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Now what's wrong with me?!

Posted , 8 users are following.

debbie27473
debbie27473

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

9 Replies

  • EileenH
    EileenH debbie27473

    Posted

    I have written several times about the fact that symptoms like this should not be blamed on pred - but GPs often do. Mine turned out to be atrial fibrillation and the cardiologist here is confident it was the autoimmune disorder underlying the PMR that was the cause. I had had symptoms occasionally from soon after the PMR started but it was always dismissed by the GP. Eventually I ended up on hospital because of severe back problems and the infusion to treat it triggered the atrial fibrillation big time! Once it was treated I realised the earlier problems had gone. I had a difficult year a couple of years ago withthat, the PMR and problems with the form of pred I was on then but am now back almost to pre-PMR status.

    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
    denise76179 debbie27473

    Posted

    Hi Debbie

    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
    bedilia debbie27473

    Posted

    I too have at fib, but my af is not associated with a rapid heart rate.  Rather mine caused my heart rate to slow to the 30's.  They put a pacemaker in around 2012-2013.  

    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
      EileenH bedilia

      Posted

      The slow period is usually due to a preceding fast heart rate. Mine was 230+ followed by about 40 - but never low enough to cause a real problem.
    • bedilia
      bedilia EileenH

      Posted

      Eileen, I never had a rapid ventricular resonse.  I was always in a brady rhythm.  I didn't even know my rate was in the 30's.  Just happened to be in PMD's office and they were checking my pulse oximeter rating and noticed my HR was 30-40.  It kept hapening and I started falling a lot.  That's when we decided a pacemaker was the way to go.  

      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
      EileenH bedilia

      Posted

      That's quite unusual - glad mine has settled down for the moment though I gather I am at a higher risk of mine doing something similar! Is it a pacemaker or an ICD?

      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
    MrsO-UK_Surrey debbie27473

    Posted

    Debbie, I can so understand your initial fears but glad to hear they've taken things seriously and hope that they get to the bottom of it very quickly.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that your diuretic is to blame if my latest blood test results following just a few weeks on a diuretic are anything to go by - apart from how rotten I felt, the blood test revealed reduced sodium levels, raised creatinine and urea and further reduced kidney function.

    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
      EileenH MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Quite - they don't mess about if single ECGs look bad - and they haven't. The 24-hour ECG will tell them far more than the single one and they really have instituted all they can do to find out what is going on. Don't panic yet ;-) If it was REALLY  bad you wouldn't have been let home!
    • debbie27473
      debbie27473 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Hi all. Thankyou for your kind wishes. Have just come back from having my 24hr ecg kit removed so lets hope they can give me some idea of whats happening when they analyse it. Unfortunately my potassium levels are normal at 3.9 (sounds silly but I was really hoping it would be low as that would be far preferable to heart problems). My cholesterol is not bad (4.7) CRP 12 Fasting blood sugar slightly raised 6.8 (51). So not a lot of clues there then! I have received my cardiologist appointment for 20th October which is the same day as my first rheumatologist appointment, so I am taking a picnic to the hospital and making a day of it lol! Seeing doc nxt wed. unless they call me in before so will try to carry on as normal (whatever that is)! until then. Thankyou again for all the info. Much appreciated as always. Debbie
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