Dr's appointment tomorrow... The drama continues...

[shsm]

So I have an appointment with another cardiologist tomorrow who I have never seen before. I wanted to get a second opinion regarding my current symptoms. When I visit my current cardiologist a small part of me knows that he will tell me I do not have a heart problem however I do not know what to expect with this new Dr and that concerns me. I don't think I would be able to tolerate more tests / investigations as these cause anxiety however I am convinced there is a problem and want to get to the bottom of it.

Over th last three years I have had numerous normal ecgs and physical exams, two normal echo's and two normal exercise ecg's and yet my nightmare continues.....

[xtremx]

GoodLuck for tomorrow. Don't be to shocked when the cardiologist tells you that your heart is fine.

Hopefully they will put your fears to rest. I would say you are one of the lucky one's I still have my fears but my Doctor will not send me to a cardiologist (as she says after loads of ecg's and 2 stress tests and all the checks they do at A&E on my 2 trips to them) They will just tell me what everone else does that my heart is ok.

Update us all and maybe you will learn some words of wisdom from them that you can pass onto us.

[purplehippo]

its such a viscious cycle isnt it,our curiosity just always gets the better of us feeding our anxiety each time!
Good luck with your new cardiologist as you said its likely he will say the same thing but at least a second opinion will make you feel better.
I often try out differant gps ,yet they all say the same thing as one another.
and regarding the curiosity,i have very regular bloods due to my pregnancy related condition and i get a print out each time analysing every digit of each test i have,ive no idea what half of the things are on there but i completly obsess over them,even though im told they are normal and i can see the normal expected ranges at the side and can see all my levels are within norm,i still question why are they on the higher/lower end of norm or why has 1 digit changed! its so stupid isnt it!!
Fingers crossed for you for tommorowx

[sebinkent]

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we convince ourselves that something MUST be wrong? Why is it so much easier for us to think negatively than positively? We all seem to have this doubt and believing the Doctors when they say everything is fine is always really hard! I HATE health anxiety!
Good luck for tomorrow, I guess it's always wise to get a second opinion anyway.
All the best.

[shsm]

Hi guys thanks for your replies. Just wanted to update re my Dr's visit today. The Dr seemed very nice and spent a hour with me, he also did a physical exam and resting ECG which were normal. I explained my symptoms to him and told him about the investigations I've already had done. The cardiologist then said that in his opinion that it was very unlikely that there is an issue with my heart however he did say that all the obvious cardiac tests have been done and were ok. He then explained that I could go down two avenues with this 1) try and manage my current symptoms and devise coping mechanisms or 2) have more tests to fully rule out rare cardiac problems, namely a cardiac MRI scan. This made me worry but in the next breath the dr said "however I warn you that I expect it (the scan) would be normal"

He also said "it's always easier to prove a positive than a negative" by which he meant that if a dr can achieve a diagnosis then the patient can try and understand what's causing the symptoms however if no diagnosis is achieved then the patient is left frustrated and still continues to seek answers be it by more test or dr visits. Also sometimes people have symptoms were no organic cause can be found which leave the question as to whether or not the cause is psychological.

He then explained that even though young people do have heart attacks it is rare in someone of my age (28) unless there was a significant heart defect from birth or illegal substance misuse and that heart disease was also highly unlikely.

So the MRI. Now I know my GP would not even consider sending me for an MRI as she would not even send me for a ct scan. I have no medical insurance which would mean paying out of my own pocket and a cardiac MRI is £1300 privately which is money I do not have.

Hopefully I can hold onto the reassurance from the fact that I have had alot of negative tests and now 2 cardiologist are of the opinion that I dont have a major heart problem.

[xtremx]

:yesyes: Thanks for letting us know how you got on.

Well hate to say i told you so, BUT i am pleased to say it.

Your update post is a very postive post that i believe everyone who has HA inregards to heart worries should read as you have writtern what you have been told ever so well.

Hopefully you will take comfit from what you have been told and hopefully others will as well, I now i will.

:yesyes:

I thing your post should be made a sticky as it is one of the best.:shades:

[robin321]

Congrat's!!! If you had 2 cardioligists be so sure, you are ok! No need to worry : )
Trust me, something would have shown up on all those tests. These Dr's see people all the time. They know what they are looking at and for

So have a great day : )