My Symptoms. Heart related?

[LibertyGirl]

Hello,
I am new. I have been in and out of hospitals a lot in the past 2 months. So far, no conclusions.
Here are my symptoms,
*****
§ Excruciating pain along the spine, ribs and shoulder blades (Somedays)
§ Deep, intense stabbing pain that comes in various locations – abs, spine, chest, finger, head rtc.
§ Abdominal stiffness and upper-abdominal pain. Muscle twitches in the mid-upper abdomen and around the navel. Worse with hiccupping, burping, yawning and bowel movements.
§ Constipation, Painful bowels and Bloody stools.
§ Chest Pain- intense chest pain
§ Constant burping (every 2-3 seconds) and yawning
§ Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing when breathing through the nose. Gets really bad with exertion.
§ Palpitations and nervousness. A weird feeling in the chest and upper bosy of the heart beating or pounding when i wake up from a sitting position.
§ Crushing feeling- pressure like feeling in the head and upper chest. Feels like a pressure on the upper body.
§ Very bad Migraines with facial pain and visual disturbances
§ The muscle tissues and tendons under the skin in the trunk area, can be felt and are very tender to touch
§ Weakness and fatigue – get exhausted too quickly

*****
So far, we've done a number of Rheumatic blood tests and they are all negative. There are no signs of inflammation. I saw a Neurologist, who has put me on Amitriptyline for my migraines and muscle pain. My PCP thinks the pain may be sue to fibromyalgia but i do not have any of those tender points that have been associated with it. The chest pain is sometimes very very severe and also slightly to the left. I personally am sort of positive this has nothing to do with the heart but we havent done any screening on that yet. They did an abdominal CT scan which looked fine. The head CT came negative too. I am meeting up with a GI specialist also on June 6th. I may wanna get the bowels and GI related stuff checked. I have read someplace that constant burping, shortness of breath and chest pain may also be associated with cardiac symptoms. Is that true? Would it be wise to have an exam done for that? If so, what exams are recommended. I shall also be posting in other categories coz its been 2 months and i still don't know what specialty to go to.
I have tried zantacs and all those things but it doesn't seem to wanna help. The Amitriptyline has reduced my headaches and frequency of stabbing pains. I also get good night sleep with those.
Is there anything i need to worry about. Personally, I am very optimistic and think this may not be a very serious condition. I do not have a family history of heart diseases.
Please advise. Thank you.

[Shannon Morgan, CMA]

I'm sure you have at least had an ECG? Are you obese? How old are you? On birth control pills or HRT? Smoker? Drinker? Obesity could exlain the shortness of breath on exertion if no heart disease. Has it been recommended you have a stress test -- aside from an angiography that would be the most accurate test to detect that.

Bloody stools if not hemmorhoids should be evalutated by a GI, good that you are seeing one.

Palpitations, and sometimes chest pain, althoughg not to the extent you are having, either mitral valve prolapse (usually mild and harmless, although palpitations feel more serious). You need an echocardiogram for that.


Majority of your symptoms can be and very often are depression/anxiety disorder. If every thing is cleared, you need to see a psychiatrist to be treated properly. Family doctors are really not trained in that area. Try to reduce your stress level if at all possible in the meantime.

[LibertyGirl]

Hi again.
Sorry for the late reply.
No i am not obese. I am 24 and weight 98-100 lbs. I am 5 feet tall. I have always been very active until this started. I could easily do 2 aerobic classes back to back. I do not smoke or drink at all. I eat healthy food. I am usually not depressed either. I do the things i normally do. Try to enjoy all the things to the fullest. Its just the physical barrier. There are days i just cant do anything because there is so much pain. I am seeing various doctors. I am seeing a GI soon. I have absolutely no idea what may have caused this because my lifestyle is still the same except with a lot of pain:)
Well, they havent done an echocardiogram or ECG. All they did was 60 seconds of EKG. But then again, the time they ran the exam, i wasnt feeling the way i described.
The symptoms are so vague. Today i am constantly burping and have a chest pain because of the gas buildup. Also, my back realy hurts to a point that i cant bend even to brush or wash hands in the sink.
Ain't this weird. From perfectly healthy to perfectly ill :) LOL...
I hope i can have them run more exams!!! Tired of this although i try not to even think about it coz sometimes its more mind over matter.
I will keep ya posted. Thanks for your time and reply. I appreciate it.
LibertyGirl

[Shannon Morgan, CMA]

Strange someone so health conscious could suddenly develop all these symptoms; I was picturing quite a different person!!

Just an aside, if you didn't take the Zantac twice daily every day, it won't work - it's not an antacid. Try some Gaviscon (best OTC antacid) when you have the gas buildup and belching and start taking the Zantac 150 mg twice per day - that will probably give you some relief while you are waiting on the GI appointment. He may suggest an endoscopy as well as a colonoscopy.

Yes, burping, chest pain and shortness of breath can be related to heart disease, but angina or coronary artery disease, which you are too young to have yet, and don't appear suddenly. An echocardiogram would be a good idea, though.

Do keep me posted, I am interested in what is found.