it is quite possible that i don't even need to be on this forum, but i thought i'd ask all of you who have heart problems to help me on this one...

i was officially (finally!) diagnosed with asthma several months ago, and the meds i'm on (advair and singulair) are helping soooo much...

however, i still have this recurring feeling that i just can't get enough air in my lungs...like the lining is made of concrete...and its frustrating, b/c the docs can't hear it with their stethoscopes...

so i had several ideas...first, i guess its always possible that my asthma isn't under complete control, and i also thought that maybe i have chronic hyperventilation syndrome from breathing to obtain just a little air for such a long time..

without my inhalers, i get dizzy, shakey, and my heart races from 80-88 to about 114...which was very scary, but the inhalers have all but distinguished that symptom...

another possibility is that the lingering shortness of breath is from my worsening GERD, which would not be a huge suprise...

i've been told that heart symptoms can mimc asthma symptoms, so noone should be diagnosed with asthma w/o heart testing...i've never had any of this...

what are some non-asthmatic symptoms of heart problems...i hate walking up stairs, even slowly, cause it is exhausting...just one flight, either up or down...i've been like that since i was ill with GI probs in 2000, and i wonder if loosing all the weight that i did (123 to 95, 5'5") was damaging to some extent...anyone have any ideas???

oh! i also have very slight periodic "twitches",not bothersome or disabling, just a little embarrassing

i have an appointment on the 30th, but i want to have a clear idea of what problems i want tested for, so that i can get an answer...also, i leave for europe on the fourth, so i don't have a whole lot of time to work with here...thanks for any suggestions!

rach

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Thought This Might Be of Use...Since Alot of Others Have It:
Updated on 6/18/02

August 1999: diagnosed with GERD and IBS...put on zantac, then aciphex
Spring 2000: diagnosed with TMJ...have lower splint
September 2000: hospitalized for failure to thrive due to malnutrition and dehydration; fed with ng tube for 3 months, put on prilosec
2001-02: developed chronic sinusitis/rhinitis from NG tube, put on nasonex and allegra
January 2002: switched GI's, diagnosed with hiatal hernia, switched to nexium, added peppermint oil, put on bentyl PRN for pain, zoloft for nausa
March 2003: IBS getting worse, switched PRN bentyl to BID levbid ER
May 2003: diagnosed with asthma from GERD, put on advair and singulair, albuterol PRN
May 2003: back pain and limited mobility, caused by 2002 car accident and dance injury, unidentified
April-June 2003: minor ear irritation and hearing problems, and extra sinus swelling, unidentified
May-June 2003: heartburn recurring even with meds!- GI put me on 40mg Pepcid Rx at bedtime...Let's see if it works! :p

See a cardiologist asap! You could have congestive heart failure or other heart damage caused by malnutrition. Also it seems to me that all these drugs that they have put you on, messed you up even worse.
I was misdiagnosed with asthma a few years ago and was put on proventil which sent me to the ER with severe palpitations! As it turned out I never had asthma nor CHF. I was misdiagnosed 3 more times with unrelated to this ailments and I think that some doctors got their license from a cerial box. I also used to suffer from GERD since I was a kid and all the techniques and antiacids never helped me. I used to drink half a bottle of Mylanta every night, pepcids, zantacs, rolaids etc and finally I threw everything out in 1997 and took NOTHING. I feel SO MUCH BETTER since and I eat anything I want. Becareful and always research what they give you and what they tell you!

thank you SO much for answering...i have ALOT of the symptoms of chronic hyperventilation syndrome, but that could have been caused by several things (not neccessarily asthma), b/c it started during that period of time when i was ill...

when i weighed about 95 lbs, i would walk up the stairs, and my heart would beat really fast, i would get really dizzy and feel like i was gonna either throw up or pass out, and i would be shakey for about 45 minutes...

as for my meds....the levbid and pepperminet oil do wonders controling my IBS....and until about a month ago, so did the nexium...without nasonex i get bleeding, swelling, and migraine severity sinus headaches (i was actually sent to a neurologist for them...they'd make me cry sometimes), without allegra my throat gets VERY sore and irritated, and since i started on these drugs i haven't had any infections (i used to get about 6 a year...

the advair/singulair combo (i can tell when i miss either one of them) has done wonders for the racing pulse/shaking/dizziness problem that started way back when...

without the zoloft, i get very nauseous, and since i was on it so long, i actually have become kinda dependent on it...i don't wanna go off it...i tried, did it VERY slowly, and it still made me anxious and depressed....whatever http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif

also, the albuterol helps a little bit, but i only use it if i'm coughing really hard, expelling alot of mucous, or wheezing, cause for shortness of breath, just like the advair/singulair...it doesn't do ANYTHING...

i know i'm on alot of drugs, but i think part of it is that my problems were ignored as a child...my mom recalls projectile vomiting that was never looked into, i've been having breathing problems (now being treated!) since i was 11, and i can't say that i disagree with any of my diagnosis...all my drugs are perfectly compatible, and i suffer no side effects from any of them...i keep a very close watch on that http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

however, i'm being to wonder (and maybe worry just a bit) if my "left-over" symptoms aren't signs of a heart problem, CHS, or both, b/c they've only been occuring since i became ill, and they've been, up till now, totally untreatable...

i'm going to europe in about 10 days with an honor's band and choir, and we have quite the hefty schedule, but fortunately we have a physician who tours every year, i have med insurance, and he knows my history. i think i'm gonna ask him to just keep an eye on me, and check in and make sure i'm alright from time to time, cause there's no telling what could happen... wish me luck.... any feedback, responses or ideas are welcomed!! thank you!!

<3 rach

sorry...forgot to mention....

the other reason that i was suspecting a heart-related problem is b/c i was reading a chicken soup for the teenage soul book one afternoon when i was about 95obs, and i read a story about an anorexic who was 5'4" and 85 pounds (i was 5'5" and 95)...and in this story, the psychologist who treated her said she was very lucky, cause at any moment she couldh've just dropped dead from a heart attack....thats why i was wondering if perhaps my body just wasnt recovering properly...is there ANYONE else out there with any ideas or suggestions???

rach

[This message has been edited by rach923 (edited 06-24-2003).]

bump, bump...sorry...i go to the docs tomorrow http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

hey! i went to the doctor today, and i told him i had "talked to some people with similar problems" and that they had suggested maybe a heart problem, and i had symptoms of congestive heart failure, and so he ordered a pulmonary function test, chest x-ray (did that today) and an ECHO...so i'll be getting my answer soon!!! any other suggestions?? thanks!

rach

hey...sorry i have like bajillion back-to-back posts....

i just got my EKG done, and i'll be getting the results of my chest x-ray in about an hour...

EDIT: my chest x-ray came out alright...no apparent pulmonary dysfunction, slightly smaller heart "shadow" (whatever the heck that means...does anyone here know??") and they said i have mild thoracic scoliosis, which isn't really related, but hey! now i know why my back hurts!

at the EKG today though, i watched the ultrasound pic i could see one of my valves, and it was "fluttering" as it pumped blood through...it would be like "open up, begin to close, open up, and close the whole way", and the cycle repeated...i'm not sure if thats normal or not...also, the general motion of my heart as she scanned it just seemed really "spastic"..thats about the only word i can think of to describe it...

on the heart monitor, after the intial spike of the heart beat, instead of being spike, flat, spike, flat...etc, it was spike, little hill, little dip, flat-spike, little hill, little dip, flat-spike!...is THAT normal, or do i have a misconception of the normal beat pattern?? if not normal, what is this type of irregularity usually referred to??? any ideas??

i'll post the x-ray results as soon as i get them!! thanks!

rach

------------------
Thought This Might Be of Use...Since Alot of Others Have It:
Updated on 6/18/02

August 1999: diagnosed with GERD and IBS...put on zantac, then aciphex
Spring 2000: diagnosed with TMJ...have lower splint
September 2000: hospitalized for failure to thrive due to malnutrition and dehydration; fed with ng tube for 3 months, put on prilosec
2001-02: developed chronic sinusitis/rhinitis from NG tube, put on nasonex and allegra
January 2002: switched GI's, diagnosed with hiatal hernia, switched to nexium, added peppermint oil, put on bentyl PRN for pain, zoloft for nausa
March 2003: IBS getting worse, switched PRN bentyl to BID levbid ER
May 2003: diagnosed with asthma from GERD, put on advair and singulair, albuterol PRN
May 2003: back pain and limited mobility, caused by 2002 car accident and dance injury, unidentified
April-June 2003: minor ear irritation and hearing problems, and extra sinus swelling, unidentified
May-June 2003: heartburn recurring even with meds!- GI put me on 40mg Pepcid Rx in the morning and at bedtime...Kust to hold be over till I get back from EUROPE! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[This message has been edited by rach923 (edited 07-01-2003).]