Here I go. I think finishing work, having the ablation and nothing else to occupy my mind has turned me into a hypochondriac!! Apart from the aura migraines (another one today when I thought I had got away with it) I have now been looking at my consent form and saw the statistics for esophageal fistula. Of course my anxious mind has now gone into overdrive. Catastrophising about this as I remember feeling the pain shooting up my neck when woke and he was doing the ablation. Then I think why has he given me esomoprazole.
Was anyone else worried about this as my consent form says 1 in 1000?
Hypochondria in overdrive.
Written by
Karendeena
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Common practice now to give a PPI to prevent acid reflux, I had lansoprazole for 6 weeks as did everyone else. I felt the sensation up my neck during the procedure and spoke to them about it, I think they turned the happy drug up a bit to shut me up. Nothing new to me in what you’ve said so far. Try to distract yourself with things you’re interested in is my advice while resting, resting and resting.
Thank you again. I think they turned the happy juice up for me too when I said that, it flippin hurt!! Yes, I must distract myself, I'm just bored as I was always so active and find it difficult to sit still!!
I did go for a walk today 10 mins each way to Tesco cafe. I did ask the arrythmia nurse and she said it was ok as long as it was on the flat. Perhaps I will give it a miss tomorrow but I do struggle with sitting still for too long
STOP IT! No seriously stop worrying. Remember the doctors put every little thing that might go wrong onto the warning sheets, not because they might but so that you can't sue them if it does. Relax and concentrate on resting PLEASE!
Aaaaaaaarh thanks Bob.....again 😊😊I will try and stop it, I think all that's happened in my life this last 12 months has really messed me up! A 95 year old mother who is aggressive towards me and my only brother who has had 4 strokes from undiagnosed afib and Parkinson's. Must think nice things 🤔
I would not recommend forcefully trying to “stop it”. That is just thinking even harder. Rather than trying to stamp out the worries, say to yourself that you are actually allowed to worry about them as much as you like, and you might find the sensation and worry immediately softens. It’s counterintuitive but it works.
A bloke rang me up the other night and said "I'm the dandy highwayman who youre too scared to mention - I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention! I tried to tell him that he had a wrong number, but he was adamant!
The other thing to remember is that you still have the arrhythmia team caring for you. I've just had a major blip in my recovery but it was dealt with super quick and efficiently no messing around, I've seen more Drs in the last week than I have in my life. It's all sorted out now. I've been looked after extremely well (thanks NHS) and hopefully get to go home today. So look at those statistics and think it's OK Amanda had problems so it's not my turn now.
No - I didn’t worry about esophagal fistula, it’s an incredibly rare complication. You are catastrophising so stop reading about everything that could go wrong and write down ALL the things that are going right in bright green crayon and pin that up on your kitchen cupboard so that you have to look at it every time you make a cuppa to remind yourself.
Thanks CDreamer, yes I am catastrophising, it comes from 12 months listening to my brother who has severe health anxiety. It's unfortunate for him as he had 4 strokes from undiagnosed afib, early Parkinson's and then a bladder tumour (albeit benign when removed). He has driven me crazy every time I have spoken to him. Really rubbed off on me.It's been a rough year. I also got made redundant in January (although I was retiring in May this year). Everything seems to have come at once for me.
Thanks you for your advice, I will try it and tell myself everyday 😊
It’s hard, no getting away from it but it’s not going to be a catastrophe and you will get through and hopefully with a much improved quality of life for you both -😘
You are creating anxiety for yourself by doing all this reading and research after the fact. You have had the ablation now just wait a few months and see how you feel. In future I would suggest that you thoroughly research any medical procedures before you have them. Best wishes.
From one fellow worrier to another, I think that you'll only be cured by time and not by words. In a few weeks, when you realise all your fears were only that, you will smile at your over-active mind!
"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” says Prince Hamlet. And it is so very true.
I remember in my early teens really enjoying scaring myself before going to sleep with a series of paperbacks called the Pan Book of Horror Stories. I bought them all. Very few of them were truly well written or even scary, but some have stayed in my mind ever since.
I do like Wells's "The Red Room" and I think you will, too. It's not in-your-face scary, of course, but haunting in its way. If you like it, you might like some of these - all with a ghostly or supernatural theme (I was an English teacher, you can guess):
- Walter de la Mare, "The Wharf" (a really wonderful writer, now rather overlooked)
- Walter de la Mare, "Miss Miller" (beautiful and haunting)
- Susan Hill, "Farthing House"
- Thomas Hardy, "The Withered Arm"
- Charles Dickens, "The Signalman"
- Angela Carter, "The Company of Wolves"
- Penelope Lively, "The Darkness Out There"
- Ray Bradbury, "The Whole Town's Sleeping"
- Roald Dahl, "The Landlady"
- Washington Irvine, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
I was given 6 weeks worth of Lansoprazole too, so it’s nothing to worry about. Enjoy your retirement. Like you, I was made redundant 9 years ago. I decided not to find another job, although as a care assistant, I could have walked into another job the next day. Enjoy not having to work for a living and getting paid for doing nothing.!! 😄 I find plenty to do and we have a touring caravan, so can go away when we like. I am in 2 W.I. groups and on a committee for 1 of them and there are always plenty of things going on, that I do with them and I’ve made lots of friends through it. We also have a Grandson who we look after as well. I play keyboards and read and do colouring. I also have suffered with anxiety, but I found that Hypnotherapy helped me.
I hope you get some help with your mother. If not , it might be worth contacting Social Services.
I expect they’re going to take you off your heart tablets. I’m now down to half the dose of Sotalol that I was on. Ok so far, just get a few palpitations, which seem to be worse in the morning, but I am worrying how I shall be, when I stop them completely. It scares you when you read that stopping them suddenly can cause heart atracks.!!! That’s why I ‘m stopping them very slowly. I have to stay on anticoagulants for life though.
Hope your recovery goes well and the nasty AFib stays away. Best wishes Cath.
Hi there. I suffer with the occasional migraine and thought you may be interested in this. I discovered that the anticoagulants I take ie. Rivaoxaban in my case , set off regular almost daily migraines. Taking a soluble 75mg Aspirin seems to stop this. I take one every couple of days. I’ve tried not taking this and the migraines reappeared. Crazy but true.
the anxiety is the main problem and pain in the backside karendeena .? I know because I worry about anything to do with my health.! Iv got myself into some really bad states in the past unfortunately and all due to anxiety.!! It’s only taken me 40+ years to actually realise that the anxiety has caused me more upset and worry and stress than any illness or surgery I have ever had. And Iv had alot of operations over the years believe me.?
No one could convince me otherwise about any worries I had, not even the doctors/surgeons.! Stop over thinking and relax. You’ll be fine. You may not think so at the moment but you will.👍
Hey Rob, thanks a million. Yes, I am the same, developed this awful health anxiety. Wish I could be like my mum, she's almost 96 and had her bladder removed at 75 in a 9 hour operation for cancer! She doesn't worry and constantly tells me worry will kill me. Her mantra is 'Yesterday's gone, tomorrow's to come, live for today!), every day is a gift that's why they call it the present!!I do overthink and you're right, it takes your life over!
you’ll get there Karendeena. Iv had all sorts of help over a long time. Counciling, meds, phyco therapy etc etc. and although it helped things, it was only time that actually helped me.? I’d realised that if things were going kill me or bring my life to a standstill how come I’m still here.????😳
It’s no secret on here that in the past Iv had my funeral plans out more than enough updating my music choices for when I pop off.? Ten years ago when I got properly diagnosed in hospital with AFIB I spent the following 2 years a mental wreck because I was convinced my life was over at 46 years old. I was going to lose my job.! I wouldn’t be able to go on a nice long walk. I wouldn’t be able to go on holiday etc etc? Fast forward 10 years… I’m still working full time. I still go abroad on holidays , I baby sit the grandkids. ( a job in itself)😡
Anxiety can cause a heck of a lot sorrow and upset. And it’s physically hard, and definitely mentally hard.?
I still worry about things yes but honestly not like I did because I know things are not as bad in real life than they are in my thoughts.??👍
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