Pericardectomy

stay calm. do some deep breathing exercises if you feel nervous. remember that you are in safe hands. a little bit of nerves is quite normal actually. had a double by pass last year. sending many healing thoughts.

Cindy,

Thank you so much for your reply. I went to great Cardiologist, just got blown off though. The first one I saw was also not helpful at all. I work as an x-ray tech in an Orthopedic Surgeons office for about 22 Drs. Just not the "right" type of docs. LOL. But it was one of my ortho docs who suggested Pericarditis and I have heard a gazillion different diagnosis from all the different medical people I know. The one bad thing about working in the medical field. I know too much and too many people who think they know things. LOL.

I have basically passed every test I took from lung function test, stomach scope, treadmill stress test, echo, bloodwork, CT of chest and I even demanded my DR. order a cardiac MRI last August .. my last test that I have had done because I was going out of the country on vacation for a month. Anyways, upon my return in October I resumed teaching a couple hours a week at the gym although I changed my classes and got rid of a couple of the harder ones. I now have been teaching 3 hours a week at the gym but only one class has a lot of cardio. I notice towards the end I struggle a bit. I notice I am more fatigued than normal as I am normally a real go-getter type of person who never stops. I still am leaning towards the idea that I am having chronic inflammation although I never had chest pain more discomfort sometimes achy feeling.....except I noticed some chest pain today when I was over-exerting myself at the gym teaching during a strenuous part of class. Everything I feel feels deep in my chest under my sternum. I feel best standing up. I notice tolerable discomfort upon deep inspiration too. I can do pushups and things without pain so I don't think costrochondritis is the answer although I wish it was.

I took 3 months rest a couple weeks after my inital illness and took anti-inflammatories along with Prilosec to protect my stomach and ended up with really high blood pressure (for me) from the meds and had heart palps from the Prilosec (I believe it was the cause and read a lot about others having that issue too) once I went off the meds I felt somewhat better just because my BP went back down and the palps stopped and started trying to teach again since cardio #2 said I was fine and "not a cardiac problem" and managed a few weeks of classes before I took another month off for vacation in Sept. I feel like as my activity level has increased some that my symtoms are getting a little more noticeable/worse though and I am noticing my heart more when I am resting/sitting.

Do you have trouble lying flat in bed or notice your heart a lot more when laying down?

I am going to probably see yet another cardiologist my Dr. told me about sometime soon and get her assessment. I really want someone to run a few more tests, maybe another round of bloodwork and echo, ekg, to compare it what I had done previously to see if there are any changes since it has been quite a while since my echo last May. I have also just thought about saying to heck with it and going to the Cleveland Clinic as it is not too far of a drive from where I grew up and where my mom lives. I may have to go that route if no one here can figure something out. I just do not feel like my normal self, even though I can function. Its not a my normal level or even close to it. I checked most everything and my thyroid too, no tests for anything autoimmune though. I seriously doubt that is the issue, but there is a Rheumatology office next door to my work.


good luck with tapering off the Prednisone....it sounds like you are being treated by someone who knows what is going on and the right way to do things. When this all started, I went through a bout of the worst anxiety I have ever had due to reading to much on Google. I have since recovered from that, but that also caused sleepless nights and a couple borderline panic attacks. I am a hyper person to begin with and the 3 months off of physical activity truly made me a little crazy and made my anxiety a lot worse. My co-worker had Pericarditis and an effusion that had to be drained, she was told there was nothing wrong with her more than once initially she said. But that was years ago and she is totally fine now, but it sounds like her case only lasted a few months.

Thanks for letting me vent, it's good to hear about other people's experiences even if you aren't sure that is your issue or not.

Best wishes, keep us updated on how you are doing.

Amber

Hello Helen in Atlanta or anyone who has gone through surgery for pericarditis

I have a similar situation. My dad (80 yrs old) seems to have constrictive pericarditis and might need to go through pericardectomy. Do you still recommend Dr. Balkhy in U of Chicago?
My Dad is not in US and wonder how much cost we are expecting without insurance.
I have been contacting Cleveland Clinic, which has Pericarditis center, but do you have any opinion on this place?

Cleveland clinic has great reputation as well; but, as I recall, their top renowned surgeon retired a year or so ago. Also, they will perform traditional on pump surgery (most likely) that requires opening chest and sternotomy which will be tough for 80 year old.
University of Chicago responded promptly and scheduled surgery within 2 weeks after initial contact (all via email along with medical record/echo/Cath review). Dr. Balkhy corresponded with me directly via email and phone.