Absolutely Gutted

[Martin.G]

sorry for spelling, my concentration is crap too

[Marcella Ross]

Martin, you’re right 37 is way too young to have a heart attack, but unfortunately it’s reality for a lot of people. 🙁
The best thing you can do is take plenty rest right now and follow the advice of your doctor. Making some small changes within your lifestyle will help I’m sure, try and not get stressed, that will only hinder your recuperation.

Keep your chin up and keep well. 🙂 😉

[Andy Gorman]

Keep your chin up matey. Hearts are one thing the medical profession are very good at. They’ll have you fighting fit soon enough. A similar thing happened to my brother a while back and he’s as right as rain now. Do whatever your doctors tell you to do and have faith in them.

And come on here and have a moan whenever you feel like it.

[Glenn Sharp]

My Dad has been through what sounds to be a very similar thing…

He used to pass out now and then & often complained about feeling dizzy for long periods of time……a couple of years ago he had a minor stroke which led to a whole host of hospital visits… firstly he had an angioplast…..which in turn led to him needing a triple bypass.

Obviously we were worried sick because at the time of the operation my Dad was 72…..our worries were eased slightly when we were told that there was only a 4% chance of anything going majorly wrong (which I thought was incredible)

He is now just about fully functional again…..(as fully functional as a 75 year old gets)….he can drive again which was something he couldn’t do because of the blackouts & he leads a full & busy life

This post isn’t to alarm you….it’s just to point out that as shell shocked as you must feel, you are really one of the lucky ones in as much as you have had a warning & there is plenty that can be done to put things right.

[Hugh Potter]

sorry to hear that, i know just how ya feel dude, just keep plodding through !

not trying deliberately to make light of it, but at least ‘crushed elbow’ or ‘heart defect’ are easy to say when people ask you why you’re popping back into hopsital again, you wanna try langerhans cell histiocytosis, not only do you have to repeat it twice while trying to keep a straight face, for everyone that misheard you the first time, but you then have to try and explain it. oh for a common complaint !!!

it took clever doctor types 3years and 2 biopsies to figure what was wrong with me, mum always said i was one in a million, and she weren’t far off, it’s actually around 1:800,000 adults !

anyways, just keep on looking forward dude, nowt else ya can do, sure it might get ya down from time to time, but there’s no point worrying over it, i spent a couple of years worrying over mine before they told me what it was, for all we knew it coulda been cancer, though just as well it wasn’t. I’d’ve been dead before the final conclusion was reached !! the worrying did more harm than good,

to be honest, it’s just not worth thinking about, as Andy says, hearts are an extremely common fix these days, so the outlook is very bright indeed. diet change is easy, as is giving up smoking or drinking (if you want to), just take the decision and stick with it. nothing is so bad or big that it can’t be overcome with a little positive thought, just think positive and march on !

i’m sure you’ll be fine mate.
Hugh

[Harry Cleary]

Try looking at your diagnosis as a ‘gift’. Many, many people don’t get that gift……I don’t mean that to sound glib. I lost a good friend a while back and his heart defect has been detected in a few of his family, who can now do something about it. Thats a gift in my book.

[John Childs]

Very sorry to hear that Martin.

Hugh is right about what they can do with hearts these days (although he’s talking bo11ocks about giving up smoking!) 😀

Good luck mate.

[Shane Drew]

Sorry to hear about your condition mate.

High cholesterol and diabetes runs in my mums family, and my dad is diabetic too, so I keep an eye on my health in those two areas especially (to keep my mum, wife, sister, aunt and daughter happy essentially). Fortunately I don’t suffer from either, but a lot of my relatives do, and its amazing what medicines can do for either condition these days.

I’d echo the comments said already; watch your diet, don’t smoke and don’t drink excessively, keep the stress levels down, keep a healthy weight, and get some healthy activity happening… play ball, jog, walk… you know what I mean.

Your condition does not have to be a negative, ultimately you have control now that you have a diagnosis. Harry put it best…. think of your diagnosis as a gift.

My father chose to ignore his health issues until a 6.30am December 6 2001, when reality set in by means of a major stroke, followed by a heart attack that same week, 2 months in rehab to learn to walk again, followed by a quadruple +1 bypass last year.

He’s lucky to be alive, 4 of 5 doctors told us to prepare for his death, we said our goodbye etc, prepared his funeral etc but the 5th, an english lady Dr didn’t give up, and he did pull thru. Dad grabbed that gift with both hands, and now his health is his 1st priority. He’ just turned 70, and still works with me every day, 12 hours a day.

Sorry to appear so negative, but I’m trying to reinforce the fact that its not the end of the world. You’re still young, and with a sensible approach, 5 years down the line, you’ll look back on today and realise the diagnosis probably saved your life.

Take care mate, as Andy says, have a moan here if you think it helps. I’ll try and be more positive next time 😳 .. I promise 😉

[graham stewart]

Martin
Has your Dr put you on tablets for your cholesterol ? My body makes to much cholesterol so i have to take a tablet called LIPITOR Atorvastatin it helps reduce it, I’m on 40ml a day Ask your Doctor if you are not all ready taking some thing .And if you SMOKE stop it! If you do as the Doctor says you will be OK, Think positive Mate your family needs you, Take care and it does not hurt to talk about how you feel, Don’t bottle it up. Sorry to go on about it , but I have a rough idea how you feel.
Take care

Graham 😉

[Adam Triggs]

Martin,

Keep your chin up mate and use the forum for support. One big family here.

Cheers
Adam

[Lynn Normington]

Martin one consolation at least you know know about it and it’s sortable, and your not an old man a few life style changes less stress, and do as your doctors advise. And you’ve always got here if you feel like a good moan 😀 take good care

Lynn

[Phill Fenton]

Nothing more I can add to what has already been said. Just good luck Martin and keep us posted on your progress 😀

[Martin Pearson]

Not much I can say that hasn’t already been said, agree with what Harry said, now you have the chance to do something about it before it’s to late.
Don’t know if this will work for you but it helps me from time to time. When you are feeling a bit down just spend 5 minutes thinking about people who are worse off than you are. I have a friend in a wheelchair with all sorts of problems but she is always smiling, five minutes thinking about what life must be like for her soon stops me feeling sorry for myself.
Like a couple of the others have already said just have a moan on here whenever you feel like it, helps to get it off your mind and stops you bottling things up and we are all one big family on here.

[Brian Little]

hi martin sorry i missed your post ….listen mate sometimes its just good to talk about things makes you feel a bit better .With the exception of about 34 people (to witch ive got a note in my black book and only to happy to send ya 😀 ) we are all good listeners…ive had some great advice on hear in the past both personal and proffessional let us know how you get on

Regards Brian

[Martin.G]

Thank you for the replies, i dont want to appear rude or ignorant for taking so long to reply, just been taking a little time out, but i have logged in a few times and read the posts thank you.

Im now in a chest clinic, so that will be a help i hope.

No smoking is fine, really hasnt been a problem
the diet is a little harder, though im nearly half a stone down already, my face looks thin now im told, so i can only imagine i was a fat faced sod before ha ha ha

onwards and upwards eh

thanks all

martin

[Graeme Harrold]

Glad is been found and diagnosed early i.e. before too much damage is done. Yup you will probably have to make lifestyle changes, but it can only be for the best.

Keep your chin up and let the docs work their magic………

[Cheryl Smith]

Big hug Martin,. life can be real tough sometimes, dont worry hon, Im a big believer in that everything happens for a reason and I just really wish you the best.

[Graeme Harrold]

quote martin:

Not much I can say that hasn’t already been said, agree with what Harry said, now you have the chance to do something about it before it’s to late.
Don’t know if this will work for you but it helps me from time to time. When you are feeling a bit down just spend 5 minutes thinking about people who are worse off than you are. I have a friend in a wheelchair with all sorts of problems but she is always smiling, five minutes thinking about what life must be like for her soon stops me feeling sorry for myself.
Like a couple of the others have already said just have a moan on here whenever you feel like it, helps to get it off your mind and stops you bottling things up and we are all one big family on here.

I only got back to work today (Army day job!!) to spread the good news about Morgandies operation only to find out one of my work colleagues has been diagnosed with motor-neuron disease. Well with that its not so much diagnosing it, but ruling every other cause out.

Just shows how fragile and indiscriminate life is……….

Keep smiling and make every day count. 🙂