Hard to decipher pain - Heart Disorders Message Board

goldyfm · 10-08-2007, 06:29 PM

I have been having little sharp twinges all day today. They seem to start in chest area under left arm and migrate down the inside of my left arm. I have Fibromyalgia as well as Heart valve disease. I am to see my Rheumie tomorrow and also my psychologist & psychiatrist (meds) and to have a thyroid test at my PCP's office. I know that sounds like a lot, but I live so far away, I try to get several appointments on the same day. I crash for a few days after, but you do what you have to do.

I have been under a great deal of stress and my living situation is about to change. So I am having a lot of business decisions to check on and research where I may end up from here. To get back to the question at hand, do you think this is stress related? I have had this type of pain a time or two in the past, but since having learned of the valve problems, I wonder if it would warrant a followup? I really don't know what they can do, as I have already been tried on two meds I could not tolerate for the valve problems. I am thinking angina from the stress, any thoughts?

goldyfm · 10-08-2007, 09:49 PM

I've continued to have chest pain (deep) all evening, so I am going to check with my PCP in AM. I really don't want to go tonight as I know I would probably be there til morning and I have a sick dog to think of also.

huckfinn · 10-09-2007, 10:10 AM

Goldy, I am so sorry I missed this post last night. I was zonked...I have read that angina is "referred pain" from the heart, when the muscles of the heart do not receive enough oxygenated blood.

So, angina is an individual experience I guess, with large groups of people experiencing the most common form of angina, maybe men, which is a dull, slightly burning pain coming straight from the heart. I know that before one of my stents, I use to experience angina in my back, directly behind my heart.

The numb feeling that travels down the left arm is very common also.

Your twinges could be an expression of angina, although I have never heard it described that way. Your second post speaks of deep chest pain which is most likely related to your heart valve disease or a pulmonary problem. Boy am I playing doctor or what?

Now let me play a scientist...Blood flow to our heart muscle comes from our aorta, through our coronary arteries to the muscle, during the diastolic phase (rest). If your aortic valve is leaking enough, maybe there is insufficient flow from the aorta to the coronary arteries, while your heart is at rest, or during the diastolic phase.

Why then do you not faint? Your heart supplies blood to all other organs/tissue/brain during the systolic phase. Your heart is still strong enough to "pump" to all of these areas. When it rests, the blood leaks back through the aortic valve, into the left ventricle and limits blood flow to the heart.

The heart muscle cannot receive blood while the muscles are forcefully contracted. It does so at rest and while relaxed.

Goldy you need to be under the strict care of a cardiologist. These new symptoms DEMAND that you have another EKG and most importantly an echocardiogram PRONTO.

Listen to your body. It will try to warn you when it comes to problems with the heart. My friend Ann Gina has saved my life more than once....

I'll be glad to hear what all the docs had to say today. My rheumy is Phillips. I know that today is going to be hard on you and I hope that you pace yourself. I wish that I could have seen this post last night.

My best to you,

Huck

goldyfm · 10-09-2007, 06:45 PM

Thanks Huck for the response. Today was so hectic. I first had to get the dog to the vet as she awoke with bloody diarrhea and vomiting. She had been sick a few days already and I was following protocol for the symptoms but she was much worse this am. Anyway they kept her giving her IVs and hopefully I can bring her home tomorrow if she has improved.

Well I saw the Rheumie and had bloodwork at my PCP, they could not work me in today. I had two other appts this afternoon and finally got someone to listen to me about my reactions to ADs. Psychiatrist finally admitted that some people just can't take them after I rattled off the 6 I have tried over the course of the last 2 years. So now he gave me Serax, a benzodiazepine, to try. I have been telling these doctors that I do not react to meds the way a normal person does and have been this way all my life. That is why it is so hard to treat me.

Anyway after I slept last night, I have not had any more chest pain, so I think it is anxiety and stress related. If it happens again, I will followup. Right now I need to concentrate on relocating and then maybe all these weird symptoms will calm down. Thanks for the note.

huckfinn · 10-10-2007, 12:33 PM

Goldy

Sorry to hear about your poor dog. My grandson's dog died in my arms about 2 months ago. He was a young Boston Terrier.

Yep, sounds like a hectic day for sure. The relocation must be stressful. Maybe not, except for finding someone to help move your "stuff"

Are you glad to be relocating? I am too nosy, lol.

I read up on your new med and it does appear to be a new med. The only thing that concerned me is that it can cause a drop in blood pressure. This is a rare occurrence I think. Just watch your BP please.

As far as depression, it runs in my family and comes with heart disease. I have tried a few ADs and have been on Lexapro for maybe 3 years or more. None of the ADs have really worked, but Lexapro seems to be.....kind of like "not noticeable or more innocuous" as compared to say Paxil.

However if I try to stop ADs altogether, my family has to cage me, really. I have been on ADs for 11 years now, and I guess my mind just cannot function without the increased serotonin that results from taking the SSRIs.

I truly believe that some have chemical imbalances due to genetics and some due to stress. Learning to cope with stress is probably the most healthy thing a person can do for themselves. I had no idea how much stress my career was causing me until my health put an end to it.

As I recovered from an mi and light stroke, I pondered the life I had been living for many years. It was truly unbelievable. I worked for over 20 years in reactor operations at Brownsferry Nuclear Plant. You have to have perfect health to work in the control room, of course.....

Whoa, I am rambling now for sure. I just wanted to say that how we "choose" to react to stress determines the quantity and quality of our life. We do have a choice.

I am so glad to hear your chest pain is gone for now. You really need to be well versed in the symptoms of leaky heart valves.

Please do not push yourself too hard. Meditation is great