When you just don't feel right...go to the Dr.

Glad to hear your testing is coming back with good results. Better luck getting those appts. ps. I like chiropractic care, mine is very knowledgeable & makes me feel better without waiting!!

 

Thanks, I like my Chiro . Wish I could find a family practice doc like him.

Well I pretty much expected these tests to come back normal considering my lifestyle, diet and general health, but ya never know.

I've been trying to find out any reason my BP would have been so different in each arm (left was lower than right, right was really high) and what the causes, acceptable difference etc are.
Well only 10mmhg difference is acceptable, mine was about 20mmhg difference. Nurse commented that she has never seen #'s like mine. From what I have found, that seems to point to a congenital defect/condition. The Echo should confirm or possibly deny that, but a CT scan is better. I'm still researching.

Anyone ever had BP tested in both arms checked and had a big difference in results?

 

Glad to hear everything is coming back good. If I can remember on Monday and we are not too busy I'll try to take a few different BP on both arms to see how it turns out. Never thought it would be different on the other arm we were just taught to ask which arm a patient preferred.???

My GF just had the 24 hr monitor about a week ago and she had some extremely high spikes in her heart rate at the most akward times. Sometimes in the car, sleeping a few times, and watching tv. She says it feels like her heart is skipping a beat every now and then. Supposed to see the doc Monday to go over the results and hopefully figure out where she should go next.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

 

Hey Foxy,

I'm not a doctor, but I am an ICU nurse. From reading about your symptoms, I think there is a good possibility that your problem may not be cardiac related. Have you had a thyroid study done? Alot of what you mentioned are textbook symptoms for hyperthyroidism, which is very common in young women. The thyroid is a small gland in your neck that regulates your metabolism. It excretes a couple of hormones, T4 and T3 (thyroxine and triiodothyronine, respectively). Excess secretion of these hormones can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure. Other symptoms include nervousness, hot flashes, and anxiety. Exhaustion is common during physical exertion, and you may even notice a little hair falling out, especially during brushing or washing it.

The good news is that if it is indeed your thyroid, there are a myriad of treatment options available. In healthcare thyroid disorders are generally regarded as "fun" because they are typically easily treated and the patient recovers very rapidly.

I noticed you are taking Toprol XL. That drug is classified as a "beta blocker" and it is very effective at treating the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, however it will not resolve the problem. I hope this info helps...Please keep us informed as to your progress.

 

Sorry, meant to mention this...variations in blood pressure from arm to arm are not at all uncommon. I don't know why the nurse told you this.

 

Wow! Being able to access your labwork online rocks! Hard to believe that we've come so far! I'm glad everything came back fine!

 

Now that ia great that the labs came back OK, bet you feel way better knowing this.
I will pray that the others will come back with flying colors also

 

That was great news lady....still be sending prayers up for continued good results and some resolve to the issues and concerns you still have.....

 

Nurse said BP is usually very close on both arms, they should be less than 10 difference.

If you don't mind, keep me posted on how your GF is doing and how her tests come out. I hope they figure it out quickly and she starts feeling better soon.

 

Yup, I had thought about thyroid problems. I actually have more symptoms of hypothyroidism, I have unexplained weight gain with trouble losing even with a healthy diet and exercise, muscle spams/aches, some hair loss, some fatigue. My Doc had the TSH test (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) : This protein hormone is secreted by the pituitary gland and regulates the thyroid gland. A high level suggests your thyroid is underactive, and a low level suggests your thyroid is overactive), my results are normal. Here is a copy from my test results showing, test-result-range.
TSH. 7580 1.47 mIU/l
0.40-4.50
I just noticed the T4 FREE test was also completed and normal, here are those results
FREE T4 FREET4 1.4 ng/dl
0.8-1.8

I have not started taking Toprol XL yet as I want to know the 'why' before I start a treatment for something I don't have.

I was told variations of 10mmhg was acceptable and common, mine was more than that, but I don't know the original #'s. The nurse said she had never seen such a large difference in the #'s for each arm and the Doc agreed.

Thanks for the input.

 

Continuing thanks to everyone who keeps reading this tread and sending your thoughts my way .

Basically I'm playing the waiting game till March when the next set of testing is scheduled.

I think I'm going to head back to the gym a few days a week and just keep it low key, I think staying out is stressing me more. I feel safer working out at the gym than jogging around the block since there are trainers there and AED machines in case something bad were to happen and then I can keep an eye on my heart rate and see if it gets better.

I'm still avoiding the meds until after the cardiac testing is complete and something is diagnosed, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Even though all my labs came back normal, I'm going to see if some diet changes can help, they surely can't hurt so why not! I started on a multivitamin, cut out even more sugar and caffeine, cut back on extra salts and fats, added more grains/veggies/fruits. I really don't have a bad diet, so I don't know what else to change. Suggestions appreciated

 

The Toprol XL will slow your heart rate and decrease your BP. Your Doc probably prescribed it because of the tachycardia you were having, if your heart is still racing alot, the Toprol will probably make you feel alot better.

In the interest of covering all the bases I'd ask for the complete thyroid function test. A normal TSH is good, but you still may be hyper or hypo thyroid. TSH is secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain, however the thyroid itself may or may not be responding to it. Wouldn't hurt to find out.

 

Wouldn't taking the meds now defeat the purpose of the Holter monitor and/or the Echo? They couldn't get me in until March for those.

I edited my posted and added results from a FREE T4 test also, I didn't originally know this was related to the TSH test, both showed normal. What would be the other tests to have?

Thanks.

 

The Toprol would alter the effects of the holter monitor, however it wouldn't mess with the Echo. You may want to ask your doctor, because if he prescribed the Toprol before scheduling these tests then he may want to evaluate its effectiveness at your next appointment.

If the tsh and t4 both came back normal than its pretty safe to say that your thyroid is functioning normally. Did they by chance draw a cortisol level when you had your bloodwork done?

 

The Toprol was prescribed before he actually decided to go ahead with the testing, he originally wasn't going to do any test till I insisted. I didn't think to ask about it while I was there.

My thoughts were hypothyroidism or diabetes, fasting glucose came back normal also. Cortisol? Not sure, would the test say Cortisol or would say something else? I only reviewed the results online and have not reviewed them with the doc yet, so I do not know what some of them mean.

 

It would show up as cortisol on the test. With the thyroid ruled out it seems like the next logical thing that could be out of whack. It is also a hormone and is commonly referred to as the "stress" hormone. Too much or too little causes problems, as is the case with all hormones. Your symptons sound hormonal in nature, especially with the hair loss and the weight gain.

Try googling "Cushing's Disease" and "Addison's Disease" and see if your symptoms match either of those. Cushing's is too much Cortisol while Addison's is not enough.

 

Okay, keeping in mind that I have no clue what I'm talking about, could you start the meds and then stop the meds a few days (?)before the test to get "real" numbers? It's over a month away, maybe taking it for awhile would at least make you feel better in the interim? Somebody let me know if that's a bad or dangerous idea! I just worry that somewthing bad would/could happen with all that time in between!

 

Thanks, that was not tested. I checked on both those conditions and neither fits very well at all.
I appreciate your efforts .

 

This condition has come up in my research and I seem to have almost all of the symptoms depending on website- aortic coarctation. The Echo will confirm or deny this condition. I mentioned earlier that I had a doc note a murmur a few years back and never mentioned it to me and I had cardiac ischemia noted during a stress test which was noted as a possible false positive and I was told no follow up was needed. Any of that mean anything to you?

 

Good thinking, but I thought about that also and the meds are the type that only work if taken continuously for an extended period of time, from what I read. So I'm not sure if 1 month would help anyway or how long for them to be out of my system for an accurate test.