so i felt like i was having a heart attack.....

so i woke up this am with the feeling like a Mac truck was squeezing my chest. it would come and go, followed my nausea, and pain in the neck and jaw. i thought, GOD at 29 im having a heart attack!

so i took some ibuprophn(sp?) and went on with my day. all day i felt it. It would come and go, but it was still there, painful as ever. well, finally after alot of prodding from a best friend, i went to the ER. She(bf) was telling me it sounds like gallbladder.

OMG, er does are MORONS!!! They decided i was having a heart attack, and did a EKG, heart/chest x-ray, and took blood. They came back and said, nope, no heart attack. hows your pain? i said 9-10. Bp was 153/100.

they then gave me some torrodol and vicidon. told me, well, its not a heart attack, and time to go home. i was like, what about gallbladder? they said, well that would take a untrasound. and didnt give me one, jsut sent me home!!!


so i got home, called My doc on call. he said they were IDIOTS for thinkin heart attack. he said gallbladder COULD be it, but also could be alot of other things. he asked what they sent me home with. i said tylenol 3 . he laughed. i said i had the same reaction. how can a lil tylenol 3 help if VICIDON didnt? I told him i had percecet at home from kidney surgery. he told me, try that, and if that dosent work, get your butt to the ER, and I will make SURE your admitted, and we figure this out.

I took the perc, and and now playing the waiting game, so we shall see. its helped the pain SOMEWHAT but not enough, so i dunno.

Sounds like they can't make up their minds.

That is horrible. I cannot believe they just pushed you off like that. I hope you can get back in and get this figured out.

Well... it's good that they ruled out a heart issue, but why wouldn't they go on and figure out what was wrong? Unless they were thinking, "Well, gall bladder isn't going to kill her over the weekend, let her go see her doctor on Monday." Which I guess might have been it, if they were really busy, but... hmm.

I'm sorry you're in pain! If it is gall bladder, being careful what you eat will help keep it to a minimum until you get to your doctor. Low fat, no spices, no caffeine, no citrus... crackers and bread are good, though. Hope it eases off soon...

Wait and see?

Your blood pressure's awful high. There's something going on.

I think calling them idiots is a bit strong. Given a certain set of symptoms, they have to rule out the worst case scenario, which in your case was heart attack. It is not unheard of for a 29 yo to have a heart attack, it has happened. Given your elevated BP, I can see why they were concerned.

How come if you're still in that much pain your doctor doesn't want to see you?

oh...
I know your frustration. I'm 30 and only have one kidney and have been in and out of hospitals from day one for different surgeries.
except in my case they assume nothing could possibly be wrong with me since I'm so young and assume it's a panic attack... try to give me a valium and send me home...

otoh, ER's are just supposed to keep you from dying RIGHT NOW.
make an appt w your regular doc asap and maybe a specialist?

hey there,

i hope you are feeling a bit better. the er always jumps at heart related things. it could be gall bladder...BUT do you take allergy meds?

I have to say I almost went to the emergency room because I once took my allergy meds and about an hour later I took antacids. OMG that was the worse thing I had ever done. I read the bottle and it said don't take them within two hours of each other.

are you sure they aren't panic attacks? Does the pain last for 15-20 minutes and comes back after so many minutes of "calm"? Panic attacks can feel like heart attacks. Bad ones can leave you out of breathe, nausus, etc. IMO thats what it sounds like...although the higher blood pressure is a mystery.

Regardless though, I would see if you can get into your doctor tomorrow and have some blood tests ran.

Well, I`m glad they ruled out heart attack too!
It could be gall bladder....It could be panic attack (esp if you have some undealt with tramatic issues from your past that are trying to bubble up and demand to be addressed).....It could also be something like heartburn. (excess stomach acid)....we had my hubby to the ER 3 different times, thinking heart attack....and that`s what his ended up being!!! He even was sent to a major hospital and had the balloon test to be sure, because of his size and family history (not to mention the way he eats!)....but they said his arteries look GREAT! (Hard for me to believe....but I guess that test is pretty complete)
Let us know what you find out. If that`s what yours is, then probably simple Tums or Rolaids is not going to be enough to help.....your Dr will give you a perscription for something better.
Linda

Sorry, have to disagree with you on this one. They are absolutely NOT idiots for doing the proper tests to rule out a heart attack. Your symptoms were classic for heart problems in women. Your bloodpressure is extremely high, and I'm surprised that they didn't send you home with bloodpressure medication, or at least tell you to follow up with your family doctor to address that issue. Bloodpressure does go up in response to pain, and that could have been part of the problem, but it definitely needs to be addressed. You need to cut the ER docs some slack here. They're not clairvoyant or psychic. They don't know the answers to everything. They run tests and look at symptoms, see how you respond to treatments and base the diagnosis on that.

And, by the way, do you realize how foolishly you behaved when you actually thought you were having a heart attack? Heart attacks in young people are nearly always fatal, because the heart hasn't had time to adjust to compromised arteries like it does in the older population. The next time something like this happens, don't push your luck. Get to the ER right away.

Those symptoms sure sound like a heart problem to me! Obviously, I'm not a doctor and can't make a diagnosis, but I've heard that heart attacks in women can be different than men, and that women can have the symptoms of pain in the neck & jaws. Plus having high blood pressure can be serious. You need to see a specialist ASAP!!

It could be anxiety, too. When I have an anxiety attack, it feels a lot like a heart attack. But not as severe as what you're describing.

I'm not trying to scare you, but if it were me, I'd be finding out just what the heck is going on ASAP!

I hope it's nothing serious.

~KK~

Originally Posted by KittKatt

And BTW, the fact that you're only "just 29" doesn't mean much. There have been others who suffered a heart attack at an "early" age - and people who were supposed to be healthy. Look at Jackie Joiner, and that figure skater (can't recall his name): they were young and healthy, yet they both died from heart attacks...

Age has nothing to do w/ it.

~KK~

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I agree. My childhood best friend and I recently found eachother online. Her husband had a heart attack this summer and he's maybe 31.

I hope it's nothing serious and that you are feeling better today. Keep us updated!

Your diastolic number was pretty high... I'm kinda curious why they didn't address that while you were there. That being said, the ER is for emergent issues and they may have decided it wasn't emergent enough (for whatever reason!) and so sent you home. As someone else said, get to the hospital IMMEDIATELY if you start having these symptoms again. There is a lot more that can be done at the beginning to prevent more damage from occurring.

well, i neded up going back to the ER ( a diff one) a few hours after the first one. i tried to explain, and told them to call my doc on call, but tehy wouldnt hear of it, got the records from the first er visit, and without doing anything, gave me a shot for pain, and also sent me home, even tho at the second hospital my BP was up to 180/106. they didnt even say a word about that!

so i went home in agony, and took a few pain pills, and feel unconcious. this am i got up and so took me to get my scripts. then i came home and slept the day away. I am jsut now getting some food. i STILL hurt like hell, and the meds arnt helping, but i guess i dont have a choice till my docs office opens in the am.

When I had my gall bladder attacks, the pain wasn't in my chest but just below my breasts. I was the worse pain I have ever felt in my life. If the doc does suspect gall bladder problems, they will most likely send you in for an ultrasound. When I had mine, (the doc didn't tell me it was for my gall bladder, but I suspected it) the screen showed a concentration of little dots on the screen. I KNEW it was my gall bladder.

I went back for the results a week later on a Wednesday, saw the surgeon on Thursday and had my gall bladder removed on Friday. In and out the same day. I wasn't even in a hospital but one of those out patient surgery centers.

Let us know what the doctor says. It is rediculous they wouldn't call your doctor even though he told you to have them call. Be sure and let him know that they refused.

Get well vibes to ya!

Well I hope its nothing serious and you feel better soon

Originally Posted by Liza24

even tho at the second hospital my BP was up to 180/106. they didnt even say a word about that!

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They sent you home without addressing the 180/106?! Personally I don't like that 180 at all. From what I know of bp, 180 is getting you into serious problems. That is just way too high.

Give your regular doctor a call in the morning..in fact I would just go there as soon as it opens. Explain to the receptionist what is going on, what happened this weekend and see if you can't get in then there.