Any doctors???

[luv2ride94]

Hey this is luv2rides sister Angela again.

I'm writing to ask for advice from anyone in the medical field...

Katie has been having some health problems lately and we have been round and round with her normal doctor and are having a hard time getting anyone to listen. This has been going on for about the past month. Her symptoms -- Extreme tiredness, when exercizing she has chest pains, shortness of breath, lightheaded and dizzy spells.. But also her resting heartrate is averaging about 90 - 100 beats a minutes and just a few months ago it was regularly under 60.

Shes had a EKG. echogram, chest xray and a battery of tyest for thyroid, diebetes, mono, anemia etc...

They say shes perfectly healthy and has refused to referr her onto a specialist. Does anyone have any wisdom??? We are all pretty worried and shes VERY frustrated... Thanks in advance

[TsPoet]

What are the conditions for her health insurance (I assume that's why you need a referral). Can she go into an urgent care clinic next time she has an "episode" and get a referral from them? I had a friend with surprisingly similar symptoms, she had to call and get permission before going to urgent care, but called as soon as she felt chest pains and was given clearance right away once she told them she was having chest pains. She ended up with a referral from the clinic which was good enough for insurance purposes.
Or, she should be able to call her insurance and get a different primary to referr her. The phone call alone should cause enough stress to initiate the symptoms .
(for my friend it seemed to be a panic attack that lasted 3 months, the referral doctor gave her a shot of valium - just one - and she's been trouble free for 5 years, go figure).

[Pedal Wench]

Does she have a specialist for her epilepsy? That doctor should be able to give her a referral too.

Also, she had mentioned being on some special medications. Are there side effects that might be causing this?

[silver]

Not a doctor. i do think that we have a doctor here, so maybe she will see this.

I'm so sorry to hear that she's still struggling with this.

a few thoughts based on my limited experience with medical issues. Can you research this online and find a specialist that seems to have more experience that the issues. You may need to go out of town. try looking at doctors within a three hour drive. Then contact that doctor's office and tell them that you want to see them and need help getting the referral.

You'll probably need to investigate your insurance. you may be able to call the Human Resources Person at the business that provides the insurance and ask their help.

Can you try going to a new Primary care Doctor for a second opinion?

Isn't her doctor someone who rides with her?

[Xrayted]

I was just going to say, find a doctor in that field that you want to go to and ask them to obtain a referral for you. Let them know that you are hitting roadblocks from your doctor. Specialists tend to take these things more seriously because it is their field.
I'd also read the med side effects for anything she is taking. By themselves, they may be fine, but adding them together could be giving her problems. There are specialists to determine things like that too.

Let us know what happens. I hope she finds some answers soon.

[roadie gal]

(just got back into town from doing the family thing for the holidays)

I'm an ER doc. I can sympathise with your sister from both the doc and patient point of view. I had similar symptoms, but with a slow heart rate. The short version of this story is that, after a YEAR of trying to figure it out, I ended up with a pacemaker. So I know how frustrating it can be.

I don't know if getting an urgent care/ER referral will work for your insurance. Each one is so different.

Find out from your insurance company what the exact process is to get to a specialist. If you must go through your doctor, make his life miserable until he gives in and sends you to the cardiologist. Or go to a different doc and get the referral. Don't give up on this. Don't let the doctor blow you off. (If my cardiologist hadn't known me well enough to know that I'm not a whiner I can see where it would have been easy to tell me I was fine.)

[roadie gal]

Another thought: a pulmonologist (lung specialist) is also a way to go. Those symptoms could easily be either heart or lung.

[mimitabby]

you guys know our patient here is a teenager? and very much in earnest?

[luv2ride94]

Back again, as you all suggested mom spent the day on the phone with insurance and they require a referall from the primary acting doctor. Which is currently her pediatrician.

She was seeing a wonderful specialist for what they believed was Epilepsy and she even rode with him quite often but he suffered a heartattack and is not currently practicing. She was on some meds for Epilepsy but has instead experimented with a diet change and that has worked wonders but now we are wondering if this is all somehow tied together.

Thanks roadie gal, and everyone else. Mom said tonight she is going to annoy the heck out of her doctor till she agrees and if she doesnt have a referral by the end of the week she will try starting over with another doctor monday. We did find that there is a very highly respected pediatric cardiologist about a 100 miles from here that we are trying to get her referred too. Thanks again, we are open to all suggestions..

[nomummytummy]

two suggestions:

1. with her resting heart rate increase - could she have been over training. The resting HR can go up when you've been over training - along with the breathlessness and dizziness when exercising. Can seem crazy as symptoms can come on much earlier that you'd expect for an athlete's level of fitness.

2. What about seeing a non-medical health practitioner. As a chiropractor, I have seen people with weird & wonderful symptom patterns that had some elements that looked sinister & other that seemed trivial - all in the one person. Many have done the rounds of medical doctors often with non conclusive diagnosis or advice. Once we help their nervous system start coordinating and controlling the body better again, people heal and recover. Obviously, you'd need to see a chiropractor for a full assessment to see if this was the case for Katie. If you would like to know what questions to ask, you can PM me & we can talk further.

Good luck at this stressful time.

[anakiwa]

Back again, as you all suggested mom spent the day on the phone with insurance and they require a referall from the primary acting doctor. Which is currently her pediatrician.

She was seeing a wonderful specialist for what they believed was Epilepsy and she even rode with him quite often but he suffered a heartattack and is not currently practicing. She was on some meds for Epilepsy but has instead experimented with a diet change and that has worked wonders but now we are wondering if this is all somehow tied together.

Thanks roadie gal, and everyone else. Mom said tonight she is going to annoy the heck out of her doctor till she agrees and if she doesnt have a referral by the end of the week she will try starting over with another doctor monday. We did find that there is a very highly respected pediatric cardiologist about a 100 miles from here that we are trying to get her referred too. Thanks again, we are open to all suggestions..

Just a couple of thoughts...

What has your family's relationship with her doctor been in the past? Has she known your sister a long time? Have you been happy with her in the past? If it's generally been a positive experience, you might want to think carefully before switching- if on the other hand, you never really liked/trusted her that well, it might make sense to ask for a second opinion.

How have the most recent interactions occurred? Have your sister and mother met with the doctor to discuss the test results? Or have the interactions been over the phone, or relayed through the doctor's staff members? There are a lot of demands on a doctor's time; the best way to get her full attention is to schedule an office visit and sit down and discuss the best course of action.

'Annoying the heck out of the doctor' may not be the best way to get the right sort of attention. Instead of approaching things with an agenda ('we need to see this particular specialist now') you might want to try expressing your concern more tactfully ('we're all very scared/worried about this because...').

Good luck with things!

[luv2ride94]

Just a couple of thoughts...

What has your family's relationship with her doctor been in the past? Has she known your sister a long time? Have you been happy with her in the past? If it's generally been a positive experience, you might want to think carefully before switching- if on the other hand, you never really liked/trusted her that well, it might make sense to ask for a second opinion.

How have the most recent interactions occurred? Have your sister and mother met with the doctor to discuss the test results? Or have the interactions been over the phone, or relayed through the doctor's staff members? There are a lot of demands on a doctor's time; the best way to get her full attention is to schedule an office visit and sit down and discuss the best course of action.

'Annoying the heck out of the doctor' may not be the best way to get the right sort of attention. Instead of approaching things with an agenda ('we need to see this particular specialist now') you might want to try expressing your concern more tactfully ('we're all very scared/worried about this because...').

Good luck with things!

Sorry i probably worded that wrong before. My moms about the sweetest lady alive until you mess with her kids but even so she would never be anything but tactful and polite. things were being relayed though the staff and since then mom has been making appointments to meet with the actual doctor in person. I think the most frustrating aspect of the whole situation is that there was not a real relationship strongly established between my family and this doctor before all this so she doesn't know Katie well enough to know her personality and therefore is convineed that she is a "Hysterical child" and this is a "attention getting tactic".. the only things shes really seen katie for before were swimmers ear, cough, etc... Took Katie into ER for bad chest pains last night and they said she has tachycardia and shes now seeing a pediatric cardiologist tuesday morning... So its looks like it will be alright after all. Now we can jsut hope that this is nothing major. Thanks!!

[Bklynmom]

I think you girls and your Mom are just awesome - sending you good vibes, and I am sure all will be well soon.