Jersey Girl wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 11:19 pm
Update. Check it out! I'm going bare bones truth here. Show you just how bad everything got. PLEASE read through this. It's important to me if you have the time that you read through the whole entire thing.
Last week I was NUTS. I went into Afib/RVR and couldn't get myself back into NSR so off to the ER. Everything went fine and I had such a nice and thoughtful nurse. One of those rare professionals who knows how to employ after entire skillset including thoughtfulness toward the patient. Example: The last time I went the nurse felt like she was trying to shove me out the door. I'll just leave it at that because if I do details it makes me angry. So all went well.
TWO DAYS later...my heart tripped out again at home. I got myself back into NSR in 45 minutes. Thank goodness because the ER folks (depending on staffing)
recognize me and I feel like a total freak.
Just a note: I'm sick and tired of explaining my situation to the ER folks. They do NOT know what I am talking about when I talk about gastric/cardiac syndrome (Look up freaking
Roemheld Syndrome which I found within the
first year of having episodes.) Is there any intellectual curiosity in the U.S. medical community? I end up telling them the reason it's not well understood in the US is because the competition for research dollars is so fierce in the US but not in the UK on account of the different health care systems and the way they are funded. What am I? Their professor now? I get SO sick of it all.
If you are reading this post, search on that syndrome and WATCH the hits that come up from the UK. When you get to Dr. Sanjay Gupta...HE'S MY GO-TO GUY who basically saved my sanity and gave me the tools to advocate for myself.
Okay back to the update.
So I was NUTS. I mean anxiety through the roof for the past week. Christmas Day we had family come and they must've thought I was on speed.
Like hyper. Like racing thoughts. Like totally nuts. Like off the charts anxiety. Like wound up tighter than a school house clock. Like pinging off the walls on the verge of hyperventilating stomach spasming level
N.U.T.S.
Here comes the good part...last night I was searching for a guided meditation to use on youtube. I've done them before as part of yoga practice. I tried 2 but I couldn't concentrate because some of the guidance is so bloody vague you have to insert your own situation into it and nothing fit. So I go on to vagus nerve stuff. I've done four types of exercises to stimulate the vagus nerve and they DO work. That's what you want. You want your vagus nerve to KICK IN and do what it's supposed to do in your nervous system and not sit there and slack off because when it slacks off that's what messes you up...remember vagus nerve is the mission control pilot for:
Respiratory
Heart
Stomach
See me there? Yeah, so I found something new. It involved sort of slapping your stomach around and man handling your navel area. I figured hey, if my stomach is going to give me fits why not give it a good beating...it's beating ME up isn't it?
Here it is:
Vagus Nerve Activation | 10 Minute Daily Routines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUx5kLF ... 9G&index=2
Before I got to the end of this practice, about half way through, EVERY PART OF MY BODY RELAXED. I have NOT experienced this in well over a year. Probably much longer than that. Why? Because the sniper on the roof that is Afib/RVR is always ready to start shooting and It's ALWAYS in the back of my mind playing like a reel on repeat. Is that a palpitation? Should I eat that? What should I eat? Should I eat before we go to the restaurant? Will I mess up the meal/holiday/special occasion and have to leave? Should I take a antacid? What about an enzyme? Does that have dairy? Should I try a lactase tablet? Should I get up and move around? Stay still? What if I have to go to the ER? It's snowing what if I have to call EMT? What if...what if...what if...
WHAT. FREAKING. IF.
By the time I got to the end of the 10 minute practice I was SO RELAXED I was YAWNING. I can't remember the last time I was so comfortably tired and relaxed that I actually YAWNED.
Do you yawn when you're tired? I don't. I stay wake most of the night and ruminate...should I try to sleep sitting up? What if I lay down now? What side should I lay on? This goes on until the wee hours. I've gone to sleep at 7 a.m. when I've finally exhausted myself.
I'm not joking here.
So I was relaxed and yawing. Stretching from head to toe, relaxed, and yawning. About ready to fall asleep and I did.
I SLEPT LIKE A BABY LAST NIGHT and...
I WOKE UP FEELING LIKE ME.
Clarity.
Focus.
Energy.
Strength.
Enthusiasm.
Not even a hint of anxiety.
Not one little peep out of my heart...ALL DAY LONG.
Have I found a way to whip my actual vagus nerve back into service? I won't know until I do this for an extended period of time. All I DO know is that it WORKED.
Something worked! Something finally freaking worked!!
I finally found this post/rant I made...
That video up there ^^^^^ I've been doing that 10 minute vagus activation thing every single day(a week) since I posted about it.
I've been sleeping like a baby every single night since I started doing it .
About 3/4 of the way through or in the last 1/4 I continue to start yawning every time I do it.
And I haven't felt anxious for a single second.
No signs whatsoever of heart palpitations or arrhythmia.
None. Nada. Nothing. Zero. Zilch.
I haven't felt like this in at least a year. If I'm to be perfectly honest, probably longer.
All of the stuff I reported about clarity, focus, energy, etc. It's all the same. I feel like ME again.
I think that the pinging off the walls I reported on C'mas day was because my parasympathetic nervous system was completely unresponsive. I'm right back at the beginning of my journey where I pinpointed a faulty vagus nerve as the main issue. In that video I heard her explain something that I've never heard before.
When I got into vagal maneuvers and looking for ways to act on the vagus nerve, at first it was the valsalva maneuver. Then I added on other things like drinking cold water during an episode or other breathing techniques. When I searched up more techniques on youtube they were always the same thing...breathing techniques, ear stretching (sounds weird but it's a thing), learning to vibrate the vocal chords, In other words it always involved locations from the chest to the neck/head area. You can put your head in ice water but I've never done that. I did use ice packs one time and they didn't help stop an episode.
What's different about the new video is that she explains how the vagus nerve starts at the base of your spine, goes down your body and then it spreads out like a net. Her deal was to explain that there is no good place on your body to access the nerve until you travel down to your abdomen where it's uh...soft, your belly.
She also mentions (as I have many times) that if your vagus nerve is messed up it can mess with your gut and cause digestive problems. See what I mean?
I don't know if this is a magic bullet or anything. All I know is that it's worked for a solid week and I feel better. And I'm eating without fear or any sort of malfunction regarding digestion. NONE.
So today I'm going to say that the whole mess during April and ongoing has something to do with my vagus nerve sort of crashing entirely. For what reason I don't know. That's my working theory.
All I know is that I'm better and eating. Going to keep eating and enjoying it, and weigh once a week. I even look better than I have in months. Probably the good sleep.
I'm planning to do my pre-registration for the Jan 16 procedures tomorrow. On with it, I say!
Oh and that last episode of afib that I self cardioverted...I drank ice cold water throughout the ordeal and did the valsalva maneuver differently that time. When I held my breath, I didn't "bear down". Instead I contracted my abdominal muscles. Coincidence? I have no idea.
If anyone is still reading here...thank you so much! I was totally out of my mind and down on my knees when I started this thread out of sheer desperation. I don't know. Maybe putting my stuff here and journaling how I work through things might encourage someone else to persevere and not give up hope. I don't know why I always think I can be okay but I do. Anyway, do not lose hope!
Thanks again and I'll keep writing.