Has anyone on here been diagnosed with Pericarditis.

[Margaret54]

I had a cat scan late December/early January which showed too much fluid in the sac around my heart. As I hadn't attended attended the surgery I wasn't informed, so I thought everything was OK.

Around 6 weeks ago I started experiencing really strong, burning pain down the front /back/left side of my left chest with pain radiating down my left arm. My Dr diagnosed a trapped nerve in my neck and told me to continue with my normal medication. I asked about the results of the cat scan and the Dr said he wasn't certain what it meant as it just said something about too much fluid in the sac around my heart., and he would send a letter off to the consultant for confirmation.

I received a copy letter from the consultant confirming I had Pericarditis with effusion ba few days before I went to the drop in.

As the pain was progressively getting worse and worse each day, about 10 days ago I couldn't take the pain any longer and i left work early to visit a drop in centre who then referred me straight to the Acute Medical Unit at our local hospital where I was kept in for various tests etc over the weekend.

I am still in a lot of pain and I feel fatigued and weak? I also have high blood pressure and IBS. In the past I have suffered with slipped discs and sciatica and was diagnosed with a degeneration disease of the spine many, many years ago.

I am currently taking 2x 30mg/500 cocodamol every 4-5 hours, my naproxen got changed today to 1x500 morning/evening, because the 3x 250gm made no impact after a week I am also on propanol 80gms morning/night originally prescribed for ocular migraines and 50 gm Amitriptyline taken at night for muscle spasms.

I would appreciate anyone with this condition ,getting back to me.

[SqueakMouse]

Hello there, Margaret54:):)!! I'm so so sorry you've endured such suffering, and I'm also very sorry that I couldn't reply sooner--I've had some medical issues myself that rendered me temporarily out of commission, and I only just returned to the site this evening:(:(. I see it's been 20 days since you first posted, so you might not be in any need of replies by now...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your health has been restored and you are fit as the proverbial fiddle by now:):). But just in case it hasn't, I thought I'd check in with you to see if I could be of any help--I've had pericarditis many times (amongst other things), so at the very least I can offer you a sympathetic ear and an empathic heart:):). And I'd be happy to share my experience/treatment plan/recovery path/etc. too, if that would be useful:):). In the meantime...best wishes for a speedy recovery, and lifelong good health:)

[Margaret54 in reply to SqueakMouse]

Hi SqeakMouse,

After treatment I had an echocardiogram which showed most of the fluid around my heart had dissipated. At the moment I'm feeling ok, fingers crossed I stay this way. I understand that once you've had Pericarditis it can come back. I would be very grateful for any information from you as I'm sure you know a lot more about this condition than I do.

Thank you for responding 😊