First Echo in 18 months is tomorrow....how to calm down advice?

[Roxx]

Hey gang,
I disappeared for awhile.... was heart obsessed and had to take a break (as you know, lots of yucky and untrue stuff in internet land.)
I have been putting it off.... but tomorrow I have my first ECHO/Cardio appt. in 18 months.

The Cardiologist, knowing that I am wacko.... is going to have the ECHO done first, then we will have our appointment going over the results right away.

Part of me is half sick just thinking about this appointment (I have to squeeze it in on an extended lunch break at work).... part of me is ready to get it over with for another year or so.

I am not concerned about the ECHO or EKG that they do....What concerns me is the results.

At my last appointment, the numbers were pretty good, and didn't warrant any medication on restrictions.

While I don't think anything drastic has changed to where I will be wheeled off to surgery.... I do have a fear that medication or restrictions may be in my near future.

Any tips or tricks for calming yourself down before these appointments?

 

[ski girl]

Why are you scared of meds or restrictions??? There isn't really any need to be scared of the *surgery*, meds and restrictions are nothing.

Think of the results more as data about YOU which is INTERESTING. If the numbers were pretty good at your last appointment, and you don't feel any different, the numbers are highly likely to be pretty good again. Don't work yourself up about this, after all you have something wrong that is quite easily and routinely fixed when it comes time for it!

Go out and take a walk or do something else that helps you burn off nervous energy, and be thankful you just have a BAV and not something really difficult to fix!

 

[Roxx]

Why are you scared of meds or restrictions??? There isn't really any need to be scared of the *surgery*, meds and restrictions are nothing.

Think of the results more as data about YOU which is INTERESTING. If the numbers were pretty good at your last appointment, and you don't feel any different, the numbers are highly likely to be pretty good again. Don't work yourself up about this, after all you have something wrong that is quite easily and routinely fixed when it comes time for it!

Go out and take a walk or do something else that helps you burn off nervous energy, and be thankful you just have a BAV and not something really difficult to fix!

Hey, how are you... you used to post back in the old days (2010) :biggrin2:

Last numbers from 2011 (or numbers worth mentioning) was

* Actually Tricuspid Aortic Valve, but irregular shaped cusps (2 big, 1 small)....so it may as well be a BAV
* 3.7 root
* 2.3 cm AVA (2.6 on first Echo in 2009)
* 1.7 Aortic Max velocity

So pretty darn good before....

Report said Trace Aortic insufficiency & Trace Stenosis.

So far (3 Echo's total) the other dimensions have been fine.....and I feel fine, I'm still doing p90x round after round....

BUT.... The root & AVA is what concern me.... while I highly doubt the numbers have changed a great deal... I can foresee them changing enough for the Cardio to prescribe a prescription or a restriction to the game.

I know the day will arrive that my "pretty good" numbers will turn south. I guess I will find out soon if tomorrow is that day.

 

[07sti]

Probably nothing I can tell you to help calm the nerves. I'm actually looking forward to having another echo so I can get some data to track. I think I'd go more crazy not getting the echos and wondering what may be going on. The hardest part, I'm sure, is the weeks/days leading up to the echo. Just try to find something that relaxes you...a tv comedy, book, working on a small project around the house, taking a walk, or p90x?

Regardless of how things go tomorrow, let us know and we'll be here to support you! I have a hunch you'll be getting the news you want. :thumbup:

 

[Tdot]

Hi Roxx

Your post sounds just like me...hehe I'm a wacko when I go to my appointments. I too have BAV and root at 44ish. Every year I freak out and some years it's routine and some years the echo comes back different usually followed up with an MRI which then shows little to no difference. My echo showed some variation this year so I have a followup MRI on the 24th. Fact is that I've been monitoring this for almost 8 years now and things are changing slowly. At this rate. It could be ten years before I need surgery so I told myself to try and relax and go with the flow. It also gets easier every year.

Good luck on your appointment and let us know how it goes.

 

[ski girl]

Heheh Roxx smash it on the p90x, that should burn off some of the nervous energy! Ignore what I said about taking a walk, that won't help someone at p90x level.

And a 2.3cm AVA is freaking HUGE. Mine was around 1.0 for decades! They don't even consider replacement until under 1.0.

Also consider reading some of the recent posts about inaccuracies of echoes . . . maybe wait until AFTER your echo and only if your numbers seem to have gone south!

And for those of you with recently diagnosed BAVs (or funky TAVs!) - my BAV was discovered when I was born and I kept that thing going until I was almost 40, you may get a similar lifespan out of your valves.

 

[07sti]

Also consider reading some of the recent posts about inaccuracies of echoes . . . maybe wait until AFTER your echo and only if your numbers seem to have gone south!

And for those of you with recently diagnosed BAVs (or funky TAVs!) - my BAV was discovered when I was born and I kept that thing going until I was almost 40, you may get a similar lifespan out of your valves.

I'm hoping for another 10 years out of mine (30 right now). But I went 15-20 years since my last echo kinda forgetting I even had a BAV. Since I got news that it's more serious than it was when I was around 10, I want to start gathering some more data to make sure it's not going downhill fast.

Anyway, I'm sure mine will be good for quite a while too. Thanks for sharing some of your info with us...It certainly helps those that are "new" to this.

 

[Roxx]

I will keep you all posted..... at home, my BP is fine.... 120-ish over 70-ish.... but it sky rockets at the cardio office, so I am sure we will have a 10 minute discussion over BP meds too....and when they do the EKG, they shave circles on my chest to put the sticky pads on.

All of this is no big deal....except no one knows about my little heart doctor secret but me....(and this forum) shhhhhhh !!!

Regardless of the outcome of my new "numbers" I will have to do "damage control" tomorrow night....ie: Shave my chest like a idiot and convince my wife that I wanted to "try something new."....

The dumb things I go through to keep this our little secret, I tell ya...I deserve an academy award.

 

[Jason]

I would agree that your numbers shouldn't warrant much worry at this point. My stats were much worse for at least a decade before my aortic aneurysm forced the issue.

From your post, am I correct in reading that you haven't brought your wife in on this? If so, I think the best advice I can give you is to talk to her about the issue and the potential outcomes. When I was obsessing about the surgery and working through the anxiety and depression that came around after it, my wife was my rock. I can't imagine keeping it from her, or even wanting to go through the buildup without her knowing and supporting me. If I misread your post, ignore the response...

 

[ski girl]

I'm with Jason on this, tell your wife . . . how would you feel if she was keeping something like this from you???

If anything does go wrong with you at some point, she will be asked about your medical history and this is important.

Off soap box now but FFS man-up and tell her!!!

 

[Roxx]

Jason & Ski, you are correct that nobody knows.
The odd shaped aortic valve, upper limit root, etc... were incidental findings on a ECHO (if you can believe) I requested.*
*I requested due to going to ER one night with a panic attack, and later that week my GP saying "what tests would you like to have done to rule out other things."
Hindsight, mistake. I would have preferred to keep this genie in the bottle for another decade or two, or forever.

Reason I haven't told my high school sweetheart, and wife of 15 years, and mother of our two kids..... I simply haven't accepted I have a "problem" yet. I suppose when I feel the time is right for my family to have something to be concerned about, I will say something..... and that's what is the biggest fear about this afternoon. Not a chest shaved with Crop Circles, not a probe running over my bare chest for 20 mins..... but the idea that numbers have been changed enough to warrant "the talk" with the family. Dreadful.

 

[Tdot]

Hey Roxx I'm with Jason on this. I feel your emotion when you say you have to mention this to you wife. It's scary because it becomes more real BUT te reality is you could be living with this for many more decades so it's not that big a deal. You won't believe the relief I felt when my wife knew and it was on the table. She now comes with me to my appointments and my anxiety is way down. You'll feel like a weight is off your shoulders. My biggest fear is/was my anxiety and controlling it when it comes to dealing with it. By reading other posts on this site it seems more of an emotional challenge than a physical one. People recover rather quickly after surgery but an anxious person like me will deal with the emotional side for years/decades which is way worse and bad for your overall health to. This is why I try to control my anxiety and having my family onboard is a huge help

 

[07sti]

I agree with what others have said. Unless you expect your wife to be a complete wreck becuase of it, I think it's fine if you sit her down and explain it. If you think she'll become extremely emotional or that it will cause her anxiety, then have her come along to the appointment with the cardiologist and have him/her explain it. I brought my wife to the follow-up meeting with the cardiologist and his calm/relaxed way of explaining it made it seem like no big deal to my wife. Not that she takes it lightly, but she also knows there's no reason to be worring something traumatic is going to happen at any moment.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Rachel]

Oh Roxx - it's no wonder that you need some "tricks to calm yourself down" - sounds like you're carrying a ton of "extra stuff" that you don't need to carry.....as you can tell I agree with what others have posted - I think you should also tell your wife - in my experience.... secrets are never good (even if you think that you're doing a person a favor by keeping something from them)

Anyway I'm sure you have your reasons, but I think you're putting a whole lot of unnecessary stress on yourself by not being open with your wife.....especially for something that can be fixed.

In the meantime I hope you don't need surgery anytime too soon!

 

[Roxx]

Thanks for the replies guys and gals. I have a couple hours until showtime.... I will update the forum on the findings.

 

[Roxx]

Whew.... Dodged the bullet again. Numbers stayed the same....3.7 root, 2.5 ava, 60% EF..... Only thing they said was if I wanted to avoid the waiting room possibly for life..... = give up heavy weight lifting.....had 2 Cardiologists today.... Both told me that anytime you see a person who is exceptionally large in musculature....it's almost guaranteed that their Aorta is abnormally big...I have lifted weights for 20 years.....and while I have no plans of giving that up.... My days of gut busting bench presses and nut busting squats are over. Thanks for all your support.

 

[clay_from_nj]

anytime you see a person who is exceptionally large in musculature....it's almost guaranteed that their Aorta is abnormally big...

Great, there goes one of my goals in life...

 

[07sti]

Well, sounds like pretty good news to me. Glad to hear things are the same!

 

[Roxx]

Great, there goes one of my goals in life...

LOL!! As a teen and in my 20's.... I had wanted the huge linebacker look... as my mid 30's heads towards 40.... fit and lean is more my desire.

 

[Rachel]

Of course then there are people like me who are very very small and have never lifted weights......have absolutely no upper body strength at all and still get 5.2cm aneurysms.....at a "young" age......sorry to be the party pooper - not lifting might hasten the growth and then again it might not.