hey everyone, I've been too sick and foggy brained to post lately, but I really need advice as to what to do. I am at a hospital once, twice, a week for these symptoms.
symptoms (mini heart attacks I believe)
pain/tightness in heart area, extreme discomfort weakness in left arm, tingling in left hand, chills so severe I'm literally sweating one minute and freezing the next. Nausea,vomiting, upper backburning, syncope feeling. I have these episodes about twice a week lasting for about 6 hours.
Diagnoses/test results
Failed nuclear test. only have the first half of the test results which i failed and was diagnosed with ischemia.
high troponin levels (one 1% over the threshold but still that's major
Arrythmia
last ekg (each one worse than the last) showed heart attack but they only gave me nitro and monitered me for a day.
necrosis and enlargement of left side of heart.
I just don't know what to do. how do I get help? I have all these markers, horrific symptoms and am getting no help. I am a 30 year old thin female who takes klonopin which is why I think they don't take any of it seriously.
Posted by HK (Member # 45290) on :
what would you do as these symptoms are getting more severe w more frequent episodes. I feel like I can't wait for a cardiologist and the er is a joke
Posted by me (Member # 45475) on :
I'm so sorry, HK. Do you have a LLMD? If so, it would be wise to call him or her on Monday. I think it's important to make an appointment with a cardiologist ASAP. However, your symptoms are concerning, and it sounds like going to the ER might be necessary in the interim.
Do you have a father or male friend who can go with you? As sad as it is, and like you referenced, often times women with complex symptoms are dismissed by doctors. I don't know if it would help to have a male with you who will help "validate" your symptoms and advocate with you. Ugh. Makes me mad.
What have they said and done at the ER? What do they recommend?
I have severe heart problems too HK. I'm a 30-year-old male. The ER is an absolute joke. The only ones who take it seriously are my pcp and my LLMD. They both know my heart is severely infected.
I finally got tired of going to the ER, so I bought a home EKG machine (getsmartheart.com) that connects via Bluetooth to my cell phone and transmits EKGs to a cardiologist who reads them and responds within 5 minutes.
It's not a fix for the heart (for me antibiotics will be the "fix"), but at least I can do exactly what the ER would do right here in my house. It's saved me many trips.
What about taking things to protect your heart? Like maybe Japanese Knotweed, fish oil, coq10, maybe even a daily low-dose aspirin? My doctor recommends ProArgi 9+ to protect the heart. He mentioned a study that people who took it were able to get off of transplant lists because their hearts improved on it.
I really think I'd be on low-dose aspirin if I had a test that showed ischemia. I do hope you are able to find something that helps you.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
I agree, aspirin can help. I used to have chest pain and my lyme doc told me to take aspirin every day. I didn't though because my gut was trashed from abx.
A low fat vegan diet really helps (McDougall). I no longer have any chest pain. Zero. Diet is something you can control and it's way better than going to the ER.
Maybe you talk with your LLMD about taking something like COQ10 to protect the heart. I've been taking a small dose of it for months now and I don't seem to have any heart issues.
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
I'm so sorry you are going through this and hope you are feeling better.
Are you under the care of a LLMD?
PM sent with some names of Lyme-friendly cardiologists.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Sams and everybodies suggestions are very good ...get on iv abx and support the heart ,reduce inflammation..find a integrative doc who will help you for the right price ...when i first did iv curcumin it actually felt like my enlarged heart relaxed a for a few days .
my necrosed gums are slowly healing so i think the heart can do the same ..treat harder before the valves get too thick sending prayers and thoughts your way hk
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
Also, next time you go to the ER, ask them to page a cardiologist to check you out. Then ask the cardiologist to take you on as a patient.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
One more thing - get tested for diabetes. Have your A1C level checked.
Undiagnosed diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease.
There's a good chance it's the Lyme. But it's a simple test and it never hurts to check.
Magnesium also may be good for you - you can get your levels checked to see if it's low.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Magnesium and CoQ10 .. MAJOR help!
Posted by HK (Member # 45290) on :
hey everyone, thanks so much for your advice. I will be looking into it. sorry I cannot reply to each response right now but there is just so much going on right now. Thank you all though. I unfortunately did have to make another er visit from the time I posted where like usual they told me I was fine, even with abnormal ekg, raised troponin levels, border line d dimer levels,and symptoms from hell.
My ekgs have been changing as well. most recently one said long qt, and another said 'early transition' and 'rsr v1'
I do take coq10 religiously along with a lot of turmeric and some cayenne pepper. I will ded he looking into the other meds/remedies so thanks !
I am scheduled tomorrow for a stress test and holter moniter.
My second half of the nuclear stress test which the cardio wouldn't sign off on for nearly 2 months finally did after my recent hospital stay. I knew he did it incorrectly (won't explain now) n a lot of my heart couldn't be seen due to bowel obstruct. Lol. Is that even possible. I have radioactive dye inside my body and a bowel movement BY MY HEART is obstructing the view? What the. ugh idk
also question about the ischemia. Can anyone offer ideas as to what this means ? is it or is it not ? are they saying they induced ischemia? posting the pic underneath!
Posted by HK (Member # 45290) on :
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I know they do try to induce a heart episode with the stress test. That is part of it.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Just my opinion, any test that tries to induce a heart episode is certainly one that I'm sure not going to sign up for, ever. It just does not make sense in a patient who has trouble.
If they can't figure things out in ways that are not stressful to the patient, I'm not going to be their patient. Other ways to approach issues and so much we can do for ourselves.
I'm not saying to avoid good doctors but many of the issues are really things we just have to "tend to" when dealing with lyme. Inflammation is a major issue with lyme and with the heart.
Others above mention Magnesium and CoQ10. For starters, article below but be sure to read all you can in the full links set, too:
Magnesium – the Ultimate Heart Medicine -
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
If you end up with heart issues, they will run you through all kinds of tests and procedures that make no sense if you ask me.
But if you have a heart attack or A-fib, you are stuck with their "care."
Posted by MichaelTampa (Member # 24868) on :
All I have to offer is what I heard some years ago can be excellent treatment DURING a heart attack, which relates to squeezing the end of the pinky fingers.
The story I heard is that someone bit down, somewhat hard, on the end of both pinky fingers of someone having a heart attack, and this was extremely helpful.
The link below contains the text suggesting perhaps left pinky is all that is needed.
"While you're waiting for help to arrive, squeeze the end of the pinky finger on the left hand. Squeeze it HARD! Keep squeezing it. This acupressure procedure has been said to save lives."
Posted by kms1990 (Member # 41700) on :
I would have a look at this thread. I believe my heart symptoms were caused by poor micro blood flow due to inflammation. They seem to be getting better with japanese knotweed, and enzymes to thin the blood.
RSR' is usually because they misplaced a lead on you during the ekg. I've had that show up several times. I wouldn't worry about that one.
Long QT can potentially be serious. If you're taking any drugs that can prolong your QT interval, it might be good to tell your doc. Levaquin, Bactrim, Flagyl, Zithromax, Plaquenil, and many others can prolong your QT interval.
I'm not sure if early transition is serious or not. I think it could be a sign of an enlarged heart but I could be wrong. I don't think it's an immediate danger at least.
The report looks like it's saying that the test induced the ischemia, but that report is missing so many pieces I don't think I'd trust it. I've never seen such an incomplete report before.
How'd your stress test go? Hope it went really well for you!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)