To google or not to google that is the question?

[Sonaya]

HI Everyone,  Im having one of those moments where I wanted to find out about these palpitations Ive been having.  Now the mad rush of Valentines day is over, its the weekend, I can finally relax a bit and catch up and I decide to google palpitations.

Heres my thought on what I thought they were before I googled....lol (dont laugh at how little I knew).
I always associated palpitations with anxiety as in panic attacks or people with post menopause.
Now When mine happen its when Im sitting down late at night watching tv or in bed watching tv or they actually wake me up in my sleep and sometimes cause me shortness of breath and its quite a scary feeling.  I can hear the pulsing in my ears and feel the heartbeat in my chest and up through my neck and it pumps hard and its like racing and I need to catch my breathe. There is no chest pain but a heaviness thats all.  And I think to myself well Im not having an axiety attack , and Im definately not post menopausal...LOL although sometimes I wonder...no really Im not........  Since my ecg was normal and my stress test was normal i didnt even think it could possibly be my heart and shrugged it off and tried not to obsess about yet another weird symptom to add to my list.

Keep in mind I am trying to back off a bit and not get too self obsessed about it all plus Ive been so busy I really just havnt had time to worry about things.

So to google I go...............and now I wish I hadnt.  

I know its not my thyroid as thats been fully checked.  Thing is so has my heart thats been checked but im thinking I probably should get one of those 48hr monitors to take home because while all my ecg or whatever you call them have come back normal, thats usually when Im not getting any pain or any problems so they cant see anything happening.

I have my eeg for the "seizures" or whatever they are tomorrow and a two week wait to see my own local doctor but I might try his cancellation list to try and get in earlier.

I just dont want to go down that whole path of "am i worrying too much again", do you know what I mean?

Just to let you know my knowledge of medical terminology and stuff is so limited because up until 5mths ago Ive been a healthy happy person until this "Weirdness ILLness".

So I ask...to google or not to google, that is the question.................
have a great weekend everyone and thanks for listening.

[CtResident]

It's interesting to meet people from around the world. Here in CT (state of Connecticut in the US), I am only about a 20 minute drive from Lyme, the town that that dreaded disease originated! How 'bout that one? I did have my first ever tick bite last year, but my symptoms were going on (in retrospect I realized) long before that thing got me. I was given a one time dose of doxycycline, they didn't keep the tick (!), and told to watch for rash or fever. My Lyme test came back normal (when looking for MS mimics in January of this year.)

I do think you have it all in perspective: google it, then sort through it. Know the terminology so when the dr's are throwing terms at you, you aren't overwhelmed and can process it.

As I've mentioned, I have two autistic daughters. We have discussed being able to READ something, and being able to COMPREHEND something. And that is important when taking charge of your health. Of course, as I tell anyone, ask questions!!

The other thing for me to remember is that over in your country, you do not have a holiday like we do here on Monday (President's Day). But I did remember the time change and was wondering why you'd have your EEG on a Sunday (then again, I've had an ultrasound on a Sunday here, so maybe appts are any time now, not just M-F).

Your EEG procedure sounds like it might be different than what they did for me. I'd be interested in hearing about it.....um.....whatever day it will be for me or for you....let's just say when you're done, lol.

Hope you sleep well and don't get palpitations (its's 7:25 PM Eastern Time Saturday here, so maybe your day is just beginning? What is the time difference?)

Suzanne

[Sonaya]

CT Resident,

Interesting...I dont eat before going to bed and dont have caffeine before going to bed.  Im trying to find out exactly what it is that makes these palps happen.  I know I have had a hard time going back to work and with the stress of Valentines Day work pressure *florist, I thought well yeah ive been under pressure but by the time I go to bed I fall in it and crash it or I undwind a bit and relax with watching a bit of tv and thats when it happens or bang in the middle of my sleep.
I am going to my docs about it, so I can get one of those heart monitors to take home so I can try an show him that Im not crazy lol.

I find that now I do google because I do not understand alot of the terminology, the acronyms,  and all the mumbo jumbo medical wording etc related to trying to find out whats happening. I have to say that I am thankful for Google for finding you guys.

Ever since this illness happened to me I have had so much brain fog, memory issues like you would not believe and I just dont think like I use to.

I have a doctor who listens and refers and does not commit to telling me anything, he is a referer and never tells you what he is thinking, but he is good for just  pouring your heart out and listening. Then I have this new General Physician guy who doesnt say ANYTHING and rushes you and just writes out a form for tests and then your rushed out the door.

I had the emergency doctors mention all the nasty big ones like, stroke, brain hem and all that when it first happened,  then after the battery of tests  for 3 days of which I didnt even have time to stop and ask about this or that, I was sent home with your fine seeya later.

Here in Australia its very rare to get copies of your reports, we dont have a cd mri reporting system here.  The red tape you go t hrough just to get actual copies of things can be quite ridiculous.

So back to the googling...yeah I google to help me understand and to help find answers but it does worry me sometimes.

When It was mentioned I might have MS, or spinal stenosis, bulged disk, lupus, I googled it.  

I looked up all 3 on google and pretty much thought hmmm ok, I have the majority of all the general symptoms for all 3.

When I had my first MRI brain without contrast MS was not considered because it was done in emergency to rule out stroke, brain hem.  They also did the LP for ruling out meningitis.  They were not even looking for MS but I guess lesions would have shown up or something anyway regardless. (I demanded to get a copy of this report and my lp report) On my LP report there is no mention of the ob band thingies at all.

When you look up some things like rhuematoid arthritis and epilepsy and migraines with aura I also fit majority of symptoms into that category.  Not to mention some ENT stuff.

So now I start to think to myself, hmmmmmmmmmmm I am becoming overloaded with too much info and I need to keep this all into prospective.

The only time I use to google medical stuff was when my daughter was a baby and being a first time mum and not having immediate access to medical care when she got this nasty rash I googled it.

Of course we dont have Lymes over here but when I first got to this forum a few were talking about LYmes so I had to google that one.  And EBV, we know that as Glandular Fever and dont use the EBV terminology so had to ask what that was, although once I knew what the acronym was I did recognise epstein Bar Virus but we use the word Glandular Fever.

I think you guys are a little mini google.................lol
I havnt had an eeg before, I believe I am having the standard.  Have no idea w hat to expect, I know they put a cap on your head and plug some electrode thingies into to measure brain waves.....Im googling that one too .................lol
(In previous message I typed it was today , Sunday, I meant Monday) sorry brain fog

[Rena705]

I totally agree with your line about "encourage my patients to look up and learn about what is going on with their own self, because nobody cares as much as you do about you."  We here on the forum are learning to be pro-active and I personally feel that in the health care system of the new millenium if you are not pro-active you could find yourself in BIG trouble.

I agree that sometimes a little information can be dangerous in "some" hands but I also agree that we need to look after us because when push comes to shove...no one else is going to do it for us.

I am living in Western Canada and the shortage of healthcare workers is in an emergency state and the politicians think it's just as easy as educating and hiring more...what they can't figure out is that there is NO ONE TO EDUCATE!!

I say GOOGLE, GOOGLE, GOOGLE, and then be proactive to find out from a legitimate health care worker if what you have learned is true!  It takes a lot of work sometimes and it is especially hard if you are not well but for your own sake you have got to try!

Rena

[samsgam]

I got scolded by my doctor for googling! When I was first told MS was to be one of the things they wanted to rule out, I googled it because I knew nothing about it. Amazingly, things I haven't even reported to my doctor and some things I have, were symptoms. They ruled out other things, then stopped. If I hadnt googled and learned some things for myself, I would have accepted their dismissal of possible MS. Interestingly, I too and a couple other people in this forum have experienced palpitations, and everything you describe, well it could be me explaining my symptoms! Of course I was told anxiety, but at the time that it was so bad, I thought I had an easy answer for my symptoms (misdiagnosis ) so I was not anxious, I was relieved. I am in the healthcare profession, and so I know that sometimes a little information is dangerous, but I also encourage my patients to look up and learn about what is going on with their own self, because nobody cares as much as you do about you. I still don't know what the connection is, but for the last two mos. I have had no palpitations, but I do find it EXTREMELY coincidental that that symptom started for the first time in my 42 yrs at the exact same time that some possible MS symptoms became so evident in my life. Something is going on.
So I encourage you to google your heart out, but also look up journals in neurology and cardiology. I did find a couple interesting articles on palpitations and MS, I will see about looking them up for you.

Samsgam

[mokibear]

I googled a lot before I found this forum. Being in limbo land and getting no answers made me go looking for myself. I think it is good to be proactive as long as it does not become an obsession. When I found this site, I now only google things that are talked about that I don't fully understand. Googling is not a bad thing as long as you are aware that not all information is factual and keep looking to get a full picture.

Moki

[CtResident]

My girls have autism; they talked early, and incessantly, AND lined things up. :-)

Here's my little saying about my daughters:

What are the chances of having identical twins?

What are the chances of having twins with autism?

What are the chances of having **girls** with autism (it's generally in boys), who are identical?

What are the chances of having twin girls with autism, in which one twin has a disorder that her sibling doesn't have? (K has Klippel-Trenauney-Weber in which she needed leg surgery for leg-length discrepancy).

Andddddd.............I live near a casino! I should play those odds huh?
I always did like to do things against the grain, lol.

Suzanne

[CtResident]

I can't help it, I google. It's in my blood.

I'm a curious sort. Knowledge is power.

Then again, curiosity and cat and all.......??? :-)

Just from my experience with waking up with heaviness in the chest; I was told I had a hiatal hernia and to not eat within a few hours before bed. Also to not sleep flat on my back. Not saying you have that, but just in general terms relating to comfort and not feeling smothered!  

Good luck with the EEG! Hope the info I gave on it was helpful.

Suzanne

[speechgeek]

Ugh.....well see I am a google gal...symptom checker dot whatever had peripherial neuropathy before the docs.  

I have Heart palpatations and I thought they were anxiety until I discovered they are a part of lyme.

As a therapist I hate google because everybody thinks their kid has autism because their kid lines things up and doesn't talk. On ther other side of that I had a family discover their kids syndrome through google (C.H.A.R.G.E. syndrome) and the docs hadn't figured it out. It was confirmed later.

So I google...  

Rebeccah





I googled