Am I having a heart attack in slow motion?
December 1, 2016 3:56 PM Subscribe
I'm in a strange country and submitted to a series of 'hemoglobin' IVs. Now I'm starting to get some chest pain...should I be worried?
Long story short I am VERY far from the US, under the care of physicians that I basically trust but that have a totally different medical system to the US. Totally.
I said I was feeling weak and that my hashi's (thyroid) was acting up along with with some sidecar adrenal issues so they advised a course of hemoglobin IVs- in glucose. No saline was used before hand (at my request- Menieres's) and no oral steroid was taken in preparation (this is, in hindsight, something Wiki apparently says you should do).
The course finished today- it was like maybe a 5-6 day course, give or take. And I'm now noticing chest pains. On my left side. Under my breastbone. Hmm....
So I went on wiki and totally spooked myself as of course they say that these injections, if mishandled, can cause heart attacks. I have to get on a plane tomorrow and fly 14 hours back to the States. Does this sound advisable?
The best way I can describe this pain is like someone striking a match, right below the breastbone, in the area I described. It lasts that briefly- it maybe even shorter than a match strike. It's like a searing twinge or pang. I've experienced it in the past few days but maybe only like one or two twinges a day. So subtle, I guess. But just now I felt pangs about three or four times in the space of an hour while packing. Oh yeah- it seems to happen when I'm shifting positions abruptly. No other real symptoms with it- dizziness or nausea or anything like that. I'm 33, female and I've never had heart health issues before. I do have a lot chronic health issues though. And my blood pressure can be low though, at times.
Maybe it's angina...
Am I gonna be ok guys?!
Long story short I am VERY far from the US, under the care of physicians that I basically trust but that have a totally different medical system to the US. Totally.
I said I was feeling weak and that my hashi's (thyroid) was acting up along with with some sidecar adrenal issues so they advised a course of hemoglobin IVs- in glucose. No saline was used before hand (at my request- Menieres's) and no oral steroid was taken in preparation (this is, in hindsight, something Wiki apparently says you should do).
The course finished today- it was like maybe a 5-6 day course, give or take. And I'm now noticing chest pains. On my left side. Under my breastbone. Hmm....
So I went on wiki and totally spooked myself as of course they say that these injections, if mishandled, can cause heart attacks. I have to get on a plane tomorrow and fly 14 hours back to the States. Does this sound advisable?
The best way I can describe this pain is like someone striking a match, right below the breastbone, in the area I described. It lasts that briefly- it maybe even shorter than a match strike. It's like a searing twinge or pang. I've experienced it in the past few days but maybe only like one or two twinges a day. So subtle, I guess. But just now I felt pangs about three or four times in the space of an hour while packing. Oh yeah- it seems to happen when I'm shifting positions abruptly. No other real symptoms with it- dizziness or nausea or anything like that. I'm 33, female and I've never had heart health issues before. I do have a lot chronic health issues though. And my blood pressure can be low though, at times.
Maybe it's angina...
Am I gonna be ok guys?!
I'm a doctor, but not your doctor and I strongly advise you to go seek whatever form of medical care you can, ideally not from the people who gave you these injections on request. I really hope no one here attempts to diagnose chest pain via the internet, because it is impossible. I can tell you that for the average 33 year old female, heart attacks are vanishingly uncommon, because generally speaking 33 year old females don't have coronary artery disease. But I cannot speak to your specific case, and there are other life threatening issues that can cause chest pain that are not heart attacks.
In the meantime, I urge you to see only reputable medical providers who practice science based medicine. What you say about your medical treatment does not make sense. Blood transfusions are used to treat anemia, not thyroid issues or adrenal problems.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 5:31 PM on December 1, 2016 [49 favorites]
In the meantime, I urge you to see only reputable medical providers who practice science based medicine. What you say about your medical treatment does not make sense. Blood transfusions are used to treat anemia, not thyroid issues or adrenal problems.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 5:31 PM on December 1, 2016 [49 favorites]
I don't think heart attacks happen in slow motion, but I am not a doctor. It could be a bunch of things or just your imagination, I'd advise trying to relax and getting home and seeing your doctor if it does not go away.
posted by vrakatar at 6:11 PM on December 1, 2016
posted by vrakatar at 6:11 PM on December 1, 2016
Anecdata: When I was having lasting chest pain years ago, a doctor told me it was a good sign it was lasting because if it was a real heart attack I would have died before that long. So chest pain is worrisome, but I gather that a slow-motion heart attack isn't really a thing. It does sound like something you should get looked at before you fly though, just to be safe.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 7:54 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 7:54 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
In case my original comment wasn't clear enough, I want to add that I completely disagree with the subsequent two comments.
It's true that the chances of any medical problem being imminently life threatening do decrease the longer you manage to stay alive while having the symptoms, but that's not a good reason to wait a couple of weeks or months to see whether it looks like the odds are in your favor.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:14 PM on December 1, 2016 [6 favorites]
It's true that the chances of any medical problem being imminently life threatening do decrease the longer you manage to stay alive while having the symptoms, but that's not a good reason to wait a couple of weeks or months to see whether it looks like the odds are in your favor.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:14 PM on December 1, 2016 [6 favorites]
And for anyone looking for information on heart attacks who comes across this post, not all heart attacks kill you (if only part of the heart muscle dies and the rest is in decent working order, you can have a heart attack and the pain will stop because the muscle is dead and subsequently you may have no further symptoms until your next heart attack). Also angina can occur for months before one of your coronary arteries gets completely blocked and causes a heart attack. Those facts are unlikely to be germane to this situation, but I'm just stating them for the record.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:18 PM on December 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:18 PM on December 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
I went on wiki and totally spooked myself as of course they say that these injections, if mishandled, can cause heart attacks.
Which wikipedia article is this? Is it this one? I'm not seeing any wikipedia article about intravenous *hemoglobin* but I am seeing that one about "immunoglobulin therapy" whose details fit some things you mention. If so, hemoglobin and immunoglobulin are not at all the same thing. Immunoglobulins are antibodies/part of your body's immune system. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that binds oxygen.
It's not clear what treatment you actually had (Something involving hemoglobin? Something involving immunoglobulins?), and knowing that still won't enable internet strangers to diagnose your chest pain, but you might be finding some wrong information in your research.
posted by needs more cowbell at 10:41 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Which wikipedia article is this? Is it this one? I'm not seeing any wikipedia article about intravenous *hemoglobin* but I am seeing that one about "immunoglobulin therapy" whose details fit some things you mention. If so, hemoglobin and immunoglobulin are not at all the same thing. Immunoglobulins are antibodies/part of your body's immune system. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that binds oxygen.
It's not clear what treatment you actually had (Something involving hemoglobin? Something involving immunoglobulins?), and knowing that still won't enable internet strangers to diagnose your chest pain, but you might be finding some wrong information in your research.
posted by needs more cowbell at 10:41 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Treehorn+bunny, I did not say the OP should "wait a couple of weeks or months" to get checked out. I said she should get checked out before she boards her plane tomorrow.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:37 AM on December 2, 2016
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:37 AM on December 2, 2016
IANAD.
Seek prompt care. I actually think it's nothing much but there's no way you should get on a plane not knowing.
I am concerned about the treatment you had. As noted IANAD but I do have Hashi's and I do not see how the treatment you describe could help? Additionally you say "maybe a 5-6 day course" as if you do not know how many days/injections you have had. I remember an IV. Maybe I wouldn't if I was having complicated and ongoing treatment that involved multiple IV's of different things over a number if weeks or months, but in your situation I'm a bit concerned that you don't seem to know how many IV's you've had.
I would definitely seek medical care, and ideally not with the IV givers.
posted by intergalacticvelvet at 7:40 AM on December 2, 2016
Seek prompt care. I actually think it's nothing much but there's no way you should get on a plane not knowing.
I am concerned about the treatment you had. As noted IANAD but I do have Hashi's and I do not see how the treatment you describe could help? Additionally you say "maybe a 5-6 day course" as if you do not know how many days/injections you have had. I remember an IV. Maybe I wouldn't if I was having complicated and ongoing treatment that involved multiple IV's of different things over a number if weeks or months, but in your situation I'm a bit concerned that you don't seem to know how many IV's you've had.
I would definitely seek medical care, and ideally not with the IV givers.
posted by intergalacticvelvet at 7:40 AM on December 2, 2016
Can you contact your doctor in the US, by phone? I would start there.
posted by pintapicasso at 9:01 AM on December 2, 2016
posted by pintapicasso at 9:01 AM on December 2, 2016
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posted by brainmouse at 4:00 PM on December 1, 2016