Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

Public service announcement

2008-05-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

Chewing too much sugar-free gum causes gas.

Burger King & Taurine

2008-05-09T19:47:00.002-04:00

A couple of my co-workers invited me to lunch today at Burger King. Since I'm trying to eat healthy I went online to the BK website to find out what I could eat that wouldn't clog my arteries too quickly. The burgers were ruled out pretty much right away, but some of the chicken items looked ok. The 5-piece chicken tenders have 230 calories but 14g of fat, and 500 mg sodium. I figured compared to the rest of the menu that wasn't too bad. Then when we got there they had a big nutrition poster on the wall so I got to look at it some more and saw their grilled chicken sandwich (without mayo) has 400 calories and only 7g of fat! So I decided to get that instead and then only eat 2/3 of it to try to shoot for my 300 calorie goal. I was feeling really good about my caloric-sleuthing, until as I was walking to my seat with my lunch I noticed the poster said the sandwich has over 1,000mg sodium. I ate it anyway and tried to enjoy it. I used their BBQ sauce as a substitute for the mayo because it is fat-free and only had a few calories and it was actually very good.

Speaking of sodium... My never-ending quest for ridding my body of unwanted water has led me to a supplement of taurine. Has anyone else ever tried this stuff? I read an article on AOL News that 900mg/day of taurine will act as a natural diuretic. I tend to hold about 7lbs of water so anything that will help me get rid of that is a good thing (my prescription diuretic ran out long ago...). I also got a bottle of magnesium complex with B-6 to help keep my heart and nervous system in-check.

Am I healthy yet?

A few changes

2008-05-04T11:46:00.002-04:00

For those of you looking for my "personal" blog, it is moving over to be with hubby's on Blogsdon.com. Since I only have two hands and 10 fingers, it makes double-blogging difficult. :)

Open Letter to the Associated Press

2007-10-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

RE: Heart Condition Killed Marathon Runner

October 9, 2007

Dear AP,

Those of us with Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) have a love/hate relationship with medical examiners who routinely list our condition as the cause of death on autopsy reports. We also have a love/hate relationship with reporters who give this information to the public. We love it because it has the potential to raise awareness of our condition, but we hate it because it is not based on fact. This misinformation spread to the naive public has the potential to cause a panic -- especially amongst those newly diagnosed.

An autopsy finding of MVP and then the listing of that as the cause of death is like finding a hangnail during the autopsy and blaming the death on that. Unless that hangnail is grossly infected and is otherwise abnormal, it did not cause death; neither does run-of-the-mill MVP.

MVP is a benign condition, affecting approximately 10 percent of the world's population. It is defined as a structural defect in the heart that is not life-threatening and usually causes no symptoms. We are told from the moment of diagnosis that we are no more likely to die than those who do not have MVP. For some reason though, at the moment of death all bets are off and medical examiners routinely list our condition as the cause. I would venture a guess that this is because most families will not take "no known cause of death" lightly, so if there is an easy fall-back, MVP comes to their rescue.

A diagnosis of MVP is not a death sentence, nor does it need to affect your daily life. With proper care, someone with MVP can lead a productive, healthy, fulfilling and long life; without proper care, there is a risk of life-threatening complications. This makes early diagnosis important, which is why we welcome any opportunity to have MVP listed in the lime light so that more people are made aware of it.

So thank you for this article by Ms. Rousseau, but please do some more research next time before starting a possible panic amongst millions of people with this condition. You could possibly be one of them and not even know it.

Sincerely,
Lorelei J. Logsdon

Problems sleeping

2007-10-05T23:57:00.000-04:00

Every time I read an article on getting a good night's sleep, I'm usually disappointed. They usually all say the same thing, and anyone with problems getting a good night's sleep has already read that info a long time ago. I'm talking about the "tips" of (1) cut down on caffeine, (2) stop smoking, (3) cut down on drinking, (4) be more active, and (5) maintain a regular sleep schedule. These are all common sense, and are old and worn-out suggestions.

I think one of the problems with giving advice about sleeping better is that everyone requires something different when it comes to sleep. Personally, my eyes start to droop the minute the sun goes down; my husband can easily stay up all night long. There is no way I can take a nap in the middle of the day because if the sun is up, then my eyes are open; my husband gets sleepy when the sun comes up and can easily take a nap during the day (or sleep all day). When I sleep, it has to be completely pitch-black; my husband can be quite happy to sleep outside directly in the sun.

Common sense would say we should go with our own internal clocks, but unfortunately it's not as easy as that since most of the working world works during daylight hours. Sorry hubby, you're screwed -- no more sleeping all day long! I would love to go climb into bed at 7pm or so when the sun goes down, but then I have no family life -- or life at all.

Another huge difference between us is noise. If there is any, I can't sleep. I think it's an evolutionary hold-over from giving birth: if there's noise, there's potential that your young are in danger! Wake up! Stupid evolution. White noise makes me nervous because I can't hear what's really going on. This stress keeps me awake, or puts me into a restless sleep. My husband could sleep through a nuclear disaster.

Anyway, so I did some searching on problems sleeping and I still cannot really find anything useful. What is your trick for falling asleep and staying asleep?

Chew on this!

2007-09-26T09:27:00.000-04:00

I saw in the news today that Wrigley is about to get the ADA seal for its Orbit, Extra and Eclipse sugarless gums.

At least one anti-aspartame activist would certainly disagree with Wrigley's right to this seal. Janet Starr Hull, of SweetPoison.com, says:

"Gum is now sated with unhealthy man-made chemicals and is shaped so small, it does little to no good exercising the jaw. Modernized chewing gum is no longer the healthy answer for human's instinctive need to chew, and with the addition of aspartame and other chemical sugar substitutes saturating both regular and sugar-free gums, gum today can be hazardous to your health."

Personally, I'm a gum freak. I chain-chew. Especially when I'm trying to lose weight, I try to chew gum instead of chewing junk food. I have difficulty sometimes finding gum I like, though, because I can't stand cinnamon or peppermint gum -- which is basically every gum. My favorite flavors are fruity, such as Carefree Koolerz and the Trident Fusion/Splash brands. I think Carefree Koolerz uses Splenda, and Trident uses Xylitol.

Splenda -- my favorite sweetener

Nextag -- lots of sugarless gum choices

AllBusiness - business is booming

Spammers

2007-09-25T12:11:00.000-04:00

Oh, for the love of God. Will they never quit?

Yesterday hubby worked for a few hours on the message board, adding a question only a human would know how to answer ("What is the logo for this site?") and voila! I've had no more registrations since then. I guess the spam bots don't like having to work so hard to pretend to be human. Silly little buggers.

Just now, though, I received notification that I had a new comment here on my blog. So I'm all excited, "Someone is actually reading my lowly blog!" and go take a look and what do I find?

Spam.

Not only spam, but it's INTERNATIONAL spam. I've moved up in the world! Now I also get spam in Portuguese.

/end rant

Hot tip: Amy's low sodium bowls

2007-09-22T01:03:00.000-04:00

For any of you out there who are like me and blow up like a balloon from the slightest amount of sodium, you will welcome this new food item just like I did.

I've always liked Amy's frozen food items, because they're vegetarian (at least most of them are, I believe) -- but usually they have so much sodium in them I can't eat them for fear of turning into a blowfish. At Whole Foods the other day I found a "low-sodium" section for Amy's foods, which disappointingly only had one or two items, but I'll take it as a step in the right direction.

The one I tried was the brown rice & vegetables bowl, which has onions (ick), mushrooms (ick), broccoli (now you're talkin') and tofu (let the Heavens rejoice!). It has 260 calories, 9g fat (only 1g saturated), 270mg sodium, 5g fiber, 7g sugar, and 9g protein. Once you get past the initial lack-of-salt flavor which we're all so accustomed to having, it's really quite tasty.

Two thumbs up, definitely. Good work, Amy. Keep the low-sodium foods coming.

Sugar=Symptoms

2007-09-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

I re-started (again) my Jenny Craig program last week. For those of you who don't remember, I lost 75 lbs last year on Jenny Craig, then had liposuction and abdominoplasty in December. After the surgery I got so thin I looked sickly, so I started working on adding calories to try to get to a healthy weight. Then I got laid off, and I was in my final semester of college, and then we had other personal issues going on -- and so the weight started piling back on of its own accord.

Last week the scale said I had gone slightly above 161 lbs, which for my short frame (5' 4") is way too much. Granted, it's not the 198 I was a couple of years ago, but still it's too much.

Prior to starting back on Jenny Craig I suffered from tons of palpitations and chest pains and various other annoying symptoms. One week into Jenny Craig, the palpitations have reduced to about 75% of what they were. 75%! That shows you how much freaking sugar I was eating. It's disgusting to think about.

I still have caffeine every once in a while, in the form of my sugar-free blueberry green tea, but it doesn't seem to affect me like sugar does.

I'm on a quest to get back down to around 140 lbs, or maybe 135. Fat or thin, I don't like the shape of my body -- but if I'm not going to like it anyway, I may as well not like it while I'm healthier instead of not liking it while also being obese.

Choices

2007-09-16T13:20:00.000-04:00

In these pollen-laden times, I find I must choose between lying on my left side and being kept awake by powerful palpitations but being able to freely breathe, or lying on my right side and not having to deal with the palpitations but not being able to breathe.

I've started just sleeping on my back instead.

Overwhelmed

2007-09-13T22:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a few days since I've been able to log on to my MVPSupport4 email account. Tonight I told myself I'd better do so, so I came up to my office and logged on and saw 134 emails.

It takes me hours to go through all these emails -- which would not be a problem at all except for the fact that out of 134 emails approximately one or two are actual sign-ups. The rest are spam bots and they make me so mad I just want to scream. If they were 134 signups I would happily sit here and process them with no complaints whatsoever. (I promise.)

Each automated registration email that I receive I have to go to the registration database and look the name up to see if it's a real signup or a fake one. Sometimes it's extremely difficult to tell, so I end up looking up most of them and it takes me so very long to go through them all.

When I changed my registration process to require an email from the registrant, I assumed I was making it easier for my users to get onto the boards quickly. I put the notice on the signup page itself, and I also programmed it so an auto-response went out to each registrant reminding them of the necessity to send me an email... but only one person out of 50 actually does it. Instead I have to individually go through them all and send personalized reminders to them. Of the reminder emails I take the time to write, 95% of them come back as "email address unknown" so it was a bot anyway.

I don't know how to fix this problem. I can't prevent the stupid bots from messing with my registration form, but obviously I also can't figure out how to get the message across to my registrants that they need to email me so I can activate them. I don't know what more I can do to get that requirement across to them? I tried to make it as clear as possible, and to say it more than once, but it's not working.

It's easy enough for me to ignore any registration that does not also have an email from the registrant, but when I tried that for two weeks initially I had no emails at all -- and it wasn't because they weren't signing up, it was because they weren't sending me emails. I finally sat down and went through two week's worth of signups in order that no one was missed and I emailed them all so they could get on the boards.

I'm at a loss here. I'm overwhelmed and tired and grumpy.

Tomorrow is a new day... I will try to put a smile on my face.

Pomegranate juice

2007-09-09T09:57:00.000-04:00

Hubby has been doing some studying on the power of pomegranate juice lately, and has been trying to get me to drink it, too. As with anything you eat or drink, ask anyone and you'll hear a different story about its benefits and risks. I did some of my own searching and found the following promising reports.

After reading the warnings I found, though, I think it's best to study everything about it you can and then go to your doctor and discuss what you should do.

Don't make your medical/dietary decisions solely based on information found on the internet!

Some links:

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20050321/pomegranate-juice-may-clear-clogged-arteries

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0322_050322_pomegranates.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060702084515.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070427123430.htm

Some warnings:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/druginteractions/a/pom_interaction.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pomegranate-juice/AN01227

Crazy heart

2007-09-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

I've started walking in the evenings, for about three miles (it takes me about an hour). Ever since I started the walks my heart's been doing the jumps again. There's also this weird buzzing feeling in my chest -- which really closely resembles hunger mixed with an adrenaline rush. It's quite strange, but I just tell myself it's my metabolism kicking in. In the meantime I'm left with a crazy, pounding heart that won't leave me alone. Makes it rather difficult to sleep! :)

Long time no blog!

2007-08-20T07:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I finally graduated from college. It was one of my dreams that I thought I could never accomplish, but now it's done. It's a fantastic feeling to finish something you started 20 years before.

Here's a picture of my and my wonderful hubby yesterday at the campus.

Changes & Additions

2007-07-25T07:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I added a ton of new links on MVP Internet information sources. I also added a few MVP clinics and valve repair hospitals. In addition, I added a new section called "Research Corner" for providing the latest research I've found on the Internet. If anyone else has research information to share, please do so! I know it's hard to come by since not much research is done on our condition.

Never thirsty

2007-07-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

I know one of the common symptoms of MVP/S is never feeling thirsty, but sometimes I think I have that symptom completely down-pat. I can easily go an entire day and never feel like I need to drink anything. An entire day!

I tried to do some research this morning on this strange symptom and found virtually nothing. Granted, I only "searched" for all of five minutes, but still.

Here's something extraordinary I did find (read with great sarcasm)... If you've ever wondered how to interpret highly complex algorithms for determining your thirst level, here they are:

"I am never thirsty" - Never being thirsty
"Rarely thirsty" - Being infrequently thirsty
"Average/sometimes thirsty/don't know" - Normal thirst level
"Frequently thirsty" - Frequent thirst
"Always thirsty" - Constant thirst

Now, don't you feel enlightened? I know I do. I found that at DiagnoseMe. What a helpful site it is, too (now dripping with sarcasm).

I know I need to drink, regardless if I feel thirsty or not, but unless you've got yourself an alarm clock or something by your side at all times, it's hard to remember. So far the biggest help I've had is to bring my daily supply of water with me at all times and have it sitting in front of me. Every time I look up, I see it, and remember to drink it. (Doesn't mean I do it, but it means I remember it. HA!)

Adequate hydration improves your skin, helps with digestion and helps to flush out toxins and other impurities in your body.

That great quote came from Liz, at http://www.fitnessbyliz.com/

Ok, I know I need to drink more -- so I will make a more concerted effort now. Time to go fill up my cup...

For those of you who think you may have MVP/S, check out my web site at MVPSupport.com.

Happy Monday!

2007-07-23T17:39:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend at the lake, and I had way too many lovely caffeinated drinks -- and now I'm paying for it. Why do I do this to myself? Mountain Dew just tastes so good...

I find it's tougher to "be good" when you're not at home, in control, in your element. I would never dream of drinking a Mountain Dew when I'm at home, and yet I have no problem doing so when I'm out in the middle of a lake. Make sense? I think not.

Whew!

2007-07-18T02:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm up way past my bedtime, but the project is completed so I feel happy. What an immense amount of work! My eyes are being held open with toothpicks, so I suppose I should hit the hay. I hope everyone enjoys the new site... I had a lot of fun working on it. Let me know if you have any suggestions for it, I'll be happy to oblige if I can!

It's done!

2007-07-17T09:17:00.000-04:00

The website's redesign is all done and will be going live in the next couple of days. I hope everyone finds the information helpful. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Luckiest day

2007-07-07T10:03:00.000-04:00

They say today is the "luckiest day" and I think they are right, because I actually found some chocolate that's ok (sort of) to eat.

It's "Tastykake Sensables" Sugar-free Chocolate Chocolate Chip finger cakes.

Oh my! They are quite "tasty" indeed.

Of course you have to weigh (pun intended) the pros and cons of what's more important to you: sugar reduction or fat reduction -- because in diet foods there doesn't seem to be a good marriage of the two. For me being addicted to sweets, sugar reduction is slightly more important than fat reduction, so the 8g (!) of fat in these tiny little cakes are [just barely] acceptable.

For such tiny cakes they do have lots of fiber (4g) and good protein (3g) and only 100 calories.

I have to have something, so this will have to be it.

Chocolate

2007-07-06T11:10:00.000-04:00

I know I need to give it up, but it's like being told I have to give up breathing. I don't know about the rest of you, but chocolate is an addiction for me. When I try to do without it, I have to suffer through the most excruciating withdrawal -- usually lasting three or four days. The migraine is continuous for those entire four days, and it makes it so you cannot function at all.

The other night (after a full two days) I just couldn't take the pain anymore. I ate a brownie. Then another. Then one more.

Within an hour the migraine was gone. Just like that. Gone.

What can I do? Chocolate is a drug I just don't know how to live without.

Jump & Jive

2007-07-03T18:04:00.000-04:00

You know the saying about what to do if you catch on fire? "Stop, drop and roll"? That's what it seems like my heart has been doing lately.

For the past two days I've been trying to get back to "clean" eating (cutting out all chocolate and caffeine and sugar) and it's stressing my body out. I've had a migraine for two days, and my heart keeps rockin' & rollin'.

I've got 17 lbs to lose so I've got to stick with the clean eating, but my body is fighting it with every ounce of its being! The pain is outrageous, and the palpitations and "rolling" sensation are all driving me crazy.

Is it tomorrow yet?!?!?!? Maybe detox will be over (hopefully) by then. For now it feels like my heart is making its own fireworks.

New Design

2007-07-01T10:40:00.001-04:00

Here is the new design for the 10th anniversary make-over of the website! It will take a few weeks to get it all working so don't look for the unveiling anytime in the near future... Just thought you'd like to see it!

Welcome

2007-06-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

In celebration of 10 years of service, my MVPSupport website will be going through a transformation in the coming months. One of the changes will be the addition of a blog. I will always attempt to make it a daily blog, but will not always be successful at that. ;-)

In the meantime, feel free to visit me here so you can keep up to date on my progress, and on any news regarding MVP that may come about.

If any of you find any MVP news out there somewhere, please let me know so I can post it for all our visitors.

Thanks! And I'm looking forward to this new blogging adventure. :)