NC Sam

I had been having episodes where my blood pressure would suddenly skyrocket and I would have chest pains and in general just feel like I was having an adrenalin rush. I thought I was having panic attacks. I went to the Doctor and he prescribed me an anti depressant, which did no good. To make a long story short, nothing my doctor did would fix the problem. I googled my symptoms and came across this thread on HealthBoards: http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=56544

That thread mentioned pheochromocytoma. I did some more research on pheochromocytoma, and the symptoms I was having exactly matched those of pheo. I told my doctor, and he just dismissed the suggestion, and told me I should quit using Wikipedia. A month later, after none of the drugs he had prescribed were working, I finally convinced him to do the test for pheochromocytoma. My "fractionated metanephrines" were ten times higher than the upper end of the normal range. He sent me to an endocrinologist, and the endo confirmed that I have a pheochromocytoma. These things are ALWAYS FATAL if left untreated! Fortunately, I'm getting mine treated. I'm having surgery next week. But if I hadn't found that thread on HealthBoards, I never would have known! Thank god for the internet, and thank god for HealthBoards.

By the way, the endocrinologist prescribed me something that has completely eliminated the "episodes". I'm finally sleeping through the night without waking up with a pounding chest and trouble breathing.