Resolved question:
I am having issues with chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling tired all the time, hunger, weight gain, bowel movements, different heart rates and heat sensitivity. For the past 8 or so months I have had problems with shortness of breath. It started out just with exercising. The amount of time I could run without feeling out breath kept getting shorter over time. Then I started feeling short of breath by climbing stairs. Within the past 1-1.5 months the shortness of breath has gotten worse. I am short of breath by doing things like walking a track for 30 minutes, unloading dishes in the dishwashers, or other small daily activities. It is also worse when I am lying down. Occasionally my chest would feel a little tight when I would go running, but as of Friday it has been hurting a lot. It feels like someone is pressing really hard nonstop from the inside of my sternum. It hurts when I touch my sternum too. Lying down and taking deep breaths also makes this worse. It doesn't feel good when I stand either. Sitting up in bed helps in feel better, but only a little. Sitting in a chair is where i feel the less pain. The pain lasted for 4 hours and then felt better, but wasn't gone completely. It came back more again yesterday and has been here today as well. There was one point where I barely felt anything, but it's back again. Within the past 2-3 weeks my heart just feels like it is racing a lot for no reason. And after doing small things like walking to the mailbox, taking my dog out, and household chores makes it feel like my heart is pounding very hard in my chest. Lying down makes it worse too. The feeling tired started a few months ago, but for the past 1-1.5 months I feel dead tired. It doesn't matter what time i go to bed, wake up, nap, or anything. My eyes always feel really heavy, but I still have energy. The hunger issue started over the past few months too. No matter what I eat or how much i eat, i always feel hungry right after I eat but I don't eat again. I have also noticed my appetite has decreased within the past few weeks. Even though I haven't really changed what I eat, I have gained 8 pounds within 3 weeks. And within the past week or 2 I have been having more bowel movements. And my sensitivity to heat has gotten a lot worse and I sweat a lot more and easier. I can take a shower at night and the next afternoon my hair will be greasy. I have an appointment with my doctor this Thursday, but I've become a little worried because of the chest pain I've had since Friday and wondered if i should go sooner or if it's even a serious problem.
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Cardiologist
Hello. Feel free to ask queries.
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com.
Your history of recent onset progressive shortness of breath on exertion and new onset chest discomfort at rest occasionally, is significant. It merits investigation. You should get bare minimum investigations like a resting EKG, a 2D ECHO and if the EKG comes out normal, a stress test will be required. Also you should get a complete hemogram, renal function test, a random or fasting blood glucose level and a thyroid function test.
I would suggest you not to delay seeing your cardiologist although some features of your discomfort appear to signify non ischemic etiology (not requiring emergency care). Still its not worth taking chances.
Kind regards.
Should i mention the history to the doctor and let him decide on the investigations you said i should get done?
Thanks for writing to us again.
Yes you should give an elaborate history to the doctor and he will ask you to get the same set of investigations because it's the standard followed all over the world. Once you get the investigations done and the reports are ready, you can upload them and i will assist you further.
Regards
I went to my appointment and my doctor did a EKG during and that turned out fine. She also had me get a chest x-ray (1 from the front and one from the left side) and blood work. The blood work tested amylase, lipid profile, cbc, cmp, d dimer, and h. pylori. Both the blood work and the chest x-rays came back normal. She prescribed zantac and an inhaler, but the chest pain hasn't gotten any better. Over the past couple of days I've also developed a tightness/fullness feeling in my upper abdomen. Do you have any ideas on what it could be?