-Sigh-
The past few days have been "good" days. I'm now walking 40 minutes a day spread out over my three breaks at work. Heart rate has been 100-110 when walking around which isn't great but good for me post PE. But of course last night I didn't sleep well and woke up exhausted. Heart rate was higher and I just feel crappy. I would really like to feel good for an extended amount of time. Everything I do has to be so calculated these days in order to conserve energy.
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Glad you\'re having more good days. I think 100-110 is good when walking around. I mean, a normal resting heart rate is between 60-100, so 100-110 while moving around seems in proportion. I think I\'ve mentioned before that ever since my PE, my resting heart rate sits between 90-100 (before the PE it was 80). So my heart rate when moving around is higher now as well.
Hi rmb,
You have mentioned that I actually read a lot of your posts sometimes to remind myself that what I\'m experiencing isn\'t really abnormal considering. I think sometimes I have a hard time accepting this happened...well I know I\'m having a hard time accepting it. I just miss the days of not having to worry so much about my health.
I read the closer it is to 60 the better for your heart so I\'m concerned about this. Does the faster pulse bother you? Are your docs at all concerned about any long term effect this might have?
I\'m SO glad to hear that you\'re having more \"good\" days. Over time, you\'ll get more and more of those and less and less of the really \"bad\" ones. It\'s great that you\'re getting that walking in too... I\'ve been trying to walk more myself, but it can be hard to fit in. I have to learn to make it more of a priority.
I have years of experience with insomnia and I can tell you that EVERYTHING seems worse and harder to deal with when you\'re not getting enough sleep. It doesn\'t surprise me at all that you\'re feeling lousy today... just don\'t take it as a sign that you\'re back-sliding. Even before the PEs, a bad night of sleep is enough to make most of us feel like something kicked us to the curb and then sat on us to eat lunch. That\'s totally normal--with or without PEs.
Give yourself a pat on the back for how well you have been doing (I bet that heart rate will improve even more as you get further into recovery) and just know that you\'ll feel better again once you get some decent sleep.
I saw my cardiologist regularly for about a year after my PE for follow ups, and he always said I was progressing appropriately. My regular doctor isn\'t concerned at all, since 60 to 100 is completely normal. Athletes generally have a lower heart rate, like 40 or 50, because their heart muscles are so strong that a beat pumps more blood. I don\'t think 60 necessarily makes an average person healthier than someone with a 90 heart rate because not everyone is made the same. You have to factor in age, sex, weight, conditioning, etc. So what\'s normal for one person is quite different than normal for another. That\'s why you have such a broad range for what is clinically considered normal. Also, my blood pressure is lower since the PE. It was always normal, but now it\'s on the low end of normal. My doc isn\'t concerned about that either.
The faster heart rate doesn\'t bother me, physically or mentally. I don\'t even notice it because I\'m not really paying attention to my heart rate. I think you\'re so keenly aware of your heart rate because you\'re hyper vigilant about it. I suspect you\'re thinking about it all the time, and when you do that you can\'t help but feel like you\'re heart is jumping out of your chest. I think that\'s a trick your mind plays. And then you get anxious about it which does cause your heart rate to increase. It\'s totally a vicious cycle. I think with time and getting your anxiety managed, you may start to notice your heart rate less and less.
Unless your doctors have shown concern for you health now or your future health and well being, you have to try to trust that it\'s all ok and not let worry for the future crush you. Obsessive thinking is not helpful. It feels helpful because you tell yourself being vigilant is control, affecting some action. It\'s not. That\'s a lie your brain tells yourself.
I want you to know that I never intend to dismiss your concerns when I comment on one of your posts. I just want to show you that you do not have to resign yourself to being damaged goods going forward or that you have to resign yourself to constant worry. I was seriously, seriously critical with my PEs, and had the heart damage and all that stuff and I\'m still here, still healthy. I think while you\'re being treated for the PE, you don\'t consider the gravity of the situation. It\'s only after the fact when you look at what you\'ve been through, and think, how can I ever go on after something like that, how can I ever have peace of mind again. But that\'s a trick your mind is playing. Of course you can go on, and of course the future is unknown and of course anything can take us at anytime. Because it always could, even before the PE. My PE was 8 years ago and here I am still here perfectly healthy, heart, lungs, all of it. It does take a little time to have confidence in your body, to trust it. But you will again. Trust that, even if it seems impossible.
Thanks Toss & rmb.
I really appreciate the input and I don\'t feel at all anyone is being dismissive. I like hearing from the \"veterans\" because it gives me a lot of insight and hope for the future. I want honesty even if it might not be the best news. And you\'re so right when I was in the hospital I asked just a handful of questions I don\'t know if I was in shock or what but I was literally going through the motions each day. Now I have a ton of questions.
I do focus on my heart rate all the time. I\'m so afraid of missing something, but it\'s true I do also feel it gives me a sense of control which it really doesn\'t.