Hi all firstly I would just like to say what a helpful site this is to people and found that reading the posts makes me feel alot better that other people are going through something similar as me and I'm not alone.
My problems started a few years ago I started to become short of breath while going up stairs I had been a smoker for many years before but gave up about 8 years ago. I then kept waking up in the night and was having acid reflux and was coughing up white foamy pleghm in the morning and peeing lots for ages especially in the night, I also had slight ankle swelling.
I started to keep fit again and the problems seem to go away but then recently I started to feel out of breath again so I booked a doctor's appointment and when I saw him he said my pulse was very high but blood pressure was okay, I said it must be as I'm stressed and he said he needed to keep an eye on it, funny thing was though I had been sweating for weeks earlier and walking round with my top off in the house, that night after seeing the doctor I went to bed and I got up and ran down stairs as usual for a glass of water and then it started my heart was beating like 400 miles an hour and I felt dizzy I managed to crawl in bed and it stopped and I finally went to sleep.
I woke up in the morning and my heart was beating fast and hard for 4 days I thought I must have an infection but I left it and just laid on couch for 4 days until I couldn't take no more that I ended up going to a &e were they did and ECG and sent me for an xray were they found a shadow on my lung and said I had a lung infection and gave me antibiotics.
I went home and took these antibiotics and my heart didn't stop so I went to doctors who have me another ECG and decided to give me bispoprolol at 2.5 mgs and I have been taking them ever since nearly 6 months, I've not felt right ever since and tried to come off the bispoprolol but can't seem to do it as I came off one time and my heart went like 400 miles an hour again so I went back on them but I have tried to cut down to half.
I noticed my lips have gone a purple colour and my fingernails are a bluish colour and the tips of my fingers are red and cold hands and my tongue has a slight bluish colour to it, I have shown the doctors at the surgery this and a&e and they say it's all in my head and gave me mirtazipine saying it was stress and anxiety and I know it isn't.
I decided to buy a pulse oximeter and I tested my oxygen and it's roughly between 90 -94 when I'm at home warm but if I get up and start walking around it goes up to 97 -98 plus when I'm stressed and my heart is beating hard it's about 97 so when I have seen the doctor's and showed them it's always normal but then I go home and get warm and it's between 90- 94 again.
I decided to take videos and photos of this so the doctor believes me and I found a good doctor who listened to me and they sent me for a chest x-ray to see if all was okay after the shadow on my lung and that has gone and came back normal, but he now wants to do a echocardiogram at the hospital so I'm waiting for an appointment.
This is really worrying me I'm struggling walking anymore and I used to go hiking kayaking mountain climbing cycling etc and now I'm like a zombie.
My question is this has anyone else had similar problems and what was the outcome of the tests.
Thank you for looking sorry it's a long winded question but I appreciate any response.
Hi Marlon, sorry to read you are having a hard time.
If you feel that your docs are wrong, I would document everything.
What you were doing. what your heart rate is, what your O2 sat reading is, coloration etc.
see if you can spot what causes the changes. They cannot say it's in your head if you have a documented history of your symptoms.
50 years ago my dad was fit (a window cleaner) and had a COPD crash, he was put in a mental hospital before being finally properly diagnosed with the disease.
Hey Mick thanks for your reply and yeah they are trying to say that the cyanosis is down to the bispoprolol but I know it isn't.
I just don't know why my oxygen is very low at home when I'm at rest and warm and then it's high when I'm out and about or stressed out, to be honest I think it's something to do with the goodness of my fingers giving me incorrect oxygen saturation readings.
I asked the doctor before to do a blood gas analysis and a Spirometry test and I was told no and given mirtazipine lol as I was told it was all in my head.
My gran had a bypass surgery in her 40s my grandad died at 56 heart attack and his brother 47 heart related again and I told them all this but that was not good enough, my cholesterol at one point was 7.4 to and I have managed to get it down to 6.0 without stations but I think that was due to me finding out I am gluten intolerant and my cholesterol was raised due to inflammation due to gluten sensitivity.
Anyway this new doctor seems to be listening as I videoed and photographed the low oxygen readings at home, I also gave 3 other people the oximeter in the same room and there sats were between 97-99 were mine were between 90 - 94
It's like you have to really fight to get somewhere with the medical community nowadays, I know everyone.is not the same but I keep reading these horror stories everyday in the news we're people are not listen to and people die through negligence it's not fair.
Anyway I'm really sorry to hear about your dad having to go through all that to then to be finally diagnosed that is not right at all, it can happen to anyone I read about a super fit mountaineerer who climbed and ran up.mountains for fun in USA and then he got a chest infection and the bacteria did something to his heart and now he's on a mechanical pump waiting for a transplant so yes it can happen to anyone.
Just a question to anyone on the site what will this echocardiogram tell them once I have had it.
My dad had bisoprolol for quite some time. He had so many different medications that now it’s becoming muddled in my mind but I think it was that one that he had to have like 7/8ths of a pill, like crazy accurate amounts. So many of these medications have horrible side effects.
It’s so frustrating when doctors tell you it’s all in your head, it makes you feel utterly powerless and helpless. Everyone on my dad’s side of the family has heart problems. My dad’s dad passed away before I was born. All the aunts, uncles, cousins have heart problems. My brother who is younger than me is on medication and may need a pacemaker. When I asked a year or so ago about having a check up I was told that’s not necessary 🤔
It’s good to know your new doctor seems to be taking it a bit more seriously. Hopefully you’ll get some answers and relevant help 👍
Hey thanks for that and yes I totally agree some doctors do not listen to you, it's like what's the point in filling out the forms when you join a surgery asking you if your family members had heart disease or high cholesterol etc, they must ask these questions for a reason but when you go in complaining of a similar problem they are not at all interested, and I don't mean all doctors are like that just some, then you have the issue of money though to were the doctor's are being asked to try limiting the referrals unless it's really necessary.
Sorry to hear about the heart disease in your family to it runs in mine, and I know what you mean about some medication I have read some bad experiences people have had on some medication especially this one I'm on bispoprolol and I have read how hard it is to come off that particular drug.
See I have a problem I think that I am suffering from SVT and the bispoprolol is stopping these episodes so it's like if I come off I have SVT episodes and afib and if I stay on I have really horrible side effects.
I think I may be suffering from pulmonary hypertension and that is what is causing my blue nails as I have alot of the symptoms so hopefully soon I will find out.
But hey thank you for the reply and I do hope they are listening to me now it's been a mission to get this far, 6 months of this already and to be honest sometimes due to how I feel I wish I went here and I bet there is alot of people on here who feel the same, makes me sad to read about alot of peoples struggles with some of there conditions on here some of them terminal.
It can be really hard sometimes, when you feel like you have to battle with everyone and everything all the time. But, don’t give up. It’s not easy. But, with the new doctor and the appointments you could soon be getting somewhere, progress at last. And the right treatment, whether that’s surgery or medications, can make such a vast difference to your quality of life. I hope things start to improve for you very soon 🤞
Hi Marlon. Sorry you are not feeling well. The only thing I can say is that I had a year and a half on bisoprolol. Most people call it the Devils drug. It can for many people be a pig to get off. a lot of people have anxiety and breathing issues when they try to come off. And lots including me had to go back on them as the symptoms were unbearable. The only way that worked for me was to buy jewellers scales. With 0000 tolerance. Then you can come off a few micrograms at a time. I eventually got off them this way but it took many months. The doctor will often give these not just for tachycardia but also for people with anxiety. You need to see a cardiologist and don't accept no for an answer. Get it sorted before it sorts you. They can do pretty much anything nowadays with the heart. I have a cow valve. You will probably just need drugs. As for the blue fingers well you would usually be well below those oxygen readings for that to happen. GPs are great but they are a jack of all trades and you need to push for specialists. If only to help your sanity. Good luck.
Hey thank you for your reply and I know what you mean about this bispoprolol it's an awful drug I mean it's stopped the tachycardia and the arrythmias but I tried to come off it before and ended up back on it as my heart started going mental just walking up the road and I thought that was it until I popped another bispoprolol and within a few minutes I was back to my self, well I won't call it myself lol maybe back to my bispoprolol self, but no it is awful and I think this drug is making things much worse.
Does anyone know say if you cut your dose down from 2.5 mg to 1.25 can that cause you to.start having irregular heartbeats as thats what happened to me like a week later so I've ended up putting the dose back up again but then I end up with horrible leg pain.
I know someone else with a cow valve after a chest infection ate away at his other valve so that is good they can do that, hopefully I will get on top of this soon like when they do the echocardiogram hopefully that will give some clue to.what is happening.
I might try measuring the bispoprolol like.you say but is it really that bad, and is there a better alternative to try with less side effects.
An echocardiogram uses sound waves to picture the structure of your heart as it beats, which will help the doctor identify any problems. I had one as part of a battery of tests to check my heart and circulation before the heart consultant diagnosed that my slightly enlarged upper right chamber indicated a lung problem rather than a heart problem. A little while later I was diagnosed with COPD.
Hey thank you for that, it's good to.know.then that they can diagnose a lung problem still looking at the heart, how are they treating you then with that are you on oxygen?
My COPD was found out by accident. On a holiday to Tenerife, my husband and I took the cable car to the top of Mount Teide (3500 metres above sea level). When we got out I was in great distress and had to take the next cable car down. 500 metres lower, I had no problems, and enjoyed the rest of the holiday. As the cable cars had warnings not to use them if you had a heart problem, I went to my GP once home and explained what had happened. He referred me to the cardiac clinic at our local hospital where I had a battery of tests which proved no heart problems, just a lung issue. I'd had enough of hospital tests by then so opted for assessment by my surgery's Respiratory Nurse. She eventually diagnosed me with moderate COPD with asthma overlap (FEV1 68%). I did Pulmonary Rehab, followed lots of suggestions here, started singing groups and exercise a lot more, and my last assessment showed my FEV1 at 82%, an improvement into the normal range. It doesn't affect me normally, but I can get breathless in certain circumstances and have to make sure I pace myself.
Hey yeah I know what you mean there I first started to feel bad when I climbed mount Snowdon last time I was shattered like really tired I mean I used to climb big hills and the odd mountain now and again and even carry my daughter up.on my back to plus other things lol I was like a mule, but the last time I felt so tired, I started to have to lie down after long walks to and felt so so tired, I also started spitting up frothy white pleghm, to be honest I'm sure I have emphysema and maybe pulmonary hypertension due to low oxygen levels, I have told them this but I have been told basically it's all in my head even though my oxygen is usually between 90 - 94 resting.
But hey what would I know as I'm not a medical professional as it seems but I will tell you one thing I have lived in my body for nearly 43 years and I know when something is not right and I bet alot of you felt the same when you get fobbed off, I am an intelligent man to I am a radio ham operated, I'm a computer technician and I used to be in charge of lots of tropical marine fish and inverts and I have kept some of the most delicate species alive and thriving, I also carried out lots of tests and diagnosed and treated aquatic diseases but when I give suggestions to my doctor I'm not a medical professional so what would I know even though it's happening in my body and not there's lol.
Hey thanks for the reply though I am glad they got you sorted and your doing much better.
please research magnesium deficiency and symptoms of magnesium deficiency also research benefits of vitamin d3 k2mk7 research calcification of organs caused by to much calcium also research drinking celery juice every morning on a empty stomach goodluck
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