Warning signs or hypochondria?



S

Sjp

Guest
I've been having some weird symptoms lately, and I'm trying to figure out if
I've got warning signs or I'm talking myself into feeling symptoms... I'm a
33 year old male. I go to the gym 4 times a week and do a 15 minute cardio
followed by 30 mins of weights. I used to smoke regularly but a couple of
years ago I quit and now I smoke when I have a few drinks. (I have a few
drinks a couple times a week). I'm generally about 20 pounds overweight.
(5'8" 175 Lbs). Whenever I've had bloodwork done, my triglycerides are
always high. Cholesterol is on the high side. Here is the chronology that
leads to me posting this message:

-a couple months ago I started noticing a 'squirting sensation' in my chest that would last about 10
beats when I first lit up a cigarette. Sometimes it happens, other times it doesn't. Sometimes it
happens at a random time when I haven't had a smoke in days. I haven't noticed it happen in the gym.
It can't recall it happening in the past week or so.

-this week I figured I'd try to start really trying to drop 10 lbs, so I've been eating very little,
drinking more coffee and doing more cardio than I normally do. Thursday(four days ago), about 10
minutes into a stairmaster routine, it started feeling like it was hard to get a full breath and
that there was pain when I would try to force a full breath in. The breathing trouble would decrease
if I slowed down, but increase if I sped up. After the gym I went to the dentist to have my teeth
cleaned. He asked if I had been on vacation as I looked very red.

-Yesterday, on an empty stomach I took my son bowling. Again, I started getting the breathing
problems and again I had a bunch of caffiene in me. I started feeling dizzy and lightheaded and
called it quits. I went home and started reading up on cardio problem symptoms. Later in the day I
started to feel dizzy, lightheaded, weak and lethargic(but these could be invented symptoms).

-Today I woke up with a sore jaw and still have it as I write. I don't really have any pain in my
chest, nor have I had any left-side pain through this whole episode. I have some lower left back
pain and some upper right neck pain, but these sorts of things aren't uncommon with my weight
lifting routine.

I don't know if I should a) do nothing b) make an appointment with a cardiologist or c) go to the
emergency room
 
SJP writes:

> I don't know if I should a) do nothing b) make an appointment with a cardiologist or c) go to the
> emergency room

See a doctor, and describe to him what you've described here. He'll take it from there, if
necessary. If you develop severe or suspicious symptoms (crushing chest pain, sudden partial
paralysis, raging fever, vomiting litres of blood, etc.), then obviously you'll want to take a trip
to the ER.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
 
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> SJP writes:
>
> > I don't know if I should a) do nothing b) make an appointment with a cardiologist or c) go to
> > the emergency room
>
> See a doctor, and describe to him what you've described here. He'll take it from there, if
> necessary. If you develop severe or suspicious symptoms (crushing chest pain, sudden partial
> paralysis, raging fever, vomiting litres of blood, etc.), then obviously you'll want to take a
> trip to the ER.

Would concur (but add dizziness and shortness of breath as additional reasons to call 911).

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com
 
Sun & Mun_ writes:

> Go to the emergency room and request a cardiologist.

Well, go to the emergency room and _mention_ any cardiovascular history. The attending physicians in
the ER will then decide if it's really a cardiovascular problem or something else. Not every chest
pain or shortness of breath is a heart attack.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
 
On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 06:15:42 +0100, Mxsmanic <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Sun & Mun_ writes:
>
>> Go to the emergency room and request a cardiologist.
>
>Well, go to the emergency room and _mention_ any cardiovascular history. The attending physicians
>in the ER will then decide if it's really a cardiovascular problem or something else. Not every
>chest pain or shortness of breath is a heart attack.

Oh, I agree but I can tell you first hand that once you have passed basic/primary ER care, you will
get a quicker response from a specialist WHEN you start asking for one.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031122.html Lift well, Eat less, Walk fast, Live long.
 
Hi-

I took some aspirin and made an appointment with a cardiologist. Today I went through a workout and
felt fine... I'm curious as to what I could have done to myself to cause the difficulty breathing,
but it seems to be gone. I'm still going to ask the doctor about the squirting heartbeat sensation,
which my brief studies attribute to an arrythmia (sp).

"SJP" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:2AUQb.116409$sv6.622083@attbi_s52...
> I've been having some weird symptoms lately, and I'm trying to figure out
if
> I've got warning signs or I'm talking myself into feeling symptoms... I'm
a
> 33 year old male. I go to the gym 4 times a week and do a 15 minute
cardio
> followed by 30 mins of weights. I used to smoke regularly but a couple of years ago I quit and now
> I smoke when I have a few drinks. (I have a few drinks a couple times a week). I'm generally about
> 20 pounds overweight. (5'8" 175 Lbs). Whenever I've had bloodwork done, my triglycerides are
> always high. Cholesterol is on the high side. Here is the chronology
that
> leads to me posting this message:
>
> -a couple months ago I started noticing a 'squirting sensation' in my
chest
> that would last about 10 beats when I first lit up a cigarette. Sometimes it happens, other times
> it doesn't. Sometimes it happens at a random time when I haven't had a smoke in days. I haven't
> noticed it happen in the
gym.
> It can't recall it happening in the past week or so.
>
> -this week I figured I'd try to start really trying to drop 10 lbs, so
I've
> been eating very little, drinking more coffee and doing more cardio than I normally do.
> Thursday(four days ago), about 10 minutes into a stairmaster routine, it started feeling like it
> was hard to get a full breath and that there was pain when I would try to force a full breath
> in. The breathing trouble would decrease if I slowed down, but increase if I sped up. After the
> gym I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. He asked if I had been on vacation as I
> looked very red.
>
> -Yesterday, on an empty stomach I took my son bowling. Again, I started getting the breathing
> problems and again I had a bunch of caffiene in me.
I
> started feeling dizzy and lightheaded and called it quits. I went home
and
> started reading up on cardio problem symptoms. Later in the day I started to feel dizzy,
> lightheaded, weak and lethargic(but these could be invented symptoms).
>
> -Today I woke up with a sore jaw and still have it as I write. I don't really have any pain in my
> chest, nor have I had any left-side pain
through
> this whole episode. I have some lower left back pain and some upper right neck pain, but these
> sorts of things aren't uncommon with my weight
lifting
> routine.
>
> I don't know if I should a) do nothing b) make an appointment with a cardiologist or c) go to the
> emergency room
 
Sun & Mun_ writes:

> Oh, I agree but I can tell you first hand that once you have passed basic/primary ER care, you
> will get a quicker response from a specialist WHEN you start asking for one.

But you have to know which specialist you need, and that isn't always easy for a lay person to
determine.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
 
On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 05:38:57 +0100, Mxsmanic <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Sun & Mun_ writes:
>
>> Oh, I agree but I can tell you first hand that once you have passed basic/primary ER care, you
>> will get a quicker response from a specialist WHEN you start asking for one.
>
>But you have to know which specialist you need, and that isn't always easy for a lay person to
>determine.

Note the OP.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031122.html Lift well, Eat less, Walk fast, Live long.
 
Had an appointment, and while the doctor didn't outright call me crazy, he assured me without
actually doing any tests that I was fine. For anyone that looks at this thread for information on
symptoms of chest pain, -the pain doesn't come and go or is in any way affected by breathing. -Jaw
pain or discomfort is not a muscle soreness that can be felt when opening the mouth a certain way,
but instead an inferred pain that is also constant.

"SJP" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:2AUQb.116409$sv6.622083@attbi_s52...
> I've been having some weird symptoms lately, and I'm trying to figure out
if
> I've got warning signs or I'm talking myself into feeling symptoms... I'm
a
> 33 year old male. I go to the gym 4 times a week and do a 15 minute
cardio
> followed by 30 mins of weights. I used to smoke regularly but a couple of years ago I quit and now
> I smoke when I have a few drinks. (I have a few drinks a couple times a week). I'm generally about
> 20 pounds overweight. (5'8" 175 Lbs). Whenever I've had bloodwork done, my triglycerides are
> always high. Cholesterol is on the high side. Here is the chronology
that
> leads to me posting this message:
>
> -a couple months ago I started noticing a 'squirting sensation' in my
chest
> that would last about 10 beats when I first lit up a cigarette. Sometimes it happens, other times
> it doesn't. Sometimes it happens at a random time when I haven't had a smoke in days. I haven't
> noticed it happen in the
gym.
> It can't recall it happening in the past week or so.
>
> -this week I figured I'd try to start really trying to drop 10 lbs, so
I've
> been eating very little, drinking more coffee and doing more cardio than I normally do.
> Thursday(four days ago), about 10 minutes into a stairmaster routine, it started feeling like it
> was hard to get a full breath and that there was pain when I would try to force a full breath
> in. The breathing trouble would decrease if I slowed down, but increase if I sped up. After the
> gym I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. He asked if I had been on vacation as I
> looked very red.
>
> -Yesterday, on an empty stomach I took my son bowling. Again, I started getting the breathing
> problems and again I had a bunch of caffiene in me.
I
> started feeling dizzy and lightheaded and called it quits. I went home
and
> started reading up on cardio problem symptoms. Later in the day I started to feel dizzy,
> lightheaded, weak and lethargic(but these could be invented symptoms).
>
> -Today I woke up with a sore jaw and still have it as I write. I don't really have any pain in my
> chest, nor have I had any left-side pain
through
> this whole episode. I have some lower left back pain and some upper right neck pain, but these
> sorts of things aren't uncommon with my weight
lifting
> routine.
>
> I don't know if I should a) do nothing b) make an appointment with a cardiologist or c) go to the
> emergency room
 
SJP wrote:

> Had an appointment, and while the doctor didn't outright call me crazy, he assured me without
> actually doing any tests that I was fine. For anyone that looks at this thread for information on
> symptoms of chest pain, -the pain doesn't come and go or is in any way affected by breathing. -Jaw
> pain or discomfort is not a muscle soreness that can be felt when opening the mouth a certain way,
> but instead an inferred pain that is also constant.
>

Was this doctor a cardiologist?

If not, would suggest you ask to be referred to one.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com/