Fighting anxiety, again!

[Guest]

Hi all-

Just needed to vent and let some things out. I'm just about 11 wks. post op and have been experiencing anxiety attacks like I had prior to surgery. Is this common? I really thought I was getting past this and now all this troubling stuff is rearing its ugly head again.
For all of you who don't know my full story here it is: I'm 39 years old and had a heart attack this past June while on vacation in Branson, MO. I wasn't sure what was happening to me at the time but went to the local ER where I was misdiagnosed with muscle strain (I had no chest pains....all the pain was in my back) and sent away with muscle relaxants and pain meds. Well, after we returned home I went to have my yearly exam with my doctor and by that time (5 days later) all my pain was gone and every thing else seemed to be just fine. I needed to have my potassium levels checked since I have been treated for HBP for about 15 years and so I proceeded over to our local hospital to have the blood draw. Now here is where my story gets interesting...when I was checking in, they noticed that the EKG box on the doctor's orders was marked. They questioned me as to why he may have wanted it....I didn't know...I said, "maybe he wants something for his records as I was still a "new" patient of his". Anyway, I had the EKG done first and you should have seen the reaction of the two techs. in the room.....next thing I knew I was being wheeled down to the ER while they expained that I was having a heart attack! To make my long story a bit shorter, the next day I was transported to Columbia MO regional health care center where I received angioplasty to clear my rt. coronary artery which was 100% blocked.
Well, I thought I had dodged one huge bullet, thanks to God and His angels! However, 3 wks later I went into CHF and it was discovered that my mitral valve had been damaged in the attack and in Nov. I had it repaired. Oh, I also had to my artery with the stents bypassed due to stenosis that had begun to shut down the artery by 50% in 3 months.....
Needless to say, I feel incredibly blessed. I thank God each day that I'm still here to enjoy each day! But this anxiety the last couple of days has really thrown me for a loop!
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I actually feel better just telling you all "my story".
Perhaps, my stress is up because I had my follow up echo done today. I wouldn't even look at the screen as the tech. was doing it....I was just to nervous.....
Any encouragement you all could give me at this time would be greatly appreciated!
Julia

 

[Ross]

Julia if I were in a situation such as you describe, I think I'd be a wee bit anxious myself. Not over the current situation, but that of the past. Try to relax as best you can. You should be all fixed up now and shouldn't receive any bad news for years down the road. I know it's easy to tell someone this and hard to do in reality, but you've come full circle now. Enjoy your new life! Don't stress at the small stuff.

Is there any particular trigger that gets you going?

 

[alex1307]

Julia,

You didn't mention any mediications you take. A lot of them have side effects like anxiety and depression. Try to find out about this and if you see these side effects - replace the medication.

Good luck and feel better,
Alex

 

[ALCapshaw]

Hi Julia,

It sounds to me like you have a bit of "fear of the unknown".

I can sympathize with that feeling. The way I deal with it is to try to learn as much as I can about my condition and my options. It sounds like your conditions have been addressed. Ask your Cardiologist to explain your last echo and tell you your prognosis. I'm a little surprised they did a bypass on a 50% blockage. I can only assume the rate of change and the fact they already had you opened up for your valve repair were contributing factors. Usually bypasses are not done until 90% blockage exists.

You may want to do some reading on heart issues. For starters, check out the American Heart Association website at www.americanheart.org More info is available in the REFERENCE Forum and others here on VR.com

To paraphrase our wise sage Nancy, 'worry is a waste of time...there is usually nothing you can do about your situation.' Let the professionals worry about what to do. I'm sure if the Echo Tech saw anything serious, you would NOT have been sent home and a Doctor would have been called in to assess the data..

In the mean time, be thanful your condition was diagnosed and treated. Now it's time to look to the future and all it's wonderful possibilities.

Have a good life !

'AL'.

 

[Don]

Meditation

Meditation

Hi Julie,
I just posted something about meditation and yoga.
You might give it a try. It helped me, although I still get anxious at times -- but less so.
Best wishes,
Don
AVR; MI; 4/02; CCF; Cosgrove; Bovine Tissue

 

[terry40]

mommy3

mommy3

You might need to go through cardiac rehab, I'm 12 weeks post surgery and haven't gone through half of what you have, but cardiac rehab is helping.

Having the health care professional dismiss your symptoms the first time you went to the ER would destroy the trust for most of us, and waiting for the outcome of your echo test report, can cause a lot of anxiety too.

It's easy to say relax, don't worry, stop stressing, it's another thing to do it, I tend to keep myself very busy (mind & body) when awaiting an outcome of a test or etc.... at rehab they recommend deep breathing exercises, Yoga, which was already mentioned, and listening to those relaxing tapes/cds.

I'm hoping for a good outcome from your echo report,

Terry40

 

[Guest]

Hi to everyone and thanks so much for your replies.

Al- Trust me....I think I've done so much reading about heart disease that I almost have information overload! Seriously though, I did check out the AHA website and found out yet more info for me to consider. At times I wonder if I have more "fear of the known" than the "unknown!

Don- funny you should mention yoga. I just received two yoga tapes I ordered in the mail yesterday. Will see if these help me to "chill out"! LOL!

Terry- I'm in rehab. right now and it is definitely a positive thing in my life.

Ross- thanks for your words of kindness. I know, from reading your past posts that you have definitely "been there, done that". You are an inspiration to me. In fact, all of you are.

I think I will continue to feel less anxious when I hear back from my cardio. later today with the results from the echo. I'll let you all know what I found out later!

 

[Vicki448]

Mommy3, I can identify with you completely. My surgery to repair my mitral valve was August of 2002, and I couldn't understand why I wasn't getting better. It wasn't my "surgery" itself - the scar and such were fine. It was my head and the foggy feeling and such that I was feeling. My heart doctors couldn't/wouldn't commit to anything...telling me that they didn't know why I was feeling the way I was feeling, but then I went to my wonderful gyno. for a checkup and he knew exactly where I was coming from. Heart surgery does strange things to your mind - it's your first indication that your time is limited here on earth. I was suffering from such anxiety and depression. I didn't want to leave home...I didn't want to drive....I didn't want to be somewhere and have "something happen to me" and then be surrounded by strangers. These are all common thoughts that some heart patients feel after surgery. Talk to your doctor about how you feel - what you're experiencing. There are some wonderful medications on the market that can help you through what you're going through. I, myself, couldn't understand why I couldn't clear my head and kick this feeling all on my own - well, it's more complicated than that and I am so glad that I got help. I just wish that I'd done it sooner after my surgery....if someone had told me that what I was feeling was not the "surgery" itself, but the after effects of the surgery.....Keep in touch. (Didn't check for typos....excuse me for that. I'm just being lazy today).

 

[Ms. Ramsey]

Post surgery depression

Post surgery depression

Wow, it's great to find this post! I've been looking for someone else who's had some depression after surgery.

I mostly felt crabby and uninterested in - well, pretty much everything I used to like. My husband told me that I'd changed and I should go to a doctor to get help. Of course I stomped off to my primary care physician (I was going to show my husband he was wrong! LOL) . Sure enough, I displayed all the classic signs of depression. She was very sympathetic and told me it was very common with a huge surgery like valve repair.

So I've been on Zoloft for about a week and a half now and hope that it helps get me back to the person I used to be.

Mary

 

[Nancy]

It will, Mary. It takes a couple of weeks.