Over the past two weeks or so Alex has had some new stuff going on. It started with what I guess are anxiety attacks. She had feeling of doom and gloom, felt like her heart was racing, tightness in her chest and she was pretty emotionally unstable. I took her in to the pediatrician who rx'd Xanax; it has worked pretty well. She says it helps her to calm down anyway, and not worry so much.
Aside from the tightness in her chest she has also been having severe stabbing type pains a couple times daily. We were assuming it was heartburn; she has reflux a lot and is taking Nexium twice a day, but this was different. We talked to her GI Doc on the phone and she said to try Tagamet; it has helped some...maybe. We managed to actually get in to see the GI doc and she prescribed Carafate; thinking possible duodenal ulcer. She said if it didn't work we needed to get Alex a cardiac consult.
I called back yesterday and told the doctor the Carafate didn't seem to help and it was causing severe diarrhea. So, now they are arranging a cardiac consult. They want to get her an EKG and echocardiagram to make sure her heart isn't the problem. Alex originally told me she thought she was having a heart attack. I'd like to bury my head in the sand now, but this needs to be taken off the table before she undergoes surgery. Anyone see the House episode with the young girl with Cushing's? She presented with a heart attack.
Hi Rene, I'm so sorry Alex is going through all this. While you must explore all the reasons that might be causing her symptoms, I just wanted to share an experience I had. While at the gym, I started experiencing tightness in my chest, stabbing pain when I breathed deeply, and shortness of breath. I went straight to the ER where they started treating me for a heart attack, and started running tests. All came back negative, what I had actually experienced was a severe panic attack. Considering the depression and anxiety Alex has been going through, perhaps this is what could be causing her symptoms? I hope you get some answers soon, and that all will be fine so she can get to surgery.
ReplyDeleteYou're in my prayers, take care.
Jenny R.
Thanks so much! The anxiety and the pain don't seem to coincide, I don't know what that means. On the other hand the Xanax does seem to possibly help.
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