IWMP wrote: ↑Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:49 am
You are so brave.
I don't know what to say to that. I guess I always have a hope that I can be okay so I keep trying to find out how that can happen.The first episode I was out of my mind. I'd never needed to call paramedics for myself and I'd never been in an ambulance before except to tour them with preschoolers at the fire station. My family got wigged out. The Boy was in shock and he stalled leaving the house to follow the transport, one of my kids said she drove 85 mph down the interstate. I absolutely believe that. It had never been me who had a medical emergency. It was always them and me following the ambulance. They all showed up. It was scary for all of us and when the second episode happened I said "I can't live like this." But I have and I do and I don't call for an ambulance any more. I guess I got used to the process and if I can't self cardiovert, I know what to do. And now instead of rushing out the door, I take time to make sure I'm properly dressed, fix my hair and put a bit of make up on. If I die I don't want my kids to see their mother looking like a bum. I have to say this part. If it happens in the wee hours the Boy wakes up and is ready to go in 10 minutes. No complaints.
Nicky, one time
I drove myself to the ER.
I have a friend who has afib and he had a stroke. He is on the mend but exhausted from all the meds. When we were at uni he ended up in hospital and he kept going to the Dr saying his HR was in the 200s but he wasn't told he had afib until after his stroke last year. so, for over a decade he was asking for help and not getting it and they were putting it down to anxiety and stress from doing a degree in his 50s. His stroke was relatively mild but He is improving. Basically his memory is affected, his speech is fine but every so often you can hear the disconnect as if he is trying to speak but something has slowed down and the words aren't quite coming out. Hard to explain.
This makes me want to cry! Stroke is the biggest risk with afib and I feel like it could have been prevented. Why didn't the doc pursue the afib right away? He must've had more episodes of it? When you say he was exhausted from the meds I wonder if they put him on a beta blocker which seems to be routine. They weigh you down like you've never felt in your life. Like walking with concrete blocks on your feet.
It makes me feel SO sad for your friend. Anxiety and stress, my eye! It
causes anxiety and stress! If there's anything I've learned in the past 10 years it's that every case is different, it should never be treated lightly, what helps one person doesn't help the other, and some doctors should
get out of the profession. They should always listen to their patients. Patients have all the pieces of the diagnosis that the doctors don't have unless they are willing to listen.
Look at what happened to me...by the third episode I knew it was triggered by digestion and at first, I didn't know why. From the start I told every medical person who saw me that I had just eaten a meal. It was me who did the work and not any doctor. It shouldn't be that way. I found Roemheld syndrome.
Here's a portion of his wiki.
Roemheld syndrome (RS), or gastrocardiac syndrome,[1][2][3][4][5] or gastric cardiac syndrome[6] or Roemheld–Techlenburg–Ceconi syndrome[7] or gastric-cardia,[7] was a medical syndrome first coined by Ludwig von Roemheld (1871–1938) describing a cluster of cardiovascular symptoms stimulated by gastrointestinal changes. Although it is currently considered an obsolete medical diagnosis, recent studies have described similar clinical presentations and highlighted potential underlying mechanisms.[3][8][9][5]
Symptoms and signs
Relative position of the heart and stomach in the human body
Symptoms can be as follows.[10][11] They are periodic, and occur only during an "episode", usually after eating.
Sinus bradycardia
Difficulty inhaling
Angina pectoris
Left ventricular discomfort
Premature heart beats (PVC / PAC)
Tachycardia
Fatigue
Anxiety
Uncomfortable breathing
Poor perfusion
Muscle pain (crampiness)
Burst or sustained vertigo or dizziness
Sleep disturbance (particularly when sleeping within a few hours of eating, or lying on the left side)
Hot flashes
Mechanical
Mechanically induced Roemheld syndrome is characterized by pressure in the epigastric and left hypochondriac region. Often the pressure is in the fundus of the stomach, the esophagus or distention of the bowel. It is believed this leads to elevation of the diaphragm, and secondary displacement of the heart. This reduces the ability of the heart to fill and increases the contractility of the heart to maintain homeostasis.
Neurological
Gastric nerve connections to the spinal cord and brain medulla oblongata, which regulate the movements of the stomach
The cranium dysfunction mechanical changes in the gut can compress the vagus nerve at any number of locations along the vagus, slowing the heart. As the heart slows, autonomic reflexes are triggered to increase blood pressure and heart rate.
This is complemented by gastro-coronary reflexes[12] whereby the coronary arteries constrict with "functional cardiovascular symptoms" similar to chest-pain on the left side and radiation to the left shoulder, dyspnea, sweating, up to angina pectoris-like attacks with extrasystoles, drop of blood pressure, and tachycardia (high heart rate) or sinus bradycardia (heart rate below 60 bpm). Typically, there are no changes/abnormalities related in the EKG detected. This can actually trigger a heart attack in people with cardiac structural abnormalities i.e. coronary bridge, missing coronary, and atherosclerosis.
I am living proof that this diagnosis is NOT obsolete and there are plenty of studies on the NHS and now...the NIH that confirm that. I know I go on and on about it but if there's a reader out there that this "clicks" for I will have been able to help someone else.
I pray your friend will continue to recover his memory. I honestly feel like his stroke should have never happened. There but for the grace of God, go I.
<3
