First off, I know any responses on here are no substitute for professional medical help, but my experience lately with various GPs leaves something to be desired and I need to compare notes with others to try and understand exactly what is - or may - be ailing me.
Around the end of October 2023, after a prolonged period of stress ( my dog became poorly and I eventually had to have him put to sleep ), I started to feel ill. I had a pain across my back between the shoulder blades and a pain in the bicep of my left arm. Then I started to get palpitations ( have actually had those for longer ), then pain in the bicep of my right arm too ; both arms also felt a bit heavy. Next came frequent periods when I felt what I can only describe as feverish, with a hot sensation across the brow. I'm also getting headaches most days, and even on days when I'm not still get twinges there. I had very bad indigestion for a time. I've also had twinges around my left shoulder blade and across the left breast. Nothing unbearable, but definitely not normal. To put it bluntly, I feel more aware of my heart than ever before, such as when I bend over or am lying in bed. The palpitations mostly feel like a beat is being missed, though on a couple of occasions I've also felt it start to race and have had to take a deep breath to bring it back into rhythm. I hasten to add I've also been feeling more tired than usual, and just lately have had twinges in my jaw and even teeth.
A blood test showed up nothing other than slightly raised cholesterol and a slightly below average red blood cell count. An ECG came back normal. But, something is definitely amiss. Even as I write this, I can feel my heart jumping in my chest. It could well be I picked up a virus some weeks back that has led to these symptoms. However, there's a history of heart disease in the family, and my symptoms seem similar in some respects to those my mother had before dying from a heart attack in February 2019. She had three of her main arteries 90% occluded, but it was never picked up by her GP or the local hospital.
Given I'm not having much luck myself with my local GP practice either, I wonder whether a trip to the local A&E may be in order since whatever I have simply isn't getting any better.
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rsg74
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I am sorry to hear about you losing your Mum and a pet is part of the family to so a lot to deal with
I always think we know our own bodies better than anyone else and we know when something could be wrong and for me if I was not satisfied with what the Doctor was saying then I would go to A&E it is always best to be checked out rather than sitting wondering
You could also if you have not already ask your Doctor to do a referral to the heart Consultants even though the waiting time maybe quite a while
I hope you make the right choice for you and let us know how you get on x
I would definitely get a second opinion I hope A&E or more helpful x given your family history I would of thought they would take you more seriously! 💔
Sorry to see all you've been through and the loss of your mum and beloved pet. I would maybe try A&E too as BeKind28 and Yumz199725 have also suggested. I wish you well and hope you get answers and get better real soon. Please let us know how you get on and please take care.
A&E is for 'Accident and Emergency' as I am sure you are aware and is not there to provide investigations unless you qualify as an accident or emergency admission. We also are led to believe the service is under pressure at the present time, more so because of the current action by junior doctors. So unless you believe you qualify as an accident or emergency admission, you should be seeking an appointment with your GP and if he/she can't advise on the source of your malaise, you should ask for a referral to a specialist in general medicine or whatever branch of medicine your GP believes to best match the symptoms you are describing. And if your GP cannot do that you should ask for a second opinion, which you are entitled to ask for although your request may not be fulfilled
One thing I have found helpful in the past when I have been unable to get in touch with the gp is to talk to 111 they are wonderful, you can speak to a medical professional who will advise on th e best course of action. It can also put your mind at rest which may relieve your symptoms if anxiety is the problem. Give them a go.
Yes. I would really support BaronFs view, and call 111 if I was in your situation. They are invaluable in sorting out if action is needed and where to go.
We experience many symptoms that worry us, not all serious enough to warrant an A and E visit, and (though it can be quite lengthy) 111 will give you best advice,
Go back to GP and be clear you have chest pain. They should then initiate a referral to rapid chest pain clinic, which has a target of seeing people within 2 weeks- however as all our aware often these targets are unachievable..... But my experience is they will try!
A lot of what you relate is familiar to me. I have a condition in the stomach that causes blood loss. It’s called GAVE. It’s a bit like having varicose veins in your bowel that erode when food is processed..This leads to iron deficiency anemia. Despite taking iron tablets daily I need a top up of RBC red blood cells by transfusion. It started with my iron levels dropping ever so slightly over a long period. It was not really picked up until I had a blood test and was told as a matter of urgency to go to A&E for a blood transfusion. This was after I was telling them I was not just tired but exhausted all the time.
Since then I’ve had cameras down throat with plasma lasers to cauterise areas of bleeding but still require blood transfusions for topping up Red Blood cells and iron infusions. I’ve been an inpatient at the hospital twice for 8 or 9 days at a time. I have to have blood tests every 3 months. The hospital insisted to the GP that it take place.
I was getting aches in both biceps. It brought on an arrhythmia problems ( premature heart beats, palpitations difficulty in breathing and eventually wheezing) Also pains in my limbs and cramping. For various reasons I was under stress as well which didn’t help. I think at one time they thought it was all in my head. Very disconcerting.
Recently I was getting hots / colds and cramping in hands/ legs at night. There is a bug going round.
Just saying this as there are different reasons apart from heart that can make you feel unwell this way. My mum died of a heart attack so it is at the back of your mind.
You can get a second opinion if you’re worried but I would speak to the GP again and tell him/her of your concerns. These days you will get nowhere without making your own case and pushing a bit since they mostly can only dedicate a few minutes before the next patient.
whether you have GAVE or VASE it is helpful if you spell out acronyms which are not heart related, many find them confusing. I could not find a medical deffinition of VASE which seemed to fit your description
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we all have to start somewhere - but as an ex health professional i knw that acronyms are confusing to everyone who has not heard them before - this group is fairly familiar with the heart related ones but even then it's always good practice to spell them out at least the first time you use less common ones in a post - they even do it in medical journals aimed aed people who are familiar with them
Hi, in my case I had less symptoms than you, however very similar. Trop blood levels eventually rose, A&E was the way for me. Which ever, just get it checked. Kev.
A&E is for Accidents and Emergencies only, not for investigations. Nothing you describe would be considered an emergency. If you are not getting help from your G P why not ring the BHF nurses. They are experts and give wonderful advice. They could maybe suggest a better way to describe your worries to your GP. Alternatively get advice from 111. It's frustrating when you know something isn't right. My own GP took absolutely no notice of my family history until after my heart attack. It was only a newly qualified young doctor at the urgent care centre (I'd phoned 111) who mentioned it and wrote to my GP to suggest tests. (Too late as it happened).
I have already rung 111 twice. On the first occasion I got to speak to a nurse who arranged for a GP from my local surgery to call me back later that day. During the stressful period my dog was ill I had been drinking to excess, so she thought I may be anaemic, and that's when I had blood tests, the results of which I gave earlier. Though my red blood cell count was below average, they said that didn't mean I was anaemic. The GP also advised an ECG due to the palpitations, which showed my electrical activity to be normal. And that was it.
Still suffering from the same symptoms, some weeks later I spoke to a cardiac nurse on the BHF website. Once I'd explained what my symptoms were she said I needed to ring 111 asap. I did, and the nurse on their said I should take an aspirin ( 300mg ) and wait for an ambulance. Then I received a call from a paramedic quizzing me on my symptoms. Once he was told I'd been feeling unwell for some weeks, he said I wasn't really an emergency case, so to speak, and that it wouldn't be useful for paramedics to attend. Later on I received a call from another GP at my local surgery. Having explained my symptoms again, the GP put it down to stress and indigestion, prescribing yet mote Lansoprazole. I asked how that would help for the headaches, feeling hot, tiredness, bicep pain, etc, etc, but she said it was all related to stress. And that was that.
I am fully aware that A&E is for accidents and emergencies, and that they're already under enormous pressure, even without the current strike by junior doctors. Nevertheless, general practice is no longer fit for purpose, and we are being forced to increasingly present ourselves to A&E to get any kind of medical care. I have suffered from depression for nigh on 30 years, which has never been properly addressed. I was not in a good place through winter 2022/23, but hit a brick wall when trying to get some form of psychiatric help. The upshot was that if my symptoms were acute, then I should present myself to A&E - in other words, precisely what I'd like to avoid.
My local hospital does have a walk-in clinic of sorts, but I believe you have to be referred through NHS 111 to get an appointment. It seems, then, that I either need to ring 111 again or try another GP at my local practice.
I have just registered with my local GP surgery's online consultancy portal. It says ' the practice is at capacity - not currently taking new requests - Next availability Fri, 5 Jan', 8:00 am '.
Looks like I'll have to go down the 111 route, as I don't doubt whatever appointments are available tomorrow morning will be taken very quickly. Previously, you would have to ring first thing at 8 am, and by the time you actually got to speak to a receptionist, all the appointments for that day would be filled. Now, instead, you try online and get the same negative result.
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