You have gotten some very good advice here, and you are choosing to ignore it because you “haven’t died yet”. Is it IS your heart, you may very well be drop dead, and it doesn’t really matter when your lads graduation is. College confidential is not the place to seek advice. It sounds like it could very well be cardiac in origin. A chest X-ray will show almost nothing important, just rule out onemknia or advanced lung cancer. It may not may not show cardiac calcifications. An echo and ekg may not may not show anything while you are at rest. It would probably show leaky valves; it would not be completely accurate if your problem was an aneurysm, or electrical problem. It would not show occlusion of the arteries.
Get that heart check up. Now. What if it IS something that should be fixed soon? Think of it as a time bomb waiting to go off- what if that happens at graduation time and ruins the experience? If nothing found, okay. If something found it either needs treatment NOW or can be worked around that event- just as if you ignore it until then. There is never a convenient time. I am rather surprised that when your lungs checked out okay you weren’t immediately sent to the cardiologist, or at least had some of the testing already.
PS- retired MD also with cardiologist H plus anecdotes for knowledge base. Knowledge is power. You could enjoy that graduation et al so much more knowing what needs to be done et al.
I think some of y’all are forgetting that the health care system in the US doesn’t allow me to make some of these decisions. I can get various blood work done if I want it (and order it online), but that’s it. Anything else requires a doctor to order things. I’ve been to doctors - as recently as this past Monday - and have shared things with them. I’m “hiding” nothing ('cause that would make a doctor appointment pointless - if I’m there, make it worthwhile).
Back in the day when the other side effects were new (and therefore, still rather bothersome as I hadn’t learned to live with them), I specifically requested that they check out the vascular system (this at Johns Hopkins, so not a local place), but I also checked locally. They said no. They (three different doctors) said that if it were a vascular problem I’d be tired. I’m not - not then, and not now. When I pressed further and told them reputable sites on google suggested if one hears their pulse and it’s not a tumor or cyst issue, there’s a high percentage chance of it being vascular I was told, “Stay off google.”
If the jaw pain and face feeling numb stuff isn’t trigiminal (as I was told it was since nothing showed up on the brain MRI checking out the tumor’s progression), then that would add into the potential vascular column, but there really isn’t a darn thing I can do about it. If I could stop by “Medical Wally World” after school (or whenever) and just get Test X to give an assurance about it all, I would, but in this country I can’t. I’m not sure one can in other countries either. Add to that, if a doctor doesn’t request it, not even our health share will cover it.
I’ve switched PCP doctors three times - local, JH, and back to a different local doc when I really wasn’t getting anything “better” from JH - just a higher bill and longer travel times. This last doctor is the one who is at least getting it checked out from a “pulmonary first” viewpoint. The other two stopped at telling me stress and/or radiation side effects - this after the radiation doc said no to the things being due to that. They just say he’s wrong.
There isn’t a whole lot for options - literally nothing if I wanted to switch again. I got into this last dr because she’s hubby’s and the parent of a former kid at school (aka connections). Officially she wasn’t taking new patients - and she’s retiring this fall telling me they don’t yet have a replacement for her so aren’t sure what’s happening to her patients - likely going with a CNP if they can’t find someone to hire between now and then. Switching to another PCP would also take longer than until mid June just to get that first appt even if I found one accepting new patients.
There’s the ideal world and then there’s the real world. Life might be better if one could get medical advice (and action) from threads such as these - who knows? It’s honestly frustrating to be on my end - cause I’d agree with many of you, esp since vascular was one of my thoughts from an earlier stage of this all. The peace of mind knowing it’s not that would definitely be nice rather than just opinions. And if it were… then it’s likely fixable so I’d deal with it. Logic does win eventually, but logic means diddly when one’s life/decisions are controlled by other people as happens with our system.
My choice is pretty much limited to “keep doing what I’ve been doing, back off a little, or ramp it up to try to get in shape.” I’ve opted for the first - maybe a little bit of the last once the appt gets closer just so I can share what connections I might be able to make if I notice any.
[quoteI think some of y’all are forgetting that the health care system in the US doesn’t allow me to make some of these decisions. I can get various blood work done if I want it (and order it online), but that’s it. Anything else requires a doctor to order things. I’ve been to doctors - as recently as this past Monday - and have shared things with them.
[/quote]
True, but if you showed up at the ER with SOB like that, they would run tests.
People are often under the assumption that you only should go to the ER in a typical TV or movie scene: blood spurting, people running, chaos ensuing. But actually, that is the place to go with anything unusual that should be evaluated in a timely manner.
My DH called his doctor on a regular day to ask about some heart palpitations - doc sent him to ER. I went to the ER when I had severe chest pains that I KNEW was from a pulled muscle (and just wanted some relief) but of course they did a full cardiac workup. I didn’t complain - because what if it was actually a cardiac issue and I just assumed it was a pulled muscle?
And that’s what’s super tough to do when I actually feel bad. There have been a handful of times in the past where it’s crossed my mind, but I’ve never been mentally successful at doing anything then - except heading to bed knowing it’d be possible to not wake up again and preferring that to dealing with the stress of the rest. It makes no sense when all is well, but perfect sense at the time.
Every human has their flaws.
I’m not good at dealing with any health issue of my own when I need to involve others (vs caring for it myself), but I’m much better at things that are planned (aka appointments I can ignore up until the day they happen, then figure it’s too late to cancel them) than anything sudden/spontaneous. I don’t even want anyone taking care of me when I have a cold. 'Tis different than many of my peers, but as far as I can recall (including parent memories), it’s been that way since toddlerhood. I could type on here that I’ll change and mean it, but IRL, I wouldn’t place bets on it.
Stress can be an interesting aspect in human lives - even when one knows that’s what’s happening. So many things don’t stress me out a bit - not even hanging out with teens all day or public speaking or troubleshooting events that go wrong or last minute trip plans or whatever. I even donate blood regularly with no issues… but when they do BP measurements in dr offices, even my body shows it’s tough to handle. I’m glad I “passed” two of those relatively recently (always have good levels donating blood for comparison). Toss in an unexpected ER visit and I can only imagine the reading - or the adrenaline reading if they could take that one! At that point, death never seems to be the worst that could happen - and if adrenaline fixes any sort of problem, it won’t even show up.
'Tis tough to explain to “normal” folks.
Oh, Creekland, this makes me sad. Could you try to work on this reluctance (don’t call it a flaw) to seek emergency care by thinking about how devastated your family would be if something happened to you?
@Creekland if you go to the ER and say short of breath and or jaw pain or chest pain they will work you up with EKG, serial troponins (which is 3 lab tests q3 hrs apart which will see if you are having a heart attack or if muscle is dying) and or ct scan and a 2d echo. You can get it done all there if you have been sick. If something is off with those tests they will consult with a cardiologist immediately. Please don’t wait too long to get evaluated.
Have you ever smoked? You might have mentioned it but I might have missed it.
“And that’s what’s super tough to do when I actually feel bad.”
@Creekland One quick comment about the “stress” of going to the ER in case an event occurs:
This may sound strange, but while having a heart attack was unpleasant, dealing with the EMT’s and the staff at the hospital was actually a very pleasant experience. They were all professional, pleasant, calm, quick, and we got along very well. The EMTs did an EKG and immediately knew what was happening. The interventional cardiologist who helped me and I had a very pleasant chat during the entire procedure. Afterward he showed me a rather cool motion video of my heart beating, both before and after he had done his work.
If you need it then it is definitely not anything to avoid just because your feel it will be unpleasant.
Well, the good news is nothing is remarkable with the chest x-ray as that report is online this morning. “No acute cardiopulmonary activity.” (short version)
This is what the doctor last week told me he expected.
Roughly the same time the BT was discovered (4 years ago as my now college senior was a senior in high school) they did an EKG - more or less checking out everything else. That one was fine. There were no chest pains literally at that time, but they would come at times and still with no other symptoms. A stress test was also part of that - clear results.
I know when I took supplemental Fe (dr rec after one routine abnormal blood test reading showed Fe Sat to be low), that brought on very similar chest pains far more often - eventually almost constant (and fatigue, and joint pain, etc that I otherwise don’t have). I had hoped dropping the supplement would totally eliminate them - or that I could connect it to eating too much iron (meat or whatever) - but that hasn’t proven true, though the fatigue and joint pains totally disappeared. The chest pains just returned to a similar unexpected and not constant frequency.
It has left me wondering if it’s some sort of liver issue though since I expect the liver is what processes the extra Fe and the pain is on the right side, not left, but if so, it’s not one that shows up on those routine tests which do some liver function tests.
'Tis a mystery TBH.
I think I can bring on similar pains by doing a bit of extra exercise as that’s happened twice in the past year - the one last Oct (walking real hills in Jordan vs baby hills here) is the one that spurred me into getting the “asthma” tested to see if it could be helped last Nov. When I do extra, the pain will last a couple of days, so the doctors don’t think it’s cardiac related (length of situation). It’s quite possibly a muscle or nerve, though if I weren’t so science minded what fits the situation best is an ex student with a voodoo doll (except I can’t recall having had a student who would fit that “disliking the teacher” profile).
It has crossed my mind to do this sort of “extra” prior to June’s testing just to be sure they’re testing on a “bad” day. Otherwise odds-wise it’ll be a good day. The jaw (triginimal?) feelings are constant - though vary in intensity - but the chest pains certainly aren’t. Many/most days I feel perfectly fine as far as they are concerned. I’m not even positive extra exercise “will” bring them on. I only know it’s happened acutely twice, less than that a few other times, and makes me shun doing that on purpose in general avoiding the problem.
Otherwise, no, I’ve never smoked - nor does my hubby, nor did my parents or grandparents (during my lifetime). I’m aware that doesn’t always matter. My mom’s cancer is esophageal… a very predominantly male smoker’s cancer. She never smoked either. How she got that particular cancer has everyone puzzled (doctors included), esp since she’s the first in her family line to ever have any cancer (not sure how far one can go back in history with that though as so many causes of death a generation or two before her time were best guesses).
Health stuff and aging gets frustrating. My preference is to live and eat relatively healthily and avoid it. I’m not at all surprised doctors blame it all on stress. That’s all they see (me stressed out in their office and with a brain tumor to start with, etc). I can see if from their POV and it’s a “no win” situation for me. They don’t see the rest of my life or know who I am as friends/family do. I was told to reduce stress. I did. I quit (most) doctor appts. A good bit of stress disappeared - probably why I could “pass” the last two office BP readings. Now if only I could get the health issues to go away… but I have learned to live with the vast majority of what’s constant.
Hi Creekland. Did I miss where you had the stress echo done yet? Glad the chest x-ray sounds good, however…
Your dad had his first heart attack at 47. The #1 killer of women is heart attacks.
While you may not be having an acute heart activity at this moment, perhaps you are heading this way. Perhaps you have some sort of blockage going on. They need to not blow you off or connect this to something else, they need to give you all the tests to make sure there isn’t something bad getting ready to happen.
My apologies if I missed where this has all been done. I see zero upside in waiting for these tests, and if nothing else, peace of mind if you find out your heart is fine.
I honestly cannot imagine preferring death to “stress.”
This reluctance to seek care seems to go beyond the norm. It sounds like a phobia almost. Phobias can be treated quite successfully from what I understand.
This article says where your jaw will hurt if it’s a heart attack. Answer is it’s more often the lower jaw. It also talks about getting out of breath from exertion. I hope and pray you are fine, but I really wish you’d just go checked out.
https://www.healthcentral.com/article/jaw-pain-could-be-sign-of-serious-heart-condition
Nope, left for a vacation overseas a week after the echo, climbed Masada and spent many days in places with no cell phone and no hospitals nearby. Came home, drove to Boston to pack & bring S2 home for the summer, saw my oncologist ten days prior and had a normal ekg. Was darned lucky I had the full arrest at home while S2 and DH were still awake and could respond. I do not recall ANY chest pain.
If they’d done a stress echo (treadmill test) six weeks prior, we think they would have realized I had a big problem. But the fatigue… I’m used to that because I’m on long-term leukemia meds.
I had my cardiac arrest the last week of S1’s final semester of college. He dropped two classes to come home, then went back for his other exams and graduation. I was just out of ICU when he graduated. DH went to graduation, S2 stayed with me (I was at a rehab facility) in case I was not able to advocate for myself. He postponed a summer overseas study program to be with me. He’s the one who performed the CPR that enabled me to survive. I so regret that my sons had to deal with that trauma. It was bad enough telling them at ages 10 & 11 that I had incurable leukemia.
So, count me as one who votes for breaking down doors to get evaluated. I didn’t push hard enough last time and it nearly killed me.
I had short of breath for about 3 months and HR was going to 140 while walking. Work in a hospital and myself had to go to ER as HR went to 160 and wouldn’t come down. They did some tests and some meds and it came back down. I immediately called and made appt for cardiologist.
He recommended to have a stress test, which came back abnormal so my doctor recommended a cardiac catheterization. So I decided to go that route and the catheterization was clean. Even though it was normal glad I had it. Certainly put my mind at ease.
My cardiologist said alot of women have false positive tests with stress tests. He stated me on Cardizem which is a heart medication and shortness of breath went away and HR stays controlled below 100.
@busdriver11 The other tests (regular echo I believe, not stress version) are in mid June. That was the “earliest available.” The xrays I could get whenever I wanted, so did that last Friday after school. All is “on pause” until mid June at this point (follow up in late June), but should anything else seem really off I might be able to convince myself to head to an ER at this point. Time will tell - though I’m perfectly ok if I don’t feel anything extra between now and then TBH.
@Nrdsb4 The phobia comparison is probably a good one. A coworker at school asked whether I’d prefer a doctor appt or handling a snake and I’m not sure which I’d choose. The snake version is likely due to Pavlovian conditioning from my sister screaming in my ear the first time my dad pulled me over as a wee lass to show us one. I’m ok with every other critter including spiders and lizards, etc, but not snakes. It has gotten a little better over the years - esp since we’re outdoors a lot.
The doctor version comes from my not being in control and getting very incensed when I specifically asked for things two - three years ago, getting told no, and that happening more than once. I like being in control of my own life. I’m used to being in control. I don’t like it when others get to decide things for my life, esp when their decisions don’t make sense to me (and pretty much don’t make sense to most on here either, at least making me feel like I’m in good company). That causes/d the stress (and more at the time). Since I can’t change the system, I avoid it as much as I can, thus avoiding the stress. That choice has helped me survive between now and then, so it’s not necessarily all bad.
At least the doctor now is listening/testing - just on a different time frame. He could be right that it’s due to radiation killing neuron paths in the brain setting something awry. I never get hungry anymore (also attributed to radiation, though that side effect I consider a perk, not a con, and don’t need/want it fixed). Who knows what else it could do and with other things testing ok, it seems plausible. No one can explain why I don’t feel hungry either, but there’s no significant weight loss or digestive issues so I’m told all is well.
@eyemamom That link was helpful, thanks. Fortunately I never have lower jaw pain and it only gets numb feeling-wise on particularly bad days. Otherwise, enough could match to make things still cautionary. No motions help or hurt when chest pains are present and breathing doesn’t affect things either. It’s definitely not connected to eating (heartburn style).
I’m honestly not really sure what exercise does. What I typically do doesn’t seem connected at all good or bad. Doing more than that might be. I suppose it’s some form of instinct not to purposely test that one.
If I were making my own decisions, I’d feel it was worth a current stress test to see what shows up. I know I won’t be able to go far once they add the incline before something should show up via BO or whatever - and if not - then it likely is some sort of short circuit in the brain itself making it think something is off even if it isn’t. Knowing would be nice. But our system says it’s not my decision and an ER might only be appealing if I actually felt something going on (chest pain wise) at the time.
Something is off - the question (to me - and my family/friends) is merely what. After my mom’s diagnosis I’ll admit even cancer of some sort enters into the realm of possibilities I wonder about, but if that were it, I probably wouldn’t get it treated anyway, esp at the level they would be finding it at. After three years of symptoms with slow progression, I’m hoping that one is knocked out of contention due to the time frame.
@Nurse001 Your experience makes me wonder if the issue is merely the heart speeding up too much when it doesn’t need to. My typical resting rate ranges from 57 - 62 (at night usually) to 63- 70 (daytime), but it picks up quickly with exercise. Shortness of breath usually occurs > 110 (sometimes >100) with “really out of breath” > 125 ish. I don’t recall ever seeing a number higher than 130 with what I do typically for exercise, but if it’s noisy, I can’t hear it and I certainly don’t always check otherwise. The return to resting rate is as quick as breathing recovery (minutes at most) with things I do daily - a bit longer for out of ordinary things - a couple of days to go below 90 when walking hills in Jordan or jogging ponies for videos (neither of which were super recent). I don’t have any desire to test that one again prior to June. The reactions from those are what inspired me enough to go to the dr in the first place last fall. That’s when the lung testing occurred with the conclusion being I’m out of shape. No one who actually knows my life agrees with that conclusion. Middle son (med school lad) actually wants me to go to his place to get things tested. If it weren’t 6 hours away (one way) that would be tempting. I’ll see what June’s things bring here.
The phone app actually isn’t consistent with BO going down far with “typical” exercise (sometimes yes, sometimes no), but it’s a phone, so I’ll wait to see what June’s test brings.
" whether I’d prefer a doctor appt or handling a snake"
OMG, no question - the snake. Costs me nothing and snakes are interesting.
In all fairness, my closest sister is a true hypochondriac (ever met someone under 40 who’s had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, exploratory laparotomy (sp?), full battery of cardiac tests including everything described here, etc… none of which has ever found a freakin’ thing wrong?) Healthy people under 40 should not be meeting their $6000 health insurance deductible every single year…
^^^ You obviously didn’t have your sister scream in your ear with your first encounter with a snake… around age 3 or so I’d guess.
I have one lad who loves snakes. He might have been switched at birth. Who knows?
Then there’s the question of the day. How can someone get all those tests done? It must be a different world there than here. Here I even have symptoms and don’t get much in tests - just best guesses for causes - radiation, stress, out of shape - all based on basic blood tests and brain MRIs - then one lung test.
But then again, I don’t particularly care to have some of those tests done so it’s ok. (To be fair, I could have a colonoscopy if I wanted it since I’m eligible age-wise, but with no cause for alarm, I’m ok skipping it for a few more years.)
I know younger folks with Lyme disease that had a large amount of tests done before a diagnosis was made.
And… one has to admit… she’s got a better chance to live longer if she did get anything than we do. Her flaw has a better chance of surviving than ours does.
@Creekland Interesting story. I took care of a women in the hospital who had colon ca at 50 years old. How she got diagnosed. All the ladies in the office were scared to do it alone so they all booked coloscopies together. So she went for hers and she was positive for ca. No symptoms or anything. Lucky she got that colonoscopy as it saved her life. Just saying certain tests are recommended for a reason.
Try to write down your heart rate every time you are out of breath. Keep a record and make a cardiologist appt. Trust me if you find a good one you will wait 2-3 months anyway for appt. This way you can have your HR log as a starting point.
“^^^ You obviously didn’t have your sister scream in your ear with your first encounter with a snake… around age 3 or so I’d guess.”
Didn’t you read my post? My sister is a HYPOCHONDRIAC. She rarely stops screaming. How would I remember a single time she screamed? 
And you’re dead wrong about the idea that sis has a better chance of living because she gets every test known to man and runs to the ER multiple times per year. Hospitals are nasty, dirty places and she’s just as likely to get MRSA, some other infection or suffer a medical mistake with every single time she wastes everybody’s time and her money on unnecessary testing.
In what area of the country can one make a specialist appt (like cardiology) without a referral?
Otherwise, I haven’t written it down at all, but I have checked pulse rate enough when out of breath and it’s always at least >100 and often >110. This means 3mph walking with a little bit of incline, a couple of flights of stairs, or carrying something like a full watering can or hay bales, water buckets, laundry baskets - all sorts of heavier or bulkier items. Needing to stop is roughly > 120 - 125, but I’m not sure how long I’m at that rate before having to stop. It’s 4-5 flights of stairs, a steep hill, or a few buckets of water/hay bales. Regular brisk walking (flat) stays around 90-95 and isn’t an issue no matter how far I go. Breathing returning to normal also accompanies the pulse decrease after stopping or returning to flat walking.
Cold air (winter) or the time I had a mild cold (virus) causes the lower limits.
Those things I already know.
Now I’m occasionally trying to see if that pieces together with BO reading or not, but I’ve reached the point of not knowing if my phone is reliable or not. IF it is semi-reliable, BO is actually better (less dropping due to exercise) with an active day (at school, puttering around outside) than an inactive one (couch potato on computer or watching TV), but I really don’t have enough data to draw that conclusion at this point.
It would match an overall conclusion I’ve known for quite some time that I can’t be a couch potato - my body can only handle that for a day or so at best or it feels miserable. Any sitting around leads to prickly feeling extremities within minutes - maybe seconds. I’m very used to that now but as it builds and gets worse it’s tougher to put up with. It’s a good natural incentive to stay semi-active TBH. No binge watching TV. No laying around in bed when not asleep. That part I blame on having blood sugar levels typically near pre-diabetic and studies showing that the body processes blood sugar better when up and about vs sitting, but that’s a guess based upon reading about the studies and matching it to how I’ve felt when home (and active) vs cooped up. This one pre-dates radiation so isn’t caused by it. Nerve testing revealed carpal tunnel in both wrists - surgery helped those considerably with carpal tunnel’s similar symptoms, but didn’t fix it all. I’ve just learned to live with it (and automatically fidget a lot when “still” as that makes it feel better).
I’m not sure if typing all these things out is helping mentally… it reminds me those things are there. When just living life I forget about most of the constant ones at this point.
Fortunately, the school week resumes tomorrow and it’s supposed to be good weather all week so less time playing on the computer will automatically happen vs Derby weekend and a rainy Sunday. In an ideal world I’d have cleaned/decluttered the house today, but I’ve never been a housework lover - another flaw. I did sort through yesterday’s mail and unloaded the dish washer and I still got my 10,000 steps for the day in outside, so I’m not a total slacker - just a “don’t mind a semi-cluttered housework on a Sunday” slacker. Sunday’s a day of rest, right? 