I've been having palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness & fatigue for about
2 years now, but its been getting worse recently. Hot weather, hot baths, too much physical exertion & lying on my left side makes things worse. I'm a 26 year old female, 123lbs, 5'1", as active as I feel I can be, vegetarian, don't do drugs, rarely drink & cannot have caffeine in any form. I remember having chest pain when I was a kid & playing in the yard, and I've had similar pain recently. One day, I was sitting doing work on my computer & I got this squeezing chest pain that made it impossible to take a deep breath. Once I sat up straight it went away, but it was a little scary. I also have these strange rashes on my left shoulder & left side of my neck & left side of my stomach that haven't responded to anything but seem to come & go on their own. Plus, I've been having a lot of problems with oily skin & pimples that haven't responded to anything I've tried. I've also been constipated recently & experienced strong vitamin C cravings. The only way I can have a bowel movement is if I consume a lot of vitamin C.
I've also had several menstrual irregularities. I skipped a month, which has never happened before. Never had sex so I can't be pregnant. Then my period lasted 9 days, when 6 is my normal. I've also had spotting between periods, which I've never, ever had before this year. And this past month, I got my period again 2 weeks after my last one ended.
After that episode, my ND wanted me to have an echocardiogram. It showed PVCs, PACs & regurgitation from my mitral, tricuspid & pulmonic valves. She wanted me to see a cardiologist, however the tests that the cardiologist did showed that I have PVCs more than normal, but the cardiologist said that was fine & that was the end of it. Cardiologist did stress test & Holter monitor. The treadmill made me dizzy & aggravated an old knee injury, so I don't think it was an accurate test. My ND has tried a variety of herbs & supplements, including CoQ10 & magnesium, and neither have any effect.
I told myself that I wasn't going to get too upset by the results, but I'm quite depressed & feel like I'm doomed to suffer. I know that the only way I'm going to find out what's wrong with me is to see more drs, but I don't trust any of them right now. I do like my ND & OB/GYN. I do have an appointment with my ND next month, so I guess we'll talk more then.
I forgot to add a couple of things. While I do get some symptoms while I'm active, some of the worst symptoms I experience are while I'm relaxing or completely relaxed (ie in the process of waking up). Sometimes, the palpitations feel like my heart is made of quivering jello. Usually when I start to feel really bad palpitations when I'm active I get this instinctual feeling that I need to stop NOW. I also fainted last year, and my blood pressure has always been low, sometimes too low (systolic <90). I make sure that I consume plenty of electrolytes & eating more salt doesn't help.
Post Edited (sayyadina) : 9/18/2010 6:48:20 PM (GMT-6)