ClemmonsHoo
25-10-05, 15:16
I am young, 45, to have had a major heart attack. That, and the bypass surgery that followed, has I think caused me to have the ongoing anxiety problems that I am fighting. My symptoms are restlessness, queazy stomach, insomnia, lack of concentration, and lack of desire to do the things I used to enjoy. I don't really feel like I am depressed, and people generally comment on the fact I am always smiling.
My heart attack was unique in that it was caused by something very rare. One of my heart's arteries, the LAD or Widowmaker as it's sometimes called, was partially embedded within the heart muscle itself (this is called a myocardial bridge). The inner lining of my LAD tore and collapsed within my LAD causing an acute MI. The Thoracic Surgeon and the Cardiologists at the emergency room had never seen this and were not sure at first what to do. They decided that a bypass was the best option. Their hesitation, and the problem itself gave me problems as I focused on the problem for days imagining all kinds of terrible outcomes. I could not find a single case like mine on the internet that I can relate to to give me some peace. I guess my brain got stuck in that nasty Fear & Flight mode we call anxiety. That's how I landed on this forum.
Back to my problem. I am having a lot of trouble sleeping and my pulse goes way up at night. It's usually around 70, but when I get up in the morning it's always around 100 until I calm down. When I do sleep I always wake up a few minutes later shaking after a bad dream. The dreams are now mostly about being back in the hospital and having to get my chest cut open again for some reason that the Doctors and Nurses won't explain to me.
Is this anxiety or do I also have PTSD? Any tricks to preventing this?
My heart attack was unique in that it was caused by something very rare. One of my heart's arteries, the LAD or Widowmaker as it's sometimes called, was partially embedded within the heart muscle itself (this is called a myocardial bridge). The inner lining of my LAD tore and collapsed within my LAD causing an acute MI. The Thoracic Surgeon and the Cardiologists at the emergency room had never seen this and were not sure at first what to do. They decided that a bypass was the best option. Their hesitation, and the problem itself gave me problems as I focused on the problem for days imagining all kinds of terrible outcomes. I could not find a single case like mine on the internet that I can relate to to give me some peace. I guess my brain got stuck in that nasty Fear & Flight mode we call anxiety. That's how I landed on this forum.
Back to my problem. I am having a lot of trouble sleeping and my pulse goes way up at night. It's usually around 70, but when I get up in the morning it's always around 100 until I calm down. When I do sleep I always wake up a few minutes later shaking after a bad dream. The dreams are now mostly about being back in the hospital and having to get my chest cut open again for some reason that the Doctors and Nurses won't explain to me.
Is this anxiety or do I also have PTSD? Any tricks to preventing this?