PDA

View Full Version : are you sure this isn't a heart attack?



dawndew
30-03-07, 17:19
Hello there, I have been advised to use this site via my works counsellor.

I'm not sure where to start. I'll start with todays symptoms.

I have aching pains down both arms and sometimes in legs. I have seen a doctor today who tells me it is anxiety related. However, I am still paranoid by the fact it could be a heart attack even though everything points to the fact it isn't. I am due to go out for a meal with family tonight and I'm terrified I could drop dead at any minute.

Going a bit more indepth I have suffered with acid reflux on and off for the passed 4 years. Never this bad though! I'm due to have an endoscopy next wednesday. Over the passed 5 weeks I've been "spinning" and feeling the need to lean agaisnt things. I had vertigo 2 years ago and the symptoms are similar but are not responding to the Betahistine as they did before. I woke up 4 weeks ago with tiny pin prick dots all over my body which the doctor said was a virus. I am on Lansasparol for the reflux. I have dry mouth with a really horrid taste.

I am desperately trying to remain rational but I cannot relax as my thoughts tell me I have or will have....A heart attack/the pains in my arms and vertigo could be MS (that thought started after googling vertigo!)/the endoscopy will show cancer.

For additional information my mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer in aug 05(had chemo still with us) cousin was killed at 21 in sept 05. It was straight after this I had a severe cold followed by 5 weeks of vertigo. I was became very anxious and was prescribed ciprimil and recovered.

On 23rd December 06 I found out I was 7 weeks pregnant but miscarried on 29th. I'm desperate to feel well and have no medication so I can try for a baby. As I am 35 I feel time is running out and I will have a horrible disease or die before ever having a child.

I have now been signed off from work for 2 weeks and want to use this time to relax. I feel I am in chicken and egg syndrome - is anxiety causing the above symptoms or are vertigo, acid reflux causing the anxiety ...OR am I actually having a heart attack or a serious illness which means imminent death!!! :lac: Please help, my partner is very supportive but I worry he will get fed up of me not taking part in lots of things and sick of me saying I feel ill!!!

honeybee3939
30-03-07, 18:27
Hi Dawn

And welcome to NMP. Im sure you will get some good advice while making new friends on the way.
Im sure your Doctor is right, it sounds to me you are suffering with anxiety too.
Take a look around the site Dawn there lots of great advice to help you. The "First Step" pages is a good place to start.

Love

Andrea
xxxx

nomorepanic
30-03-07, 19:35
Doesn't sound like a heart attack to me but does sound like anxiety.

Have a read of the Symptoms page on the left.

RLR
30-03-07, 21:34
Well let's hold for a minute and let me ask you about the rash. Please indicate whether the red spots are similar to what you might observe with an abrasion wherein small petechia hemorrhages appear just under the skin. With regard to location of these spots, please tell me whether they are literally all over your body or moreover limited to your legs and trunk. Lastly in this regard, have the spots subsided or do they remain present?

Please describe the vertigo as well. Does it feel as though the room is spinning around you or that you are spinning? Are you describing actual vertigo or light-headedness? Please clarify.

You can relax from the standpoint that your symptoms may be due to a heart attack. The pain in the extremities, particularly the left arm in most cases, is due to ischemia and often excrutiating to the extent that afflicted persons are compelled to grasp the arm hoping to alleviate the pain.

And we'll also pass on this being from Multiple Sclerosis, the characteristic symptoms of which do not present themselves in the fashion you describe.

We will also forego the presence of esophageal cancer, which does not present itself as the origin of gastric reflux but rather other symptoms appear relative to this type of cancer as a consequence of changes to tissues in the esophageal lining. While chronic GERD is under research as one of the causes, the symptoms of the cancer itself are not associated with those you describe.

As for the hopes of being gravid, you can relax and when you feel the time is right, continue pursuing this course. Women as late as 40 have no difficulties with pregnancy, so the clock is not ticking as loudly as you may presume.

Many people feel as though their life outlook may suddenly be cut short by trajedy and anxiety is often present. You also appear to have been exposed to multiple events which may have proven themselves emotionally traumatic in some regard. The combination of concerns here is certainly potent enough to draw forth somatic features associated with anxiety.

My initial sense is that your tests will turn out fine.

dawndew
31-03-07, 11:28
Hello there

Thank you, regarding the rash. I think the Dr did call it petechia (it certainly began with a P) they said it was typical of a virus and so is the vertigo.

The rash is all over but mainly on the arms and I've still got it.

The vertigo - when i stand up i feel like i've not got my balance and I'm not walking in a straight line. I sometimes feel I can't get to where I want to go, as if my legs won't carry me. It's me that's on roller skates.

I think sometimes I'm just sick of feeling sick and unwell and that's when my mind goes into overdrive and I presume it must be a terrible illness for it to go on so long.

I only joined this site yesterday and it's been a godsend. Thankyou for all your replies, I'm starting to see things more rationally.

D x x

PaperHankie
31-03-07, 23:48
Hi Dawn Dew,

The miscarriage can make you feel very jittery. I was rushed to hospital a couple of months after my second miscarriage because of a bad panic attack. It was only after I had recovered physically that I was able to deal with the psychological issues. I have since given birth to two great kids. So, don't let it get you down.

With regard to the Vertigo - my own experience of the issue is that once you get one bad attack, you are a bit more prone to it any time you get a cold. Just realise that all it is is a sensation. Two weeks after I got my first bad attack I HAD to get back driving, even though I still had the sensations (I could only ask people to collect the kids from school for so long). I realised that I would not fall over, when driving, even if I staggered a bit when walking. I still get attacks of it - but I have NEVER fallen over. So reassure yourself about that.

You have been through a lot of VERY stressful situations and your body is just reminding you you need to take care of yourself.

Hang in there.

RLR
01-04-07, 20:03
Okay, I'd like for you to inquire whether your physician ordered lab work, more specifically platelet counts as part of a full CBC. While I'm not suggesting it's the case here, there are certain picornoviruses that infrequently cause myleogenic disturbances following resolution of characteristic viral symptoms. Petechial hemmhorage, weakness, etc. are common symptoms that do not abate.

Again, this is rare and I do not necessarily suggest it's the case here, but you should inquire whether platelet counts were normal only if the spots were indeed characterized by your physician as petichial rather than pustular or vescicular in nature.

You'll be fine.