Now what's wrong with me?!
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi all. It's been a week or so since I posted as I had a bit of a shock last time I visited the hospital. I went for a routine pre-op check and when they checked my pulse were surprized how fast it was. I explained about the steroids but they decided to do an immediate ecg. This was ' very abnormal' so they repeated it. Still the same. Apparently I have very high 'P' waves. Next day I received calls from the hospital to say that my op had been cancelled and that they were contacting my gp to recommend urgent further investigations. Five mins later I got a call from the gp asking me to go in and see them. They wanted me to have a 24hr egc monitor (having this fitted tomorrow) an echogram and various blood tests (done last thursday). My gp has referred me to the 'rapid response chest pain unit' to see a cardiologist. (So rapid that I haven't heard from them yet and the referral was 10 days ago)! Apparently a lot of the symptoms which I have been assuming were side effects of the pred, are the same as symtoms of heart problems. E.G: Breathlessness,pain that progresses from chest to face (gp diagnosed acid reflux and prescribed omeprazole), swollen ankles/feet, occasional palpitations (doesn't every woman of my age get these)? and dizziness/nausea. I must admit their initial reaction freaked me out somewhat but since my visit to the surgery everything has slowed to the usual nhs pace so presumably things are not as bad as I first feared! Anyway I would love some feedback from anyone who has been through this. I have done some research and found that high P waves can be a sign of low potassium levels (often found in people on 'loop diuretics' which I take to relieve the swollen ankles/feet). Hopefully this is the problem. A lot less scary than heart failure!
0 likes, 9 replies
EileenH debbie27473
Posted
And by the way - heart failure is not what most people think it is and nowadays if identified early can be controlled well for a long time with medication.
denise76179 debbie27473
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That is what happen to my Mum atrial fibrillation (AF) with a couple of years of fiddling with medication and I might add in that time she had a heart attack ( very scary for us all) then she got hemolypic amemea ( spelling is probably wrong) that also is an autoimmune problem and they eventually fixed that with the high short dose of pred. She is fine now and going along okay,however the disease has taken its toll as at nearly 89 she doesn't get around much anymore. Get it checked out straight away and hopefully you will have a good outcome sooner rather than later
bedilia debbie27473
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When I had my "bat sh*t crazy psychotic" reaction to MY prednisone dose, I felt as if my heart was going to explode in my chest! Prednisone has always caused my to have anxiety/panic attacks. I think that was the reason for my rapid heart rate. I continue to have episode of a rapid heart rate periodically, even though I have been off the prednisone for approx 4 wks now.
Tomorrow, I go to my cardio for my routine pacmaker check. I am quite anxious to see just what my heart rate was doing when I had the panic attacks Also low K+ can make you feel the same way. .
EileenH bedilia
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bedilia EileenH
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People who have a tachy arrythmia usually wind up getting an AICD if their HR continues to run 250+. I'm so used to my HR being in the low 60's that when I get above the mid 80's I feel like my heart is racing!
EileenH bedilia
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By the way - could you put in what the abbreviations in your posts mean. Not for me but for those who don't have as much medical background as you have.
MrsO-UK_Surrey debbie27473
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I feel that if your echocardiogram revealed anthing too untoward last Thursday, you would have heard immediately. But perhaps they're waiting for the results of the 24 hours BP monitor as well. Lots of good luck wishes.
EileenH MrsO-UK_Surrey
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debbie27473 MrsO-UK_Surrey
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