I believe it was Kristis who wrote a few weeks about about tape five discussing prolapse mitrovalve. WELL... I am on tape five and have been having (what seems to be) heart palpatations - feels as if it is going to stop. Then I listened to tape five today and they were discussing this subject and I became rather annoyed. I think the program and this forum is great but for people with severe anxiety - I think they should cut out the references to diseases like this! I am freaking out now and am more uncomfortable than I was before listening to it. I am sure there is SOMETHING wrong with me besides or in addition to (!) this anxiety disorder. But everyone (doctors, family) blow me off and attribute my hypocondriasis to my anxiety! Augh - Thanks for listening...

Frustrated and scared in San Francisco,

Wendy

I am sorry that these references make you more scared. Understand that is the anxiety talking. I like the references because I do have mitralvalve prolapse and they are helping me to understand the symptoms and that I don't need to worry about it. Anyways, I hope you feel better soon. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely, Reena

Reena,

Thanks for your reply? What were your symptoms and how was your condition diagnosed?

Still scared,

Wendy

Hi,
My dr. heard a murmur while I was pg. Then they did an ultrasound and I wore a halter monitor. The ultrasound shows the valves. Thats how they diagnosed me. I do have palpitions. They are worse when I don't get enough calcium or when I am not taking care of #1 and get more stressed out. Otherwise, it doesn't bother me at all. Knowing I had this condition already and then with the anxiety on top of it I would worry about my heart. But I am reassured that there is nothing to worry about. I am very healthy and thats what I focus on. You need to choose what you focus on. Whatever you feed gets bigger. Whether its the negative feelings or the positive ones. Good thoughts or bad. You choose. If I don't actively choose then my subconscious drifts towards the negative. I have to stay on top of it. Start imagining the best and not the worst. Hope you have a good day today. Reena

Thanks for the information, Reena. I appreciate your support and well wishes. I will work on the positive - I am trying. Thanks and hope your day was great too!

Hi Wendy,
When I saw your post I had to reply. I too have many of the same concerns about my health. I worried for about two years about the heart palpatations. My doctor found a murmur on me to while I was pregnant. I had an ultrasound of the heart and I was fine. I had convinced myself that I was having heart attacks. My heart would beat so fast I'd walk around taking my pulse 24/7 and making my poor husband take my pulse. The weird thing was I felt better when I'd exercise(because it was to much adrenalin). My heart tests all turned up fine. I don't have mitrovalve prolapse, but I do have a harmless murmur that comes and goes and seems to worsen during pregnancy. (Very, Very common and also very harmless) I also worried about Mitrovalve prolapse, because I knew several ladies with it. But you don't have it or your doctor would have heard something and sent you for further tests. Heart palpatations are harmless, outside of the fact that they scare us. They won't hurt you, so make light of them, they will stop that much sooner.
I moved on from that worry on to other illnesses. It is just part of the condition. Just trust your doctors, if they say you are healthy, believe them. It is hard to do but just keep working at it. It will take time, but you can do it Wendy!!! You are a strong person!! My father has MS and I found myself worrying terribly bad that I had MS or was going to get MS, since there can be a hereditary component to it. Then I finally realized I was really worried about him. Now when I start to worry about having it, I say your father has MS and it's okay to worry about him. It's okay to be upset about it. He is sick and anyone would worry about their father having an illness such as this. And now I can hear about his symptoms without thinking I have them too. Positive Self Talk Wendy!! Also you might try buying that book The Quiet Mind that Lucinda refers to on the tapes. They sell it at half.com. It is very soothing. Hope This helps!!!!

Mary

[This message has been edited by jmjvsjones (edited 08-06-2001).]

Mary,

Thanks so much - you words and kindness are helpful. I will look into The Quiet Mind - I certainly could use one! Thanks again for your support and understanding.

Be well,

Wendy

Hi,
I just want to contribute my thoughts on tape #5. I too was very upset about it when they were talking about MVP. I thought that it is so rediculous that they talk about these scary things to us kind of people! I of course became convinced that I had MVP and became very fearful of my heart palpitations and other weird symptoms my heart would give me (i.e. like my heart was slowing down).
So I of course called my dr. and she convinced me I do not have MVP cuz she would have picked up the murmer thru her stethescope and she's good at hearing it. Plus, she comforted me and said that even if I did have MVP, I would not experience any symptoms from it cuz it's an asymptomatic thing. She said that anything I am feeling is related to my anxiety.
So, I know what you guys are going thru and we'll just have to continue to work on that positive self talk!

The Dx for this is simple and would be detected by a clicking when your dr listens to your heart!I think it is not a common thing! I only did tape 5 2 days and I think all that is what I try to do already!And I agree with the fact that we who do this program are very sensitive to this stuff and they should not talk about things that could send us all to the Dr AGAIN!! Kristi

If you go to the web site
wwwmvpsupport.com it tells you about MVP and
how anxiety is a HUGE part of it and they dont know why exactly but it is a great site to check out!!!
I have MVP too and it is easy for a dr to hear so if you had it you would of been told!! I know how easy it is to worry about health I too worry about everything!! But if you have seen a dr and they hasnt told you you have it..dont worry...they can detect it by listening and would send you for a test if they suspect it!!! So thats one less thing to worry about!!!
Good luck to all I am on tape 6 now and learning everyday!!!
Best wishes
L

I also have MVP, it was diagnosed with an echo cardiogram. It doesn't bother me in the least. I feel my heart speed up sometimes and I know it is just trying to get the regurgation out. It is a very common thing..mostly in women and is extremely benign. Actually knowing that I had it put many of my fears to rest. It can correct itself in time and leaves you no more likely to have bigger heart problems. Relax...it is a minor thing!

The only thing I will say in agreement is that I didn't like the tape that discusses the woman that had a stress-related heart attack and the fact that she mentions that the number one killer is stress-related illnesses such as heart attacks and cancer..yikes!~

MaggieMay,

That really bothered me too - the tape where they say that it is a leading killer and the woman that had the heart attack due to stress/panic attacks. Fortunately, we know what we have and hopefully, will get "well" before any of these ugly consequences occur. Wishing us both luck in recovery!

Take care,

Wendy

hi

i agree that hearing about this was scary, but if it happens often with our condition, i want to hear about it. when i was really really bad (panicky), i thought i would die soon. my dad died at 52 from a stroke due to a bad heart and when my chest would feel pressure (due to anxiety) i would think i was going to have stroke or heart attack.

the reason i wanted to hear about these things is that i am learning how to monitor my health, without obsessing that i have every illness. thinking i will die wont make me die. a bad heart will but i don't have one.

i am 31 and asked my dr. to test me even though i had no symptoms because of my family history. she did and also did some other tests to rule out some simple things such as iron poor blood making me lethargic.

it is tough to hear about mitral valve prolapse but sometimes knowing about something that is common in our disorder(and usually not harmful) helps after we get over the initial shock.

when i found out i had this anxiety disorder, i panicked and thought my life was over. i thought no one would want me, i'd be single and never have kids. but as i talked to my dr. and therapist and things improved, i have realized that it is just a wake up call to change my life for the positive and take care of myself.. my relationship with my boyfriend is even better and i am happier and more relaxed. i hope one day to marry and have kids.

mostly now, i focus on trying to relax when i am upset and change my internal messages from "what will happen if..." to "i will be kind and gentle with myself and will not dwell on imaginings"

continue to be aware of body symptoms and work with a professional to help you diagnose them properly. but remember that learning to get well means not obsessing on the ills of the body or the world.

Take care
Jennifer

Wendy,

Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) is nothing to worry about. It is (almost always) a benign heart condition that just happens to cause really annoying symptoms in some people. Yes, there are some people with MVP who eventually need a valve replacement. But, it's very, very easy to detect a prolapse that severe, and your doctor most certainly would have. But, that's the absolute worst outcome: needing a valve replacement. People with MVP have no higher risk of heart attack than the rest of the population. Anyway, valve replacements, like I said, are exceptionally rare, and are not even a concern for people with a mild prolapse, which is the vast majority of MVP patients.

Knowing you have MVP can be very helpful, though, and since it is so highly correlated with anxiety, I think it's great it gets mentioned in the program. People with MVP will find that adequate rest, lots of water, daily exercise, and avoiding all stimulants (even sugar) will help their symptoms greatly. You can also be helped by magnesium and potassium supplements.

Anyway, don't worry about MVP! If you have it, it's actually kind of a relief, because you get that feelings of "Wow, so that's why I was feeling of that weird stuff!" However, the treatment for MVP is extremely similar to treatments for anxiety, and the skills in the program are also very useful in managing the symptoms of MVP.

Lori