Aa
panic ? gastro? heart
My younger brother has been complaining of what we thought panic attacks for almost 6 years. He’s been rushed to emerg several times, has to wait too long and the symptoms pass by the time he is seen.
His chest feels constricted, SOB, flushing, sometimes it feels as if his heart stops completely for a moment. Then his heart races and beats so strongly you can see it from the outside.
This is followed by severe chest pain (feels like he was shot) and severe pain in his legs that starts shortly after the above symptoms, and less severe pain in his back and shoulders. He says it feels most strongly at the deep centre and off to the left of his chest.
He gets tingling usually in his fingers & toes but occasionally in face, throat and ear lobes.
During this attack he feels as if he cannot lower or raise his arms, He says he cannot sit/lay down or it will not stop. He starts to feel an urgent need to belch and pass gas.
The attacks seem very random, they happen through the day but more often in the evenings. They also seem more often triggered by him squatting too deeply or bending too far over, these often cause him to blackout, or come close. Sometimes they appear to be caused if he eats a large meal; it feels as if his stomach is pushing on his heart.
Afterwards he feels exhausted and an urgent need to nap. After more severe attacks he feels confused and sometimes takes a minute to realize where he is.
These attacks are increasing in pain, length & intensity. He is now starting to feel more panic at the onset. The last one started while he was sitting on the toilet, he couldn't get up and a friend had to help steady him there while they waited for an ambulance.
He is 33 years old, has totally revamped his diet and decreased his smoking and drinking significantly.He hates hospitals and would not go needlessly, so this is becoming more scary and frustrating daily. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
His chest feels constricted, SOB, flushing, sometimes it feels as if his heart stops completely for a moment. Then his heart races and beats so strongly you can see it from the outside.
This is followed by severe chest pain (feels like he was shot) and severe pain in his legs that starts shortly after the above symptoms, and less severe pain in his back and shoulders. He says it feels most strongly at the deep centre and off to the left of his chest.
He gets tingling usually in his fingers & toes but occasionally in face, throat and ear lobes.
During this attack he feels as if he cannot lower or raise his arms, He says he cannot sit/lay down or it will not stop. He starts to feel an urgent need to belch and pass gas.
The attacks seem very random, they happen through the day but more often in the evenings. They also seem more often triggered by him squatting too deeply or bending too far over, these often cause him to blackout, or come close. Sometimes they appear to be caused if he eats a large meal; it feels as if his stomach is pushing on his heart.
Afterwards he feels exhausted and an urgent need to nap. After more severe attacks he feels confused and sometimes takes a minute to realize where he is.
These attacks are increasing in pain, length & intensity. He is now starting to feel more panic at the onset. The last one started while he was sitting on the toilet, he couldn't get up and a friend had to help steady him there while they waited for an ambulance.
He is 33 years old, has totally revamped his diet and decreased his smoking and drinking significantly.He hates hospitals and would not go needlessly, so this is becoming more scary and frustrating daily. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
I went through a very similar situation. in November I had my first "attack". Went to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack. They did EKG, blood work and kept me overnight to monitor. Everything was fine. A month later, the exact same thing. Same attack, ER results. That time I went to the cardiologist. Did a stress test, slightly abnormal results, so did an angiogram. All normal. The pain progressively got worse, but moved lower too. Had extra heart beats, so wore the holter monitor, came out normal. Had BP variations they thought might be orthostatic hyoptension. Did the tilt-table-test, all normal. Finally started Gastro tests, negative upper GI series, negative utlrasound for abnormalities or stones, negative endoscopy, and the last test they ran was a HYDA scan. I had a non-functioning gall bladder. I had it removed three weeks ago, and feel TONS better. The BP is starting to equalize, the extra heartbeats have all but vanished and the pain is gone. I am still dehydrated due to some rapid weight loss (30 lbs in three weeks) prior to the surgery, but I feel better everyday. I hope your brother seeks medical help and has a positive outcome.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The symptoms are too diffuse to be accounted for by the heart alone. He needs to see a doctor in a controlled setting to start working these issues up. An emergency room visit is unlikely to answer the question. They are too busy and focus more on triage for situations like this. He needs to find a patient doctor to work through these issues. Until he has an answer and believes the answer, he is unlikely to get better. I cannot tell you from this post that there is not a cardiac problem, but it does not sound like one.
I hope this helps, thanks for posting.
I hope this helps, thanks for posting.
This happens to me at times , though it is not as frequent as before. I had this practically all my life and apparently according to the doctors and cardiologist I've seen it is not heart related though palpitations and fast heartbeat are common symptoms, the flushing I get also, its very scary. In my case anxiety and panic attacks is usually the diagnosis, after occuring for years on end I imagine if it was anything significantly heart related it would have progress to something much more serious. I basically ride out the attacks these days.Most of these episodes are poorly understood and frustrating to doctor and patient alike, sometime they have a physical origin that is difficult to pinpoint or are related to autonomic dysfunction.Hope your brother feels better soon. I know how distressing these symptoms can be.
Hi. I've recently started suffering similar symptoms (though not nearly as severe).
The first two times I was laying down, and the third time I was sitting. I'll get really warm for a second, like a sudden rush of blood to my head, then it will feel as though the blood has drained from my upper body (arms and back) and I'll suddenly feel cold. At the same time, my pulse shoots up to roughly 130-140BPM.and it feels like not enough blood is getting around my body. There's no chest pain with these episodes, though sometimes a very mild sensation of discomfort in the center or left of my chest.
The first episode lasted just a few hours, and I was fine after sleep. The second lasted roughly 26 hours - again settling back to normal after sleep. I'm still feeling under the weather from my most recent episode 3 days ago. My pulse is lower, but I'm feeling tired and sometimes a little light headed.
The paramedics told me it was panic attacks. The ER doctor ran my BP, blood sugar, blood tests and an ECG - all came back normal. He said that my heart's rythm is perfectly normal, just fast.
Needless to say, these episodes have me worried. And not knowing what they are or how to stop/fight them doesn't help.
My GP has referred me to a cardiologist, but I'll have to wait 6-8 weeks for an appointment. Since these episodes are happening in 1-2 week intervals, I'm likely to have more episodes between now and then.
The first two times I was laying down, and the third time I was sitting. I'll get really warm for a second, like a sudden rush of blood to my head, then it will feel as though the blood has drained from my upper body (arms and back) and I'll suddenly feel cold. At the same time, my pulse shoots up to roughly 130-140BPM.and it feels like not enough blood is getting around my body. There's no chest pain with these episodes, though sometimes a very mild sensation of discomfort in the center or left of my chest.
The first episode lasted just a few hours, and I was fine after sleep. The second lasted roughly 26 hours - again settling back to normal after sleep. I'm still feeling under the weather from my most recent episode 3 days ago. My pulse is lower, but I'm feeling tired and sometimes a little light headed.
The paramedics told me it was panic attacks. The ER doctor ran my BP, blood sugar, blood tests and an ECG - all came back normal. He said that my heart's rythm is perfectly normal, just fast.
Needless to say, these episodes have me worried. And not knowing what they are or how to stop/fight them doesn't help.
My GP has referred me to a cardiologist, but I'll have to wait 6-8 weeks for an appointment. Since these episodes are happening in 1-2 week intervals, I'm likely to have more episodes between now and then.
Triskle: Just reading over everyone's answers to you...and your brothers' situation.
Last night I had to call 911 because my heart grabbed me and I couldnt walk. I felt stupid since I didn't want everyone to panic.
My background has been a lifetime of CFIDS/Fibromyalgia..talk about multisymptoms meshed together!
Since Jan 4th something new happend- I was hit with my first migraine. It lasted two months~ I am still nautious/dizzy/weak/at times xtreme ditzyness/clumsy etc etc. I thought my brain was going to explode and still do when it flares up.
My Primary care MD is very passive believing in killing it with morphine shots! I was referred to a nerologist who instisted it is absolutely only a migraine. So when I got convulsions& chills uncontrollably, I had my friends drive me to urgent care at a larger hospital. The doctor there ran a wider scope of tests and rehydrated me. All my tests came up negative He then referred me to an infections disease specialist who said, it was JUST Chronic Fatigue and to go home!
I was DONE with doctors and frustrated and determined to kick it by committing to all natural and "thinking" it all away!
Then yesterday my heart started squeezing when I tried to get dressed. I didn't want to but eventually I couldn't walk and called 911.
At the ER, my 1st EKG came up negative and negative heart xray and blood tests and urine tests but high blood pressure. 3 hours later the 2nd EKG came out Abnormal.
This ER doctor were very kind and never made me feel like I was making it up even though the tests started out as ALL negative. Because I was in a non-kaiser hospital they had to have a Kaiser Doctor evaluate me too....He was shocked to see my history and that none of the 5 doctors that saw me in the 2 months did some basic tests for connective tissue disorders and things he listed off. He is now referring me also to a reumatory(sp?) specialist who will look at other diseases that could be inflammatory in nature. Because my symptoms eased a few hours later, and the blood tests showed negative for heart attack they let me come home and tomorrow I must set appt for more treadmill tests and follow-up. I have a small hope again.
All I can say is that in one night I had 2 "right" doctors that weren't stuck in there narrow thinking. They both told me there is so much about the heart that they still dont' understand. I don't blame your friend for avoiding doctors. But when you finally get one who believes that the answer is yet to be found...then he'll help do the fighting!
I guess the point is that its up to us to keep pushing the doctors. When illness interferes with our lives, you have to keep trying...and maybe it'll be a gall bladder! maybe its a serious heart problem...and if it's panic attacks, it seems just as debillitating and dangerous as anything else and needs the right treatment! Keep strong and encourage brother to get help from the right doctors. Do research of the different types of doctors and get referrals to them. I'm learning by getting sent to the wrong types...AND if he has insurance take advantage of going to all they offer and insist he get the right treatments and tests! : )
Last night I had to call 911 because my heart grabbed me and I couldnt walk. I felt stupid since I didn't want everyone to panic.
My background has been a lifetime of CFIDS/Fibromyalgia..talk about multisymptoms meshed together!
Since Jan 4th something new happend- I was hit with my first migraine. It lasted two months~ I am still nautious/dizzy/weak/at times xtreme ditzyness/clumsy etc etc. I thought my brain was going to explode and still do when it flares up.
My Primary care MD is very passive believing in killing it with morphine shots! I was referred to a nerologist who instisted it is absolutely only a migraine. So when I got convulsions& chills uncontrollably, I had my friends drive me to urgent care at a larger hospital. The doctor there ran a wider scope of tests and rehydrated me. All my tests came up negative He then referred me to an infections disease specialist who said, it was JUST Chronic Fatigue and to go home!
I was DONE with doctors and frustrated and determined to kick it by committing to all natural and "thinking" it all away!
Then yesterday my heart started squeezing when I tried to get dressed. I didn't want to but eventually I couldn't walk and called 911.
At the ER, my 1st EKG came up negative and negative heart xray and blood tests and urine tests but high blood pressure. 3 hours later the 2nd EKG came out Abnormal.
This ER doctor were very kind and never made me feel like I was making it up even though the tests started out as ALL negative. Because I was in a non-kaiser hospital they had to have a Kaiser Doctor evaluate me too....He was shocked to see my history and that none of the 5 doctors that saw me in the 2 months did some basic tests for connective tissue disorders and things he listed off. He is now referring me also to a reumatory(sp?) specialist who will look at other diseases that could be inflammatory in nature. Because my symptoms eased a few hours later, and the blood tests showed negative for heart attack they let me come home and tomorrow I must set appt for more treadmill tests and follow-up. I have a small hope again.
All I can say is that in one night I had 2 "right" doctors that weren't stuck in there narrow thinking. They both told me there is so much about the heart that they still dont' understand. I don't blame your friend for avoiding doctors. But when you finally get one who believes that the answer is yet to be found...then he'll help do the fighting!
I guess the point is that its up to us to keep pushing the doctors. When illness interferes with our lives, you have to keep trying...and maybe it'll be a gall bladder! maybe its a serious heart problem...and if it's panic attacks, it seems just as debillitating and dangerous as anything else and needs the right treatment! Keep strong and encourage brother to get help from the right doctors. Do research of the different types of doctors and get referrals to them. I'm learning by getting sent to the wrong types...AND if he has insurance take advantage of going to all they offer and insist he get the right treatments and tests! : )
Thanks very much for responding so quickly, and it's offers some reassurance which is nice.
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