Still Feeling Pressure

Had emergency surgery on July 15 this year for third degree heart block. I have healed up well on the outside, but continue to feel pressure in my center near where the ribs on either side come together. It feels like I've swallowed a bone, a heaviness, and it's quite uncomfortable. I had a second opinion the other day from another cardiologist, and he told me that he thought this feeling was in my head and that if the feeling didn't go away I should talk it out with someone. That would be really boring talk therapy! The feeling is very real and I have posted here before about this and only had one response from someone(apologize for not remembering who it was) who said the feeling went away for him after a couple of months. I'm wondering if anyone else had this feeling and if I can expect it to resolve after more time. I'm getting ready to ask the Dr. to xray me again to see if the wires could be putting pressure on me somewhere. Thanks in advance for any comments.

5 Comments

Sorry you experienced that Doctor

by Grateful Heart - 2013-11-12 11:11:07

Sometimes instead of saying they don't know, some Doctors feel they have to come up with an answer. I've had a couple of them myself. One said the fluid around my heart causing me pain 18 days after my implant could be fat. That's what he said when called in on a quick consult.....FAT. That's what he saw on my echo.

Wrong....it was fluid.

You may want to ask your Doctor if he/ she would order an echo if you haven't had one recently. That would detect any fluid. It's not common, but it can happen. Mine hurt more if I took a deep breath, just off centered in my chest.

Good luck tomorrow,

Grateful Heart

Sorry:(

by Tick-tock - 2013-11-12 11:11:36

I wish I had some answers for you. The Dr. Who told you in was in your head should be ashamed! First off, a patients concern should never be pushed aside. A pain/discomfort scale is subjective- it is different for all of us. I'm hoping that it is part of your healing process, and will diminish with time. However, if it is painful, or causing you discomfort and you are not able to get answered from the dr, go to the ER. They usually will attempt to rule out possible complications, and most likely provide you with an X-ray. When it comes to your health, your life- DO NOT settle!!

Change your doc

by HK - 2013-11-13 02:11:12

If u r unhappy with ur doc ( I am unhappy for you) then get copies of ur medical records and march over to the cardio of ur choice. No doctor should be disrespectful to you or about your complaints. You can fire him, it's ur choice but your complaints are valid and u deserve answers. Don't settle!!!

feeling same

by dolly74 - 2013-11-13 06:11:40

hi i feel exactly same had my replacement box on 22nd Oct and i too feel the pressure and also pressure in my neck i went for pm check and also cardioligist and had echo ecg and all is ok could not find a reason with all tests done....what she did say was to go to my ggp to arrange blood tests to rule out fee things i was so afraid of it being blocked arteries because of course i Google my symptoms but she reassured me heart was pacing very well...hope u get sorted

Thank you!

by HoneyBadger - 2013-11-16 08:11:03

Many thanks for everyone's comments and support. Yes, it's easy for doctors to say "its all in your head" when they haven't had an implant themselves.

I'm guessing it's just going to take some time to get over this feeling- I'm hoping so- and some days, I feel more "normal" than others. The past few days I'm noticing the feeling a little less, hope the trend continues.

Dolly74- hope you are feeling much better as time goes on. It's still a very recent operation for you, probably need more time to heal. Take care and thanks for taking the time to respond.

You know you're wired when...

You can hear your heartbeat in your cell phone.

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