New to site

[MaiaK]

Hi, I’ve been reading posts with lots of interest. I was diagnosed with angina 18 months ago, in hospital for 5 days, angioplast, no stent but slight narrowing of artery so left hospital with a cocktail of meds, which has ended up affecting my stomach, so having investigations into that when all I wanted was doctor to change the medication! I always have reaction to any medication, they don’t seem to listen to me at all. The one thing I have noticed on this site people talk about their cardiologist, what cardiologist? I had two line letter stating what was wrong and feel like I’ve just been left with all these side effects and doctors not really interested. Feel like stopping all if the meds, don’t know where to find help to sort this out. Would it be worth paying privately to try and get some answers?

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

Hi MaiaK. Welcome to the forum. Sorry you have been feeling rather abandoned by the Cardiologists. These are not easy times are they?

Do you have a GP you can speak to about the meds? A private referral is always an option, and you should get the time for discussion you want. Did you rate the Cardiologist who did your angiogram 18 months ago?

My view is that it’s never a good idea to just stop meds without discussing it with a professional you trust. But they do often take a lot of juggling to get a combination that suits you.

[Bettyboo25]

Hello

It must be so frightening and confusing for you to be diagnosed with a new condition in this pandemic . I hope that the posts on here offer you as much support as I have had over time .

Heart medications do sometimes upset the digestive system and tablets are often given to counteract this . You shouldn’t stop taking your heart medication before you have a consultation with your GP initially . He will work with you to access what needs to be done next and arrange a further referral to a cardiologist .

I can’t speak for others and my condition is different to yours but when I left hospital I had an outpatients appointment to see a cardiologist and before the pandemic had regular 6 monthly appointments with him .

I would suspect that you will be sent a follow up appointment and if not you need to pursue why you haven’t had one.

Good luck and I hope you are feeling better soon .

[Debtyd]

Hiya,I know how frustrating it all is but if I've learnt anything,it's not to take yourself off of any meds,especially those prescribed for angina.,without professional guidance. And believe it or not that tiny little aspirin pill is {in my opinion} the most scariest one of them all.I was diagnosed just by cardiologist looking at me checking my bp which was eye poppingly high.quick trace on ecg was "satisfactory".first visit terrified me cos they're all convinced I have angina.i was gutted.gave me NG under tongue spray..made me feel no different, high dosage statins and angina tabs still felt yuk just worse .had echo..months later I had to hunt down results myself, it was ☆all clear☆..ct scan finally2wks ago..was"blurry"even though it was checked before I left as contrast leaked out of my veins{fyi..this im told is a rare occurance so dont worry},just in case they had to re do imaging,.it looked "clear enough"now I gotta go in for standby invasive angiogram to get a good look😞as it looks like some narrowing but can't teĺl how much and I'm grounded for my birthday wkend😔. My son paid to get a private echocardiogram for approx£3000 😲😲😲just to be given same answer..all clear..though I'm told echo isn't as detailed as ct. just be persistant by telling them you still feel "wrong"and don't stop your meds by yourself it could create many new problems.good luck you'll get there xx

[MaiaK in reply to Debtyd]

Thank you nice to read someone else has not had totally smooth run.

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I found my local pharmacist very helpful in explaining the purpose of any new meds, how they work and their possible side effects as well as possible alternatives which I could discuss with my Gp. Good luck!