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odd sensation / brief dull pain

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j55189
j55189

Hi,

i'll try to be concise !  for the past 3 years or so I have been having a bit of a struggle with my doctor to get certain symptoms investigated (tingling in legs, extreme fatigue) - with effort I have been given blood tests for diabetes, had a liver scan & also seen a rhuematologist - so far no one has confirmed what is causing this & I have to keep pushing to be given other tests. Despite having right bundle branch block at no time has anyone checked my heart & my blood pressure has only been taken twice, at the start of all this. Anyway, the fatigue & leg symptoms have got worse & now I, more or less, spend much of the time having to rest & not doing much.

a couple of weeks ago I felt a dull pain in my chest for about a second, along with a sensation I can only describe as a feeling of being pulled backwards from the point in my chest where the pain was - a bit like being winded but in the chest rather than the stomach / lungs. Since then this has happened a few more times & I'm rather worried as to what it could be. 

 

It seems to me that given that i'm already unwell I should be able to have some tests done on my heart to find out what this could be - if indeed it is anything to do with my heart, but I get the impression that my doc has, more of less, decided that either my other symptoms are undiagnosable or that lots of it is psychological (it definately isn't !). 

has anyone on this forum had a similar chest area symptom or know what it might be ? to someone who hasn't had heart problems before it feels a bit like my heart blinking out or something !

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Sunshineray
    Sunshineray j55189

    Posted

    Wow I’m so sorry you are not getting answers to your problems. How did you get your diagnosis as Right BBB? You should be being followed up for this every year or so. I would be curious to see if there are any changes in your cardiac echo, ejection fraction or ECG. That is if you have had old ones to compare it to. Does your blood pressure or heart rate change when you have this feeling? Have you been keeping a record of when this happens? It might sound silly to ask but could it be heartburn or gas pains? I have not had pains like you but I have taken care of people that describe similar pains and I follow up with them with the above noted questions.
    • j55189
      j55189 Sunshineray

      Posted

      blimey - is that a 'fact' that it should be followed up on every year ?  I was diagnosed with RBBB in 2005 - but, I wasn't told ! I was in hospital following an episode that could have been a panic attack - no one was sure. Anyway, a few years later I was in hospital again for something similar (again, no one could find a cause) & the RBBB was mentioned by the doctor, at which point I said 'what ?' & was told that it was diagnosed on the 2005 visit. I've not had any follow up on it since then at all. 

      I don't have a blood pressure monitor to check but my heart bpm is normally around 60-80 resting. These odd occurances happen so fast that I don't have time to test my bpm - they only last a second & my heart rate doesn't appear to increase - at least if it does it'd be very slight I think.

      I don't think its h-burn or gas - the sensation of being pulled back doesn't fit with those things as far as I know. The worst time it happened I did feel a bit like I was about to crumple. It might be my imagination running away with me but that felt like my heart 'blinked' !

    • Sunshineray
      Sunshineray j55189

      Posted

      It is not mandatory or compulsory to follow up every year. It really depends on the severity for the RBBB. Many people live completely normal lives and only see a doctor every 2 or 5 years for follow up on them. I have only worked in the USA and Middle East so this may vary from the UK. It’s a long shot that it was gas or heart burn but figured I would ask. The question on my mind is if it could just be a PAC, PJC, or PVC? All fancy ways of saying a premature heartbeat. They are very common and I know I have had them and it feels like a string is being pulled tight inside my chest, not the same as being pulled backwards but it is like a blink. However if your heart rate is staying regular during episodes than that is not likely to be the culprit. Of course any cardiac problems or symptoms are likely to increase with caffeine, smoking, or stress so limiting these should help manage the symptoms to some extent. I would really recommend you make a log of the events so that you have some documentation to show your doctor.
    • j55189
      j55189 Sunshineray

      Posted

      thanks.  as I mentioned i've never had any follow up & i've never had things like a stress test on my heart. 

      i'm a non smoker, don't drink coffee & although i'm a bit overweight its not excessive.

      I should add that my regular doctor didn't even have my RBBB on my records - despite me telling them repeatedly & being diagnosed with it at hospital. I have no idea how I was diagnosed with it as when I was in hospital that time I wasn't even told about it. I was only in for a night & apart from being wired up (standard procedure) no other tests were done as far as I know.

      i'm keeping a log now but I have more or less given up on my doctor taking this seriously. I've complained to the practice manager now also. 

       

    • Sunshineray
      Sunshineray j55189

      Posted

      RBBB are easily diagnosed from a standard ECG. So if you were wired up with the little stickers and colorful wires then that’s all they need to label it. I wish you luck as you continue to hunt for answers.
    • jezza1505
      jezza1505 j55189

      Posted

      Hi just to add if you were in overnight in hospital you would have been given a discharge summary which should have all the details on. I presume they were issuing these in 2005, I didn't have my first overnight stay until 2012. I would also say that if your episodes are becoming more frequent then they may be building up to something bigger, so I would definitely go back to the GPs and get it checked out again. It's always difficult with this type of episode as unless your GP is there when it happens it can be hard to diagnose correctly. Remember you can always ask for a second opinion and don't be scared of asking for it either, it's your body and your health that's at stake not the doctors.
    • j55189
      j55189 jezza1505

      Posted

      I wasn't given a discharge summary !

      the episodes do seem to be getting more regular. I had one & then it was a couple of days before the next but now they are every day & more than one per day. mY doctor I now have near to zero confidence in - hence my complaint to the practice manager. They are having a meeting to discuss my case but as this appears to be a heart issue I think its daft to have to wait for them to have a talk. I need tests now - it might be nothing but I don't know & I can't quite believe that the only way to get it checked out is to go to a&e & pretend its worse or something.

    • jezza1505
      jezza1505 j55189

      Posted

      Yes I don't know if they were doing discharge summaries in 2005 as my first stay overnight was 7 years later when they did give me one. I reckon a second opinion or a and e is the best bet if your not happy, but they should take it very seriously if it's your heart.....once I tried to get same day appointment to see a doctor and they said they couldn't fit me in, I told them I was going to go to a and e, hey presto they phoned me back 10 minutes later and gave me an appointment straight away.
  • j55189
    j55189

    Posted

    update: so, today these events were happening quite regularly so I phoned 111. They got a nurse to call me back & she assessed that it probably isn't anything mega-serious as its been going on for 2 weeks - but suggested I contact my doctor to arrange to be referred etc.  I told her I had asked my doctor already but didn't get anywhere, so she phoned them & their on call doc called me back. He also thinks it probably isn't anything that requires immediate treatment & so has scheduled a chest xray, an ecg, a lung capacity test & some more blood tests. fingers crossed they find out what's going on !
    • jezza1505
      jezza1505 j55189

      Posted

      Good luck with it all, at least the tests are going to happen, I hope they get to the bottom of it.
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