A little bit about me... Anxiety / pectus excavatum / PTSD?

[SSMommy]

I had a really rough go of things after my daughter was born. I had some actual health issues and doctors kept dismissing or ignoring me because of a history of anxiety. I ended up figuring out what was wrong but it took me until she was almost one year old and countless doctors and tests to figure it out. Needless to say I have a real distrust of doctors now. It was something that should actually been recognized as an issue when I was a teenager as it is in many people. I have (had) pectus excavatum and after my daughter things got way worse. I started having heart troubles and extreme shortness of breath. Needless to say, one doctors office told me to drink coffee, the other told me to walk more as I was probably out of shape. My family though I was losing it and I started to think I was too because I was terrified that I was going to die. I then returned to work and ended up in an ambulance with sustained hr of 160-170. Had low potassium and an 'abnormal' EKG. Low potassium can cause both those things but the description was so vague. My normal doctor who told me to walk more then saw me and referred me to a cardiologist who did a nuclear stress test and said everything was normal. The funny thing is that somewhere around here I started asking the doctors that I was seeing if pectus could be causing any of this. They all said no - that doesn't cause problems. Well... Fast forward to 7 months later of daily fear and klonopin and things start getting worse again... I start feeling worse and worse and my hr started being way high too often. I started waking from sleep with racing heart runs. I saw my new doctor and she got me on a holter... Nothing. She then got me on the event monitor after a sustained hr over 130 at work. While on that I woke from a sleep where they clocked my heart at 166. It was terrifying because it lasted for at least 44 minutes. I just kept doing vasovagal maneuvers to Try and get it to stop. My husband had called my mom who came over and she didn't tell me until later that she was very scared. Finally it stopped. I started beta blockers for SVT the next day. A couple weeks later I saw and orthoped. Doctor (specialize in bones and genetic issue). Needless to say, she looked at my X-ray from another ER visit the week prior and said "hmmm I think these measurements are off. Do you mind doing an X-ray here today?" So I did and then listened to her explain to me when she came back in that I had 3.5cm between my spine and sternum and that my heart was totally pushed to the left displacing my lung. She was in shock. So was I, just crying. Fast forward say 4 months and I was at Mayo clinic in Arizona getting titanium rods put into my torso to push my sternum out (Nuss procedure). They were Amazing. So anyway... I am so grateful and thankful... But I am a bit traumatized by the moments that made up that year. The ambulances and waking from sleep in SVT mode where it wouldn't stop. The constant actual lack of being able to breathe. I know it sounds like one big panic attack right? But it wasn't for me. And I think about those moments sometimes haunt me and I have residual anxiety. I personally have no clue what came first with me. My pectus was there since I was a teenager and there was a long slew of doctors in my history for symptoms which can now be attributed to the pectus. But they weren't contributed to pectus, they were attributed to anxiety disorders. OI'm so conditioned to anxious that I don't know if I'll ever make it out. I live each day now feeling so grateful but struggle with work because I feel the important thing is my daughter. I am so much better than before my surgery. I think it has just left me very skeptical. I mean..my pectus was visibly noticeable. And when they did the test, anything over 3.2 haller index is considered severe and surgical correction should be considered. I was 9.8. How do they miss that for that long? When I specifically asked them if it could be causing these problems? Anyway, I recently spoke with the doctor and she was happy that I see a counselor on a regular basis and said she thinks that I have PTSD because of how traumatic it all was. She is the first person to mention that.

Anyway... This is long so if you've read it thanks. And if it makes no sense I'm sorry. It's 4am here and I was waiting on a call back for work and wasting time so I didn't have to go back to sleep and be woken again.

Becky

[Enduronman]

You'll make it out of this Becky,..and you're a really strong person behind this story too. We're here for ya girl!!

Make this day a great day!


E-Man..:)

[GeneAllen]

Well you have been through quite a bit. I am glad you hung in there and finally got the treatment you needed. Doctors do not listen well, some anyway. I was diagnosed with leukemia, when I went in for a sore throat, I asked for a strep test, doc said you have insurance lets runs some tests. That's not always a good sign, they're seeing dollar signs and I'm so tired I can barely walk. A week away from a bone marrow plug test, I went to another doc in another state said I would like a strep test please. She did it, said yep you have strep. I said can you check my blood count and do you see any signs of Leukemia? She said yes, and no you don't have leukemia. I said thanks and went about life. That was a free clinic that said no leukemia, the other was an insurance crazed GP. Anyway I'm glad you're doing better. Enjoy your day. Peace

[vonnhelsing]

I found out I have mild pectus excavatum yesterday.. doctor told me I need to stay in shape..

[vonnhelsing]

The doc said its fine nothing serious but I dont know if I need to get a second opinion.. he said it was compressing my heart a little bit. So freaked out about it.. ive always had shortness of breath I just figured anxiety was the cause but what if its this??? :(

[SSMommy]

Gene... That is CRAZY!! How terrible!!!!

[SSMommy]

E-man,

Thank you. Sometimes I just feel so tired and beaten down. I try to stay positive and just compare to last year this time and remember that. Or think about those who are really struggling and think about how blessed I am. It's still hard at times... Really hard.

[SSMommy]

Vonnhelsing... I can answer whatever you want on pectus... It's a topic I am extremely educated on at this point. We will have to set up a time to skype if anything works out for both of us. I feel like little things like you seeing this post are the reason for my days and words and experiences. So that we might help someone else even if it is just a little bit. :)

[vonnhelsing]

Just seen this ssmommy.
Thank you so much it would really help me to talk about this since it was such a shock to me and ive been having crazy panic attacks since I found out.

[ab123]

Ss mommy, I also just for diagnosed with svt..I've had two ambulance trips witj.a 170 hr also, I always seem to come out of them on my own..but nonetheless scary and traumatizing. Its hard to separate the anxiety symptoms from the svt anymore. Constant chest pain, discomfort...or general weird feeling mixed with fear. I am on 20 mg propranalol 2 times daily. Haven't worked or really been out of bed in three weeks. Please let me know how your doing, maybe we can help each other out.

[RachelLangley]

I was in a similar situation. Get GABA and Rescue Remedy, they work miracles. Get em online or health food store. You can overcome this and you have to tell yourself that, everyday, as many times as it takes. Change your diet as well to all organic and non GMO and make sure to eat more raw than cooked. Cut out sugars, gluten, corn, and soy! You will not believe how much better you will feel. Tuna has healthy fats your brain and body needs. Focus on the positive instead of the negative! I'm here if you need anything. Text me if you want a friend to help you through this time. 8122679097

[RachelLangley]

Ss mommy, I also just for diagnosed with svt..I've had two ambulance trips witj.a 170 hr also, I always seem to come out of them on my own..but nonetheless scary and traumatizing. Its hard to separate the anxiety symptoms from the svt anymore. Constant chest pain, discomfort...or general weird feeling mixed with fear. I am on 20 mg propranalol 2 times daily. Haven't worked or really been out of bed in three weeks. Please let me know how your doing, maybe we can help each other out.

I was in a similar situation. Get GABA and Rescue Remedy, they work miracles. Get em online or health food store. You can overcome this and you have to tell yourself that, everyday, as many times as it takes. Change your diet as well to all organic and non GMO and make sure to eat more raw than cooked. Cut out sugars, gluten, corn, and soy! You will not believe how much better you will feel. Tuna has healthy fats your brain and body needs. Focus on the positive instead of the negative! I'm here if you need anything. Text me if you want a friend to help you through this time. 8122679097

[ab123]

Thank you so much for your reply. Its hard to have an appetite anymore. But...what kinds of foods do you suggest..?

[RachelLangley]

Thank you so much for your reply. Its hard to have an appetite anymore. But...what kinds of foods do you suggest..?

Raw fruits and vegetables. Mostly vegetables. Make sure they're organic and non GMO! Freshly made carrot juice is wonderful too! Look up the hallelujah diet. It can rebuild every organ.

[ab123]

Thank you for the info.when this happend to you guys, how long until you recovered and felt more normal.? I may be getting an ablasion here soon.

[RachelLangley]

Thank you for the info.when this happend to you guys, how long until you recovered and felt more normal.? I may be getting an ablasion here soon.

If you do that diet in a month it can almost heal you. It healed my grandpa of bone cancer.

[SSMommy]

Ss mommy, I also just for diagnosed with svt..I've had two ambulance trips witj.a 170 hr also, I always seem to come out of them on my own..but nonetheless scary and traumatizing. Its hard to separate the anxiety symptoms from the svt anymore. Constant chest pain, discomfort...or general weird feeling mixed with fear. I am on 20 mg propranalol 2 times daily. Haven't worked or really been out of bed in three weeks. Please let me know how your doing, maybe we can help each other out.. I am on metoprolol er succinate 50mg nightly and it has pretty much suppressed the SVT. Is the propranolol not blocking them? It's possible it's not the right drug for you to control them. The attacks are terrifying. The first time, I was standing there and out of nowhere I just tasted metal like overwhelmingly... Like to the point that I thought my throat was bleeding or something. I pretty much dropped. The EMTs tried to sit me up but it was impossible... I felt like I was going to vomit and got this overwhelming surge of agitation over my whole body. This was all when my daughter was 10 weeks old and I was laying there thinking I'm not going to see her again. I kept telling the EMTs in the ambulance that they couldn't let anything happen to me because I had a little girl I needed to take care of. It was so traumatizing. And that was just the first time... It was all just crazy and scary. I'm so glad I shared my story because sometimes just hearing you are not alone can help. I KNOW how scary this is for you... Seriously. Have you tried getting up and moving around a bit to just readjust yourself to normal life? I know it's hard but it's essential. If the medicine doesn't seem to be working maybe your doc could try some other type?

[SSMommy]

I totally agree Rachel. I will say I went gluten free about 5 months before I was diagnosed with SVT and have continued eating that way for over 1 1/2 years now because I feel so much better. I eat tons of fruits and veggies and minimal processed. Corn pastas though I cannot part with. I love them. But I truly feel diet is a bug factor. Hormones are huge as well which good diet and exercise can help regulate. Drinking plenty of water and cutting out any caffeine and sugar is important too. Dehydration can cause SVT to go into overdrive and make it harder to terminate.