Latest Cardiac Rehab talk - the need for MOTIVATION

Plugging along when not feeling the best:

Been dealing with a number of health issues over the past 2-3 months and haven't felt a lot like posting. Between doctors and visits to hospitals for appointments, checkups and a procedure it would be fair to say I was not in the right frame of mind to add to this blog.

To date I have had 21 medical related appointments so far this year including attending specialist clinics at both of our hospitals for different conditions, a procedure, xrays and ultrasounds, blood tests and other various appointments. In addition to these I have five more appointments scheduled including two pre-admissions next week for another procedure early in June and I am waiting for a date for another procedure later in the year subject to being cleared by the anaethetist to being able to be 'put under'. And this does not include 25 medical appointments my wife has had this year for her issues including follow-up clinics re: breast cancer surgery and other issues.

Having said this, like many who deal with multiple health issues on a day to day basis, I have kept on (as has my wife) doing what I would normally do and most importantly keeping as busy as possible and when I felt tired due to my sugar levels being out of kilter (I am a T2 diabetic) I would simply take a nap - learnt a long time ago not to fight the urge to take a nap.

Keeping on keeping on through the health issues included volunteering at the Institute for Ultrasound where I am a volunteer patient for doctors, nurses and others learning the techniques involved to doing an ultrasound. Sometimes it is a session where people are simply updating their skills or learning another area of ultrasound that they may not be proficient in.

The other thing that I have kept up with is my six weekly talk to our local cardiac rehab group and I guess it was following yesterday's talk that I got the push, the motivation to post again on this blog.

Whilst giving my talk the question of MOTIVATION came up and the need to KEEP ON GOING even when things seem to be difficult or 'not going your way'. Actually, whilst talking about this I sort of got the motivation to post again and here I am.

The discussion about motivation came up when I was going through my experiences of finding things, positive things, that helped me deal with my recovery after my heart attack and bypass surgery, things like helping my wife look after injured wildlife which I never had time to do before my heart attack and my rediscovering photography, an old high school hobby.

Discussion on motivation covered different topics including giving up smoking, adjusting diet and developing an exercise routine as well as dealing with things like stress, depression and anxiety.

The word MODERATION came up when talking about changing to a healthier lifestyle such as reducing alcohol intake or the number of visits to fast food outlets.

Some talk took place yesterday as it has in previous talks about how sometimes we MASK how we are feeling to give the appearance that we are feeling well and dealing with life without any problems.

However, without question, the keyword yesterday was MOTIVATION and the need for people to find something to give them that 'OOMPH' to keep going when things get tough or when the urge strikes to go back to the 'old ways' crop up - and I related how I earlier this year for a month or two when I was dealing with various issues, personal and health, 'I fell off the wagon' and did little exercise and made some poor food choices like eating chocolate and biscuits and how these combined with my breathing problems and poor sleep resulted in my sugar levels spiking and my angina related pains returning and my feeling tired and lethargic all the time.

Maybe having a fourth grandchild last month was the motivation I needed or maybe it was just the self-realization that high blood sugars would sooner rather than later impact on my heart that shook me up and got me back to my daily exercise routine and eating better.

Whatever the case, with my sugars now back under control and my feeling better I knew it was time to start posting again, especially after those present yesterday gave me a round of applause after my talk - maybe that was the motivation I needed!

Here is a link to a previous talk I have presented to our cardiac rehab unit.
http://my29lives.blogspot.com.au/p/my-cardiac-rehab-talk-september-2011.html

Second Cardiac Rehab Talk for 2015

On Thursday, I gave my second talk for the year to our local cardiac rehab unit with 23 people in attendance. Whilst setting up before the presentation a lady came over smiling and to say hello and introduce herself and remind me she was the person who co-ordinated a talk I gave for Heart Foundation to her local Probus group in July, 2012.

I told her I most definitely remembered that talk where she introduced me to the crowd of over 80 people who attended that day and I told her, to this day, it was one of my most satisfying talks. Apparently her husband had a bad asthma attack in December, not a heart attack, when they discovered he had some severe blockages that required a triple bypass hence here being there today with her husband. It was good to see both of them today and to see how well her husband is doing on his road to recovery.

As usually happens, people came up to me afterwards to ask questions and one was from the wife of someone who also had bypass surgery and was having issues with concentration, reading and memory. We talked a bit about this and I mentioned something called Postperfusion syndrome (also known as Pumphead) which is not unusual for someone who has had bypass surgery. She was worried, and rightly so, that it was something out of the norm and I tried to reassure her it is not unusual and it might be a good idea for both of them to have a chat with their GP or cardiologist where she could get a better explanation. I told her I am not a doctor and am not qualified to talk more about this condition but suggested she could also bring this up with one of the wonderful staff at cardiac rehab.

Another person who himself has previously had heart issues was there today with his wife who is now dealing with the after effects of a heart event and who is in denial and has a bit of dementia. He really was looking for understanding and support as I had brought up my issues dealing with depression and anxiety after my heart attack and during my recovery. Again, I referred him to the CR staff.

Still another person asked me how long it took for me to feel '100%'. My answer was simply we are all different and we all heal at a different pace after bypass surgery. I told him that I still have issues with fatigue and lack of stamina but told him I also deal with T2 diabetes, a thyroid condition, sleep apnoea and angina and that it is not unusual two or three or even four times a week for me to have an afternoon nap.

Another person brought up the question of the need for people 'like us' who have been through the process getting into schools and talking to high school kids about what has happened to us, in many cases, as a result of poor lifestyle choices - smoking, alcohol, drugs, lack of exercise, poor diet etc. This is a topic which has always been close to my heart (pun intended) and something I wanted to see implemented by a heart support group I was involved in setting up in late 2008. Unfortunately, others in the group did not see this as a priority.

Having left that group and then becoming involved in our Heart Foundation as a volunteer speaker I was asked last year to give a talk to one of our local high schools and over 70 students were in attendance. The impact of someone who has been through process of a heart attack and bypass surgery should not be underestimated on the impressionable minds of teenagers and is why I believe it is so important for 'survivors', if they are up to it, to get involved in this sort of activity as well as sharing their experience with their family, children, grandchildren, church, social and sporting clubs and work colleagues.

All in all, the day's talk went very well and I look forward to the next one in April.

Talk given in Sep, 2011

First Cardiac Rehab Talk for 2015

Gave my first talk for the year at our cardiac rehab unit a couple of days ago. Twenty-two in attendance and Evelyn (my wife) joined in after she finished with an appointment in the same building re: her breast cancer surgery follow-up.

After my talk the floor was opened to questions and the first one that came up was about heart support groups. I did my spiel about local groups and also talked about Facebook (and SURVIVORS, one of the groups I am a member of) to some people who came up to me after the talk for more information). That was well received. Click on the name SURVIVORS and you will be taken to the group page.

SURVIVORS - should you know of anyone who may benefit from a support group online this is one on Facebook you may wish to consider. This is a closed group so all discussions, conversations, questions are private and not shared in a public way.

Another group I mentioned is Heart Attack and Stents which is also a private, closed group as is another group called Zipper Club.

There is no right or wrong group and there are plenty of places on the internet and on Facebook where people can turn to to share experiences following a heart event and to ask questions but people must always remember that members of these groups are not doctors and that medical advice should only be sought from their specialist or family doctor.

Another question that came up asked about dealing with depression and anxiety and I talked about my experiences and denial and talked about my coming around to seeing a social worker where I could vent instead of taking things out on Evelyn.

Another person brought up an issue that he was having re: sleep apnoea and the run around he was getting from specialists and doctors and his frustration (which was obvious from his voice) trying to get a CPAP machine but his not getting any help. Was able to talk about this a bit as I am going through this process at the moment via our public health system.

And another topic that was discussed dealt with rediscovering old hobbies like photography for me, being negative and the need to recognize what we might have been doing wrong that led up to our having a heart attack in the first place like diet, exercise, smoking and dealing with stress - i.e. lifestyle changes.

a photo I took of one our wildlife visitors where we live

All in all was great session today and of course I covered my 'favourite' topic re: diabetics not necessarily having the classic warning signs of symptoms leading up to and/or when having a heart attack.

Cardiac Rehab Xmas Get Together

This morning I am off to a coffee morning at our local cardiac rehab unit where staff and current/past clients have been invited for a pre-Xmax get together. Will be nice to catch up with the staff including some of those who run the physical education classes and who were there when I did the programme in 2007 - I don't always get to see them when I come in to give my six weekly talk.

Cardiac Rehab Talk - May, 2012.

In 2008, a year after my heart attack and bypass surgery, I was invited by our local cardiac rehab unit to share my recovery experience with others doing the rehab program. After my first presentation, I was asked to come back and give my talk on a regular basis and have been doing so ever since - at my time of posting this, it is December, 2014.

In my talks, I cover issues I had to deal with including depression, anxiety and changing my lifestyle. In this video presentation which is a recording of one my talks coupled with photos taken over the years since my heart attack you will get an idea of some of the material I cover in each talk including:

• assessing my lifestyle and making changes
• dealing with stress, exercise and poor diet
• coping with depression and anxiety
• the role of cardiac rehab in my recovery process - turning 'negatives' into 'positives'
• finding a new hobby - in my case getting involved in helping my wife look after injured wildlife and adopting birds
• rediscovering an old hobby, that of photography (some photos included in this video)
• volunteering - becoming involved in spreading the awareness of CVD, Heart Attack and Diabetes in the community including creating bumper stickers and T shirts to help spread the message.

Talk given in May, 2012

Please feel free to share this video with others.

It should be noted that topics can vary from talk to talk depending on circumstances and the time available to me and with this in mind I am listing links to two other talks to provide a better overview of the topics I cover.

Cardiac Rehab Talk, Oct. 2010 - Recovering from a Heart Attack and Dealing with Depression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZNX5oCdhO0&index=6&list=PLEBBB26999588AD14

Cardiac Rehab Talk, Sep. 2011 - Recovering from a Heart Attack and Dealing with Depression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdEHO6VqyHg&index=7&list=PLEBBB26999588AD14

These are some items I have created to promote the awareness of CVD, Heart Attack and Diabetes in the community:

More of these items can be found at www.heartattackstore.com.

Cheers.

Dani

Last Cardiac Rehab talk for 2014

Gave my last talk this morning at our cardiac rehab unit for the year then it was off to the hospital to pick up my wife and bring her home after her bilateral mastectomy on Monday. There were 30 people in attendance today (the biggest group all year) and there was some great interaction and questions from those present.

I spent a bit of time talking about of depression and anxiety as I am currently dealing with these (again) and I could see from the nodding of heads and comments being made and questions being asked that this was very relevant to a number of those present today. When you give a talk you very quickly get a vibe when you know you are touching on a common theme and even a raw nerve and today I can honestly say was a day full of VIBES and they were all good!!!

I started giving these presentations in 2008, just over a year after my heart attack and bypass surgery and have been giving these talks every six weeks ever since. It is truly a privilege and an honour to be able to do this and of course, when I was asked today by the co-ordinator if I would like to continue doing this next year, I immediately said "YES"!

What is Cardiac Rehabilitation?

Cardiac rehabilitation (cardiac rehab) is a professionally supervised program to help people recover from heart attacks, heart surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures such as stenting and angioplasty. Cardiac rehab programs usually provide education and counseling services to help heart patients increase physical fitness, reduce cardiac symptoms, improve health and reduce the risk of future heart problems, including heart attack.

This is a You Tube presentation I made of one of my talks a few years ago.

Click here to read more about what is Cardiac Rehab.

Why this blog? Because I did not have the classic warning signs!

A chief motivating factor for this blog has been wanting to share my experiences before and after my heart attack and importantly the fact that I did not have any of the classic warning signs and later found out that this is not uncommon for diabetics (and other groups in the community). As a T2 diabetic I was not aware of this and it is this message I am keen to share and will be doing so time and again in this blog.

A second motivating factor for starting this blog was and is to share information about cardiovascular disease and diabetes and developments regarding these as well as the ongoing impact these two diseases have on my day to day living. There is hardly a day that goes by when new information/research is not being released about heart disease and diabetes and I will be reposting/sharing links to some of these as I see relevant.

In 2008 I started a blog called After a Heart Attack - http://aftermyheartattack.blogspot.com.au/ - but never really went on with it. However, in the six years since then, things have changed and the desire to start over has come about in view of things I have gone through since my heart attack and areas of volunteering I became involved in since my last failed attempt at writing a blog.

Actually, directly as a result of my becoming involved in giving talks at our local cardiac rehab unit and having been told on a number of occasions that I should consider writing a book about my recovery I decided to try again with this blog thing.

As to a book, well, in 2010 I did in fact look at this and even met with a professional 'ghost' writer. We went over a number of scenarios and I even prepared a list of topics to be covered but, as is the case in many new ventures, money was the sticking point and I simply could not afford taking on someone to write of my experiences before and after my heart attack.

The idea of writing a book never really left me, finding the motivation and commitment to actually
doing it has been the sticking point and I say this honestly as having the time to actually do so has never been an issue.

Probably what keeps me thinking about this book idea is the feedback I get from people I speak to after I give one of my talks at our local cardiac rehab unit - the same place I went to after my heart attack in 2007. It is those present who many times have said that what I have spoken about has helped put into context what they are feeling emotionally and physically 4-6 weeks after they have had their heart event.

Although the format over the years has changed, I still give these presentations seven years after my heart attack and surgery and six years after giving my first presentation and to be honest, these sessions are as important to me as I have been told they are to those I am speaking to. Even today, as I say seven years after my heart attack, this experience is cathartic for me and I will cover reasons for this in a later post.

Here is a You Tube presentation I prepared after one of my talks a few years ago which will illustrate some of the material I cover in one of my cardiac rehab talks.

Cardiac Rehab talk on You Tube

Whilst the idea of a book is still there my thinking over recent days/weeks has been to maybe put down what I want to cover in a blog and see where it goes from there. After all, I have the topics for the book already detailed, so how hard can it be to use this as a guideline to put down my thoughts based on these topics here in a blog?

Another motivating factor for starting this blog now is to keep me 'focused' as my wife gets ready to undergo surgery in the coming weeks having recently been diagnosed with the BRCA1 gene mutation. In nine days she will undergo an oophorectomy (surgical removal of one or both ovaries) and two weeks later, a bilateral mastectomy.