could you get here?

[greendave]

Several of you have asked me via notes to add an occasional update of where I've got to in the mountains as I have had extremely bad SVT for 21 years and frequent PVC's which have ruined my life until I started to fight back just over four years ago. Starting with yoga, meditation and crystals I then started walking in great fear but now I am out every weekend in all weathers where few 'normal' people venture and where I work, which has over a thousand people, i am considered by all to be the fittest person there and have now started a mountaineering club where I take groups of 15 people up into the mountains , many for the first time! What a laugh when you consider my history.
Recently I got through the clouds and got a good photo looging down with a peak below me poking through the clouds. I have put this on my profile  - so have a look and ask yourself could this be you?
My start point was a full of fear couch potato who even drove to the local shop and my end point is any mountain I want, rain, gales, fog , snow -  I;m often the only one up there.
My point is -  it's fear that is holding us back - the doctors tell us we're OK - so believe them and see where you could end up.
It would be great to see posts from you showing us all where you have got to. Every little step helps ease the fear and it's great to get confidenec back.
hope to hear where you've got to - no matter how small the start.
dave

[iamfaithful]

You know what?  I will do just that!  Don't worry.  I wasn't about to start jogging or anything, but I have been going at a slow pace for a while now.  However, I will take it in slow steps like you said and not beat myself up because I'm not ready for the peachtree road race just yet :-)

You are very inspriring!  Thanks.

[greendave]

I was the biggest wimp going until my life changed just over four years ago. BUT IT CHANGED SLOWLY AND IN LITTLE STEPS.
So please do not think of kicking off by walking at a fast pace - rather than do that find somewhere beautiful and walk there slowly and enjoy the air, drink in the view and become immersed in nature.Relaxing in the great outdoors is the first step.
As Sweetwaterguy says 'If one chooses to be fearful, then it should be of not living fully.'
I always advice - listen to your body' and am against repetetive exercise regimes where people aim to do so many repetitions or so many miles etc. Whats the point i often wonder.
I have got to where I am slowly and enjoyed the journey - your body has good days and bad days - when i get a bad day i don't push it and enjoy the views  more.
Think of somewhere beautiful that you can get to and tell me where it is - describe the view - what you can hear and smell - what you feel there - how the air feels in your lungs.
I want to know that you have started on your journey.
dave

[iamfaithful]

Man do I feel like a wimp!  I wish, I mean REALLY WISH I could get up and walk at a fast pace but am afraid to do that.  There is NO way I could climb a mountain.  But I am so inspired by your post.  Fear has consumed me for SO long.  I will keep reading this over and over until I can get up the nerve to really start working out the way I want to.  Thanks so much greendave!

[greendave]

Great to here from you again and I love your story! I wish that I lived in your area as it sounds ideal for me. Your final paragraph really nails it!
We seem to have quite a few of us who are living without being controlled by fear. I met a canadian man doing a famous Welsh arete (Crib Goch) and he had a blockage and had not had heart surgery but was still up there!
dave

[greendave]

I like ' I am master of my body' - mine is having a PVC few days again and I just try and ignore it and keep on going. over the weekend I did a tough 20+ miles over rough terrain, awful weather, in 8 hours and was ok but the only bad moments were when i stopped for a quick drink or a sandwich and became aware of my heartbeat - was much better when moving - when I pay attention to it there is a risk of getting tense and making things worse.
I am not sure of the overweight connection - I have always been slim and can eat anything without putting on weight but i still have PVC's and svt problems.
dave

[Sweetwaterguy]

   Your comments are so appropriate.   Life is to be lived.  A wonderful example of that occured in our area a few years ago when an elderly woman--an artist, writer, and conservationist--had a heart attack and needed to be transported 80 miles from her small mountain community to the closest hospital in my town.  She wrote of that experience in the local newspaper and described feeling rather sorry for herself thinking she was going to die.  Then in a change of mind--or heart--she decided that if she was going to die, then she would look at as an adventure.  Dying was something one does only once, and she decided she might as well pay attention to it and enjoy the adventure of it.  
   Like you, I enjoy the adventure.  As we, personally, have discussed, we both love the mountains.  Here in Wyoming I do at least one long 10 mile round trip each summer to a favorite high mountain lake (10000 ft)
and numerous shorter hikes.  In 1988 I climbed Devils Tower in Wyoming ( The Close Encounters of the Third Kind monolith) in my first and only technical climbing experience.  
   My atrial fib--successfully treated with ablation, has not been a hinderance, nor have my partial coronary blockages.  
   Enjoy life, as you so eloquently communicate.  There should be no fear of dying.  If one chooses to be fearful, then it should be of not living fully.  

[nikgirl28]

i am 5'7 and weigh 102 pounds...i work out every day....and i still get them... unfortunately...but they are linked to my hormones right now...so if you try to lose weight it might help you...

[Crickett559]

I started having PVC's in my late teens though I did not know what they were at the time and did not find out what was happening until I hit 40 and 3 children later. But looking back, my PVC's were most noticeable around that time of the month or when I had given birth. Heart Diease does not run in my family so I never worried about my heart, but devoloped a habit of shaking my foot as to wort off the funny feeling in my chest. Once I reached about 33, I stopped having them so much or maybe my kids kept me so busy I did not notice them as much, but by 44 I had all the norm heart test, and everyone ruled ok, they are not dangerous but bothersome, but I chose meds anyways. I wish now I would have looked for other ways but I did not have the support we have these days. Now Iam going thru the change of life at 49 and its not much fun either, bc of hormones out of whack all the time, but like Dave, Iam trying to get a grip on it, know in my head they arent going to kill me, and live life the best I can and not miss a thing, and always telling myself "Iam the master of my body". But I have a question, Oprah states being overweight has caused hers(palpations) and Iam overweight as well, is most everyone on here overweight or has anyone lost weight and noticed thier PVC's, PAC, SVT, better?

[nikgirl28]

oh my gosh i'm doing the exact same thing...after the birth of my second son...only one month my heart got really wacky and stayed liked that 2 years later...i stopped breastfeeding 5 months to see if that would even things out with my body...but no...my heart woes got a lot worse...like a lot...i even tracking when my heart gets worse...definitely around ovulation i seem to get the worse pvcs and pacs...and then 2 wks before menstruation...my heart has a mind of it's only...tachy...pvcs that feel like flutters...even pacs which i hate...dizziness...headaches...joint aches...etc,etc...but it's all linked to hormones...i'm too afraid to take bcps cause of what they can do to my heart since i'm arrythmia-prone....i'm trying all the natural ways to get my body back in harmony...and i think i'm going to try acupunture again...so far, yoga is really working...cause i'm learning how to relax through my breathing...but it *****...i wish i could turn my hormones off and be normal like everyone else...i'm so envious of my husband cause he never has to go through this...when my heart goes out of rhythm usually i have to go into a room and try to work through it...cause he just looks at me and tells me to calm down...so i have no use turning to him for support....just something i have to work through myself...and i truly understand...it is really hard....

[greendave]

Your gran and your mum vegetarians and I went that way too and find it does free up energy. Meat tastes great but the digestion seems to drain energy rather than give it and I just can't get my head around seeing beautiful animals and eating them - particularly when we now have nutritional tasty alternatives. but that's my personal opinion and i certainly do not push it on to anyone else.
I am so proud of you rescuing those dogs - can you think of anything that gives love so unconditionally as a dog and asks for so little in return?
dave

[greendave]

your post to Zach needs sharing in its own right rather than a post on my thread.

How about starting a new post 'how i'm fighting backl' or Lucys starting to live again - who knows -  but what you are doing is truly inspirational and should not be lost tagged on to some one elses quaestion.
What you are doing iswhat I did all on my own all those years ago but I had no one to share it with. What you are doing can help people live better lives so KICK OFF.

dave

[greendave]

I am blown away by your posts and by you!!. By keeping the journals. as you are doing, and looking for patterns we could have a massive breakthrough for all of us male and female.
I can feel the excitement in your last post to Nikgirl.
Please keep this going
lots of love
dave

[lucyluu]

I had been having weird issues after the birth of my first son and no one could figure it out.  Then after having the second 6 months ago my heart literally lost its mind.  A few days after having the baby I felt this strange sensation and my resting, walking, standing heart rate dropped to 45.  When I slept it was dipping into the 30's.  It did this for 3 weeks and then gradually came back up for a month to normal.  This was terrifying.  Then the PVC's rolled in like a storm.  I would have dizzy spells, pain, numbness, headaches.  I really thought I was going to die.  It took another 2 months before the doctor finally said that I dont have anxiety and something was wrong DUH.  They finally did the tests and confirmed the situation.  Then I had to stop breast feeding so I could take medication to slow everything down and it seemed like things got even worse for a while.  Which I believe is due to the hormone change of not breastfeeding anymore.

Id been journaling my life the whole time so I logged it all into the tracker on this site.  After 4 months of info was put in and 2 new months of info with meds there was definately a pattern.  My PVC's were the worst.  I mean ER stuff at the height of ovulation.  The next day it would completely stop and I would have 2 or 3 good days and then there was a gradual increase in symptoms till my period started.  Alaways the night before my period it would be terrible and then just stop and be fine the next day.

I know this is hormonal for me and by seeing the charts it has helped me to wean off of my medication of course with docs approval.  I still get the PVC's a lot but they are not as bad.  I stated all the changes I made above and that has helped a lot.  Acupuncture really works great on women more than men.  It does something to your hormones.  I am now having regular non heavy periods which plagued me my whole life.  So heres where I am at.  If I start with the night before my period its holy hell and then from the start through the next 13 days life is amazing.  Then around the 13th day when I start to ovulate things slowly get bad with the height of ovulation being a bad day.  The next 3 days are great again followed by a steady increase in bad days until the horrific few days before my period starts again.  I only take my medication 2 or 3 times a month now.  Just on those really bad days and its nice to keep the log because I can predict my life and now why Im emotional because I know exactly when my hormones are changing.  Dont you love being a woman?  Look at this stuff.  

Please please share your story with me.  Ive been wanting to meet someone in the same situation but a few years ahead of me.  How are you doing now?  What is your life like?  Are you on meds?  Did you try other alternatives?  Im not so desperate anymore because I feel like my life is getting under control now.  American and Chinese meds have really worked out for me but I like to see what other people try.  Im so glad you at least got to breast feed.  I was devistated when I had to stop but the doc really thought my heart would not be able to handle anymore stress.

Anyway please keep in touch.  I would love to hear how you are doing every so often to compare notes.

Lucy

[nikgirl28]

Did you have a baby not too long ago...my youngest is 2 years old...and after i stopped breastfeeding 5 months ago...pvc, pac, svt...constant....I know it has something to do with hormones...but it's really frustrating because i had to cut a lot of things out of my diet just so i wouldn't get them as much...and around menstration 2 wks before...they never let up....just wondering if you had it worse also after the birth of your babies or baby?

[Zachs]

Thanks for your post.  Very nice to know the similarities that we share. I guess everyone has different scenarios to specific situations and needs. Oh geeze, If I could only explain the frustration in one sentence!  YEAH RIGHT.. :)  But I guess the point of the matter is 'communication'.  Something that I've suffered from for many years. I think communication has been one of my pitfalls to date. I mean.... I can communicate, just on the wrong level as I should.  It has affected more that I've realized, especially my whole family.  But on the note of your post, and the similar sensations and now realizations,  we now know what the best course of action needs to be.  That is living life the way its supposed to be, and treating ourselves how we want to be treated--- In our cases how we want feel.

I have not gone the acupuncture route, and I may not need this.  But It has not totally slipped my mind.  My symptoms are very unique, and they don't always present themselves in the same order, fashion, or sensation.  I'm more 'mental' in a sense, so to speak. Most of my sensations stem from anxiety and fear more than anything else.  I've lived this way for so long, and it does run in my family.  All this anxiety could just be the fact that I'm getting older, or that I'm not taking care of myself, and it compounds into just about every disease you can think of.  I'm sure there's a name for this, and I think I know what it is.  But...  I'll keep reading....   Thanks so much though for the post, and have a blessed holiday (s).. Zach

[bundleblocker]

You are so right about the foods!  The more natural foods I eat; fresh veggies, fruits, etc. the better I feel. Whenever I eat something unhealthy with lots of preservatives I get quick burst of energy and then a huge drop in energy a short while later.

My grandmother, who was born in 1865, was way ahead of her time. She was a vegetarian, as was my Mom, and lived to be 95.

My dogs are all rescues.I used to volunteer at a shelter and now do fostering for a breed rescue. I have a chesapeake bay retriever, a chesapeake/pit mix, a catahoula leopard dog and a pit mix.

They are all loving dogs and except for one, were on death row at the animal shelter.

My chessie/pit mix is starting in Agility next month. He is the youngest and a real firecracker.

The others are older, but I jog with all of them daily; one at a time of course!

[lucyluu]

I just wanted to comment to you because I know how you feel.  Im almost 6 months into this whole PVC thing and I am 30 years old.  When you said that you are making changes and getting frustrated it made me want to post.  Number one because we are so young its soooo frustrating to not be able to do what we want.  I hate the fact that I cant just sit back and drink a cocktail at a BBQ like I used to.  Everything I do in my life now is based around these dumb things and I think o my its going to be a long 30 or 40 years when I live to 70.  The changes take time and you will feel better.  I changed my whole diet and added acupuncture and it took 4 months to feel the way I do now.  I still get the PVC's but they are not as bad and dont come with pain anymore.  I am even able to drink martinis again but no more than one in a night.  This is a big deal for me.  I couldnt even drink a glass of wine over summer.  

The changes I made were:

I started juicing
I take fish oil, vitamin C with Rosehip and magnesium tablets.
I eat a lot more potassium and drink a lot more milk and soy.
Acupuncture at first every week for 1 month then spaced out to 2 weeks and then 3 and so on.

When the docs had me do all the tests all was well.  No CAD or structure problems with my heart.  They did find that my Potassium was very low and that effects the way your heart fires I guess.  After adding in the things my heart needs through supplements, food and Chinese herbs I feel amazing.  I still cant do as much as I would like but I couldnt imagine feeling this way again 4 months ago.  

Illness can be good sometimes because it gives you the chance to make necessary changes your body needs.  None of us have dropped dead so we are lucky to have the chance to communicate and help ourselves before we are another statistic.  Dont worry life will be fun again.  Ive always been anxious too but Im learning to just let go and worry about the things that can happen now.  To let go of the petty things that dont really matter and make me so anxious all the time.  

Lucy

[lucyluu]

Hey there Dave,

Your at it again I see getting everyone inspired:)  Just wanted to update you.  Had a great month and went 15 days without meds.  Its been the best time in 6 months.  Also helps that the baby is finally sleeping through the night.  PVC's are still there constantly but more in control and walking is getting easier now.  I walked 2 or 3 times when I was not on the medication and had not one PVC that I could feel and I was walking at a good pace and went up a big hill:)  Yippee

Glad to see you are doing well and in good spirits as usual.

Lucy

[jondsam]

Thats a great story, thanks for the post.

[nikgirl28]

yes dave you are very inspiring...breath of fresh air on this forum!

[greendave]

Four dogs eh that's really great - what have you got and what are their personalities? It must keep you really fit taking them out. I am really impressed with how you have put things in order just in case ' - after all you are the leader of the pack!
I hope I am lucky enough to be as active as you when i reach 72 - please let me still be able to get up in the mountains.
I have the same problem with heavy fatty foods which really drain my energy but if I eat a very simple meal of mashed potatos, carrots and sprouts with vegetarian quorn pieces cooked in olive oil - I have so much energy i feel like I'm on fire. Eating fresh simple foods seems to work really well for me.
I know all about worry but again simple relaxation, abdominal breathing and a bit of positive visualisation works wonders.
Great to hear from you as yet again we have another fighter who is sorting things out.
best wishes
dave

[bundleblocker]

Hi Dave!  You are a true inspiration. Thanks for writing.

I am 72 and started having irregular heartbeats a few years ago. I now have "lone" Afibs. The first time I had the Afibs I really panicked. I live alone with my four dogs and my main concern was what would happen to my dogs if I just passed out (or died!)

After a few incidents of all night Afibs I went to the ER and am now on Metoprolol.

In a way, I'm grateful for my Afibs. I think it was a wake-up call to get my affairs in order. So after delaying for years, I now finally have a will and a trust set up with full instructions about the care of my dogs.

I have contacted all the people who are willing to help with finding homes for them,if my kids are not willing or able.

Just the fact that everything is in order has put my mind at ease.

I am very active, still jog every day, so hopefully can keep going for a long time yet, but you just never know.

So now when I get the Afibs, I try hard to think of something else. I have found if I worry about them they will start.

I am also concentrating on eating right (heavy, fatty foods seem to bring them on) getting enough rest, but mainly just trying to stay more relaxed. I'm a born worryer so that is difficult for me.

But I'm hanging in there. Every day gets a little easier and every day I worry a little less about what my heart is doing.

[greendave]

Lots for thought here!
There is no doubt that a dramatic change in lifestyle can put a strain on our mental states as we have lost all our 'crutches' which often were what made life bearable. There is a way out of this which i found through my hpnotherapy studies which is that in any conflict between willpower and imagination - imagination will always win. what this means is that forcing ourselves to do something that we do not really want to do will not work.
We need to visualise the 'new us' in a positive way which does not involve any negatives so not 'I will not smoke'  willpower and negative - but 'I am now free from the desire to smoke etc. (positive)
then the big black hole needs to be filled with positives so via meditation you need to visualise and draw in 'universl energy' and fill yourself with love. You need to love yourself for what you truly are and live in love - not living to please others.
dave

[greendave]

Hi Jerry
that photo was taken at 3600 feet which outside of Scotland is as high as you can get in the UK but it is all relative as the start was from about 100 feet so you get a good feel of height up there. In the snow an ice axe was useful in case of slips as there are some cliffs with 1500 foot drops which I would not want to slide over.
Great news about getting Metoprolol down to 50mg daily.
dave