Anxiety vs. Trip to ER

Hi Folks,
A brief history of my situation: June 2012 told I have an Aortic Root Aneurysm. Dec 3rd 2012 had open heart surgery and a bunch of complications. 1. Died twice 2. Had to be opened up again to stop bleeding from my right coronary artery 3. Had my phrenic nerve severed so now can't breath very well. 4. Woke up with a PM wondering what the heck happened. Apparently complete heart block or BBB? All this in the course of two days. I went from very healthy and active to a total mess. I have lots of anxiety, panic attacks. My question is (because it was just happening again)...when or how do you know you need to get to an ER or if you're just having a panic attack? These panic attacks can really mess with your mind, even when you know what's going on...I don't want to bug the ER folks if I'm just having a panic attack but at times it sure feels like my heart and pacemaker are fighting each other...any thoughts on this ??? Thanks.

Roger

6 Comments

Hi Roger

by Pookie - 2013-03-10 04:03:33

Welcome to the club first off - so glad you found us.

What you are going thru is totally normal. I had a lot of complications too when I first got my pacemaker back in November of 2004 (and I'm still on the same one). I coded not once, but twice too. However, what you decribe is far worse than what I went thru. Regardless, I sure can appreciate where your anxiety is coming from and why.

I think you are going to need something to depress your anxiety, I'm not saying an anti-depressant, because those types of pills can take months to kick in, but rather perhaps you should speak with your family doctor about Ativan or Clonazepam (Xanax???) - something that will work pretty fast to curb the anxiety/panic attacks. Another suggestion would be to find someone who you can talk to. I had to go to a psychologist and it did help. You need to surround yourself with support. They may not totally understand what you went thru, but you need people you can turn to when you are going thru rough times.

As far as trying to judge if it's a panic attack versus something more sinister and torturing yourself with the big question "should I go to the ER or not"...I look at it this way - just be honest with them and say - "look, I've been thru X,Y,Z, and in situations like this I don't know what to do." Most paramedics, nurses and docs will be understanding and will probably want to check you out just to be on the safe side. Don't think as you're bugging them (although that is easier said than done). I went thru that too, but when I was completely honest with them - 98% of them were more than understanding. Play it safe -- I would rather see you go to the ER and find out it is panic versus something that could possibly be wrong. They will understand.

And in the meantime, like I mentioned - I strongly urge you to find some professional support. What you are going thru is very very common.

I wish you the best Roger.

Pookie

WOW!

by idmt12 - 2013-03-10 05:03:36

Thanks so much for your response Pookie! I already have Ativan, and it works pretty good. I'm just not so good at taking it right when I should. I tend to wait until I'm having a full blown attack. Then, of course, it's too late and I'm bouncing off the walls thinking I'm going crazy. I just would rather not take it at every little sign of anxiety. Problem is, you just never know which llittle touch of anxiety is going to grow into panic.

I have been told to go see "someone" before...I have been reluctant to take that step. But everyday I have an attack, I'm a step closer to seeing a professional :)

Again, thanks for the great support! I love your name by the way :)

Roger

hi

by 28sedan - 2013-03-10 10:03:01

I went through huge angziety and depression all within the first 2 weeks of my PM I wish I had of had some ativan sooner. I waited too long thinking like you I had to suck it up and be strong. Well now I have great hindsite take the meds and one day at a time we get there I am over 2 years now. Take care and keep coming back and let us know how your doing please that way we help each other.

A Direct quote from an...

by donr - 2013-03-10 10:03:27

..ER Doc - our #2 Daughter. "I'd rather see you early on a false alarm than to pronounce you dead." She tells that to heart patients & new parents when they come wandering into the ER stressed out of their skulls & worried.

You learn to differenciate between the false alarm - anxiety - & the real thing - heart failure of some sort - through experience. You gain experience through taking false alarms to the ER.

Explain your situation clearly to the ER personnel & if they are any good, they will understand & help you sort out the false alarms from the real things. If they are worthless human beings, they will make you feel embarrassed.

Back in mid Jan, while visiting Daughter, she called me one night about 10 M & asked me to come to the ER. She had a PM host who was having real trouble w/ a false alarm. She asked me to talk to him as an experienced PM host. He was scared out of his wits about something. We (PM Host, his wife & I) talked for an hour. All about the things we are talking about right now in this msg. The quote I gave you came during the conversation when Daughter came in to check on us.

The man - & his wife - went home a lot happier campers than when they came through the door. Granted, it was a bit unorthodox to drag a stranger into the ER to talk to a patient, but he accepted Daughter's offer when she made it.

Bottom line - tonight you have come to the right place. As you need experience separating the wheat from the chaff, I hope you have a good ER.

Special Anxiety D/O

by Yakkwak - 2013-03-11 11:03:33

When "shopping" for someone to help manage your symptoms, be sure to ask them how much experience they have with Anxiety Disorder Due to a Medical Condition. Treatment may involve more than garden variety anxiety commands. You may wish to consider a psychiatrist because of their increased familiarity with physical systems.

You have it right

by ElectricFrank - 2013-03-11 12:03:27

So many people are unwilling to admit to themselves that anxiety/panic may be all or part of the problem. It seems strange, but they would rather have some serious physical problem than have it "be all in their head".

The next step is to see someone who can help you deal with the the feelings. I'm different than most in that I avoid resorting to meds. I won't say that I wouldn't use a med if I was certain that I couldn't handle it, but I've never reached that point.

My suggestion is to focus on the breathing problem. The phrenic nerve issue is a tough one. You are going to be with it for the rest of your life so some training that focuses on learning to control your breathing might help a lot. I have learned to breathe as slow as 3 breaths/minute, and also up into the hyperventilation range all without feeling panic. The great thing about the non med approach is that it enhances our feeling that we can deal with life. Meds just tend to hide the problem and there is always the feeling that the "thing" is still there.

bet wishes,

frank

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A pacemaker completely solved my problem. In fact, it was implanted just 7 weeks ago and I ran a race today, placed first in my age group.