high blood pressure, chest pain and other undiagnosed symptoms please help

[stormiskye]

Help I am having high blood pressure-192/114. Swelling purple feet which moves up legs longer I sit(happens when sitting or standing and progresses up legs). ANA Elisa screen positive. Sedimentation rate 17, rheumatoid factor of 9. Joint pain that comes and goes, is so bad some days in my knees I have trouble getting out of bed. I am overweight 197 and 5'7" tall, but not morbidly obese, I am 37 yrs. old female. recently developed chest pain, doctor beleives it is from high blood pressure meds which is 50 mg atenolol. Doctor did not even have me come in to evaluate chest pain just said he would change me to a new bp med if I wanted but the one I am on decreases likely-hood of stroke and he wanted me to stay on it. Now I have been over the last couple of years been feeling as though something just isn't right. Blood tests show some things are "abnormal" but not enough to make a diagnosis. I feel the dr. is treating symptoms and not doing anything to locate the cause. I am not sure what to do but I have this bad feeling something isn't right and I have 2 children that I need to stick around for and a husband who is very concerned.Recently developes rash on face thought was adult acne, not sure, mostly around nose and mouth area, has spread some to upper chest and one spot on my neck. Blood pressure change has went from normal to high just in last 2 moths, bout same time rash occured, joint pain getting worse over last couple yrs. On meds bp has been about 150/88.I don't know what tests dr. should run, last blood work was 6 mos. ago. Any ideas on causes or anyone similar?

[lyndi440]

Hi my mother was recently admitted to hospital for observation due to high blood pressure, 240/106 and chest pains.  to date her pressure is down to 160/? but we have not been given any information on what could have caused her pressure to be so high.  In addition to this she is vomiting bile, and is being cared for in a third world country, hence my anxiety to get some answers.  If anyone could shed some light on what her possible condition is I would appreciate this and could get some sleep.  18 months ago both her carotid arteries were significantly blocked and she had surgery in Florida.  These were successful, and she was precribed Lipitor , and encouraged to continue a good diet.  My mom also discovered during the process of preperation for surgery that she has a leaking valve in her heart and is prescibed enalerpril (pardon my spelling).  Please help me to understand the reson for the breakdown in her body most recently.  Thank-you, Lyndi Bullen

[Ccck]

Hi,
Have you tried testing for Cushing's Syndrome or Cushing's Disease? There is a faint differnece between the two, but generally, it means you have too much CortiSol in your body. Cushings can cause the acne. In addition, if you're overweight, check if your weight is ditributed mainly on your upper body. Do you have upper-truncal obesity (ie your arms, legs are skinny, but your back and neck are fat)? If yes, and your face is fat (called moon-face), could be Cushings.
Joint pain, hypertension and rash (esp on face, wiht a butterfly pattern) could also be a sign of Lupus...
Check it out.
Edema (water retention) on legs could be due to renal prblems.
Good luck!

[stormiskye]

Hi, thanks so much. I wasn't sure what to ask for. I know you have to be an advocate for your own health but
i do not know where to begin. I posted to another person on here about how I suffered w/ gall blader problems for 2 yrs. before I was diagnosed. by then i was so ill I had no idea what was going on, the doctors got to the point of putting me on anti depressants and starting to tell me it was all in my head when a test for something else showed I was full of gall stones, had my gall bladder removed 2 yrs ago and have not had the problem since. I guess it was confusing due to the pain being in my back-I have arthritis in my spine and kyphosis(curve) of the spine. SO they were looking more bone structure than gall bladder. I am afraid of going 2 more years or longer if I have it not knowing what is wrong and getting a pill to "fix" everything. I beleive my symptoms are trying to tell me something again and the doctor is over lookng things just cause I had some blood work 6 mos. ago. I am not sure what all I have been tested for but nothing for at least 6 mos. I go to the doctor Friday (2-9-07) so I would like to know what to say to him! I appreciate all the input more than you all know!

[utahmomma]

Please have your doctor run a full thyroid panel.  It's an easy blood test to run.  Hyperthyroidism can cause every symptom you have mentioned.  Trust me, I ended up in the ER with it last week.

[Kalio1]

Sorry, the above post was to stormy not tina.

[Kalio1]

I agree with the others, you can't evaluate chest pain on the phone!
I think you need further evaluation on the chest pain if it persists.

Have you had your liver checked out? You said some things are out of whack, what were they? I would have your liver enzymes checked out.

Some of the symptoms you are describing can be symptoms of hepatitis or some other liver condition. I'd get tested to make sure you can rule our hep b and c, liver issues can cause the joint issues,rashes, the swelling, etc.

[stormiskye]

Thanks for your input. Here is the thing, doctor is a family doctor. No tests were done what so ever.  had a physical w/ blood work about 6 mos ago. Since I had an elevated sed rate and a postive ANA about 2 yrs ago it was repeated 6 mos ago. The sed rate was normal the ANA positive again. That doctor at the time says it shows there may be an autoimmune disorder. Had a high TSH level then had it rechecked and it was normal the 2nd time. Seems that since I had blood work 6 mos ago the doctor isn't willing to do anymore. i don't like feeling like I am being a hypochondriac but I don't feel the doctors here do enough for anyone! My sister is a pain pill addict and it is definitely from the doctors in our town giving you a pill to make you go away! Since my Dad lost his leg to poor circulation I am really concerned, he also had 2 heart attacks and a stroke-lung cancer ended up taking his life in the end. I am not sure what to ask for as far as tests and what to be concerned about-is the BP high enough(192/114 on meds it was 142/94 today usualy on meds runs anywhere from the 140's-160's/84-98 to be of concern is a positive ANA ELISA I something of concern I really don't know.

[tina1111]

Also, chest pain isn't something that should be eval over phone! You need an appt and get to the bottom of it. Is dr a cardiologist? If not get a referral. Have you had a stress test?

[tina1111]

It sounds like you have several things going on. I was on atenolol sp? for a while, it was to lower racing heart. I also had separate med for bp. The swelling and edema sound like you have circulatoy probs, they also come w/hypertension and weight. Has dr ever put you on a diuretic? What does ekg show? Cardiac enzyme? Angina can be caused by several things, usually if you get bp under control it goes away. Keeping your bp low and stable is very important!