ER visit last night

After having sharp chest pains in the center and leftsided chest area and also pain in the center of my back for 11/2 days I made a call. Not to the doc but to my brother who is a paramedic in Missouri. (he's my go to guy for questions) He told me to go straight to the er because I could feel my heart beat in my upper stomach area. Evidently you should not be able to feel it there.so my symptoms were consistant with an aortic anyurism. So then I called my cardio to reaffirm the visit to the er. It was the same answer. So off I went at 8:00 p.m. (I HATE GOING TO THE ER!) After xrays & blood work I sat waiting for the doc. He came in and said that there was a blood test that could detect if I had a pulmunary embolism, but that it often gives out false negatives so we needed to hope for a normal result. Well as luck would have it it came back positive so off I went for a ct scan. Luckily it came back ok. no clots anywhere, Thank God for that. The pain that I was having were very similar to those I had when I had Pericartitis last year. So now I take 3 Advil,3 times a day for 3 days. He sugested remembering the 3-3-3 rule for anyone that has ever experienced Pericartitis. If the pain doesn't go away by then go see your doctor. Did you all know about that blood test (DD?? test)? I thought it was very informative and possibly helpful in the future those for us with A-Fib. But the end result for me was that I got to go home at 5:30 in the morning Hurrah!! So now I am just wiped out physically the Advil seems to be working so far. Well I gotta go to bed and get some more sleep.
Hope the blood test information is helpful the A-Fibbers ot there
Good night all!
Mona

3 Comments

Thank-you

by ShadowWeaver - 2009-04-17 02:04:56

That is good information to have. Thank-you very much. I am glad that you are feeling better and that it ended up not being that serious. Must be nice to get to go home less then 12 hours later. lol

Blood test

by Pookie - 2009-04-17 04:04:10

the DD test? perhaps you mean the D-Dimer test. it will show the docs if you MIGHT have clots. It's not the best test in the world, as explained to me, but if the results are WAY out of range, there are other tests that can be done to find clots. Been there, done that, bought the Tshirt. LOL.

I'm just curious as I find the ER system fascinating... were you comforable leaving with the information they gave you? and did they go over with you what signs to look for for clots?

Never heard of the 3-3-3 rule as when I experienced Pericarditis and Pleural Effusion, I was given Prednisone. Ripped my stomach to shreds!!!!!!

Glad you got yourself checked out. And hope you can catch up on some well needed rest.

8pm to 5:30am....wow, that was fast.

Did the ER doctors tell you what they thought your pain might be from?

Pookie

ER visit

by jessame - 2009-04-18 12:04:56

It was the D-Dimer test. I just couldn't remember the name. The doc was very informative when it came to that blood test by telling me that there are so many things that could give a false positive that's why he told me to keep my fingers crossed that it would come back as normal. Had it come back normal it would have saved me the CT scan.
As far as the ER visit I felt fairly comfortable leaving when they told me that it wasn't my heart. All the tests came back normal and I believe they were very pro-active. I have been going to this hospital for over 23 years(gave birth to my daughter there). They have a great staff!
They were not able to tell me what was causing the pain but when I told them that the pain was very similar to the pain associated with Pericarditis that I had the previous year the doc then suggested the 3-3-3 rule for treatment. Within the first 24 hours the pain was almost gone, so I guess it works. I can't remember what they gave me last year when I had it but it wasn't the same medication they prescribed for you (sounds like I should be thankful it wasn't)
Now that you brought up the question about blood clot symptoms... the doc didn't go over that with me.Guess I have some reading to do.

After the response to the hours I spent in the er It sounds like I should consider myself one of the lucky ones :)
I was told to follow up with my pc on Monday but considering how much better I'm feeling I don't think it will be necessary. I have already seen him twice in the last month, he is probably sick of me LOL

I actually have the most wonderful primary care doctor. He gives the patient as much time as they need during their visits with him. Most doctors I have come across get you in and out as quickly as possible. I am very lucky to have him. He is a keeper!

If I ever go back maybe I will get a T-Shirt. I hope they have them in various colors:) I'll let you know what color I get!

Mona

You know you're wired when...

You forecast electrical storms better than the weather network.

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I, too, am feeling tons better since my implant.