gurgling and such

[tschock]

When I was born my heart was half of the size it should have been. My doctors kept very close tabs on me while growing up.
Every time I would have a growth spurt my chest would feel like it was full of butterflies, I would turn white as a ghost, chestpains, etc.
During these times I was made to stay at home and in bed.
I was told that I had angina pectoris at the age of 10. I was also diagnosed as being anemic.
The growing spurts stopped when I was around 20...my heart had reached 3/4 of the size it should be.
No more tests were done after this to see if it ever reached 100% of what it should be.

Last year the feelings started up again. My new doctor ( I moved to a new city) said that my blood pressure was a little high, but because he doesn't know me that well he said he would watch it over time to see if this was normal.

I have also suffered with rapid heartbeat, and heart pounding so hard that it's visible to others through my clothes.

My mom's mom died at an early age (60) of heart disease.
She died because some doctors still believe that women don't have heart attacks...or some lame excuse.
Anyway, they didn't do anything when she would go in and complain of heart pains and such.

Around ten years ago I had 3 "attacks" in a row. I was lifting things over my head just before all 3 attacks happened.
A few minutes after lifting ( not heavy items) I would get a sudden tight pain in my chest. I would stand still for a few minutes, and then the pain would subside. Afterwards ( half hour later?) I would feel "energized".

Now I'm having irregular heatbeats, fluttering, gurgling ( which freaks me out) tiredness, nausea, numbness and tingling in hands/arms, and legs/feet. My hands feel like they are filled with water as well. My legs get heavy and full feeling (like when you're pregnant).
I went back to the doctor a week or so ago and he said that my hands and legs feeling that way were due to osteoarthritis. I have asked on the arthritis boards if it can cause those symptoms but no one has really answered that question...they all tell me to see a neurologist.
Ok, so maybe the hands/feet thing are not heart related, but I do feel that the other symptoms may be.
Ok, now for the BIG thing...my doctor won't take ANY of my problems seriously because I was told that I suffer from anxiety!
Well wouldn't they have anxiety too if they were experiencing those symptoms and no tests were being performed?
How do I make them take me seriously?
Am I being a hypochondriac?  Maybe...but because I was born with heart problems...well...it makes you wonder.

[ed34]

You obviously haven't been having any kind of heart attack because the pain wouldn't subside if you just stood still. No matter what you do, lay down, jump up and down, sit in a chair, the pain just stays there.
Do the symptoms present themselves 'every time' you exert yourself? or just occasionally?
You do seem to be describing the symptoms of angina, and it could be vasospasm which can have many triggers. I agree with Ireneo, but I think you would probably benefit more from a 'stress' echo. You need the technician to reproduce your symptoms so they can see what is going wrong, but in a controlled environment. I had one of those over a year ago because every cardiologist was saying there's nothing wrong. My EKG's were normal, normal echos showed no problems and nuclear scans looked great. During the stress echo, as soon as my heart reached 160bpm, whoosh, the symptoms kicked in and they could see there was a problem. They reversed the effects of the drugs and within 2 mins I was completely free of discomfort. If you don't have symptoms when being tested, it's like asking a television engineer to fix your set when it's working.

[ireneo]

It sounds like you know how to trigger an episode so wearing a heart monitor might be the only way for them to see what's going on. There are monitors that are worn for 24-48 hours and record every bit. There are event monitors you can wear for a month and just push a button when you want to record a weird bit of heart beats. Try asking your doctor about that. Too often they check our heart rhythm while it's behaving. They won't see anything that way.

Have you had an echocardiogram done since you've been an adult? That's a great way to see the size of the heart, the valves and how they're working. A valve problem can also mess up your heart rhythm.

[tschock]

They have done no such testing on me since I was very young...I'm over 40 now...

Sorry...just remembered that they did a stress test on me when I was 25. Ran on that crazy treadmill for a bit and then they told me to go and get dressed. As I was getting dressed my heart started banging against my ribs and beating 500 miles an hour. I opened the door and called out for a nurse, but by the time they got there ( around 5 minutes and only because another patient heard me) it was gone. They never re-tested after that.

I guess once you have anxiety you can never get rid of it?

Shouldn't they disprove any other problems before "labelling" people?
Perhaps they should do some sort of testing or whatever to see if I really do have anxiety?
Seeing a geneticist ( family history of muscular dystrophy...I'm a carrier) in 2 months from now...maybe he can sort it all out.
Going to ask him if he can get me in to see a nerve specialist too...broke my foot 2 years ago and it's still "asleep"...bet that's due to anxiety too if you ask my doctor. lol
I give up.

[kenkeith]

If your symptoms are due to anxiety, then medication for anxiety is the underlying cause, and it seems you should be treated for anxiety!  Have you had an EKG...that test would/should disclose an abnormailty if you have an episode during the test.

Ken

[asho31]

ye im the same they dont belive a word im saying i get everything your getting in me heart and its freckie.im crying out for help and family or noone will listen to me they all think im mad my heart ***** up with me .i got everything done as well and all grand whats up with me i no i suffer from anxiety and what else your not the only one hun