New symptoms

[ThomasB]

Hi, Thomas here again.

I've been experiencing some new symptoms lately that are quite uncomfortable and I just wanted to talk about it. They're really driving me up the wall.

This is a little awkward and turn back no if you're not interested in the details of my teenage love, but the symptoms seem to manifest themselves when I'm kissing my girlfriend. It seems silly, but they're really awful-- I feel out of breath, my head starts to feel very, very strange, my eyes feel extremely heavy and then I start to ache around my eyes (this goes away after a while though). I suppose I'm not breathing correctly or something, and this all seems so silly, but it's really bothering me because I've felt really awful for a week or so now. It bothers me that something as simple as this has such an affect on me.

Of course, I haven't told her she makes me feel so miserable.

This reminds me of how I felt when I went skiing a few years ago; I felt tired and got these really uncomfortable sensations in my head (although the discomfiture around my eyes wasn't a factor then).

I must be getting worse and worse. I'm nineteen and I can't even kiss someone-- I mean it's not like I'm running a marathon or something. I feel completely useless. I suppose I ought to tell her I need a break, but in all likelihood I won't feel any better afterwards, anyway.

Thanks for listening.

[Reenie]

Hi. I don't think your symptoms are all in your head or anything. Kissing someone causes physiological changes in your body. You probably hold your breath some and your heart rate probably increases. Given your condition and that you're pretty symptomatic anyway, I don't think this is unusual. Ask your doctor about contolling these symptoms.

Reenie

[Toogoofy317]

Trust me I know how you feel. I absolutly dread having to do more than peck kissing because within a few seconds I cannot breathe. And well the other part that comes later in the relationship almost wants me to be abstinant forever!

Tell you a secret my first symptoms of chest pain and sob that prompted me to go to the doctor and diagnosed two days later was when I was well you know.

So, it is not in your head and I sympathize with you.

Mary S.

[Burton Borrok]

I kissed somebody once - - and next month we will celebrate our fiftieth anniversary. (Time flies when you’re having fun.)

Let me tell you kissing has cost me more money then all the funds I’ve spent on drugs my entire life, - - and I’ve spent a lot. That’s not even including the costs associated with the raising of two children, but then we did get dividends from the grandchildren.

If kissing gets you into trouble, try practicing on yourself until you are used to it. Think of it the same way you think of shaking hands. Don’t get over excited until you are married – and by then it will be too late.
Burt

[Lisa Salberg]

Thomas,
There is more going on here then kissing. You are feeling a rush of chemicals through your body that are very normal, but your system is not completely normal.
I have taken this information from Howstuffworks.com I think you will find it interesting:

Anyone who has ever been kissed knows that the sensations involved aren't confined to the mouth. Your facial nerve carries impulses between your brain and the muscles and skin in your face and tongue. While you kiss, it carries messages from your lips, tongue and face to your brain to tell it what's going on. Your brain responds by ordering your body to produce:

Oxytocin, which helps people develop feelings of attachment, devotion and affection for one another
Dopamine, which plays a role in the brain's processing of emotions, pleasure and pain
Serotonin, which affects a person's mood and feelings
Adrenaline, which increases heart rate and plays a role in your body's fight-or-flight response
When you kiss, these hormones and neurotransmitters rush through your body. Along with natural endorphins, they produce the euphoria most people feel during a good kiss. In addition, your heart rate increases and your blood vessels dilate, so your whole body receives more oxygen than it does when you're just standing around. You can also smell the person you're kissing, and researchers have demonstrated a connection between smells and emotions.

************
Now understanding the physical reaction of the body to kissing and also understanding an HCM heart we can look to find reasons why some people may feel 'symptoms' while kissing. However there is one other critial issue that needs to be added to this formula... emotions - those we have for the person we are kissing and those we have about ourselves and our health.

If we are not feeling well about ourselves (worried, concerned, angry about our health, the list is long but you get the drift) we are more likely to have a negative responce to this "kiss", likewise if we really are not all that into the relationship or feel that the person we are kissing is not that into kissing us it is likely not going to create sparks... or in our case may make us feel bad.

Kissing is also an important part of life and it must be taken seriously when it is leading to symptoms. So let us take the emotions off the table for a moment - lets deal with the physcial body - As you read above kissing can cause the blood vessels to dilate and your heart rate to increase. For an HCM'er these 2 things together could produce some symptoms, no doubt about it. Now the big question is what to do about it. I would suggest the following - I know this may not be very easy but lets try. You need to talk to your doctor about your heart, your meds and these symptoms. There may be a reason that these small changes in heart rate and blood vessel dilation are causing symptoms and there may be something simple we can do to stop it from happening. The dr may be able to alter some medications (such as beta blockers -switch to a different one or alter the dose) or add in soduim to your diet to increase blood pressure or simply to drink more fluids. There may also be some postural issues you may want to think about - for example do you feel the same symtoms when you sit and kiss as when you stand and kiss?

This thread is a perfect example of why the HCMA is important... knowing our hearts is one thing...living our lives is a whole other issues. Together we can live WITH our HCM not in fear of it.

Best to all...and keep kissing!
Lisa