treatment kiirsten
Geplaatst: wo sep 26, 2007 9:49 pm
Hi Corrij,
Thank you so much for replying so quickly!! It seems so rare these days so I truly appreciate it! I wasn't sure if you wanted me to write about my condition in the initial e-mail or on the forum, so I'll go ahead and give you my info:
My name is Kiirsten, by the way. I am 24 years old and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in August 2004. I actually went to the cardiologist yesterday and after talking with my boyfriend (who has been an amazing advocate for me since the diagnosis), I am no longer willing to accept the standard solution of Western medicine...I've seen 5 cardiologists now and it's always the same..."you'll probably be on meds the rest of your life." I'm young, otherwise healthy, and plan on living a medicine-free life as soon as I possibly can. The stories I've read have been so inspirational and I know if it's worked for others, it will work for me, too.
So in 2004 my EF was around 25%. My boyfriend was actually the one who noticed my symptoms of shortness of breath and arrythmia and made me go to the doctor, who referred me to cardio, where this all started. I've always been very active and never thought twice about the possibility of heart problems. We do not know what caused it, but suspect perhaps a virus at some point in my life. I have been extremely diligent about my meds (Coreg 6.25 mg 2x's and Lisinopril 10 mg 1x) this whole time, and actually my numbers have improved significantly. Last year I asked my dr. if I could try cutting the doses down by 1/2, but the following echo showed that my EF had decreased (to 42%, down from 50-something), so she put me back on the full dose. The biggest side effect for me is dizziness, when I get up after lying down or sitting for awhile...it happens many times during the day, and I know it's b/c of the meds. My BP yesterday was 94/54 and my pulse is always really low. I don't have any leg/ankle swelling. I still have some arrythmia. As of my last check-up in March, I was at my all-time high of EF 65%, and I will be making an appnt. for an echo this week so I know where I currently stand. I was thinking that after I find out my results, it would be an ideal time to try the protocol, as I'll have a baseline/constant to go off from. Then, when I get my next echo 6 months from now, I should hopefully be able to see if the supplements made a difference. The thing is, though, if my numbers are already high (like my past 65%), they really can't get much higher...and that's fine with me, but my main objective is having a "normal" heart without medication!! So perhaps I should rather wean off my medication (with doctor's approval, of course!) to see the effect of the supplements?? It gets kinda tricky when you're trying to determine if it's the medication or the supplements that are working, you know? Also, my doc wasn't too keen when I brought of the word "naturopathic" yesterday, so hopefully she'll give me the green light...we'll see.
So I know that I need to consult my cardiologist before going forward with the plan, but the only issue I have at this point, in all honesty, is money...there were a lot of supplements on the protocol, and I wanted to see what you thought the "most important ones" are, if you're a "starving student," like myself, who cannot afford everything. I know the classic heart supps. are the Q10 and L-carnitine (and perhaps taurine)...since my case does not seem to be as severe as some of the others, do you think that by just taking these, I can eventually get to the point of "ex-cardio patient"??
Sincerely,
Kiirsten )
Thank you so much for replying so quickly!! It seems so rare these days so I truly appreciate it! I wasn't sure if you wanted me to write about my condition in the initial e-mail or on the forum, so I'll go ahead and give you my info:
My name is Kiirsten, by the way. I am 24 years old and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in August 2004. I actually went to the cardiologist yesterday and after talking with my boyfriend (who has been an amazing advocate for me since the diagnosis), I am no longer willing to accept the standard solution of Western medicine...I've seen 5 cardiologists now and it's always the same..."you'll probably be on meds the rest of your life." I'm young, otherwise healthy, and plan on living a medicine-free life as soon as I possibly can. The stories I've read have been so inspirational and I know if it's worked for others, it will work for me, too.
So in 2004 my EF was around 25%. My boyfriend was actually the one who noticed my symptoms of shortness of breath and arrythmia and made me go to the doctor, who referred me to cardio, where this all started. I've always been very active and never thought twice about the possibility of heart problems. We do not know what caused it, but suspect perhaps a virus at some point in my life. I have been extremely diligent about my meds (Coreg 6.25 mg 2x's and Lisinopril 10 mg 1x) this whole time, and actually my numbers have improved significantly. Last year I asked my dr. if I could try cutting the doses down by 1/2, but the following echo showed that my EF had decreased (to 42%, down from 50-something), so she put me back on the full dose. The biggest side effect for me is dizziness, when I get up after lying down or sitting for awhile...it happens many times during the day, and I know it's b/c of the meds. My BP yesterday was 94/54 and my pulse is always really low. I don't have any leg/ankle swelling. I still have some arrythmia. As of my last check-up in March, I was at my all-time high of EF 65%, and I will be making an appnt. for an echo this week so I know where I currently stand. I was thinking that after I find out my results, it would be an ideal time to try the protocol, as I'll have a baseline/constant to go off from. Then, when I get my next echo 6 months from now, I should hopefully be able to see if the supplements made a difference. The thing is, though, if my numbers are already high (like my past 65%), they really can't get much higher...and that's fine with me, but my main objective is having a "normal" heart without medication!! So perhaps I should rather wean off my medication (with doctor's approval, of course!) to see the effect of the supplements?? It gets kinda tricky when you're trying to determine if it's the medication or the supplements that are working, you know? Also, my doc wasn't too keen when I brought of the word "naturopathic" yesterday, so hopefully she'll give me the green light...we'll see.
So I know that I need to consult my cardiologist before going forward with the plan, but the only issue I have at this point, in all honesty, is money...there were a lot of supplements on the protocol, and I wanted to see what you thought the "most important ones" are, if you're a "starving student," like myself, who cannot afford everything. I know the classic heart supps. are the Q10 and L-carnitine (and perhaps taurine)...since my case does not seem to be as severe as some of the others, do you think that by just taking these, I can eventually get to the point of "ex-cardio patient"??
Sincerely,
Kiirsten )