on borrowed time

one thing i've learned about mvp/mvps is that it's not life threatening but it's definitely life/lifestyle altering. personally, i need to change a number of things about what i eat - less sugar, no caffeine, more fluids, way lesser salt, lesser fat, less alcohol ... my activities - no heavy lifting, need to exercise lightly but need to exercise more *i'm not very good at exercising*,less stress and i'm not sure if it's still ok for me to ride a roller coaster *i love roller coasters* etc etc

despite that, i still feel lucky that my symptoms are - to quote the cardiologist who recently checked my condition - "trivial." i get the worst symptoms only at night ... usually at sleeping time. i never reached the point where i'm afraid of sleeping although i did become afraid of sleeping early - because i don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with palpitations. palpitations are not fun but if i were to choose, i'd rather have them when i'm wide awake ...

to some people with mvp, though, the symptoms can just be too life altering ... and i found a great advice shared in the mitral valve prolapse yahoo group that might help ... it was given by tom b, who is a paramedic ...

" i have come to realize that every day is a gift, ripe with opportunities to love those around me that I care about. if I die tomorrow, i want to make sure I made the best of today. the truth is, none of us is really in control. take sensible precautions, and try to do the right thing, but also realize that we are all living on borrowed time ...

what matters is how we live. each and every day. it's at least remotely possible that you can transform your health anxiety into a new appreciation for the miracle of life, and realize that although it is temporary, we have been blessed with the ultimate opportunity. then maybe when you feel your heart rolling, jerking, and skipping, you can feel incredibly happy that you have this reminder that life is temporary and you have been granted one more day. don't let it ruin your life ..."

amen to that.