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1632539 tn?1456276618

crying and panic attacks post bypass

I am 4 wks out of triple bypass . I am 48 years old.  I was wondering if it is normal to have crying and panic and no appetite . My sleep is not good due to comfort. I have no support but , but for my Husband and he has to work. I do have my 4 little ladies at church that do come and get me on wed for knitting and cooking for the bible study. I am having issues with to much time on my hands. I am just so tired and want to feel better. I do get out . This has just been a scary wasn't prepared for this news kinda thing,,, Just out of the blue due to SVT spell and having Pneumonia .  

Help!   Thanks for you input
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Avatar universal
I am a 43 yr old female and I had triple bypass 13Jan 2014.  I cry at just about everything, and my husband would say I had bipolar tendencies! Just because of mood swings. Lol   At four weeks out I still had a great amount of pain so I was still on pain meds.  (I still periodically take them since I started having chest pain about one month ago(going for another angio this week) )  My dr did prescribe anxiety meds for me when I left the hospital.  They help when I need them, but make me sleepy.  I am going to talk to my dr about depression meds.  Good luck, but know this is normal.  As for the no appetite, that's normal too.  One of the gentlemen in my cardio rehab class lost 20 lbs the first month because he had no appetite. I would love to say the same thing, but can't.  I started retaining fluid and gaining weight.
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1 Comments
IAM GOING THUR SAME THING I AM CRYING FOR NO  REASON AFTER QUADRUPLE BYPASS  MAY 31 OF THIS YEAR CARDIAC REHAB IS ABOUT OVER. CRYING USUALLY STARTS IN THE MORNING THAN GOOD FOR AWHILE THAN IN AFTERNOON I START IN AGAIN I MAY BE OK FOR AWEEK THEN BOOM SOMETHING TRIGGERS I T
63984 tn?1385437939
I also didn't take pain meds after coming home from bypass, just used Advil and a bit of the grape.  For whatever reason, my pain level was manageable without narcotics.  I slept sitting up, and read all of Larry McMurtrie's books over a six week period of time.  My greatest pain came from the drain tube incisions, not the incision.  I was shocked at that, the chest wound looked a lot worse that it felt.
Hang in there, keep us informed.
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1632539 tn?1456276618
Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts and experiences.  I love this site !
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329165 tn?1515471990
Hi there,

Welcome to the Forum!  Please go and read up on "Pumphead syndrome/Postperfusion syndrome".  

I was 31 yrs old when I had my mitral valve repaired with Open heart surgery.  31 March 2008.  My youngest child was 2 years old and I did not have a lot of family and friends to support me and my husband is very unsympathetic and I had to cope with it all, on my own.  And I thought I did well, but beginning 2009 I went through extreme depression and that was the first time that I seeked Counselling and was told about "pumphead syndrome".

I was on anti-depressants for a while and now I am doing great without it.

Don't be afraid to speak to a Psychologist and take your pain medication as needed, but remember to do a bit of walking and get out as much and surround yourself with positive people.

Feel free to talk to any of us here as we've been there and can help and support you.
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976897 tn?1379167602
6 weeks for me and I had no problems with addiction
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1632539 tn?1456276618
Thanks, so much for all of your input. I do have another question.  How long did any of u take your pain medication.  I have stopped mine in fear of addiction.  I was taking 1 5/325 Norco twice daily.  Do u think that I stopped to soon.  Can't sleep well do to pain. I am not a medication fan. All of the med school they put u on are just way to much for me! Thanks bunches! !!
Helpful - 0
976897 tn?1379167602
Oh my goodness, this brings back memories. You must have been through the wars to have pneumonia to cope with too. Thank goodness you pulled through it. Emotions do fly high, I was 46 when I had mine. I think the younger you are, the more it affects your emotions because it should happen at that age (or so we believed). I was told by rehab to get walking etc but it seemed to make matters worse for me. 4 weeks is real early yet, so patience is the key. There were days I believed I would never recover. The best thing I found to make the discomfort easier was to cuddle a soft pillow and take a deep breath, then forcing a little more air in. I would hold it for a count of 10 and then very slowly exhale. I repeated this several times a day to get the stiffness out of my chest and unfortunately I discovered this months into recover, rather than weeks. Within a few days recovery seemed to really speed up. The emotion side of it will be with you for some time, some people for years. I seemed to change back to my normal self after about 8 months. Tiredness can be a side effect of strong pain relief medication and also a side effect of the trauma you've experienced. Don't worry too much about exercise, once you feel comfy enough you will soon make up for it. The trouble is, half the people at health centres and rehab have never been through it, so they are just doing as instructed, by other people who have never been through it. We all heal at different rates, so don't push yourself, just listen to your body. Your husband sounds supportive which is great, but make sure you keep telling him how you feel. Sharing everything will really help you mentally. Even if you repeat yourself 10 times a day like a parrot, just blurt it out. I remember I used to sit there and picture millions of cells repairing every day, knitting themselves into each other, repairing me and telling them to hurry up :) You will get there and of course, should you wish to chat or ask anything then there is this wonderful forum. You are always welcome and keep us informed how you are doing.
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63984 tn?1385437939
Depression is very common after experiencing bypass surgery.  Remember, your heart was probably stopped when the procedure took place, and in my opinion that has a big influence on how you feel afterwards.
Question:  are you going to cardiac rehabilitation?  That is an excellent place to interact with others that are going through what you experienced.  Also, look online at Mended Hearts.org.  It is an excellent support program. I encourage you to reach out.  You have gone through a very serious procedure, and of course you need help on the other side.
I've had a lot of heart procedures, including bypass, so understand.  keep in touch, and do reach out.
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Avatar universal
It's not uncommon to feel anxious, depressed and to have no appetite after this kind of surgery. Your body when through so much during this surgery. Some of what you're feeling could be the meds they have you on. I did'nt have bi pass but I did have a heart attack and one stent. The meds caused me to have severe panic attacks. I would recommend you talk to your Dr about how you're feeling. He/she can go over your meds to see if these are some of the possible side effects.
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