologist, to follow up on Dr. Lew’s suggestion of taking 600mg of n-acetylcysteine twice a day the day before and the day of the procedure.
The plan is to have me in and out of the hospital within about five hours, suggesting that the procedure isn’t all that drastic. But I’ve been surprised before. Fingers crossed.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
Best of luck!