Well it’s been just over 24 hours since my procedure of one stent in RCA. In my opinion I have been so far a rollercoaster of emotions... here is my personal thought processes that I have had whilst analysing my condition ... I will start with my positive thought process...
I thought to myself that if I had had a blockage to my kidney they was disrupting the output function... or to my brain disrupting my thinking and feeling processes or to my bowel disrupting my ability to eat or keep food down and then a surgeon operated on me and removed this awful blockage and my body was thus cleared of it and again functioning normally I would be like... woohoo... brilliant that’s great... forget about the experience and get on with life without a backward glance or look.... so I said to myself... what’s the difference then that this was a blockage but albeit it was in a heart artery? Now... whilst all the above is true I get the negative thoughts creep their way back into this brain of mine
The main two things I worry about are being scared to over exert myself because after all ( it is the heart that’s had an op????) stupid as this seems this is one of my fears... scared to move stretch sleep in a comfy position cough raise my voice.... then I tell myself YOUR NOT A BLOODY INVALID YOUR HEART HAS BEEN UNBLOCKED... works for all of ten seconds lol.... so yes I’m scared of knowing how much I can do because I can’t physically see what’s going on inside me.... I think that’s why psychologically I’m scared because before I didn’t know I had a blockage in the first place so what’s to say it’s not happening again? The second thing I worry about is a blood clot or it not working and blocking up again and why if it’s fixed do people have to go back for more stents? Are they monitored after their first ones? I’ve got so many questions it’s stupid frugile (I know all this) but I still do it... so many thoughts are currently rushing through my head.... I solve one... BOOM there’s another!!! I never used to be the one to take any tablet even paracetamol but now I find myself waiting almost in anticipation to take my clopifogrel and aspirin ... I think it makes me feel safer... anyway I’ve rambled way too long I just wanted to share my innermost thoughts at this moment in time.... hope all of you are keeping safe and well much love and hugs
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Buffy6956
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You've had it done! Well done. Now that's out of the way you can get on with your life.
Yes, it is frightening to start with, you're afraid to do anything in case you damage your heart. Feeling like that is natural. These feelings will, day by day, go away.
I spent 6 days in hospital and couldn't wait to get home, once there I was petrified being on my own worrying "What if something happens" - but of course it didn't.
We're in strange times at the moment, so it's difficult to know when you'll get to see the cardio rehab folks, but hopefully it won't be too long.
As regards could it happen again? Who knows, the mantra is don't smoke, limit alcohol, eat a healthy diet, maintain a good BMI, exercise, take your meds and try to avoid stress. The accepted wisdom is that if you do all these things there's every chance that you live to a good age (at least that's what I'm hoping!)
For now, just take every day as it comes, in 12 months you'll look back at this and wonder why you were so fazed!
I felt exactly the same six months ago! I really got a lot out of cardio rehab so it’s not good that you may have to wait for that. Maybe some phone appointments with cardiac nurse??
My rehab consisted of 1 part structured exercise class and 1 part specialist talk and counselling. I found all of it helped as your recovery is likely to be just as much for mind as body!
Six months on and I still don’t feel exactly the same as I did before HA but I’m not sure how much of that is in my mind, how much is physical or how much is the meds - Ticagrelor, Asprin, Bisoprolol 2.5, Losartan 25 and Omeprazole 40 - My BP is around 100-110/60-70 and my resting BPM is usually around 48. I’m not sure if this is why I don’t feel like I have as much energy as I did before, even with a blocked LAD I didn’t know about!
However, I DO feel better as time goes on. I was due to see cardiologist this month but that’s not likely to happen. I was hoping to get reassurance from him that the procedure went well, I was hoping for an echo and stress test to ‘prove’ all is ok physically so I can concentrate on my mental recovery.
What I have found is being back at work helped enormously and doing things with my children. Unfortunately COVID -19 has scuppered that slightly but I’ve got to look forward to when we all get back to normal with a routine to stick to and goals to achieve.
Give yourself the time for what I call the three A’s - ACKNOWLEDGE what has happened to to you - its a nightmare! ACCEPT it has happened and that it was not your fault - I had a lot of guilt even though I’ve never smoked, drank, ate a relatively healthy diet and was very active! ACT - I concluded that it was my weekly takeaway and odd biscuit or crisps that blocked my arteries - I’ve been told it wasn’t, I have a strong family history of heart disease, however, I haven’t had any since, this probably isn’t the best approach but a healthy diet with everything in moderation (as everyone keeps telling me) and regular exercise along with taking your meds as prescribed will all help to significantly slow the progression of any further CAD.
Keep in touch - it’s good to talk! I’m a quiet/private person on the whole but this forum has helped me to get off my chest exactly how I’m feeling and you get a lot of good advice from the lovely people who respond. Take care and let us know how you are getting on x
Don’t worry your body will tell you it doesn’t like it! I’ve definitely had to change the way I lift and work hard. No heavy stuff and no digging for sure. I thought I would sand a table top the other week never again felt ok whilst I was doing it then blooming awful for a few hours after I had to lay down. Trouble is when you’ve been ok for a long time it can make me complacent. I try to concentrate on what I can do and not what I can’t x good luck x keep safe
Oh and remember we can all tell you our stories but this is your own unique story!
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