What do i do now?...Abnormal EKG...anxiety overload

[crazydaizy]

Been going to cardiologist after heart skipping, yada yada. Through the course of everything my cholesterol was very elevated and potassium was elevated but that went back within normal range. Cardiologist doesn't seem overly concerned about anything...saying echo looked pretty good and one abnormal EKG out of three doesnt appear to cause concern either. Basically he's told me to adjust diet and work through things with therapist.

I asked the receptionist to give me a printout of my tests so that I could file them on my wellness exam coverage. I was given 8 pages of doctors dictation notes from the previous two visits but didn't realize that until I opened it up at my office.

The notes revealed things that my doctor hadn't discussed with me: new York heart association cardiac function scale Level I, heart murmur, leaky valves, pacemaker something or other that returned to normal one third way through the test with a couple of flat lines. What??????

My mind is all over the place! Plus, I learned at my last visit that while I have been disciplined enough with my diet over the last month to drop my total cholesterol from 242 to 190, my tryglicerides have went up from 176 to 193 and my hdl went from 41 to 34. And my BP was 150/106 at his office. He didn't seem concerned about any of it or offer any great suggestions.

I'm pissed, frustrated, and scared to death. It's like the second they hear that you have a history of anxiety all other explanations go out the door. And now, I'm afraid im so psychosomatic at this point I'm going to throw myself into a heart attack with the assistance of my tryglicerides and high Bp!

[Enduronman]

1. Everyones BP is usually high at the Dr office, so chillax on that non issue.
2. Drink a couple of cups of warm green tea, and relax.
3. I'm not advising on "statins" at this moment..later on.
4. 8 pages of s**t that Dr's sometimes dont even understand, let alone you or I...are meaningless unless theres a HUGE RED FLAG ON IT THAT SAYS OMG.
5. Sit down, relax, with green tea, away from all "external chronic stress inputs" for the day..if you cant get away from them, then tell or ask them nicely to get away from you.
6. DONT start Googleing a bunch of stupid s**t because you do not know what youre looking FOR yet..resist the urge.
7. Turn off the cellphone, turn off the home phone, turn off Jerry Springer, dis-connect for abit.
8. Take notes: About yourself..everything. Good, bad, this, that, yadda bla blurble blabble....

Yer not goin to die..Follow the above suggestions to regain control of your own "mind" TODAY!

Then we learn together, peacefully, calmly, at your own pace...this IS an ant hill..Big woop.

Be back soon CrazyDazy...

Enduronman.

[whatif]

To ease your mind, bring your paperwork to a new Cardiologist and get a 2nd opinion. I'm sure all is ok, but sometimes we just need reassurance. I agree w EMan, drink some green tea and relax for now... And yes, BP is always higher at Dr office for us anxiety freaks! :)

[luckydog]

You could even take the notes to your primary. I have to have an ekg every 3months and they do it in my docs office. I have prolonged q t intervals..any time I start a new medication I have to go for an extra ekg. My primary doc does them all. I have the same heart problem my grandmother had and she didn't need a cardiologist until she was in her 80's and on chemo.

[Enduronman]

Dear Whatif: "take notes to your cardiologist"....YES!!!!!
Dear Luckydog: "take notes to your primary".....YES!!!!!

100% correct!! I've been doing that for over 20 years, and do you know what I get in return??? SOLID ANSWER, REAL SUCCESS, REAL EXPLANATIONS, THE RIGHT TREATMENT PROGRAM DESIGNED EXACTLY TO FIT...me.

Right on target..now, take your first shot! Ready, aim,...BULLSEYE!!!

Man there are ALOT of people on here today that are ALL moving in a forward motion...I AM IMPRESSED TO THE POINT OF EUPHORIA!!! (I hope it isnt the precursor of another disease though for me)... IT ISNT!! It is happiness because so many of you are feeling better, which in turn makes everyone feel better...

Have a great day!!

Enduronman...:)

[crazydaizy]

Good morning....sorry I haven't replied to your kind responses. Spend the day yesterday with my son who is getting ready to leave for college and moving my brother out of my house who has schitzoaffective disorder. I've been caring for him for a while and that is a huge stressor.

Doctors and second opinions: I suppose that if you research the threads I've posted for the last few months you will find that I first began my search for answers with my gynecologist. It's been a long few months and I feel like one thing has led to the next. A chain reaction of events with some of the symptoms being a result of changes I've made based on read results that have ended up throwing me backwards. For example....potassium was high so I stopped eating anything with potassium, then cholesterol was high so I went on pretty much a cracker diet because no one was giving me any answers on how to address these things. This in turn caused me to have ketones (sp?) in my urine. Also quit smoking which effected the way my Bp med (beta-blocker)is processed through my system and it caused my pulse to drop very very low so i had to decrease the dosage under doctors guidance. Heart flutters, adrenaline surges allll over the place.

I still don't know what is going on, my cardiologist recommends I follow up with pcp and with therapist. Pcp to further investigate my potassium and calcium levels that were up but went back down and therapist to work on stress and continue to wok towards EMDR treatment. Has anyone had any success with EMDR and anxiety?

I wish I had the nerve to take the Zoloft and Xanax my gynecologist prescribed but it is like shoving a Mack truck down my throat. I'm 38 and a bigger baby than my 11year old about meds. I'd have her take whatever prescribed but can't seem to do it myself. Hypocritical.

[Enduronman]

Hey Crazy! Me too!

I'm sorry, I have not gone back into any pre-posted forums of any sort as that is also a part of my own "disorder" as I can not go backwards..IDK Y.. I can see where you (and countless others) continue to feel like yer a dog chasing yer own tails around. ( which is why I do not get involved in the medical/health care systems because I would end up on death row for strangleing everyone that did not provide me with what I paid for, and demanded)..:)....Had to put a smile in to lighten the tone. Tell ya what, I've gotta run an errand for the stupid wait, adorable teen kids here and during this time I would ask if you would share facts abut yourself, with us all?.. You have nothing to lose, you've already lost it over the past few month, few years, few decades..I dont know. I will tell you that the more you share, the more you will get in return. You have specific questions? We will offer an answer to that question...Open, honest, transparent,...thats how we "read" to help conclude what yer "real" problem or problems even are. It may have nothing to do with potassium, cholesterol, ketones,(idk but that word reminds me of an acid created in the body that is toxic..When I was a bodybuilder, I heard that term...it is the secretion of "nail polish remover" like chemicals from the result of us stupida** lifters tryin to cut weight too fast...low carb dieting=ketosis..Which I'm guessing means ketones..If so, that tells me you went on some sort of low carb diet that forced ketosis..which in itself...can cause a person to forget their own name!!)...see! I just rambled!!!! I must run errand,. You must provide info. We will work to provide you with a positive direction shift and a better life....

Sorry for garble blabbly gobble gopp wording...its just how my brain works but you'll understand it.

cya shortly CD!

Enduronman. :)

[Enduronman]

The word just hit me...during a time that we meathead weightlifters would call "cutting" then we would slowly decrease the amount of carbs in grams that we would intake in a day. We would eat tons of carbs to grow bulk, then drop the carbs to remove the added bulk to reveal a chisled muscular appearence..Low carb diets=weightloss=a point in which the body has burned all easily assessable energy sources=then starts burning itself for energy=to ketosis=ketones=(heres the word that hit me) acetone.."nailpolish remover like'...I'm an idiot!!!...or maybe not..It doesnt matter anyway as long as I'm happy with idiot!

Ketones=acetone=secretion=highly acidic levels in bloodstream= dont follow super low carb diets because theyre terrible!!! and also damaging, and you really can forget your own name..I did!....there...

Be back shortly...

[Enduronman]

Ketones=acetone!.."nail polish like chemical'...I'm retarded!.. I will explain when I return...I learned that "terminoligy" while weightlifting....Its been over a year since then,...deeerrrrr!!!

:)

[crazydaizy]

You're cracking me up! But I do below there is some validity in what you say with respect to the toxicity of what I cluelessly did to my body. I too will have to respond more in a little while. Have to get house squared away then dinner finished up (I have a mean turkey roast cooking).

In the mean time...I've read many of your posts about green tea. Does it have caffeine? I do not want my heart racing whatsoever! My brain can't process that...for now. :(

[Enduronman]

The shortest and most unscientific answer I have ever typed will now be yours.. Yes, it does...but it is about 1/2 as much as coffee AND there is a valuable and very useful chemical compound that is in green tea itself that OFFSETS=BALANCES OUT the effects of the caffeine and that is called L-Theanine. That chemical is very helpful to those of us (ALL OF US) that have high ANXIETY because it is a powerful, yet beneficial, yet natural, yet harmless, chemical substance that makes "HOLY S**T I'M FREAKING OUT ABOUT EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD" types of people like (ALL OF US) calmer...and calmer...and calmerrrrrrrrrr....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

TRY IT NOW!!!

E-Man. (That was the shortest reply I've ever typed, with facts applied too)..yay! :)

[Enduronman]

PS: Send some of that mean turkey roast over this direction please!..(no one here knows how to cook..:( sad).. but hey, look at the bright side???

I already know how to help you feel better, more stable, more balanced, more in control of yourself...and isnt even gonna hurt ya either!..

(it will remain locked in this vault until you decide to return,..shhhhhh don't tell anybody because everybody is different and this is your own repair kit..) yay

E-Man..:)

[crazydaizy]

Cooking = stress relief. It's a hobby. I'm just having to learn how to cook differently.....less pasta, less mozzarella, etc. it's depressing.

I will try the green tea. I was on a white raspberry tea kick for a while just for something different. Maybe it's the color green that gets me, lol. Along with the caffeine.

I'm always very hesitant to post too much "valid" information about myself on the Internet. Let's just say in my line of work I've learned it's a hazard to people especially those with children.

Stressors....hm, ok....with limited information...I will try:

1. Asshole exhusband and religious zealot of a wife he has not drive me insane. I love god, but I don't use him as a shield or reason to be a bi***. I'm no better than anyone else so I don't feel the need to talk down my nose to people. It upsets me when people do that to me.
2. Fiancé is either driving me nuts or making me extremely happy but seldom anywhere in between these days. Normalcy would be appreciated.
3. My sisters and I all have anxiety/panic. Brother has schitzoaffective disorder. He was living with me but has moved this weekend.
4. Health anxiety is at an all time high mainly because I do feel like something isn't right. I've always gotten away with being diagnosed as nothing being wrong its all in my head with the occasional gallbladder removed but lately, test
Results are not conducive with the anxiety routine I've become accustomed to.
5. My kids are wonderful. Sad about my son leaving for school but happy for him to experience life.
6. My coworker I share an office with drives me nuts and even though she just started and I've been in my line of work for 17+ years she makes sure to tell me how I do things incorrectly.....realllllllly??? I just want to kick her. But I'm not a violent person and she is bigger than me so that really isn't an option. I love my job but am considering quitting because of her. It's a terrible situation.
7. I've moved 7 times in six years. I never want to move again. Change upsets the Feng shui in my life.
8. My doctors aren't very reassuring right now but on the other hand, I am happy with what I am accomplishing in therapy.
9. I don't post a lot on this site but I read it every night as I'm going to sleep.
10. I've recently downloaded a book called "monkey mind" that is very comical. It's about anxiety and panic. My sister and I listened to it in the car and we laughed hysterically because we are the first chapter, lol.

That's all I can think of right now. :)

[trinidiva]

You could try cammomile tea also....it has a calming effect and it comes with no caffeine.

[Enduronman]

Hey CrazyLady!

There's another suggestion for some tea that has a calming effect too from Trini, mix em together, light some aroma-therapy candles and relax in the sunroom. From what little you've shared with us all, and I also understand your "limited exposure" methods as well because quite frankly..there are some villians in this world that we work to avoid but the number of them that are looking for people like us would have the same mental capacity of the Scarecrow in The Wizard of OZ...We don't have anything to offer them except everything that they wouldn't understand!!..LOL!

If you've taken the time to read around these forums everynight then you've taken mental notes of the different people, varying degrees of condition from (I cant go outside, to I cant go shopping, to I cant be seen, to I'm afraid I'm going to die, to I'm having a nervous breakdown this minute, to I hurt everywhere, to I wanna keep my condition hidden from everyone, to..this, that, the other..) Such widely ranging differences or levels of anxiety/fear/panic/phobias...but, WE ARE ALL STILL THE SAME. This disorder, is a disorder, that merely puts on different masks, hides in different places, changes shape, changes form,..but still anxiety. Anxiety is, as anxiety does...

The MAJOR difference is not between all of us. The biggest problem is the fact that the medical industry, healthcare, Dr's. Therapist, Psychiatrist, Psychlogist, Specialist in any field or catagory of health, quite simply do not have the time to assess each person as an individual. They can't (not because they dont have the ability too) because of the unique chemistry and complexity of each, individual, human. EXAMPLE: If someone walked into your office (hopefully not immediately after you strangled the new co-worker with a phone cord) and blurted out 10 different things that were wrong with them, and then left..Then 2 minutes later another person came in and blurted out 10 different things that were wrong with them, and then left..Then this exact same process, continued to repeat every 12 minutes, of every single day, with 40 different people and all with a total patient input load of 400 different health issues..that YOU had to do your best to try to figure out, diagnose, weigh the options for possible treatments available, of which there may be 40 different medications designed to treat each, seperate, unique, individual, specific, health question..issue..complaint..concern..worry..or especially in "our" world in particular THERE ISNT EVEN ANYTHING VISUAL, OBSERVABLE, OR EVEN ANYTHING THAT A COMPLETE AND THOROUGH FLURRY OF 60 DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS COULD FIND EITHER.. Why did I just type all that, because it is only when we visually "see" the actual words pertaining to the explanation of the method that most Dr's must use to determine what the heck is wrong here and that is called "Analytical Diagnosing"..Which means..(Many of their decisions and explanations are based upon their own SENSICAL SKILLS that they are overloading which equates too a whole lotta guessing, speculating, assuming, presuming, which = A whole lot of people that are still in the same condition, frustrated, infuriated, upset, concerned because they went to the Dr. in the first place for...1. An answer to a problem with their health, that in many more cases that I have seen lately...Never gets the answer that they saught.. THEN, that whole jumbled mess of blabbing, blottle, yadda, gabble, jabber, run around again chasing their tails process STARTS OVER AGAIN, WITH A NEW DOCTOR, THAT TRIES THE SAME APPROACH AS THE LAST PHYSICIAN DID..only to get NO WHERE, REAL SLOW,,AND THEN REPEAT AGAIN. Is your head spinning yet?...MINE IS!!!...LOL! This is my "Analytical Perspective" that is pretty much a bullseye..Maybe I should write a book?..wait..no, I can't write! Well, I can but NO ONE can read it..even me..

to be continued shortly..break time for my brain cell. :)