Just a reminder: start taking care of your heart health if you haven’t already. We’re there-ish, I guess?
Posted by AconcernedPickle@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 56 comments
Currently sitting in the ER, about to be discharged. Not actively dying, but heavily recommended I follow up with a cardiologist today to get scheduled for a stress test. No heart attack, but nothing else is ruled out. Blood sugar is too high, too. “At the upper limit”, doc said. He didn’t appear old. Age-wise, my equal kinda. Weak-ass heart can’t handle job stress and a little butter, apparently. Feel old in this moment. Used to be I could slam shots of crisco, snort meter-long lines of whatever, and smoke a carton of cigarettes while running a 2 mile sprint. Now if I stand up too fast I get dizzy. Pulled a hammy in my sleep about 6 months ago. I guess the fun part is over and we’re just waiting to age and die? Am depressed. Want a burrito. Extra hot. Also, the nurses all look like high school kids. Like they definitely could know my daughter from school cause they had the same class.
What the f happened?
Also, if you had a heart scare and survived, what did you do that made it better? If you had one and didn’t survive, don’t reply.
eggs_erroneous@reddit
Yeah, I'm 48 and quite overweight. I have sleep apnea and my machine has been broken for a few months, but I can't really afford to do anything about it. I am having episodes of shortness of breath and what feels like pain in my chest. Maybe it's nothing, but maybe it's something bad.
OkSet1048@reddit
batboy (love that btw), please get yourself checked out. can someone fix the machine? do you have insurance?
maybe you could get a free one--check craigslist, people's parents die and they just get rid of EVERYTHING.
also saw this
Free or low-cost CPAP machines are available through non-profit organizations like the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA)—which requires a $100 processing fee—and The Reggie White Foundation. Other avenues include Breathe California, Medicaid, Medicare Part B, and community donation programs like ZeroApnea.org.
Top Sources for Free/Low-Cost CPAP Machines
Requirements to Get a Free Machine
Insurance Coverage
Tips for Finding Free Machines
eggs_erroneous@reddit
Wow! Thanks! I sincerely mean that.
OkSet1048@reddit
You're very welcome I sincerely hope you find what you need ☺️
babyBear83@reddit
Go get a check up please
Kck11111@reddit
Got heart failure at 35 for undiagnosed sleep apnea. Meds and a CPAP have gotten it back to regular within these 10 years. That being said I should take better care of myself but it's hard with 9 kids and 3 jobs. I prefer to not think about it...but unfortunately we are at the age we need to. Ughh.
Old_Storage379@reddit
May I ask what your symptoms were like before you found out about the sleep apnea. The week before I thought I had a heart attack- I was getting maybe 5 hours of sleep a night. I wake up maybe 15 times per night. The heart attack was ruled out but I did find out I had leaking heart valves.
Kck11111@reddit
I have snored all my life. Like getting smacked by siblings loud when I was little lol. My symptoms were anxiety, slight breathlessness, and odd thumps in my chest. They found the heart failure through a chest xray and then did further testing. No blockages so they did a sleep study. A score of 5 is sleep apnea. My score was 137. So basically my body just went without oxygen at night lol
Old_Storage379@reddit
Thanks! I’m going to a pulmonologist next month who also does sleep studies maybe this is the route I need to go down. My heart study was clear other than leaking valves but I sleep like crap.
nursetanya2@reddit
Holy cow! I hope you have someone sharing the load with you!
Kck11111@reddit
My wife stays home. We adopted a couple larger siblings groups. Oldest is 15 and youngest is 2 lol. It's been a wild ride. I work so she can stay home! Not for everyone but it works for us :) my two side gigs are fairly low energy work from home jobs that allow me to work as little or as much as I need/want
nursetanya2@reddit
That sounds so amazing and rewarding! Your life is full!
OkSet1048@reddit
9 kids and 3 jobs? how did you even know you had sleep apnea? I'd probably been 20yrs since you slept. please take care of yourself
cashews_clay15@reddit
NINE kids and 3 jobs??? Bless you.
20-20-24hoursago@reddit
I recently had an incidental finding of a "significantly calcified aorta for my age". It's too soon for my shitty lifestyle habits to have caught up with me man, I'm not ready for this kinda thing.
_MuddyCreek_@reddit
Maybe you had too much too fast?
20-20-24hoursago@reddit
might be going to hell in a bucket but at least I enjoyed the ride!
GreenKiss73@reddit
I'm sorry you are experiencing this. Ihave been through a couple heart attacks and heart failure. I changed my lifestyle and did what I was told. I'm not longer in heart failure. I feel better than I ever felt in my 20s. You can do this.
babyBear83@reddit
I love hearing this. I work in cardiac rehab and it’s super rewarding to help get people turned around with their heart health. There is definitely potential to heal and recover. It does take lifestyle changes. Great job 👏🏼 keep advocating for others that they can do it too. Thank you.
GreenKiss73@reddit
No thank you. My PT and OT nurses were the best. They taught me so much. 10 years later and I have all the paperwork they gave me. I have 5 nurses who are now my friends. I don't need them for the medical but we need our friendship. It heals us.
Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit
💚💚💚
babyBear83@reddit
I’m 42 and work in cardiac rehab. I started living what I teach a while back now. I am a former smoker, quit 2013. I get my 150 minutes of cardio a week now (50 mins/3xwk) and I really watch my saturated fats. I big jump ahead would be to try to make your diet more like the Mediterranean diet. But yeah, exercise regularly but not like huge brutal workouts. I get my labs drawn yearly to check my cholesterol and A1C. I recently finally lost like 10 pounds. Still more to go but not too bad. It’s just day to day habits that turn the ship around. There is no big miracle answer. But I’ve had enough patients closer to my age lately than I’m comfortable with. It’s getting worse for our age group. It’s getting us earlier. I think our early party days plus current maximal stress levels aren’t helping.
After_Preference_885@reddit
Are you seeing impacts of the cardiac damage COVID research has reported as increasing cardiac issues and strokes in our age range?
Comfortable-nerve78@reddit
We’re at the age where if you go to an emergency room they automatically check for heart attacks or strokes. Sucks but that’s life for us now.
After_Preference_885@reddit
We just went through a pandemic of a virus that increases heart stacks and strokes in our age range too
Many of us got that virus, and that mild cardiac damage will impact us
After_Preference_885@reddit
And please, please do what you can to protect against viral illnesses like COVID and flu.
The "mild damage" caused to your heart by these viruses can have cumulative and devastating effects as you age.
Masking in crowded public places and vaccines work.
Old_Storage379@reddit
43f thought I had a heart attack. Hospital ruled it out . Referred to cardiologist and I found out I have leaking heart valves. Not bad enough to of caused my symptoms. Coronary heart scan and calcium scoring both came back great (other than the leaking). I’m the fittest I’ve ever been in my life so this was all a surprise. I’ve been referred to a pulmonologist to see if the symptoms were lung related- I get bouts of breathlessness intermittently. I was a pack a day smoker for 10+ years so crossing my fingers it’s not cancer at this point. All other blood tests are stellar - low cholesterol, nothing out of whack.
Xennials-ModTeam@reddit
Per Rule 5, please refrain from posting overly generic or cliche topics about aging. These topics are better suited for r/FuckImOld or our "health and wellness" megathread, found at the top of the main subreddit page in the Community Highlights section.
MKJRS@reddit
blood test every year - work demands it
hope you feel better
GenderOobleck@reddit
And deny myself the sweet release of death while still claiming full life insurance benefits for my family? Not on my life!
/s to ensure people pick up this is sarcasm
moonbunnychan@reddit
I had heart failure over the summer and spent a week in the hospital. My dumb ass kept disregarding all my very obvious symptoms that something was really wrong.
SadAcanthocephala521@reddit
Get active and start putting good things into your body. Don't be afraid to go get checked every year. That's about all we can do.
Comprehensive-Fact94@reddit
Our bodies are biological machines. Like any machine, they break down over time. More so without proper maintenance.
If you don't exercise... it's time to start. Work with weights 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week. Go for a 30 minute walk daily. Stretch thoroughly at least once a week, preferably daily.
If you eat junk food, eat less of it.
Comprehensive-Fact94@reddit
Keep in mind, chest issues can be any number of things.
Severe acid Reflux, GERD, etc. can closely resemble a heart attack.
Issues with your back alignment can make your ribs sit funny and manifest pain in the chest area.
Gallbladder issues can also feel like heart issues.
playfulwarning@reddit
Wanted to say this! My severe anemia put a strain on my heart and sent me to the cardiologist. We're at an age where we really need to stay on top of our health.
winniecooper73@reddit
Ughhhh, the acid reflux is bad. I’m a a multi marathoner who works out 6 days a week and eats very clean. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone
ratttertintattertins@reddit
I recently checked myself in for some blood tests which came back saying I was pre-dietetic and had high LDL cholesterol. Apparently that gives me a 4-5% chance of being where you are in the next 10 years.
I started doing a meditaranian diet 3 days ago. Quite enjoying it so far. Fortunately I quite like grilled mackerel and salads even though I’ve eaten a lot of fries and burgers for the last 25 years.
Good luck.
HouseOfAplesaus@reddit
This is me not replying
4kr0m4@reddit
The funeral was beautiful. I'll share a copy of the speech I presented next time we hang out.
AconcernedPickle@reddit (OP)
We all miss you.
korbendallas13@reddit
Also, your future doctor is using AI to get through medical school right now.
Hammerhandle@reddit
I got this wake-up call in my mid 20s. I've since fixed my shit. It'll catch me again some day, but I'll be ready for that fight when it comes.
AmputeeHandModel@reddit
I get premature ventricular contractions.
Somnuzzzz@reddit
I get premature.....
elruab@reddit
In 2019 I was training for a half marathon. I was 35 at the time. The week of, something felt “off” in my chest. There wasn’t any pain, light headedness, etc. it was just that my heart rhythm was off. Skipping beats followed by fluttery, fast beats, occasionally, but generally instead of the “thump thump” rhythm, it was more like “thump…thump thump……..thump…thump….thump thump thump” (sorry folks, I couldn’t come up with a better way to type it up) - after going to work and everyone telling me to go to the ER, my stubborn ass went…the next day. Hooked up the the EKG, the nurse pretty quickly identified that I was in atrial fibrillation. I went into it several more times over the course of the following five months. Each time it was after running mid distances (at that time for me, 4-6 miles), getting home, eating, and always when I laid down for bed or when I was asleep. I was in the second best shape of my life at the time, behind my time in the army. After lots of beta blockers, blood thinners and an eventual cardiac ablation, I have not gone into a sustained Afib episode since 2019.
All of that to say, if something feels off, go get it checked out. It might just dave your life.
Foolishkushin@reddit
I just lost my husband of 60yrs old a couple of months ago. He was sportive, ate well.... I was at work but I guess he went running on the treadmill and afterwards didn't feel good and went to bed. You know, to sleep it off. When I came home he was laying in the bed lifeless. So yeah, people told me that a heart attack can feel like just something being off or not feeling that good.... I'm happy eventually for you everything went well.
forgetfulsue@reddit
It does indeed suck getting old. My dad survived colon cancer so I get explosive diarrhea followed by a great nap once a year. Maternal Grandma died of breast cancer (it could have been treated but she didn’t act fast enough) so I get the boob smoosh once a year. Though that is recommended for women over 40 regardless.
citrus_sugar@reddit
My 44 year old cousin dropped dead; was a big dude and so sad his family is without him now.
Alarming-Hope-1699@reddit
I'm 1986, so a little young for a Xennial (but I feel more kinship to Xennials than full-blown Millennials), and I've already had heart issues. I started having SVTs a few years ago, and had to have a cardiac ablation to fix it.
In case you're wondering, my heart rate would occasionally spike to over 200 bpm. Once, I went to the ER for it, and they gave me adenosine twice to basically stop my heart for a few seconds so it could reset. Ever feel your heart stop? I wouldn't recommend it.
AconcernedPickle@reddit (OP)
No, no I do not like that. I’m here specifically so I DONT feel it stop! Why would you say that to me!? 🤣
Paliag@reddit
Anyone overweight or obese should really consider or at least get educated information (not from TikTok) on GLP-1s/GIPs. Similar to how antidepressants were treated, GLP-1s are finally starting to lose the stigma.
They’re showing remarkable health improvements across the board, including heart health.
I started one 2 years ago without knowing a thing about it, and it’s truly changed my life (and my health) in remarkable ways.
They don’t work for everyone (and can be costly if you’re insurance doesn’t cover them), but they can also literally save your life and improve your well-being.
toomanyusesforaname@reddit
I've been eating healthily and regularly exercising since my early 20s. The funny thing is that I never did it for my long-term physical health. I did it to improve mental health (running, in particular, reduces my symptoms of depression and anxiety) and out of vanity. As I move into my late 40s, however, I am so glad I started these habits as a young person. Best series of choices I could have made, hands down.
Ear_Enthusiast@reddit
Schedule your colonoscopy, y'all.
AconcernedPickle@reddit (OP)
Yeah that was discussed, too. Thanks for the reminder.
wynonnaspooltable@reddit
Glucose increasing can also be a sign of chronic disease - like cancer. Push docs to test you and ask about ALL symptoms.
PopsiclesForChickens@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/Xennials/s/kwgP9wIsFQ