Panic Attacks

[Ged1975]

Wow, I'm just so overwhelmed by the number of replies. This website really is like an extra crutch, a great support! I really appreciate you all taking the time to tell me about your situations and explaining the anxiety you all went through and are going through.

God bless

Gerard

 

[Bina]

Hello again, I just wanted to emphasize what Ross has said....be careful with your level of exercise should you decide to resume it. Check with your Doc and he will probably agree that walking is best for now.

 

[WayneGM]

Welcome to VR. Glad you decided to join us and post your story. Your fear and anxiety are normal. Everyone deals with it differently. I was asymptomatic, too, so like you it was hard accepting the fact that anything was wrong. Now that I've been through it, and can honestly say it wasn't nearly as bad as a feared and I have no regrets about taking the step. Life is good on this side of the mountain. Best wishes and good luck.

 

[ponytaila1a]

Welcome to VR. I too was too anxious to discuss the situation with anyone. Posting on the site has allowed me to relax enough to discuss my MV regurgitation with SOME people, although I still am not comfortable talking about it. I am in the waiting room (with the blessing of my surgeon) until Spring. I have few symptoms but like you am afraid to exercise (even a stroll around the block) although no doc has actually told me I cannot. I feel "robbed" of my normal lifestyle.....but am aprehensive about taking the step for the OHS. Keep posting any and all questions here and read all of the threads you can......following a member through the pre surgery to the post surgery and recovery will give you more confidence. Also the info on the threads is priceless!!

 

[Shawneegirl]

Hi
Don't feel alone. I also started having panic attacks when I first found out I had a leaking mitral value. I am not ready for surgery yet but whenever i have it on my mind alot I have attacks. What is bad is I always think it is my heart. I am on medication that I take whenever I feel one coming on or think I may. It has helped me alot. These people are great and if you keep in touch you will see that too. Good luck!
Bobbie

 

[briansmom]

I hope that hearing other peoples panic stories will let you know that you are not alone.

I also am the mom - not even the patient. My son was very sick and on life support when I was told that he needed an experimental heart pump implanted. I spent the whole conversation with my head between my knees because I thought I was going to pass out. I was telling the doctors to keep talking I was listening, but didn't want to pass out on them.

My son is alive now and doing remarkably well for all he has been through. He does have permanent heart damage, but your situation is not the same as his. I still have panic attacks and the surgery didn't even happen to me. I used to be an off-road motorcycle racer and now I barely ride. I also see a psychiatrist to help me get through this. I am getting better, but it is a slow process.

I think that you will come out of this completely healthy and able to get back to your normal life. You are going in as an active healthy man. One of our off-road racer friends was having a bunch of heart palpitations when my son's aorta dissected. My son's situation scared him enough to go to his doc about it and found out that he had endocarditis and BAV. He had surgery shortly after my son and today feels COMPLETELY normal. Rest assured that you have caught this early enough to have a healthy happy long long life.

Best wishes, please keep us posted.

 

[Eva]

Gerard, welcome aboard and I am glad you posted.

What you are exepriencing is all normal and we all went through it. I personally knew I would need surgery for five years, yet when my cardio told me it fell like a bombshell over my head and once i reached the car, I burset into tears---I could not think, was very scared, survival rate for me was 5% and I definitely would be one of those 5!! I could not sleep and felt like paralized and depressed. My family doctor prescribed for me 20 mg of prozac during the day, and Xanax XR which effect lasted to the second day. They worked like a miracle. So, I would encourage you to take them until the surgery so that you can be strong emotionally and mentally and physically, as long as you know you won't take them for ever. Sometime I toook 1/4 mg of xanax during the day too.

As for exercise, I agree as Ross said and as my cardio said, since my heart was also enlarged, only to walk...safest exercise at the timebeing.

The good thing is all this will go away with time.... this was a shock for you and you need the time to recover from such horrible news. The surgery these days is a routine nd look at all of us here, we had gone through it and here we are feeling better and happy about it and we now realize that we did not need to go through all those fears, but could not help it at the time. So, take whatever it takes to help you feel better, and good luck.

 

[Eva]

Gerard,

I just read TFBruce's post surgery post and I am giving myself the liberty to quote a part of his thread:

QUOTE: I cannot believe how great my incision looks, either! The whole experience, so far, has been so much better than I had imagined. UNQUOTE

 

[johnfreeman62]

Take it on faith, take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part. I knew I would need valve replacement "someday" for thirty years. It still freaked my ***** when they said you need it now. It really drove me crazy waiting to set a date. My gf even called asking for sedatives... Anyway I am now four weeks post and feeling great. They really do amazing things and you are going to be fine.

 

[Cooker]

Anxiety and be devastating ? I have found that modern pharmaceuticals work wonders

 

[geckley]

You're 33 and very fit. That mortality rate covers EVERYONE even the 70 year old shut in that subsists on fried unhealthy fat foods. It also includes the people who ignore their symptoms until it's too late. I'll bet your chances of not making it are 1/2 that 1.5% I have had 3 OHS and am still going strong. I too had anxiety attacks and was worried about the outcome (I wasn't as bad as what you're describing). You will meet alot of people here who have climbed the mountain on several occassions. This is the worst part. The surgery and recovery though uncomfortable is no whee near as bad as the wait. I'm sure you could have a Dr. prescribe you something for th panic attacks. I'm sure we will all be by your side when it comes time. Keep us posted you'll do fine.

 

[JAJ99]

Take magnesium!!! I take chelated magnesium as it helps in absorption. Chelated magnesium a little hard to find but a good vitamin store should have it, but a drugstore probably not. There is a lot written about magnesium and panic attacks. I had a few attacks, many years ago, which I thought were due to my mitral valve getting worse. It wasn't getting worse, but the stress of it just made things seem that way. I read a lot about magnesium and panic attacks and now take it religiously. I haven't had a panic attack in 10 years. Relaxation breathing also helps. Search the internet. There is a lot good advice regarding panic attacks. It's difficult knowing there is something "wrong" with your heart. I had my surgery a little over a year ago and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Best of luck!!!

 

[Fran]

Gerard, you share names with a fantastic Scottish actor many of us ladies swoon over, take great care of your wonderful self and you're going to be back on track very soon. Wrapping one's mind around a doctor getting inside of us and digging around is very very hard. I learned the phrase, "THIS TOO SHALL PASS," and, better yet, that this is my "NEW NORMAL." Ever ask a parent of a lovely little handicapped child how they do it? He or she will typically tell you, "This is just normal for us." That doesn't mean they have it easy, it just means the rules have been changed and they adapted. I lost a younger wonderful brother to suicide 13+ years ago, that poor kid (a medic firefighter, one of the best, age 26) just got so damned overwhelmed and distraught and I remember wondering how I was going to keep going without him. NEW NORMAL. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Some of the lovely folks I met on a survivors board way back then and I are still very close friends.

Fear is the greatest enemy you've/we've got. Some part of you has to get downright ornery (we use that word in the south, it means stubborn, determined) about kicking this thing back where it belongs.

What you are experiencing is normal and makes so much sense. What can't happen is that you let it stop you from living and THRIVING. The miracle is that you found this before your heart enlarged anymore. After your surgery, I promise you that you will be able to return to your athletic way of life. I sure did.

Never give up. Keep looking for help on the medication for the panic attacks (I've only had one, all the tubes and wires recently in an ICU bed against my body suddenly were more than I could bear, my nurse gave me something that helped) and get going on that surgery and rejoin the living!! We're out here telling you that it can be done - you're no different than us except where you are along the road. Best of luck.

 

[Ged1975]

You're 33 and very fit. That mortality rate covers EVERYONE even the 70 year old shut in that subsists on fried unhealthy fat foods. It also includes the people who ignore their symptoms until it's too late. I'll bet your chances of not making it are 1/2 that 1.5% I have had 3 OHS and am still going strong. I too had anxiety attacks and was worried about the outcome (I wasn't as bad as what you're describing). You will meet alot of people here who have climbed the mountain on several occassions. This is the worst part. The surgery and recovery though uncomfortable is no whee near as bad as the wait. I'm sure you could have a Dr. prescribe you something for th panic attacks. I'm sure we will all be by your side when it comes time. Keep us posted you'll do fine.

Thanks for your supportive message, I take alot of comfort form what you have to say. I wish the best for you too.

God Bless

Gerard in Dublin, Ireland