I spent time in the emergency room late last night due to chest pain that has been bothering me over the last couple of weeks and hurt pretty bad last night.
They reacted very quickly upon my arrival and quickly ruled out heart with an EKG, chest X-Ray and blook work.
The doctor came into the room took a look at me and basically told me that because I'm young (38) and have no family history of heart issues and said that he couldn't give me any reason why I was having the pains.
I made the mistake of explaining that I have been being treated for LD for the past 1 1/2 years and asked if the symptoms could be from that. He almost laughed and said no, gave me Tordol and sent me home.
All I could do was sob and explain to my husband how frustrated I am and that I just want to be normal again.
Right now I'm just exhausted, have terrible black rings under my eyes and am experiencing weird pains in my chest that run up through my neck and sometimes down my arm.
Don't get me wrong...I'm glad that he said it wasn't my heart...I just keep having these weird symptoms that no one seems to be able to explain and it is frustrating.
I live so far away from my llmd and hate to call him every time something happens.
Sorry to babble on...I'm just so tired and frustrated and feel like I just can't do this anymore. I'm scared of never being able to feel good again.
Has any one experienced the chest/neck pain? If so, did you find anything that helped?
Thanks.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Sorry you are having such a rough time.
When I don't take my magnesium, I get those symptoms.
You can take magnesium until you have loose bowels,
Then you back off.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by lightfoot (Member # 2536) on :
Dear Michele,
Sorry you had such a downer of an experience. I'm glad you are not into heart stuff. It's great that you went.
In my experience one needs a tough shell when you go to the ER to just let those experiences roll off and just attend to the medical help they can offer. Unless I want to freak them I never mention "Lyme". I have done it a couple of times just for the heck of it and to rattle a few cages.
If you haven't looked at the expansive Symptoms and Characteristics of Lyme at Lyme info....it is definitely worth a look. I printed it....it is really long...maybe 40 pages.
Our first LLMD told us to forget Lyme and get busy living life. I couldn't hear it at that time, ten years ago.
It has sunk in more and more.....Lyme is what it is and our particular mix of changing symptoms are what they are. I've found that many many folks have health challenges that don't show....yo, they look normal.
I don't think there is any such thing as normal. We do what we can with what is on our plate. We all have a plate with varying components....coming and going.
So...yes..it has been a long haul over these ten years of treating a long standing infection. Some of it not much fun but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm so glad you don't have heart issues.
My very best....
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Michele,
First, I don't see that you had a breakdown at all. You had a medical emergency, you were mistreated, you cried - not so much as from the mistreatment from from the physical ordeal and adrenal exhaustion and that mistreatment was the last straw.
That is not a breakdown. That is a NORMAL and psychologically healthy response to your experience. Crying does not equal breaking down. Exhaustion does not equal breaking down. However, you took some hits so rest is best.
I suggest that if you want more detailed replies about your heart that you change your headline to "cardiac questions after bad ER visit"
Lightfoot says: "I don't think there is any such thing as normal."
Ditto.
Sorry, about your experience. You know, many male doctors are not aware that women present with cardiac symptoms different than men. That ER doctor is an idiot for saying this: "because I'm young (38) and have no family history of heart issues "
There have been many instances of young people having heart issues.
That doctor could not possible know everything about your heart but it's good that the big time stuff seems out of the picture. Still, there are many things that we all do help our cardiac system.
However, I don't care how far away from your LLMD you live, if you are considering going to the E.R., and you think it may be lyme related, your LLMD will want to know.
Sadly, E.R.s are typically verbal and physical abuse chambers for lyme patients. You might ask at your local support group if there are some E.R.s around that are more educated in this - not so much that they will treat lyme from the ER but, at least, if you require emergency treatment that you won't suffer from their ignorance or verbal abuse.
Are you taking magnesium? Fish oil? Those are nearly required.
Good luck.
=================
Please study the cardiac thread below. Knowledge there should become common knowledge for everyone.
I am so sorry you are having such scary symtpoms. I know er expereinces can be awful and frustrating to say the least (especailly when you have lyme).
If it were me, I would definetely call my llmd about those symptoms. If he doesn't double check the heart stuff (or have an answer), I would probaly want to see a cardiologist (even if a ll cardio dr isnt available) just to double check on the heart stuff. They can do an echocardiogram (like an ultrasound for your heart) which can see alot. A cardiologist may also want to do a stress test.
I am so sorry about your symptoms. I know lyme can cause some real scary ones. Not knowing why something is happening can be almost as bad as expereincing the symptom. I hope your llmd can give you and answer and your symptoms resolve quickly.
Posted by Starfall1969 (Member # 17353) on :
Michele,
I'm so sorry you had to go through that and then be laughed at by a stupid duck.
I get chest pains too, a lot of times it's on the left side and actually feels more like it's in my lungs than my heart.
I have had two friends die of blood clots in their lungs, so of course, I start imagining the worst.
No doctor has ever figured it out for me either.
It has been getting a little better with treatment, but I still get episodes.
Normal does come, eventually, and sometimes only for fleeting moments--blink and you miss them--but they do come.
Hang in there!
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
michele, just stopping by to lend you my shoulder to cry on. best wishes. Posted by Jin (Member # 11735) on :
Dear Michele, Your ER visit sounded like my PCP appointment earlier this month. My regular doctor said I am just obsessed with my health and need to get hobbies, and am overly sensitive to bodily sensations. I just lost it. I cried and told her how much I hate living with my parents and the toxic relationship is killing me. I always hold everything inside until I explode.
I asked her if she had ever been so depressed she made a pact every year on her birthday to kill herself if life was the same. I told her I am obsessed with my health, because I do not have it. When your main goal is keeping your food down for the day and not passing out, no one else understands what that is like. The chest pain and racing heart on top of the feeling you think a stroke or heart attack is occurring is terrifying! Doctors have no idea, because they are generally healthy.
Something else they apparently do not realize is possible is a lack of finances. Doctors have it fairly easy. You sit on your butt and get paid whether people get well or not. That is a pretty cushy deal if you ask me. Also, if these idiots are so well-versed in diagnosing people with mental disorders, how come we never see a psychology degree in their offices? To make a long story short, the problem here is not you!
Sincerely, Jin
Posted by Wonko (Member # 18318) on :
I don't have anything to add other than my well wishes and hopes that your fortitude continues to hold you up through all of this.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i'm so sorry that you had to go through the ER crap. and that's what it is -- crap....
i had heart attack symptoms and went to the ER. i told the doctor i had lyme. he interrupted me and told me to "shut up and never mention lyme again at this hospital." WOW....shut up??? what the hell? i'm explaining symptoms and he tells me to shut up.... whoa.....
so now unless i am passing out, passing blood, or in a car wreck, i stay home and tough it out.
one of these days i'm going to have on my tombstone "i told you sob's i was sick."
Posted by Michele (Member # 13669) on :
Thanks to all that replied.
Chest pain is still there but I'm feeling a little better mentally.
Sometimes I just get so worn out. Reading your posts lifts me up and lets me know that I'm not alone.
I will read the info posted by everyone and plan to call my llmd and local family physician tomorrow.
Thank you all for being here. Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
Michele,
Just to add further to what everyone else has already said, Lyme, as I"m sure you know, notoriously causes heart problems. And plenty of people, including young ones, have died from it. So, it's important to call your LLMD, and in the future in such a circumstance, call on the emergency number. And get checked out by a cardiologist.
It's one heck of a nerve-wracking disease! And your symptoms scream of heart issues, esp the symptoms that women get. Although, with LD, who knows what is what; it's so difficult to figure out.
As Keebler said, magnesium is crucial, so try that and see what happens, too.
Posted by Jin (Member # 11735) on :
Dear randibear, That is a wonderful saying for a tombstone! I want it on mine as well! I also plan to come back and haunt them in the event I die young. I am not going to be a nice ghost, either! I am going to throw things and make a ton of noise!
Dear Michele, You will never be alone here! We all are right beside you! People who are well just do not get it. They can take a shower without feeling like fainting or aggravating Fibromyalgia. Symptoms are so frightening at times, and you feel as if you are just sitting around waiting to die when doctors treat you so badly.
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just stopping by to lend you my shoulder to cry on. best wishes.