I know Iv asked this before but Im desperate.........

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EireCara

EireCara

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
1,307
Location
Kilkenny, Ireland.
Hi everyone.....Tomorrow is a BIG day for me. I have an app with my cardiologist. In the past I have tried everything I know..lists of questions...list of symptoms, but he is EXTREMELY arrogant and dismissive, and because I feel soo unwell, if he sends me off home saying...(I CANT SEE THE REASON FOR WHY YOU COULD BE FEELING SO UNWELL) I think I will loose my sanity, or what is left of it.

Heres what I know, ''HE KNOWS'' because I have copies of my test results...I have MVP moderate regurg...moderately leaking tricuspid valve...right sided pressures of 45 to 60mmgh....a.fib....V.T. documented on holter monitor...3 failed stress tests.....SVT....and yet he will tell me...''GO HOME,STOP WORRYING YOUR FINE, NONE OF THIS NEEDS ATTENTION'' ETC.

I know Iv asked help with this from you before, but Im just wondering is there ANYTHING else I can do or say to get this man to ''HEAR'' what I am saying.
 
Morning Jacqui, sorry to hear you're so stressed about tomorrow, your cardio does sound like hard work. I'm brand new to all this so all those figures you have are double dutch to me, however, arrogant or not I'm sure he knows what he's talking about, just not up to speed with his people skills!?
One thought though, when did you last have a heart scan ? Because the second time I saw my cardio about 8 months after my first visit and scan he said he didn't need a scan because the previous one had only shown moderate stenosis ? I pushed for a second scan myself which reveiled a very rapid deterioration since the first.
So if your meeting is based on an old scan ask for a fresh one?
Please remember I have little to no real knowledge about all this heart stuff and I'm sure everyone is different but that was my experience.
 
Morning Woodbutcher....My last echo was December of last year...I think. I will get out my records and check it out, that is something I need to know for tomorrow. Thank you for your reply.

Best wishes to you..:cool:
 
cardiologist

cardiologist

Hi Eire Cara, If i were you I would probably seek out a second opinion. It's your heart and body and only you really know how you feel and if your not happy with the arrogant cardio I'm sure there are others out there. It took me three tries before i found one i liked and felt he was giving me his time that we all deserve.
 
Sounds to me like you need a different cardiologist. I had an EP who dismissed me when I came in THREE times worried about an incision.... Low and behold, I had an infection that she let get to the point of endocarditis! :eek:

Doctors do not know everything. The only doctors I'll go to anymore are the ones who listen and when they don't know something, admit it. All of my doctors know that I know what's "normal" for me and what is not. If I say something is up, they work until they find the cause. They never make me feel like I'm ignorant or stupid because of how I feel. Yours shouldn't either.

Good luck! I hope this time he'll listen and all your worrying will be for naught.
 
Jacqui, I think you should press for another echo or a Tee. As the others have said a lot can change in a year. Love and prayer, Brian
 
Is shopping for another cardio an option for you? One thing you don't need on top of any cardiac problems is the stress caused by lack of communication and trust.
 
Jacqai, I really have to wonder if all of your rhythm issues are the main reason at this point that you are feeling so unwell. I know first hand how crappy you can feel from them. Maybe he is just focusing on the fact that your valves haven't reached the "severe" stage and that is what he is basing his opinion on that you shouldn't be feeling so unwell. I would ask him if you can be referred for an EP study and a possible ablation. I would also ask for an updated echo and possibly a tee if it has really been a year since you've had one. I also really think I would ask my GP to try and get me referred to another cardio for a second opinion. I know that you don't have a lot of options regarding this and that this guy is supposed to be good, but he obviously isn't "good for you".

I can sense that you are already getting nervous about this visit. Don't let him intimidate you. I find that sometimes trying to put them in your shoes, so to speak, can help. You might say to him "If this were your wife/daughter and she felt as bad as me, would you just let her feel that way? What might you try to help her?"

As always, I wish you the best and hope that you finally get some answers.

Kim
 
I agree with Kim. The rhythm issues you have are enough to make anyone feel crappy. Probably the medications you have to take for the rhythm issues also make you feel crappy as well. Then the right sided pressures probably don't help either. I know that if I were in your shoes I would want to try to have an ablation. Actually, didn't you try to have one once and they couldn't do it because you weren't having the rhythm issues at that particular time? (Maybe I'm thinking of someone else).
 
*Thank you *ALL* so much for your replies.

*Johnny, I dont have the option of shopping round for the best cardiologist because I dont have private health insurance.

*Kim/Bina, I checked my file and I had an echo done in June. Iv NEVER had a tee done. When I had an angiogram (cath), in March 07, the ep specialist said my MV was moderately leaking. You may be right about my rhythm issues. I wake up about 4/5am every morning with a fast hr, usually over 130, and I have to walk very slowly or I get a very irr hb and chest pain, so I dont go out of the house much anymore. You are also right about my stress levels just thinking of this visit in the morning, because I feel like my health is getting worse on a weekly basis and it is scary.

*Adrienne, I had an ep study done in March 07 to hopefully ablate the VT and SVT. Unfortunately my heart went into a.fib instantly...REALLY FAST....so fast that I blacked out. He shocked me back, and said it took quite a few shocks to get me into SR...and thats been it, nobody has done anything since.

THANK YOU ALL ONCE MORE.....I will let you know how things go tomorrow. x
 
Jacqai, I'm not sure why they didn't go ahead and do the abalation if they were doing an ep study. Part of the test is to try and induce different rhythm issues so they know what they are dealing with. I went into both afib/aflutter when I had my last EP study done before my surgery. They didn't do an ablation at that time because they were just checking to make sure that the original ablation that I had previously was still was holding up and that I had nothing else going on and then they did a maze the next morning for the a/fib stuff.

I really have no doubt that if you could get all this rhythm stuff sorted out you will feel 100% better. If I were you, that would be the focus of my visit tomorrow, not the valves.

Kim
 
Just wanting to wish you well w/your appointment Jacqai. I hope that you can get some straight answers & if I were you, I would pursue for a TEE to get a clear picture of what is going on w/your heart. And too, if you have the option of getting another cardiologist & another opinion, I would suggest that too. Like others have said, "it's your body & no one knows better than you how you feel" so don't settle for less!

Let us know what happens. Take care! :)
 
I definitely agree with what everyone has said so far. If you haven't had tests done in 12 months, they need to be done again to see what the current situation is.

I have also had to deal with arrogant cardiologists and skepticism about the severity of my symptoms - fortunately I was able to change who I was seeing.. although that was also due to moving interstate. Anyway, I would ask him: How bad do you believe things need to be to reflect the symptoms I am having? and Is it reasonable to expect I should be completely symptom free at this stage?

Another thing a pulmonologist said to me, which made a LOT of sense, was while each individual issue I was having may not be enough to justify the severity of my symptoms on their own, sometimes the combined affect is larger than the sum of the parts. As he put it: Sometimes 1 + 1 + 1 = 5. I sometimes wonder if they forget it's not just a matter of regurg... OR irregular beats... OR lowerd EF... OR whatever else is going on. All these things are happening TOGETHER and it makes sense that it would be quite overwhelming for your body.

Also - I don't know about you - but I've also had some complete contradictions on test results, letters from cardios referring to the wrong valve, and all sorts of inconsistancies. Now when they start telling me about all their tests, I point out all of these inconsistancies and remind them that through all of this my symptoms are about the only things that haven't varied. In fact, that was what finally got them taking me seriously.

Anyway, good luck with the appointment and don't let yourself be bullied.


A x
 
no confidence

no confidence

hi jacqui

it sseems you are basically saying you have no confidence in the cardiologist you have been assigned and you feel his lack of genuine attention to your cardica problems is, or will lead to a detrioration in your health or even your death.

so it is simple, communicate your situation to the public health medical authorities and ask for a diferent cardiologist. (personally i would tell the cardiologist i had no confidence in him and suggest he withdraw from my care)
- or find out if your hospital has patient advocates and talk to them about this

even in the public health system, you will have a right to do this.

if you do nothing, you will spiral downwards

good luck
 
Hi Jacquie,

I think you need to take someone with you to your appointment - someone to advocate for you, or even just to listen, take notes, ask questions for you..
Sometimes, we as the patients, can feel so stressed and uptight that all the questions we had planned beforehand just seem to fly out the window so to speak.
What about your daughter? I think you have said before what a help she is to you....is there any chance she could go to Dublin with you?
I don't think you should go alone.

Bridgette
 
Bridgette said:
Hi Jacquie,

I think you need to take someone with you to your appointment - someone to advocate for you, or even just to listen, take notes, ask questions for you..
Click to expand...

Great suggestion!!

Now that you mention it, I remember how differently one of my cardio's treated me after I took my partner with me. She seemed to think I was somewhat of a hyperchondriac (or at least that's the impression she gave me), but when my BF started chastising me for actually downplaying my symptoms her whole attitude seemed to change, like "oh... this girl may actually be having real problems".

I highly recommend taking backup! :)


A : )
 
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