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Looking for some words of encouragement ...
Hey everyone ...
I am very much in need of your support. Tomorrow I do something I haven't done since I started experiencing problems with my heart, and something that I didn't think I'd ever do again since the terms 'tachycardia' and 'arrhythmia' entered my vocabulary. Tomorrow, I get on an airplane. I'm going from western Canada to the UK, so it's a 9 hour flight, and I'm super nervous. I'll be in the air in less than 24 hours, and I am trying not to think about everything that could go wrong. I've always been a nervous flier, obsessing over the possibilities of plane crashes and terrorists and so on, but my health problems add a whole new dimension to my fear. I know that my heart is healthy, and that the problems I have experienced are due to nothing more than panic, but in this case, such knowledge hardly helps. What if the stress of travelling causes my PVCs to flare up, and I find myself with an erratic heartbeat in the middle of the flight? What if I get so nervous that my heart begins to race, and won't stop? Surely there is no worse place on Earth--or not on Earth, in this case--to experience heart problems than in the middle of the sky. I mean, if something goes wrong up there, what can anyone do about it? Surely I'll be given up for lost. On the one hand, I feel ready to try this, and it certainly helps that I've always wanted to visit the UK and am super excited about going. On the other hand, I feel I am taking a terrible risk. I will have Ativan with me, as well as a beta blocker (bisoprolol). Should I take them before the flight, or wait and see how I feel first? What else can I tell myself to keep my cool? Anyone have any words of wisdom to soothe my flustered soul?
I am very much in need of your support. Tomorrow I do something I haven't done since I started experiencing problems with my heart, and something that I didn't think I'd ever do again since the terms 'tachycardia' and 'arrhythmia' entered my vocabulary. Tomorrow, I get on an airplane. I'm going from western Canada to the UK, so it's a 9 hour flight, and I'm super nervous. I'll be in the air in less than 24 hours, and I am trying not to think about everything that could go wrong. I've always been a nervous flier, obsessing over the possibilities of plane crashes and terrorists and so on, but my health problems add a whole new dimension to my fear. I know that my heart is healthy, and that the problems I have experienced are due to nothing more than panic, but in this case, such knowledge hardly helps. What if the stress of travelling causes my PVCs to flare up, and I find myself with an erratic heartbeat in the middle of the flight? What if I get so nervous that my heart begins to race, and won't stop? Surely there is no worse place on Earth--or not on Earth, in this case--to experience heart problems than in the middle of the sky. I mean, if something goes wrong up there, what can anyone do about it? Surely I'll be given up for lost. On the one hand, I feel ready to try this, and it certainly helps that I've always wanted to visit the UK and am super excited about going. On the other hand, I feel I am taking a terrible risk. I will have Ativan with me, as well as a beta blocker (bisoprolol). Should I take them before the flight, or wait and see how I feel first? What else can I tell myself to keep my cool? Anyone have any words of wisdom to soothe my flustered soul?
My severe heart rhythm problems was due to severe magnesium deficiency. I have insulin resistance and more recently pre diabetes due to over-medicating on thyroxine so it a constant drama to keep magnesium levels up. Insulin stores magnesium so if the cells become resistant to insulin magnesium is lost through urination.
I worsened my existing moderate magnesium deficiency to severe after surgery and high doses of vitamin D. I have kidney issues so i can't take magnesium everyday as much as i want to. I take chelated magnesium glycinate as this doesn't cause diarrhea.
Many people have low B12 levels however are told they have "normal" levels due to far too low a reference range. Japan and Europe have risen the lowest minimum B12 range to 500 or 550 pg/mL. You want your B12 at the upper end of the range. That's the good mental health range. :)
I worsened my existing moderate magnesium deficiency to severe after surgery and high doses of vitamin D. I have kidney issues so i can't take magnesium everyday as much as i want to. I take chelated magnesium glycinate as this doesn't cause diarrhea.
Many people have low B12 levels however are told they have "normal" levels due to far too low a reference range. Japan and Europe have risen the lowest minimum B12 range to 500 or 550 pg/mL. You want your B12 at the upper end of the range. That's the good mental health range. :)
Were these deficiencies and hypothyroidism in addition to your heart issues? Did heart issues go away when these were alleviated? I am hypothyroid. Magnesium is ok, don't know about B-12. I would be interested in knowing how you managed it. Thanks.
I found my causes of my anxiety - vitamin 12 deficiency, magnesium deficiency and hypothyroidism. Before that i used to live on stress spray. Great stuff with zero side effects (unlike all antidepressants with the rather depressing black box warning of suidical thoughts and actions). So great to find the cause! No doctor figured it out.
I am just so happy. I'm not sure if my improvement is due more to Lexapro or to my own work on controlling my thoughts, but I think it's probably a mix of both. I have been reading a lot of books on managing the ways in which we can deal with negative thoughts, such as Dr Rudy Tanzi's book Super Brain, which I would recommend for anyone suffering from anxiety. It has all really helped. I guess I am living proof that anxiety can be managed, and that anxiety disorders are not a death sentence!
That is awesome. I am so glad to hear you had a wonderful trip and even gladder to hear you are not letting your heart rhythm issues rule your world.
Good for you! In time, you will see that YOU are the master of these sensations--not in the sense that you can control them, but that you can control your REPONSE to them.
Yay! SO glad your trip went well. You have taken charge of your body! You are very brave.
Hey everyone ... I just wanted to thank you again for your words of encouragement and to say that my trip went great! I saw so many interesting things, and my heart didn't give me any trouble at all. I decided to hold off on the meds and ended up not even needing them. I can't believe it: at this time last year, I was so riddled with anxiety that I couldn't even make it to my neighbourhood supermarket to buy a loaf of bread, and now, thanks to Lexapro and to you guys, I have been halfway around the world. I feel so inspired, and stronger than I ever have. My heart rhythm no longer rules my life!
You mentioned you have ativan so if I were you I would load up on that (at a non-dangerous dosage of course). The first time I flew after first experiencing arrhythmia was very nerve wracking for me but my doctor gave me clonazepam. I took a healthy dose and honestly wouldn't have even cared if my heart had gotten jumpy on the flight. I know ativan is a benzo so probably similar to clonazepam. It really helped me out.
Great advice from Dawn. The only thing I will add is to maybe contact your doctor to see if there is anything they can prescribe for the flight to calm you as well as something to take extra if things go awry. You have experienced all your symptoms before and you are still here. It is no different if it happens on a plane or on the ground. So just follow Dawn's advice and try to calm your breathing as best you can. And have a super great trip. You deserve some fun. Tell us all about it when you get back.
I say take your meds before you get on the plane. If you have a meditation you do, practice that, read, listen to favorite music with headphones, do anything you can to distract your thoughts from the "what if's." What iffing is a road you do not want to go down. I have a lot of the same issues you have. Focus on the positive. Airliners have first aid, especially on a trip that long. No one is going to "give you for lost." You might want to confide in a flight attendant that you have panic issues about flying -- I am certain you are not the only one. Keep repeating to yourself a mantra that makes you feel peaceful, such as "I am all right." If you focus on the scary thoughts you will start producing adrenaline and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Try to take charge of this instead of it taking charge of you. One of my favorite quotes is, "It is one thing to be afraid, it is quite another to let fear swing you around by the tail." Maybe reminding yourself that you WANT to do this, that it is a choice will help. No one is making you go -- you've chosen to do so. Try to relax and enjoy your trip. Good luck to you, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts. Oh yeah, breathing pattern that WILL slow your heart rate: 1. Expel all air thru your mouth. 2. Breathe in thru your nose to the count of 4. 3. Hold your breath to the count of 7. 4. Breathe out thru your mouth to the count. of 8. do this 4 times, pause then 4 more. I have gotten my heart slowed down repeatedly by doing this.
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