Stress & Anxiety

Frantastic · Chief

RE: Stress & Anxiety

MidwayCBI · Non Rate

Wow Mike ....... What can I say. I'm just very glad you are still with us and finally on the mend. it may be a little bit of a road to total recovery but you will get there.

Howard · Chief

Mike,

Great to hear from you & the experience you went through. They say women are more prone to a silent heart attack but.... Bill Walton once said minor surgery is on someone else. Then their is I want a second opinion (your ugly too) but having heard your story I think a second opinion is always warrented. The main reason to go after this Doctor (?) is to keep him from hurting someone else. He can not undo what he has done to you but you can keep him from hurting others. Generally in today's atmosphere they try angioplasty on clogged arteries first & cracking a chest is going away with less invasive proceedures. Sorry Mike this happened to you & your family as this is the highest of stressors. I am hoping the recovery goes smooth & you can return to a normal life.

Howard

GENO · Chief

Fran thanks for your input. I gues I am a stress mess also, always have been.

Mike so sorry you had to go threw all that. Sometimes life is not fair to those who are good and do good. Hang in there and keep in mind the paradise weather will cure you.

I to had a heart attack one time and did not know it. I had an ekg by my regular doctor for a bi annual visit. I had to go next to uralogist for a biopsy on my prostrate. My doctor said to take the ekg with me to show to the uralogist. He took a look at it and said ''see you had a heart attack at one time''. I said what? That was news to me. I found out that a heart attack showsup on a ekg for ever??

Hang in there all.

dadurst · Second Class

Mike, am so sorry to hear how much you have been through! With that, it is good to know your back home and doing well! While eventually you may make yourself feel better by bringing suit against the original Dr., nothing says up front you would win! Then there is always the lawyer fee's. Add to your already rolled up hospital expenses ... it could prove very costly! On the other hand, I understand how you would probably feel and would want to get the "Bast**d" for doing unecessary surgery! Now, if you could find a lawyer that would be willing to take your case on without any payments unless you win (and they do haved those)! Good Luck my friend

//dusty

Mike Daak · Non Rate

Stress and worry can be cause heart attack, such as the one I had in December. After spending 3 months in 4 hospitals, along with multiple procedures/operations, I finally made it back home TODAY! It's so good to be home again.

My troubles started with shortness of breath, on Dec 18. I never had any hint of chest pains, just shortness of breath after moving suitcases. My wife talked me into making a trip to the local ER, while we were visiting my mom in Missouri/Illinois. The hospital confirmed that I had a recent heart attack. You'd think one would know if you actually had a heart attack - not so, I guess.

The Illinois hospital said I had three block arteries - one blocked at 100%, one at 95% and one at 75%. They recommended immediate open heart surgery. They did a triple bypass on my heart - no fun at all - lots of pain. They took arteries from my leg and put them in my heart. In 60 years of living, this was the toughest thing I ever experienced.

We were required to stay in Missouri and not fly home, until the doctor released us to fly on Jan 20. While still in Missouri, I noticed there was a wire sticking out of the top of my throat. I made sure to point this out to the doctor, but he said it was nothing to worry about and said that it would go away on its own - not true.

Two days after returning to our home in Hawaii, I noticed that my incision was not looking good. I had a constant stream of liquid coming from that wire that was still sticking out of the top of my incision. This proved to be the beginning of a very long trail of troubles.

I drove to the Hilo, HI ER room. From the time they first started talking to me at Hilo, I lost all memory of time. I woke up in a Maui hospital, 10 days later. The Hilo hospital had transported me and my wife, via air ambulance, to the Maui hospital. The doctors at Maui let my wife know that my chances of survival were not good. The Maui hospital decided to remove my sternum, leaving a large empty hole in the middle of chest.

A few weeks later, the Maui hospital decided to send me to Queens hospital, on Oahu, via air ambulance - costing about $20k per ride. The doctors at Queens were going to attempt to rebuild my sternum, using other parts of my body and stretching muscles across the empty hole in my chest. Along the way, I learned that I have a Staph Infection in my chest. In addition, I somehow picked up a urinary infection - requiring more surgery to correct. If that were not enough, they found that I had excessive fluid around my lungs. In fact, they drained 1.25 quarts of fluid from my lungs. This finally allowed me to breath normal again. The urinary infection was corrected with laser surgery.

While at the Queens hospital, the heart doctor stated that in all of his career, he had never seen a better example of someone who did NOT need the original bypass surgery. He went into my heart and took photos (as evidence) to show the quality of work that the first doctor had performed. He also stated that he had never recommended that any of his patients sue a fellow doctor - but he suggested I take the original doctor to court and went on to say that he would be witness for me in court.

What would you do ??
Lord knows how much I'll now owe to the 4 hospitals for my 3 month stay.

Frantastic · Chief

I'm always a worry mess, too, AndyR and GaryR. Along time ago I almost had an ulcer and the Dr. told me that I would have one. I started taking courses at the local high school. They had a self hypnosis/relaxation class that I dearly loved. Anything with stress reduction in the discription can work. I took Yoga classes, too, back then. Somehow, it all boils down to trying to sit still (stress) and breathe deeply. I can't clear my mind because it's too cluttered and crapped up but the slow breathing has helped. I can slow myself down. I've also found that in "old age" and it is creeping up rapidly, that I no longer care as much. What you see is what you get...................Take it or leave it. I try now to stay around people who are toxic for me. I had a young co-worker who used to say, "I can't deal......" and she'd walk out. Of course, I got stuck "dealing with" it and I used to say Why Do I Have to Deal? I also learned that FEAR stands for Falso Expectations of Anticipated Results. Another interpretation of FEAR is F......Everything And Run! I've learned that if I slow myself down and walk away for a bit, the situation isn't so big or so bad and and I can handle it better in small chunks instead of attacking the whole mountain. Give TIME TIME is also good as somehow things break down or aren't what they seem. Then, too, I've learned the value of Rhett Butler's immortal saying, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" or You Need To Find Someone Who Cares. Slowly I'm learning that I don't have to be everyone's problem solver and savior. What people think of me is none of my business. I just do the best I can in that particular moment. There is also power in the word NO. Ben-Gay on the back of my neck works wonders for my bottled up neck muscle tightness. Any way I look at it, I'm a big stress mess but I'm still better than I was..............Not my problem helps, too!

MidwayCBI · Non Rate

dadurst wrote:
You have no Idea Andy LOL

LOL .... I have pretty much cleaned up my act over the last 5 years on bad habits in order to help me ease into my golden years in better health but in the begining in that first year there were those times.

MidwayCBI · Non Rate

Midway Sailor wrote:
If I were as ugly as you I would he stressed too. ;)

I know ..... I only have a face a Mother could love ... LOL

dadurst · Second Class

You have no Idea Andy LOL

GENO · Chief

I am always stressed, and worry worry all the time. Mater of fact my last visit to my Dr. he put me on two pills aday of anapril for high blood pressure instead of one. My dad was a worry wart, so maybe thats where it get it.

MidwayCBI · Non Rate

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been asking around to other people I know about this subject and surprised how many I have discovered who are affected as well. I think in my case it is a combination of getting older, having two heart ablations done to help correct an a-fib condtion, getting diagnosed with sleep apnea, I've dropped 50lbs since last summer and it also runs in some of my other family members ...... I think I know now what they mean when they say you gotta be tough to handle getting older ... LOL

-- Edited by MidwayCBI on Wednesday 6th of March 2013 03:35:04 PM

Midway Sailor · Forum Admin

I've struggled with anxiety all of my life. I've always been a bit high strung. I think that it elevates my blood pressure. I just talked to my Dr about it the other day.

Midway Sailor · Forum Admin

If I were as ugly as you I would he stressed too. ;)

MidwayCBI · Non Rate

Well it seems of late some of us have been going through some medical issues so I thought I would bring this up and see if anyone here can relate ..... It seems at the age of 53 I have developed a Stress & Anxiety Condition and was wondering if any one else here is going through that. I am now taking meds to help control this and will probably have to for the rest of my life. I have no trouble being open about this here but if you just want to reply to me direct then you can do so at my primary e-mail address which is >>> vegablue7@gmail.com

Thanks for any feed back,

Andy