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Cardiac Rehab
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message 1:
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Jackie
(new)
Jul 02, 2008 02:27PM
For those that don't know, I had a heart attack on April 21. I'm 36 so I'm a little to young to deal with this but here I am. So, I'm starting rehab on Monday 7/7. I could use some good thoughts to get me through this. I really don't want a repeat.
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VIBES!!!!!!!!! I'm sending you a million good vibes!!!!!!!!!!!!! And lots of hugs, too. :)
Oh Jackie all the best for a very speedy recovery!
All the best for you. I am assuming one of the best things is to try to eliminate stress (if possible). A good thing to try, if you want, is yoga, it does wonders for you. There are plenty of video versions so you can do it on your own. Good wishes to you.
Well Jackie I know you already know I'm there for you the whole way through it. For those of you who don't know.....I survived a massive heart attack 4 years ago when I was 29 so I know EXACTLY what Jackie faces in the coming days, months, and years. Her and I have begun a friendship with this in common and I'm really hoping we can be there for each other and what we face in our lives. Its hard to find someone who understands how you feel and I was THRILLED to find Jackie on here.......she's the first "young" heart attack survivor I've ever been able to talk too and its helped me alot.Jackie-----feel free to ask me anything and talk to me about any concerns you may have about your health. I've researched my condition to death and I'm always asking questions so maybe we can help each other with all of this!! Thanks for being there!!
Jackie, here's to hoping you have a quick and speedy rehab recovery. I couldn't begin to imagine what you are going through being so young, but I remember what my mom went through when she had her heart attack and by-pass surgery. She was terrified by the thought of rehab, but once she got there, she enjoyed it. I hope your rehab is as enjoyable as it can be.
Good luck! I feel for both of you Jackie and Holly. I lost my mom to a heart attack when she was 43 so I know it can be serious, even for someone so young.
Jackie, I'm not sure if our paths have crossed on COL prior to now, but hello anyway. I will totally keep you in my thoughts and send you all the good vibes I can.When I was a sophomore in high school my father had a minor heart attack but that helped doctors to realize his arteries were clogged. They scheduled him for a quaddruple (4) bypass and one "in there" they had to due a quentuple (5). His last remaining artery was barely open.
Needless to say I've been very aware of "the heart" since then but still fear for myself sometimes. Heart attack is a super scary thing.
I hope your recovery goes well. Here come some good vibes, get ready to catch them....
I missed my first appt on Monday because of gout! I almost fell over when the doctor told me that's what was wrong with my foot (It hurt enough I couldn't even put a sheet over it at night). I got drugs and I'm praying that this is my one and only run in with gout.. if it comes back, the doc will have to give me something for uric acid buildup. I did go to Rehab today, even though the foot is still a little sore. It was a rough. I've always been a walker. I walked before the heart attack and even bought a dog last year as a motivator to make sure I did the daily walking I knew I needed, so although I realized I was weaker after the heart attack (I can't walk as far) I never thought it was going to be so hard to do the routine. Rehab is kicking my butt! The nurse who showed me the circuit was a little drill instructor. At least she was watching my form to make sure I did the exercises correctly..
I will say that the crash cart in the corner got a raised eyebrow from me. Talk about a reminder about why I was there.
Gout?? Man that doesn't sound good.....you ok now?So what have you been doing in there? You gotta tell me all about it cause I never went to actual "cardiac rehab". I'd like to know what it consists of. I asked my dr now if I could go to it and he said no. I can only walk 2 miles a day and that's it. Nothing else. I'm not really even supposed to break a big sweat and I'm forbidden to life anything or do ANY kind of strength training. It sucks cause I'm gettin all flabby ya know? I think I'm going to ask him about Pilates though......I would hope I could do that!!
The gout is better... The doc gave me a course of meds to treat it this time and didn't give me any other meds, hoping this is a one time flare. If it comes back, I go on meds to control the uric acids that make the crystals that deposit the joints.. eww. I did find out that some of the meds I'm on now may have caused this flare... but the cardiologist is unwilling to back down on the meds for now. The sleep apnea that they feel I have (no sleep study to comfirm yet) might also be a factor in the gout as well as the MI so I'm a little cranky at myself for not taking it seriously. At rehab, I do (for now) 8 minutes at 4 machines, weights (only 1 pound for now) and the warm up and cool down exercises. It takes about 45 minutes and I'm hooked up to a monitor the entire time, they also take your BP before and after. I do it 3x/week. 1 of those days there is an educational class as well.. it goes over diet, proper exercise outside of rehab, med useage/interactions, ect. I almost skipped it because I'm out of work atm. But I've hit my Out of pocket limit on my insurance for the year, there is no reason not to do it at this point. Not aside from the fact that a nurse friend was ready to beat on me when I told her I was thinking about not doing it.
We'll see if it makes any difference.
I only wish I was coordinated enough for Pilates. If I can get back to 2 miles, I'll be happy for now. I am going to ask the nurse about some Yoga. That may be more my speed. :)
