Hello, this is (probably?) my first post here. Let me know if I'm unclear about anything, as one symptom I have is a lesser cognition.
In Mid-April, I had a very sudden, scary episode, during which I was short of breath, incredibly thirsty, had rushes to the head, and felt anxious. Klonopin, my very-rarely as needed anxiety med, did not help at all - it made me even dizzier.
A few days later, working out at the gym promoted a similar episode, and before this I have lifted heavy weights for many years. In the weeks before these episodes, I had a viral infection for a week, I used nicotine lozenges slightly heavily, and I experimented with bacopa on and off - which may have had a negative effect on my anxiety (and raises acetylcholine...). A little over a month later, I started seeing a cardiologist, and after a few tests later, I was diagnosed with slight cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction of 50% (normal is 55-70).
Since then, I have slowly eased up with stress reduction, as well as taking:
L-Carnitine Tartarate (250mg)
Ubiquinol (50-100mg)
Hawthorn extract
Arjuna extract
Carvedilol (alpha/beta blocker, 6.25mg/day)
Ashwagandha
As well as daily walking.
I have taken daily for a while:
60mg remeron
40mg baclofen
1000mg depakote
Magnesium
The dizziness has mostly gotten better, but i still feel a greatly compromised stress response. Today, I just had another minor episode, but I had a longer walk than usual last night, alongside some stress of getting lost in the woods at night.
I have been reading on this forum, and there are some symptom overlaps it seems (Such as the post-exertional malaise, physical or mental, though this fatigue seems to be cardiovascular. Either way, I went from strength training with no problem, to having anxiety about whether I'm walking too much). I am also generally scared about whether this will get better or not. Whenever I think it does, stress just builds up with little to no respite in sight.
I have seen a wonderful integrative psychiatrist for a while, but I am wondering if there are any other venues I could pursue to my healing process. I meditate and do yoga, but tension and stiffness can make it difficult sometimes.
Thanks so much for any advice!!!
In Mid-April, I had a very sudden, scary episode, during which I was short of breath, incredibly thirsty, had rushes to the head, and felt anxious. Klonopin, my very-rarely as needed anxiety med, did not help at all - it made me even dizzier.
A few days later, working out at the gym promoted a similar episode, and before this I have lifted heavy weights for many years. In the weeks before these episodes, I had a viral infection for a week, I used nicotine lozenges slightly heavily, and I experimented with bacopa on and off - which may have had a negative effect on my anxiety (and raises acetylcholine...). A little over a month later, I started seeing a cardiologist, and after a few tests later, I was diagnosed with slight cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction of 50% (normal is 55-70).
Since then, I have slowly eased up with stress reduction, as well as taking:
L-Carnitine Tartarate (250mg)
Ubiquinol (50-100mg)
Hawthorn extract
Arjuna extract
Carvedilol (alpha/beta blocker, 6.25mg/day)
Ashwagandha
As well as daily walking.
I have taken daily for a while:
60mg remeron
40mg baclofen
1000mg depakote
Magnesium
The dizziness has mostly gotten better, but i still feel a greatly compromised stress response. Today, I just had another minor episode, but I had a longer walk than usual last night, alongside some stress of getting lost in the woods at night.
I have been reading on this forum, and there are some symptom overlaps it seems (Such as the post-exertional malaise, physical or mental, though this fatigue seems to be cardiovascular. Either way, I went from strength training with no problem, to having anxiety about whether I'm walking too much). I am also generally scared about whether this will get better or not. Whenever I think it does, stress just builds up with little to no respite in sight.
I have seen a wonderful integrative psychiatrist for a while, but I am wondering if there are any other venues I could pursue to my healing process. I meditate and do yoga, but tension and stiffness can make it difficult sometimes.
Thanks so much for any advice!!!
