Off Topic but after advice for my sister with hashis and RA

[sbadd]

Sister admitted to hospital this morning with stiffness to jaw area and hands and numbness and pins n needles to face hands etc, doctors saying panic attack which she does not suffer, had tightness in rib area, done ecg and bloods, not sure what bloods but say normal, one doct wanted to do ct of head and heart and ultrasound neck, was released without these being done and told follow up with gp, my question has any body with RA and thyroid suffered this or thoughts to what this can be, ive told her to get gp to do these tests that they didnt? Oh and have told her to have b12 checked

[Hillwoman]

I'm very sorry to hear of this. Your sister should not have been discharged without the scans being done. Far too often, a woman admitted with a set of symptoms that could look vaguely like a panic attack will receive that as a diagnosis. It's the path of least resistance for medics. A man would be investigated for cardiac issues.

My own feeling is that your sister really needs appropriate investigations as soon as possible to rule out the most serious likely problems. Women present differently to men during an acute cardiac episode, whether angina or MI. If she's well enough to get to her GP, could you make an emergency appointment?

[sbadd in reply to Hillwoman]

Shes going tomorrow to see gp as hospital have said for her to possibly have scans done, they even knew of aneurysm on my mums side and stroke on my dads side, dont understand why they weren't done then and there and i dont believe these neuro symptoms were just stress, she's not one to make things up and was only recently late last year diagnosed with the RA.

[Hillwoman in reply to Hillwoman]

Just add, if your sister had a troponin blood test, it might not have been the high sensitivity version that women require in order to rule out heart attack (MI).

[sbadd in reply to Hillwoman]

I have no idea what they tested and she didnt get copy of bloods, i will be on her case tommorow as in aus and 7.30pm now, i have been on this forum for around a year now and so much helpful advice, i have learnt so much about thyroid and other important things that i never knew, so im armed and ready to go to get her all the tests she needs, i also have hashis and had low b12 this time last year and have had some of the neuro symptons shes had, but i know alot more now thanks to this forum and to not just take one doct advice as ive lost trust in them as no one seems to be able to tell me what my issues are.

[Lora7again]

When I was admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack last year I had an ecg and a blood test to rule out there was anything wrong with my heart. I am sure your sister would have been given a similar blood test and it would have shown if it was her heart. I was actually having a thyroid storm which can look like a heart attack. I think your sister needs further investigations and should ask her Doctor to refer her for more detailed tests. I personally would want a brain scan because of those symptoms just to rule out certain things.

[sbadd in reply to Lora7again]

Yes for sure ive told her a ct is quick and easy which is what they suggested, my father died from pulmonary odema so given this history i think it should have been done today.

[Hillwoman in reply to Lora7again]

The problem is that the standard troponin blood test currently performed in A&E is insufficiently sensitive to pick up heart attack in women. Women present differently with CVD, and while sbadd's sister may have a neurological problem instead, or symptoms of B12 deficiency etc, . MI is common, and ought to be one of the first things that are intensively investigated. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate this just does not happen for women admitted to A&E, anywhere in the developed world.

[sbadd in reply to Hillwoman]

Thankyou this is why im insisting she gets the CT of heart with dye contrast, thankyou for all your input, ive just checked in on her, im being mother hen lol

[Hillwoman in reply to sbadd]

You're welcome. Let's hope for the best.

My extra explanation above was in answer to lora7again, so I hope I didn't seem repetitive.

[sbadd in reply to Hillwoman]

Not at all

[Lora7again in reply to Hillwoman]

I thought a ecg would pick up a heart attack?

[Hillwoman in reply to Lora7again]

ECG is notoriously unreliable for diagnosing MI in either men or women. There is also the problem that in women, the arrhythmias that accompany MI are usually absent, and the most likely cause of heart attack in women is arterial spasm, which presents differently to standard infarction caused by a clot. It requires a slightly different set of investigations.

[Lora7again in reply to Hillwoman]

Well I had 2 in the course of a few hours last year because of my thyroid storm and I had 1 a couple of weeks ago when I was sent to A & E and I was told my heart was completely normal. I don't really suffer with any chest pain except when I had my chest infection and my blood pressure is normal at the moment because I take it everyday.

[sbadd]

Thankyou will get her head and heart scan done for now and go from there, so hard with her having hashis and now RA, shes on 50mcg levo and been fine for years on that dose, her tsh always under 1, unlike mine lol so i dont think its thyroid at all related.

Stiff hands could be RA related but unsure about the other neuro stuff, she said it just came on and the tingling in face and hands lasted few hours, she also had heavy calves last week, which ive definately experienced, poor chicken shes only 42.

[Hidden in reply to sbadd]

I'm so sorry to hear it, it's very distressing x my mam has hashis and a RA, but certainly had some flare ups, she suffers from stiffness, years ago she collapsed a couple of times, which she was told was a panic attack, but they admitted her, ran all tests and scans for a week and nothing. Which for me it concludes, it's autoimmune. However, is there a specific cardiac hospital clinic nearby? We have one here in Dublin , you can go there 24/7 and they are more thorough than in generic a&e. When I complained of palps years ago, I was admitted for 2 days, had ct scan, ultrasound and x-ray. Thyroid storm is another one, as Lora mentioned. When I was overmedicated I had endless tingling and pins and needles, stiffness to the point of nausea, weakness, palps for weeks.

[sbadd]

I know so frustrating dam auto immune as if ones not bad enough

[Hidden]

I have just heard on the tell, that to see a rheumy in Ireland on HSE the wait is between 2-5 years!!! No wonder we need to go private

[Hidden]

Silly politics good woman! I have to go private for everything, otherwise it's a disaster. Ireland really is bad for it's medical world, it's much better in Poland where I'm from!

[Lora7again]

This might be of interest to you it is about thyroid disease over the ages

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Lora7again]

It is quite old and by someone from India but I found it quite interesting.