i have a lot of chest pain

Diseases & Conditions Heart & Cardiovascular Disease
1
Hi, i am Amiee and im 15, at the moment i am in hospital coz i just had heart surgery on tuesday (i have dextrocaria) i had an artery replaced using one from my leg, coz it was leaking and i was very anemic and needed blood transfusions all the time.
 
Now i have pericarditis, and it is really really painful, there is alot of fluid in the pericardium too and i was told today i might need it draining, this will hurt me wont it? i am taking prednisolone for it, but i dont want to stay on steroids for along time. does anyone know how long pericarditis usually lasts for? i cant destribe the pain it is that bad, i think i must have a low pain thresh hold or something.
 
thanks
Amiee
2

Hi Amiee,  I am soooo sorry for all that you are going through.  I don't know much about your condition, hopefully someone else will have an answer to your question.  I just wanted to tell you that I read your post and my thoughts are with you.

Stay strong.......

~elisha

3
:-)  MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU TOO AIMEE, I WISH I COULD HELP BUT I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING EITHER, SO SORRY, MAYBE SOMEONE OUT THERE WILL HAVE SOME WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE,GOD BLESS YOU STAY STRONG
4

First of all it all depends on how  sick yuo were when all of this happened. and when they drain your  inflamation of the lining of your heart they will give you a local or numb the area.

Now for how long it will alst also depends on how you are reacting toy uormedications. it does take a while to get your sea legs back after staying in bed a whiule even after 3 days you tend to getweak and light headed. then on tiop of taking muti medications too. It willbe so useful to you when you gethome on how to take yuormeds and when yuo are to take them acccording to the dr. And donotbe suprised if they want to do a exercise stress test before yuo are discharged. but do little things  when yuo get home

take out the garbage, walking arund the hose or up stairs if yuo have a 2 story house.And be sure your doctors talk to your parents and other loved ones too aabout what is safe for you to do so you willnot be restricted.

Heidi

5
Hi sweetie, hope you are feeling better today. I've been told by several Drs. that the younger you are the worse the pain. I'm 52 and i have alot of chest pain for different reasons, and some people are just more sensitive.Take care and i'll keep you in my prayers. I hate that you are going thru all of this. Lots of love and big hugs. DELTA


{ Listen to your body talk. } Deltacece

6

I was meant to have the fluid drained on monday, but i refused coz i was just too scared about it, but i had it done yesterday, i just had too, i was in agony, and yeah delta its not nice, it really is painful, i would hate to have pericarditis again and have to have it drained.

I am still here tho in hospital coz now i have an infection in my leg from where they took the artery, i need IV antibiotics for a while, i am sick of being here now, i just feel like it never ends.

Thanks

Amiee

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Hi Amiee,

Glad to hear your draining process is complete! I know the stays in the hospitals
are not a lot of fun, but be as patient as you can be, things will get better!!

Get Well Soon!!
Bill H.
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I'm so proud of you Aimee, your handling all this like an adult. We are all here for you and better off for knowing you. I wish i could take all your pain away for you but i can't. So you'll have to take the pain meds. and i know they too can make you feel bad. Keep us posted on how your doing. Lots of love and tripple hugs today. DELTA


{ Listen to your body talk. } Deltacece

9

     I hate to wander back on here after such a long leave and have my first post seem flip..But..If you are in a hospital right now in the cardiology unit no less couldn`t you possibly find someone (What do you call those guys who wander around there in the long white coats?..Someone help me out here :-) )to ask your questions of who might have all the specifics of your case there at their finger tips?

     But in the mean time..Hang in there and you`ll be fine I`m sure..I know at your age everything seems like it`s lasting forever..By the way who did you have to bribe to get internet access?..When I was in the CCU I just laid there like a turtle the first few days and then luckily got the cable turned on

Mother
Tell your children not to walk my way
Tell your children not to hear my words
What they mean
What they say
Mother

Mother
Can you keep them in the dark for life?
Can you hide them from the waiting world?
Oh mother

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Sara, i'm sure Aimee and her family ask questions to the Drs. and other medical staff, but she likes to share her feelings and get her HW friends opion also. And we love hearing from her. Yes Aimee hang in there, every day will be a new day. I'll keep you in my prayers. DELTA


{ Listen to your body talk. } Deltacece

11
Of course i have asked docs and so has my mum, but isnt this why this site is here to get peoples opinions? maybe i have it all wrong? i dont know. and i am not in CCU anymore, i am just on a cardiac ward now, i am not bed ridden u know.
 
Will someone please let me know if i am doing the wrong thing here? i mean by coming on here and saying all this?
 
Thanks
Amiee
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and also, i have dextrocardia which makes it kinda difficult to meet ppl going thru the same thing, i mean docs can answer most of the questions, but they dont have heart probs do they? its kinda put me off writing anything again has that, but maybe i have taken with the wrong way, i dont know, sorry. and i am glad i have internet, i spend most of my life in hospitals, its not fun.
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AIMEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU. kEEP THOSE POSTS COMING HONEY. DELTA


{ Listen to your body talk. } Deltacece

14

Aimee,  You are NOT wrong..... This is exactly what this forum is for, your support.  Please don't let anyone make you feel different. 

Just so some know, when I was in the hospital on the critical cardiac unit I also had cable television (flat screen) and Internet connection.

~elisha

15

Hi Sarah,

Guess you haven't been in the hospital for a long time.  1st I guess its probably fair to explain that Amiee is in the hospital in the UK vs the US and things don't always work the same in a country with socialized medicine.

Secondly, when was the last time you asked a doctor an intelligent question only to get a terse answer that implied you were a moron and you shouldn't really be asking those types of questions.  I know many many doctors that just won't take the time to explain what is going on unless you nail their hides to the wall, and its very easy to take a 15 year old girl for granted.  So, not to sound flip, but sometimes the people with the white coats are absolutely no help at all, and they sure as heck don't provide you with a support system.

scool Warren

It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not. - James Gordon, M.D.
What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease. - George Dennison Prentice

I can only please one person per day, today is not your day...tomorrow doesn't look good either.

16

Amiee,

Honey you are NOT wrong at all!! This site is here for support and we all use it that way! We know that our HW family is here for us not matter what! Maybe Sara needs to put herself in your shoes for a minute and try to understand how difficult it must be to be going through all of this, especially at 15!!  I'm sure that it would feel like a long time to any of us...because it is a long time to be stuck in the hospital! I don't think any of us would like to be stuck there for weeks either! And I know you've done longer stints than this, so you'll come out of this one great!! But it’s perfectly ok to vent your frustrations!

Also, I feel I should point out that many of us can look back to experiences where our doctors have not been much help to us, where they did not give us any answers, or could not fix the problem. And it's also very hard to get them to speak fully and truthfully to a teenager and to take them seriously. I am very glad that the draining went well and I hope you are back up and bouncing around in no time! You’re a very strong young woman and we are all very proud of how well you are handling the many things being thrown at you everyday. I know it seems unfair at times, because it is, but each one of those things makes you a stronger person. Every experience we have, positive or negative, makes us who we are today! And you are a strong, beautiful, wonderful young woman who will go far in life!

I am sorry you came looking for support and instead had your feelings pushed aside! Please don’t let one person’s response taint your view of this site or keep you from posting in the future. You know that you can come here anytime for information or just to vent! We all need to get it out! You know we all love you very much and we are ALWAYS here for you! Don't fret hun! Like so many others, I'm here when you need me...you know where to find me!

I hear their gonna spring ya soon yeah  so I'm goin’ on a cake hunt once your home missy! ;) Oh, I’ll find it…watch! lol I love ya sweetie! Keep your chin up....we'll be seeing a show in the city before you know it ;)  (See, I haven’t forgotten!) tongue

((lots of gentle hugs))

Carina

P.S. I’m with Rach! Well said Warren! J

Post Edited (ohthepain) : 2/2/2006 11:47:12 AM (GMT-7)

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Sar it sounds like to me that u really dont have a heart to be so rude to the girl that has the biggest heart in the world! And incase u r slow that person is Amiee!! You dont tell someone that has been living with a heart condition their whole life that dont worry it will get better in time cause u know what how can it when the condition is never going to go away? Yea her pain will get better but she will have to deal with this the rest of her life so no it is not going to get better with time!! You dont have any sympathy so u shouldnt be coming on here and making posts these r only for ppl that care!! Oh yea and another thing a normal person would be glad to hear she has something to do in the hospital!! But no u r not glad cause like i said u have no heart! So to be safe u better never say anything to Amiee again i dont care what u say to me cause it wont matter cause u r not anyone special to me thats for sure.