Fatigue after 5 stents and heart attack

[Builderbob]

Hi I was a very fit 51 yr old house builder I love my work and worked 7 days a week before my heart attack ,4 weeks ago I suffered a heart attack at work luckly I only had small damage to my heart but needed two stents to LAD i returned home for a week but was surposed to return at a later date for another stent to my RCA. I pottered around the garden for a week and even managed to cut the grass without any pain but slept the next day due to fatigue ,I then suffered terible pain in my chest and was admitted with unstable angina and had mor angioplasty fitting another three stents to RCA ,Cx , and also again to LAD due to the first ones blocking due to plaque shift.i have know been home two weeks but due to being self employed and builds already started and no insurance and advised I probable am not entitled to any financial help from the benefit system I have no choice but to return to work , I returned on Monday and resumed bricklaying duties which gave me no pain but by the end of the day it was a struggle to lift one foot in front of the other never mind negotiating the scaffold ladder . Since then I have been totally exhausted falling asleep as soon as I sit in a chair. Its know Thursday and again I am planning on working again tomorrow not by choice but necessity I live on my own so if I cant work I cant pay my Bill's just wonder if it is normal to be so fatigued It is so disheartening when i was so active before the MI all i can do at present is try and work at the start and end of the week n sleep the rest does it get better , i also live on a building site but luckly my house is a few weeks of finishing n market so livable .

[Maisie2014]

You are a tax payer and you must pay national insurance whether self employed or not. You must follow medical advice for your health that is the most important thing. Speak to Citizens Advice. Is there anyone who could help with the workload? Take care.

[Builderbob in reply to Maisie2014]

Thanks for your

Reply not really I am going to try and apply even if to no avail anything would be a little help I'm glad i dont have a mortgage or then i would be in a lot worse state i saw my cardiac rehab nurse for the first time on Tue and she felt that the exercise program wouldn't be beneficial as I was getting exercise with trying to work . She was very vague when asked about returning to work and just said no heavy lifting above chest height for a few months and try to not work long 10 to 12 hr days cut back a little and then discharged me so rehab was very short and sweet one meeting

[Maisie2014 in reply to Builderbob]

Good luck. Don’t overdo it with the work and try not to get stressed.

[Chappychap]

Are you on medication like a beta-blocker such as Bisprolol, an ACE inhibitor such as Ramipril, or a statins such as Simvastatin or Atorvastatin?

All these can have side effects that include fatigue, tiredness, muscle pains and cramps, or dizziness.

The stated recovery time before going back to work is the absolute minimum to get over the immediate physical effects, it doesn't allow for getting used to the side effects of your medication. The good news however is that your body will eventually get used to these drugs and your fatigue will dissipate, unfortunately it takes time, six to twelve months for most people.

One useful tip I picked up at cardio rehab is the importance of warm up exercises. They said you should do some warm up work even before heavy housework or gardening. My guess is that if you live on the job you're into hard physical work almost immediately. That's pretty debilitating. If you can do something like ten or fifteen minutes brisk walking before work, swinging your arms as you go, then it will open up your blood vessels and you'll be stressing your muscles far less when you do start work.

Good luck!

[Builderbob in reply to Chappychap]

Thanks for the advise I'll try warming up c if it helps yer on all those tablets plus more due to the first stents blocking have put me on a more aggressive meds n doses n due to having arthritic shoulders my joints are really hurting but used to working with pain have been on opioids for twenty five yrs since breaking my spine in four places it's just the tiredness I usually take amitriplyn to make me sleep but have had to stop due to that having similar effects which together totally zonk me out will try n work just a couple days at first n c if I can build up to every other day I surpose work cant hurt anything just tire me out thanks for the advise

[DavidG1971]

I was very very tired for the first month after stents. It’s eased very gradually until nearly normal now. I’m still on medication - so I guess it was just the physical toll on me. Don’t envy the work you’re having to do so soon after.

[Prada47]

Hi Bob

51 is still young so you have time to adjust to your new situation, which is what it is, I admire your work ethic even if it's by necessity !!! Hang in there and no more than a 1000 bricks a day no matter what the weather. Now that's the nonsense over with, the medication is what is probably contributing to the fatigue, it takes a while to get used to them, but we all have to take a little time to get used to them. Cardio rehab is not designed to get you back to building it's more of a gentle back to walking routine so probably a little pointless in your case. One thing you need to be aware of is any further chest pain Get It Checked Out don't wait Get it Checked.

Best Regards

[Hidden]

In some advanced countries, you get automatic 80% "insurance" from the State up to about 12 months based on your annual tax, and it will be reduced after that. Not in this country. Someone like you have to "kill yourself" to pay the bills.

To rephrase this, it is very risky to go back to such a labour intensive line of work so early on. Your weakened heart/damaged vessels won't take such heavily physical exertions. Your age isn't on your side, either, to put it bluntly.

[Ianc2]

Have a chat with citizens advice regarding any benefits you may be able to claim.