Now I'm Very Scared (Medical Related)

[poohandwendy]

LOL...more questions:

What is your dx with the heart issues? Are you seeing a cardiologist for it? Have you ever worn a holter monitor to record the tachycardia?

I also wanted to mention that many times, arrhythmias can actually worsen on their own and you need a medication adjustment or even a change.

I dunno, just thinking out loud.

 

[Christine]

Sorry to hear you are still not feeling well. I am glad you will be seeing your doctor today.

One thing that concerns me, from reading your posts, is the beta blocker. You seem to be taking it 'as needed' instead of on a regular schedule. And you say you just happen to have them on hand because of bouts with tachycardia. I don't know anyone who takes them 'as needed'. It was my understanding that they need to be taken regularly and consistently.

What particular beta blocker have you been taking? And at what dose? And how often?

I ask because some of the side effects of beta blockers can be sore throat, joint pain and tachycardia...amazingly. (you would think a med that is supposed to stop that couldn't cause it...but they can)

I am concerned about that because those types of medications need to be taken regularly and you are not suposed to start or stop them without doctors supervision. I guess that is just something that is worrying me, it may be your problem. Not necessarily the firt bout of tachycardia...but the symptoms afterwards.

Just something you might want to mention to the doctor.

Hope you feel better soon. (btw, I have heart arrhytmia problems, so I have dealt with what you are going through and been on lots of meds for it...it's no fun. )

PAW,

I have been diagnosed through Holter Monitor many years ago with "sinus tachycardia". Meaning that they have never found any abnormal heart pattern. I was given Inderal many years ago and was told that I could take it "as needed" because I don't always have the tachycardia and when I take the Inderal when I don't have the tachycardia, my heart rate goes too low and I have symptoms of lethargy really bad.

Back in December/January after a VERY stressful time with breast surgeries, I found myself again having bouts of tachycardia. They would last for days. I went to see a new GP this time who is supposed to be fabulous. He spend a LOT of time with me. Did a fairly thorough physical but didn't see the need to do another event monitor. He did schedule me for an echocardiogram though--which was normal. He then put me on a low-dose of Verapamil (to be taken daily)--a calcium channel blocker. He said that they mainly use it for "teenagers" with migraines but that it also is good at lowering the heart rate. After the first dose of it, I became "pink" over most of my body. I wasn't concerned because I had read that it was a vasodilator and I flush pretty easy anyway. After the second dose, I got a rash. I then spent the next month have petechia (tiny pinpoint skin hemorrhages) all over most of my trunk and legs. Doctor said that I had a condition similar to "serum sickness" and that it was a drug allergy. He then looked very defeated, gave me a prescription for Inderal and told me to take it when I felt I needed it.

So that's my beta blocker story.

Edited to add: the pills are for 10 mg each. Not much but they do the job.

 

[poohandwendy]

Thanks for clarifying. I would mention the beta blocker today (you may need something different) and I also would seriously suggest seeking the opinion of a cardiologist for treatment of your ST. Not that I think GPs aren't great doctors, but when it comes to heart issues it is really important to be seeing a cardiologist. (even better would be a electrophysiologist- EP) JMO.

Good luck with the doctors visit today, I hope they can figure out what is going on. I know what it is like to have more questions than answers, very frustrating.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for clarifying. I would mention the beta blocker today (you may need something different) and I also would seriously suggest seeking the opinion of a cardiologist for treatment of your ST. Not that I think GPs aren't great doctors, but when it comes to heart issues it is really important to be seeing a cardiologist. (even better would be a electrophysiologist- EP) JMO.

Good luck with the doctors visit today, I hope they can figure out what is going on. I know what it is like to have more questions than answers, very frustrating.

Thanks.

Actually, when this first came up 7 or 8 years ago (maybe it's been even longer), I went to a cardiologist for diagnosis. That's when I did the event monitor. He told me there was nothing wrong except for, yes, I did have tachycardia at times. Beta blockers were then discussed. It was never recommended that I follow up or anything. Honestly, they never really made a big deal out of it.

It's been recently that I have readdressed it. So, I went to GP first because the cardiologist that I had previously seen was no longer around and I didn't know of one to go to. The GP ordered my tests but sent me to a cardiologist for the test. I never saw the cardio, his tech person did the test, the cardiologist read the report, and then sent it on to my GP.

 

[poohandwendy]

Thanks.

Actually, when this first came up 7 or 8 years ago (maybe it's been even longer), I went to a cardiologist for diagnosis. That's when I did the event monitor. He told me there was nothing wrong except for, yes, I did have tachycardia at times. Beta blockers were then discussed. It was never recommended that I follow up or anything. Honestly, they never really made a big deal out of it.

It's been recently that I have readdressed it. So, I went to GP first because the cardiologist that I had previously seen was no longer around and I didn't know of one to go to. The GP ordered my tests but sent me to a cardiologist for the test. I never saw the cardio, his tech person did the test, the cardiologist read the report, and then sent it on to my GP.

It's just strange that they would treat occasional sinus tachy with meds like that, usually there is something causing it and they treat the cause...and then the tachy goes away. Go figure, LOL.

 

[Christine]

It's just strange that they would treat occasional sinus tachy with meds like that, usually there is something causing it and they treat the cause...and then the tachy goes away. Go figure, LOL.

Well, educate me! I knew that in some cases of ST, there are causes (faulty nodes, I guess) but in many cases there are no causes?

My GP did tell me that he felt that my problem was "electrical" in nature and that if I didn't want to deal with the meds or that if they didn't work that there were "procedures" to deal with it. I read up on some of these procedures (I think they are node ablations) and find that they only have a short-term success rate. Is this what you are talking about?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hoping the doc visit goes well, Christine, and some conclusions or direction come from it. We know the anxiety of 'not knowing'.

 

[Christine]

Well, I'm back from the doctor.

I explained all the "weirdness" that has gone on for the past few days.

First things first--my urine culture came back negative so I did not have an infection and there is no need to take any medication for this.

Then the doctor looked at my throat. He made no comment on it. Said he was going to do a strep test which he felt would be negative. It was.

Told him about the tachycardia after taking Macrobid, the weird intense 3-hour sore throat with fever, the nighttime tachycardia, and then the low temperatures.

Overall, he feels that this is not a Macrobid reaction. He didn't do much to convince me of that but, oh well, he has his opinion. He believes that I have the same virus that my son has had since last week. He feels that my body's immune system is "struggling" with it and probably doing a pretty good job of fighting it which is why I might not be having the real bad symptoms that my son had, but would explain why I feel so crappy. He feels that since I have this virus that would be the reason for the tachycardia. When I asked him about the *low* body temperatures versus having a fever (which would be *typical*) he told me that low body temperatures aren't anything to worry about and are often a sign that the body is fighting something. Okay. My blood pressure was good (104/72)--it was 130/80 the other day--it's nice to see what a little beta blocker and some Xanax will do for you.

He told me that, at least for the next several days, I should take my beta blocker since I have had two episodes in the last 24 hours. Obviously *something* is irritating me.

I guess I feel better that maybe I'm not gonna die today but I still really feel that the Macrobid did something to me. I've talked to a few friends about this today and they all kind of feel the same way (and I didn't even lead them down that path). Everyone thinks it's VERY odd that I had such an intense sore throat for such a short period of time.

I'm sure this is nothing that I'll ever figure out unless I wanted to brave another dose of Macrobid and I'm too chicken.

Oh, almost forget, for some reason, the doc ran another urine speciman on me. He told me it was "fine." As I was paying, the nurse pulled me aside and said "I don't know if the doctor discussed this with you, but when I ran your urine it came up alkaline. This is nothing to worry about but urine should be more acidic and the fact that yours was alkaline might explain why you have been having sensations and you could be setting yourself up for an infection." She told me to drink more and to go out and get the "real" cranberry juice and use that for awhile. So I did that. Wow, that stuff is $8.50 a bottle!

 

[U2_rocks]

I know this seems a bit extreme, but I really, really feel like that Macrobid might have caused this. I mean, has anyone every gotten a horrible sore throat and fever that comes on suddenly, lasts for 3 hours, and then goes away? Too weird.

Well, I don't know about YOUR case, but I can tell you some reactions my family has to things. My mom will get a racing heart when she reacts to certain foods, particularly things with citrus oil or extract - she's very sensitive to that. A lower than normal temp can be a sign of a depressed immune system, which can be caused by an allergic response or an allergic tendency. My cousin always, without fail, came home from birthday parties and promptly got a sore throat and slight fever - like, the same night, long before a viral infection that he could have caught at the party would kick in. His mom realized after a while that it was the dyes in the chips and soft drinks, and the general consumption of junk food that caused his reactions. He never ate those things except at birthday parties, and every birthday party was the same thing, so she knew.

I don't know what your particular sensitivities are, but your reactions are not that unusual. You just need to go back and look at everything you ate or drank, including the meds, write down every ingredient that was on every label (including the filler ingredients in the meds like the dyes, preservatives etc.) and see if you can pinpoint anything. You may not be able to right now if this is the first time you've had such a reaction - but if the other stuff you ate/drank is stuff you normally eat with no trouble, then maybe it IS the meds. On the other hand, you haven't been feeling well for a while - you could be reacting to something you eat regularly and you don't even realize it! Sometimes the allergic reaction changes - it doesn't always present he same way. Often it will hit where you are weak. Also, if you have more of an intolerance than a true allergy, you won't get a reaction every time - your body will be able to handle the substance to a point, then suddenly it will be too much and you will react. Intolerances are VERY difficult to diagnose because of this. Reactions also tend to come more quickly or be worse if your body is under some other stress, either from illness, emotional stress etc.

I'm sorry you are going through this, but please know that you are more likely to be having some sort of reaction to something than to be really ill. Try not to panic just yet! One word of warning: most regular doctors don't know that much about allergies and intolerances, and will likely not go down that route. If you think there is anything to that idea you will have to find someone who is willing to explore that with you. There are many alternative-minded medical professionals out there who can help, and there is a lot of reading material out there too. Good luck in your quest to get well!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Thanks about the sepsis remark--good to know. Damned internet. If you read about sepsis, they act like you could be walking around with it and not know it.

Christine - you don't have sepsis. Trust me - my little boy died of sepsis. If you had it, you'd be in the hospital.

Please don't take this offensively, because it's not meant to be, but it sounds like you may be experiencing some hypocondria. I've been there, and it's an awful thing to go through. You sound like you're having symptoms of an anxiety or panic attack. Talk to your doctor about it. I know you're afraid of meds, but you're going to have to buck up and take them to start feeling better, physically and emotionally.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

She told me to drink more and to go out and get the "real" cranberry juice and use that for awhile. So I did that. Wow, that stuff is $8.50 a bottle!

How about the cranberry capsules? I have a bottle of those and when I feel a burning sensation I take those and drink a little extra water. I've never had a UTI and don't know if that's why, but figure it doesn't hurt.

 

[Christine]

Christine - you don't have sepsis. Trust me - my little boy died of sepsis. If you had it, you'd be in the hospital.

Please don't take this offensively, because it's not meant to be, but it sounds like you may be experiencing some hypocondria. I've been there, and it's an awful thing to go through. You sound like you're having symptoms of an anxiety or panic attack. Talk to your doctor about it. I know you're afraid of meds, but you're going to have to buck up and take them to start feeling better, physically and emotionally.

Don't worry, you are not offending me. I know I have a LONG history of hypochondria. In fact, I constantly seek treatment for it. I am under the care of a psychiatrist AND a cognitive-behavorial therapist. You know, none of it really works. And all the psychiatric meds truly make me ill. I've tried every one of them. Not allergic reactions but just sick feeling--or they give me panic attacks (documented). The CBT therapist doesn't want to get rid of my "inner voice" when it comes to my health issues because she feels it is very important not to ignore the physical symptoms we all have. So, right now, I'm trying to find some balance. And I having a hard time with the bodily sensations.

And I'm very sorry about your little boy. I remember reading about it when it happened. It makes me feel silly for worrying about this stuff when I know that it actually happens to people.