Feeling overwhelmed
Hello Pacers, ...Does anybody else feel overwhelmed when you can not do the activities you used to do? I work full time and when I come home I am very tired. I have Non ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Holidays are here and i have been getting overwhelmed with family gatherings. Can anyone please give suggestions of how to handle being overwhelmed during the holidays. When it happens my heart will give dull aches. I get extremely dizzy and its hard to walk straight. I was told this is due to the heart not being able to pump. .i am hoping i can get some advice to help me cope. I do meditate which helps and i walk during my lunch hour . Any advice would be greatly appreciated . Thanks for listening.
2 Comments
Feeling overwhelmed
by Sparkie - 2017-11-29 16:00:25
Tracey,
Thank you so much for responding. I wrote you back 11/26 and after I was done it did not post and I could not find it. I am very Sorry it has taking me so long to write you back. You have some Great ideas. I have reviewed my companies short and long term disabilty benefits package which is excellent.The only reason I am holding back is Health insurance. The company I work for has excellent Medical insurance and Benefits. I feel very fortunate to have.
As for family gatherings it is very hard for me to ask for help. But as you said No Shame in asking.I will have to have your words replayed in my mind. NO Shame...ask for help.!!! :) I know I will feel awkward. I got to do it. We Celebrate Christmas Eve over our house every year. This year we have 9 adults and 7 grandchildren. We used to have more but they have moved out of state. We hopefully will visit 5 grandchildren / 5 adults around New Years. I truly do Love Christmas and seeing everyone.
Doctors have looked into sleep apnea which thank god I do not have. My brother had it.Poor guy, so hard for him to breath. I do have low blood pressure 90/54 on average.The medicine I am on is Metrolpol 15mg (beta blocker) I have to cut it in half and Tikosyn 250mcg ( arrhythmia medicine) will make me tired. I have a CRDT-D implant. Much better quality of life with it and the meds. Sometimes I forget how bad it was and pretty darn lucky to be alive. :)
My doctor did look at my vitamin d levels. My labs are pretty good. She is pretty thorough. Thank you so much for all your advice. I truy appreciate you taking the time to help me.
Peace,
Peggy
AKA Sparkie... my grandchild came up with the name.
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by Tracey_E - 2017-11-25 08:13:23
I'm sorry you're struggling! How frustrating. Is there any way to cut back work if it's leaving you so exhausted? Part time or partial disability? It sounds like you're doing what you can to take care of yourself and maximize your energy. Sometimes we have to accept that we just can't do it all, and cut back enough that we can enjoy the things we have chosen to make time for. Ask for help. Let your family know how tired you are. If you're like me, you don't want to ask for help, you surely don't want to let on when it's a bad day or just plain too much. But do it anyway. If the family gathering is at your house, let them bring the food or ask for help cleaning up. Skip a few events, or only go for a short time. There's no shame in not doing everything, esp when it's pushing you past the point of exhaustion.
Have you been evaluated for sleep apnea?It will leave you exhausted even when you think you've had a good night's sleep.
When you have blood work done, do they check for vitamin and mineral levels? My daughter has very low D levels, has to be on an insane level of supplements (4x RDA) just to get her levels in the low end of the normal range. Her energy levels is much better when she's good about taking it every day. Lots of food deficiencies leave us tired.