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Post Cardiac Cath - Feeling badly

dottieangel
0 Recommendations

Hi on August 10th I had a Cardiac Cath, I was told I had 90 percent blockage and that another part of the heart they were unable to fix. Since then I have been on Ticlid, Aspirin, Simvastatin, They tried diovan and I became disoriented after only one pill. I have not really had one good day. i am constantly shaky, dizzy and unable to focus. I keep telling the doctor's this and it is being dismissed as anxiety, then they put me on Prozac and I have been on it for four days and still not well. My quality of life has gone downhill. Any suggestions.

Explore topics in this discussion:

Exercise Anxiety Niacin Prozac Stent Benicar Stress Xanax Arrhythmia Lisinipril Aspirin Simvastatin Lexapro Pain Diovan Heart attack Depression Celexa

11 replies

Ecksunbeam

Dear Dottieangel,

The results of your cath alone are enough to make anyone shaky. However, there are areas of the heart where it is not potentially life-threatening to have a blockage. If you exercise you will develop collaterals around the area. You don't mention where it is, but you may want to plug your specifics into a search engine and see precisely where you stand. It will either ease your mind somewhat, or inspire you to change doctors or take further action.

My doctor recently took me off Lisinipril because it gave me the ace inhibitor cough. Prescribed Diovan instead but it didn't fly with the insurance company. So it was just changed again to Benicar. I haven't tried it yet, but researched it a few days ago and it appears to have very little, if any, side effects.

In my opinion, Prozac is not the best anti-depressant around. And it can take a couple of months to build up in your system. Lexapro is a much purer anti-depressant and much faster acting--sometimes within days you will feel a difference. Lexapro is Celexa with most of the crap removed and therefore is much faster acting and has many fewer side effects. At my request, my doctor changed me from Lexapro to Cymbalta (not a tri-cyclic or an SSRI) and I have found it to be the best anti-depressant I have ever tried. In my opinion, although I am not diabetic, it's the antidepressant of choice for diabetics as it relieves neuropathic pain. And, it WORKS! You may need some Xanax to go along with your anti-depressant, if only to get you cranked up until the anti-anxiety effects of your anti-depressant build up in your system.

Some supplements you may wish to try: L-Arginine, Niacin (non-flushing), Vitamin D, Co-Enzyme Q10, fish oil OR flaxseed, and Lecithin. Type these into a search engine along with the word "heart" and decide for yourself. Lecithin is known to dissolve coronary artery plaque and chocolate is filled with it :--)

Once you have done your research, don't be afraid to approach your doctor with your own suggestions about medication changes. I have never had a doctor say No when I wanted to try something different--as long as I sounded half way intelligent about it.

Say your prayers and BELIEVE that God is working on behalf of your own best interest. B-r-e-a-t-h-e and take one moment at a time if necessary to get through this scary period.

I wish you the best. Please keep us posted.

May the Blessings Be!

Sherrie

P.S. My mother's name was Dorothy (I love the name!) and she is now an angel. So, being somewhat prejudiced, I have truly given you my heartfelt recommendations.

goingstrong

Sherry, I second your applause for Cymbalta. Over the last 20 years, I have had to change every few years and find this medication to be quite effective with no side effects. Of course, our bodies are all different and we metabolize differently, so my experience may not be echoed by DOTTIEANGEL.

And I also take almost all of the supplements you suggest she consider. The Niacin alone has made a tremendous difference in my HDL.

However it is really important when buying non-flushing Niacin to get the one labeled "nicotinic acid" as there is another form "niacinamide," which DOES NOT have an effect on lipids and should be avoided if your goal is lowering lipids. (google 'niacin forms')

My only other comment DOTTIEANGEL is this: if your cardiologist is not listening to you after a whole month of this, he may NOT be the RIGHT one for you. Check with other friends who have cardio docs and get some names ready to call should you choose to change.

IT IS YOUR LIFE! You have a right to be heard!

Lynn

goingstrong

Dottieangel, I forgot to say, I also have a part of my heart that is unfixable, but am able to maintain a fairly active life except I can't RUN, I can't HIKE A MOUNTAIN nor can I leap up a flight of stairs.

But I never wanted to do either of those anyway! ha

Lynn

martzj

Hi Dottie,

Welcome here! Sherrie offered some excellent suggestions for your consideration. I have a friend who has been getting relief via Cymbalta for the first time after many years of chronic depression.

A heart that has even small blockages cannot function adequately enough for its owner to necessarily feel good. You know what is normal and what 'I feel good' means for you. If that has changed and stayed unchanged even after cath, then this may be your 'new normal'. You may have to attack each symptom separately to find ways to increase function and quality of life. Arteries blocked, even partially, mean the tissue beyond the blockage is slowly starving for oxygen to some degree. Aches, spasm, jitters, anxiety are part of this heart stress. Even for women who have none of these sensations, heart damage is still occuring if it can't get enough oxygen to the cells.

You will need to be persistent about dogging your doctors for help and relief. I was sent back to work full time 9 weeks after massive heart attack. 5 days after the LAD was stented, 9 weeks after the RCA was stented during heart attack. I was having all the symptoms you listed and many more. It was dismissed by my cardio repeatedly. They got my arteries partially opened and their job was finished as far as they were concerned. Permanently damaged heart muscle was my problem. I'm still here 15 years later. Never any help with anything beyond beta blocker for arrhythmia wierdness. (If your nerves are shredded and you find yourself irritable and jittery, easily startled.....that meant heart electrical antics in my case. It just gets so worn out trying to constantly reset...and too much adrenaline, other stress hormones are released into the system).

Did your dr explain why the 90 percent blockage wasn't stented? Location to difficult to reach or artery too small? Drug therapy recommended for now?

Let us know. We understand how strange and eerie this feels in the beginning. And the first year is extremely important to a woman's survival, so listen carefully to your body and do your best to get help for yourself.

take good care and hope to hear from you soon,
Jaynie

dottieangel

Thank you so very much for all of this information.
This is the first time that I don't feel alone with this.

dottieangel

Thank you for the tip on Niacin. I will be going shopping tommorrow. My first rehab appointment is tommorrow morning. Feeling a bit anxious but going to follow through.

dottieangel

It's amazing that Doctor's do not tell us about all these problems, thank God there is a site like this for us that need help and for all of you too be helping.

dottieangel

I was stented with a medicated large stent for the blockage.

goingstrong

Another thing to know about the Niacin. Many of us take it under doctor's orders. Some of us take it without doctor's orders.

Just so you know, it requires liver function tests to assure that the liver can metabolize it. Just like statins! Why do I know this? Because my sister cannot take statins or Niacin without developing elevated enzymes.

So my suggestion to ANYONE reading this, if you are taking more than minimal (500 mg is minimal) dose of niacin, make sure your doc keeps on top of what he thinks is required for maintenance labs! I personally, take 1500 mg every bedtime, and my doc monitors my liver!

Good luck dottie angel!

primetimelady

Hi Goingstrong!

You sound like me... I tell people that I love cardiac rehab and I have made a lot of progress. I am not ready for a marathon but then agian I never did run in a marathon... never wanted to.

I enjoy reading your post you seem so happy.

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