Topic: Went to ER for suspected pericarditis - waste of time!
lymeladyinNY
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10235
posted
Well, I called my doctor and described my symptoms. They told me to go straight to the ER, what the heck was I waiting for?
So, I get there. I tell a hurried doctor my symptoms. He doesn't even get a stethoscope out. He asks what health conditions I have. I don't lie, so I told him I have tickborne disease - Lyme, bart, and babs.
Doc says, "Well, I might be able to accept babesiosis, though you can't catch it around here. But, I'll have you know that the experts at the CDC say there's no such thing as chronic Lyme. If you're being treated by a doctor who tells you differently, he is doing you a great disservice."
I said nothing. After he left I told the EKG lady I was there for chest pain and heart palpitations only, not to argue the Lyme controversy.
Well, after awhile I was told my chest X-ray, EKG, and blood tests were normal. I asked about the possibility of pericarditis and was told I'd be "sicker and more pale" if that were the case.
Diagnosis: Acute bronchitis of viral origin, with the doctor delivering said news with a shrug because I really had no symptoms of bronchitis. Sent home with a script for albuterol.
The chest pain is better tonight, but I've been in bed for hours. Sigh. Another waste of time and money ($250 copay). At least I know my heart isn't enlarged and the blood tests didn't show anything serious.
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Sorry you had to endure the abuse of yet one more quack doctor. They all think they're God something.
I've been to the ER a couple of times with chest pain. Normal EKG, sent home. They don't really look any further.
I am glad you are feeling better now. Take care and God bless.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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Lymeorsomething
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16359
posted
I've been down that road with the chest pain. Lyme is known to cause heart symptoms so it's not appropriate for the doctor to dismiss it so easily.
It could be lyme in the chest wall which causes scary heart attack like pain but is usually transient and will slowly dissipate over days to weeks.
However, it is always safer to check that kind of pain out. So you did the right thing.
You have to push back on MDs sometimes and tell them that their opinion is just one of many, especially when they start parroting the textbook jargon...
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
I don't understand why doctors waste time with EKG's on women - there is plenty of evidence to suggest EKG's are not very helpful for finding heart problems in women.
If I were you, I'd follow up with a Cardiologist who specializes in dealing with female heart patients.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
I've had endocarditis when my bartonella infection went untreated. When it goes to the heart it can be fatal. When I did start treatment it really "acted out" and I was worse for about a month. It got so bad that at times I couldn't breathe because of the skipping beats. But after that, I had no more cardiac involvement at all!
AS LONG AS YOU ARE TREATING, and you know it's not to the point of life-threatening, I would just consider this a herx--your symptoms are going to flare wherever there is infection, so just do the best you can to reduce the inflammation. I was on around 800-1200mg of ibuprofen (with food of course) per day, and it helped.
Posts: 512 | From USA | Registered: Sep 2010
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philly78
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 31069
posted
I'm sorry about your experience. The doc sounds like a jerk!
I'm glad you at least checked it out though even if you feel it was a waste of time. Better safe than sorry imo, especially when it comes to possible cardiac involvement.
And for the record, you don't need to "look sicker" for pericarditis. I'm quite ****ed that he didn't even listen to your heart sounds! The pericardial rub is a very specific finding in people with pericarditis! Ugh...it really ****es me off when docs act like this. --------------------------------
Razzle said....I don't understand why doctors waste time with EKG's on women - there is plenty of evidence to suggest EKG's are not very helpful for finding heart problems in women.
That's not true. We have women who come in and end up in the cath lab because they are a having a STEMI....which is a type of heart attack. You have to do the EKG to rule that out.
Also, there are acute changes on an EKG with perciarditis in some cases and yes...you can see the changes on EKGs in women as well. Sometimes people will have normal EKGs with it, but more often these changes are present in my experience.
Take care of yourself lymelady! Hopefully this will pass soon. Again...I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience.
-------------------- When faced with pain you have two choices....either quit and accept the circumstances, OR make the decision to fight with all the resources you have at your disposal. Posts: 1000 | From PA | Registered: Mar 2011
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