Advice please

[Fishingnutz]

I had my heart attack Christmas week I’m on what seems to be the typical drugs. I also have ptsd and don’t know how much that is playing into how I’m feeling now I get angina regularly. But passes straight away with use of gtn spray I get some pains which are different to angina but bareable. I can’t stop smoking because the whole thing is stressing me out, any advice would be grateful by the way I have explained this to my GP and cardio therapy nurse.

[Chappychap]

I used to be a smoker. I totally understand that link between stress and the need to light up. But I also understand how we try to justify our appalling life-style choices with silly fairy stories. With me it was that a stressful job somehow permitted me to smoke, with you it seems to be that no-one should expect someone with PTSD to quit smoking.

But deep down we both know it's BS.

More to the point, our heart disease really couldn't care less about our excuses. Heart disease doesn't care how hard quitting smoking is, or how difficult weight loss is, or the problems finding the time and energy to exercise for 150 minutes per week, or what a struggle it is to eat healthily in 21 st century Britain.

Our heart disease ignores our problems and just keeps coming after us.

The best we can hope for, the very best, is that a combination of medication and serious life style changes might possibly just slow down the inexorable advance of heart disease and grant us some extra years of healthy life. We either make those changes or we don't, the doctors and nurses can't really help us. Only we can take responsibility for our futures and do what needs to done.

Get help, sign up for a quit smoking programme and use nicotine replacement such as gum, lozenges, patches or vaping as a temporary bridge towards a totally nicotine free future. Start setting goals and stick to them.

Good luck!

[Hidden in reply to Chappychap]

When I started reading I thought how harsh. But as I read on these are necessary hard hitting home truths. Whatever the choice of poison - smoking, drinking, bad food choices and so on - the answer is the same, we need to make changes ourselves / take responsibility. It’s hard and there will be bumps / relapses but making a start is key. Thanks for the post, hope helps the original poster. 😊just edited to say PSTD or depression or other mental health issues makes everything so much harder but we have to try - it’s a vicious circle otherwise.😔

[Smitty1956 in reply to Chappychap]

ChappyChap, you have such good advice for so many of us. I had a “mild” heart attack in March 2022. I would tell you that I was blindsided—never saw it coming—-BUT the truth is that I am overweight, didn’t eat a healthy diet, and lived a sedentary lifestyle. Ironically, I had joined a research study called Heartline that collects data to hopefully help diagnose AFIB earlier, etc. so I had been taking baby steps to walk more and be up more minutes per day. Plus, I had set some health goals with my GP. Anyway, one week after my annual exam and bloodwork, I had the HA.

I have General Anxiety Disorder so my stress and panic attacks have been over the moon since then. It has been and continues to be a struggle to make needed lifestyle choices. I think that I’m doing pretty well with food choices, but am still struggling with walking and more (there were medical concerns there added to the anxiety).

Anyway, I totally agree that we do need to make lifestyle changes in order to have any improved quality of life. By the way, I have lost 11 pounds since March—just baby steps, but I hope to keep going.

[Chappychap in reply to Smitty1956]

11bs is more than two 5lb bags of potatoes. That's not baby steps, that's a serious achievement, so very well done!

Incidentally, my wife is a councillor. Even though there are no universally applicable programmes for anxiety, she does say her clients often find a real benefit from the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, just in case you're not familiar here it is,

urmc.rochester.edu/behavior...

Good luck!

[Smitty1956 in reply to Chappychap]

Thank you so much! I have not heard of that technique, but I will read the link that you provided.

And thank you for the perspective on the 11 pounds. I never thought about it in that way.

Diana

[Hidden]

Hello

I am sorry to hear how bad you are feeling

I do understand what it is like to have PTSD

I had pneumonia 3 years ago which nearly took me and left me with dreadful PTSD a year later I started having my heart attacks and then Bypasses which again I believe I have PTSD from that also and it is very hard to deal with as you are reliving every moment and things trigger flash backs etc of

I was a smoker a heavy smoker and I am not going to start giving a lecture about smoking as we all know what it can do to us and because I was an anxious person I would light up every minute thinking it helped yet it is a fact that smoking makes you more anxious yet I never believed that

When I had my pneumonia which I was fighting for every breath I took literally never would I want to experience that again a light switch came on in my brain and told me I stop now I would hate to have breathing problems and if I carry on after what the pneumonia has done that could very well be the case and I did I stopped and no one was shocked more than me I had done it and I am still anxious but that is me but I am no more anxious than I was when I was smoking so there is no difference for me except by stopping it should give me a better chance with my heart

As you have spoken to your GP and Rehab Nurses and they are not concerned about your angina and new pains you are having that should be reassuring but if you are ever in doubt phone 111 or ask your Doctor to refer you for another appointment with your Consultant if you do not have any more lined up with them

I do not know if you have had therapy for your PTSD but even if you have or not this is something maybe you could ask about when speaking with your Doctor as I suspect it will be playing a part in how you feel

When we have heart problems it comes as a big shock and for some of us it takes longer to be able to process it this is quite normal but you have to give yourself time it is still early days

If you could look at lifestyle changes and live the healthiest you can this is all going to help you even though I know not always easy but we have been some of the lucky ones that have been given another chance we should make the most of it as some are not so lucky

You are not alone you can come and get help and support from this lovely Community

I hope you will get the support you need and do your best to make the changes that goes without saying will help your health x

[Blackcatsooty]

A minor help…..it is not my heart attack. You didn’t choose it you don’t want it. So it’s a heart attack and not yours.

Stress is a nasty ailment, often under rated. Not sure that cigarettes help towards reducing stress, more likely smoking actually increases stress. Think how much extra money you will have if you stop smoking. My Dad smoked throughout his life, until one day, aged about 67 he just stopped. I was amazed , but he just stopped. I guess he was stubborn and turned his stubbornness to his advantage.

Best wishes

Sooty

[francesw47]

Listen to Chappychap and the others about your smoking. PTSD does not get cured or relieved by smoking,. Were that it was that easy! Its hellishly difficult to stop smoking, but is worth the effort and there is help to achieve it.But I'm sorry to read that you are in this position. Having a HA and living with the aftermath is not easy and its still relatively soon afterwards. You say little about whether you had stents/waiting for further treatment/have had or are waiting for cardiac rehab and so on.....

You've already mentioned your anxieties and fears to your Gp and cardiac nurse - did either mention talking therapies? Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the NICE recommended talking therapy treatment for all anxiety disorders and can be obtained free on the NHS. Find out where your local Improving Access to Talking Therapies (IAPT) service is and you can refer yourself. Waiting lists are quite long but they do know what they are doing and can really help to improve matters significantly for you. Many IAPT services (but not all) now have therapists who specialise in working with people with long term conditions. Frankly its worth a go rather than continuing to live with the very very unpleasant effects of high levels of anxiety.

Let us know how you get on, you will get lots of support here.

[ph5019]

Hi, I see you've already had some great advice, I had PTSD after my severe heart attack and heart failure ( horrible description).I had EMDR and talking therapy privately ( long wait via NHS ) and am completely cured of PTSD. I had my therapy via Zoom as it was in the bad covid period.

It saved and changed my life, as I had some dark thoughts .

I have no idea how much smoking cost, but EMDR therapy is around £45 per hour, I had EMDR therapy for about 10 sessions.

I still have talking therapy twice a month.

Kind regards and good luck, everything is in your hands to change your life for the better.

Paul.

[Hidden]

Dear Fishingnutz.

Hello and a warm welcome to the forum and the help that I hope it can give you as it has given to many.

In your short post you have given us so much information and clues to your present state of health both mentally and physically.

It seems to me that you have a handle on your physical health with when and how to use the GTN spray {Glycerine Trinitrate Spray }

You talk of Angina and I presume that when you talk of, not only your GTN spray but also your cardiac nurse, that you are still being treated for this condition, this will have added to your stress and anxiety, which many of the members on here can fully understand.

You talk of having PTSD {Post Traumatic Stress Disorder} but not when or how this has appeared in your life, but now that your Dr/Heart nurse knows of this condition, maybe they can offer the treatment that you need.

I can really understand you using cigarettes as you do and personally feel that if you could get all the other problems recognised /sorted out, the giving up of cigarettes will be a lot easier for you {easier never easy}

No-one has the right to judge or tell you what to do, you already know the answers to your own questions and by posting on here the beginning of your recovery journey has begun.

We are here to help you.

Take care and I hope that you seek the help that you deserve and need.

I will be thinking of you.

[Fishingnutz in reply to Hidden]

Hi blue. I was prescribed my gtn spray as soon as I was put on the ccu, I’m at one with my angina now as in I can tell when it’s not my angina… I’ve had ptsd over 30 years after a near fatal car crash but beat it into submission after I realised drugs were making things worse. By the time my daughter was born it pailled into insignificance. But reared it’s ugly head after the ha.

[Heather1957]

Sorry I scan read the responses, what treatment did you have for your heart attack? Did you have any stents fitted or dealing with it with medication.

I won't join in re the smoking, you know what you have to do!

Having PTSD isn't unusual and maybe you could see about getting some counselling? It'll probably have to be private as there is very little available on the NHS (Sadly)

Look at what you need to do in Must, should and could and then prioritise, BTW I am good at saying what needs to be done, but not always good at following my own advice.

Take care of yourself.