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Echo result (Read 14714 times)
toto
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Echo result
Feb 04th, 2007, 4:47am
 
Hi,
Had an echocardiogram recently. Just got the results back from my GP who quoted the consultant cardiologist as saying that my heart was "essentially normal".
All I can hear is...... "essentially" ....What does that mean??? That sounds to me like its normal but there was some problem that he doesn't want to worry me about but thats worrying in itself. Its sounds like there is a "but" at the end of the sentence.
Why couldn't he just say NAD...nothing abnormal discovered.

Yes...I'm panicking! LOL

PS Sorry...perhaps I should have posted this on the symptoms section.. not sure. Oops.x
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Beanie
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Re: Echo result
Reply #1 - Feb 4th, 2007, 5:27am
 
It may be medical wording and nothing else.  If the Dr is OK with it you should be too.  I have had a test result that said 'nothing remarkable'.  I did the same thing-what is not remarkable to them might be remarkable to me!!  Is there something not remarkable, but still there??? But I understand your fear.  Ask the Dr for clarification to put your mind at ease.
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angiebaby
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Re: Echo result
Reply #2 - Feb 4th, 2007, 7:26am
 
With working in a GP surgery i see this term all the time, they do put essentially normal a lot and as far as i am aware it means exactly that, normal.  I would ask for clarification though to put your mind at ease.  They should not mess with our minds i guess and put things in 'better english', lol.
Angiebaby.
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Angiebaby.x
It take a minute to get anxiety and a lifetime to get rid of it!!
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toto
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Re: Echo result
Reply #3 - Feb 4th, 2007, 12:48pm
 
Many thanks angie. I suppose its just a term 'they' use. Just a different language. This website is a godsend. I wish I'd seen it at Xmas when i was having the worst Xmas of my life! The Nomorepanic website is good....excellent...but this is more specific and much more informative for my concerns.

RLR is a hero. I've learnt more from him in the past 24 hours than I have in the past 6 years from many many doctors. They have tried... but they just don't have the time within the NHS to give you what you need which is just reassurance and information.
I feel I've turned a corner this weekend. Hurrayyyyyyy xxxxx
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RLR
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Re: Echo result
Reply #4 - Feb 5th, 2007, 4:44am
 
Yes, it's a term that "we" use quite frequently and generally must do so for legal reasons moreso than with regard to anything being wrong at all. Between lawyers and insurance companies, physicians of this century are required to practice medicine with a gun to our head. The term essentially merely refers to what is important or relevant to the complaint and the test result by comparison to published norms. It does not mean "well, except for that strange reading that we won't mention for now."

Patients with anxiety, particularly who are experiencing worrisome somatic symptoms, must have thorough reassurance in order to gain both confidence and relief. They become highly sensitized to every word being spoken, every itemization of test results and other factors relevant to obtaining the information they need to feel secure. This is where your focus needs to be and with the help of professionals who deal with such matters regularly, you can discover the underlying cause.

The great news is that your heart is fine. Go buy a new outfit and do lunch with the girls. Life is grand.

Best regards and Good Health
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Best Regards and Good Health
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toto
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Re: Echo result
Reply #5 - Feb 5th, 2007, 7:39am
 
Many thanks RLR.

You're right about thorough reassurance. I was always going to be slightly suspicious about the Consultants report, not because I doubted the results of the test but I doubted him. When I had my initial consultation with him I asked him several questions which he couldn't really be bothered answering. After every question he shrugged his shoulders and said some bland " er...maybe" or something like that. I'm sure he thought by minimising the answers he was  minimising my anxiety. It didn't work. I needed to understand what was hapening.  It was blatantly obvious I didn''t have a heart condition as I was sitting in the waiting room with about 10 very elderly people who looked grey and there was I sitting looking a picture of health.
I left the hospital feeling like I had Munchausens syndrome!

I can honestly say that I have learnt more this past weekend from reading the info on here, than I have in the past 6 years of attending my own GP and consultant service and for this I'll be eternally grateful. It all makes sense.
As I've said in another post...RLR..you're a hero!!
Regards
Toni x
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saab
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Re: Echo result
Reply #6 - Feb 6th, 2007, 2:17am
 
I think part of my inability to accept that my heart is okay has stemmed from the dismissive attitude you can get amongst doctors. I was told 'you have multiple ectopics, but you're fine, you can go home,' with no explanation of what they were or if they could damage my heart or anything. I think some people can be quite patronising and superior in their attitude - kind of, "If I've said you're okay, that's all you need to know". This is in total contrast to the consultant who did my hysterectomy. She went through every single thing with me, including my concerns about my heart. As you say though, I have learnt more and had more reassurance from this board and RLR than anything else.
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Kathryn
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Re: Echo result
Reply #7 - Feb 6th, 2007, 1:23pm
 
Hi

It's taken me a long while to accept (I can't write it all as I still feel I am jinxing myself) but again this is in my head!

I had every blood test possible, I had a 24 hour wee sample, I had a scan on my lungs, ECG's countless, Echo and 24 hour ECG, all showed benign palpitations, never had a missed beat whilst on a machine, this bothered me for a long while, still does on occasions just not as often, All my blood tests have come back fine, except the 2 I have mentioned before, but they were nothing to worry about, So far my BP has been good, my cholesterol a year 1/2 ago was good, I have to take on that information, these are facts not something someones just made up.  I've had to accept that it's anxiety along with IBS, that has been extremely difficult for me and still is, it's a slow progress, you will all be ok, There  was a few of us on the last site, Mia posts very occasionally and Suzy but I can assume they are doing ok, probably having bad days but ok.  So my point is you all will too, lots of people experience Palpitations and missed beats etc.. but some do not even know they do.  I honestly know how you all feel when it's happening it's awful and so restrictive.   I'm not trying to preach to you all I'm just saying I was where you are a year or more ago and I've progressed.  

Changing my diet and other habits helps alot, and you must stick to it.  I know not all of you have anxiety disorders, but most do and once you take that first step it's a start.  A year ago I'd have never gone for Parent Governor, and would have totally freaked with all the courses and paperwork that go with it, but I'm not.  I decided I do not want to look back on my 20's 30's however long I kept myself in that state, thinking I wasted it worrying, or for my children to reminiss and see mummy been this stress, worried person all the time.   Keeping yourself stressed for many years isn't good for you either.

Many doctors are not very comforting, my main doctor (as I have to see whoevers free on the day normally which could be 1 of 7 different doctors going over the same thing over and over) got quite frustrated with me, to the point where I'd panic about going, I even took my mum!  As I was convinced she had missed some vital indication that something was terribly wrong and that  anxiety could not posssibly cause how I'm feeling.  As it happens it wasn't just it was my IBS too, but what caused that - Stress! From this site I have come a long way, I'm still not there but I know I am the only one who can make myself be better, Not all the pills the doctors keep trying to give to me but me.

I paniced myself today as I had a terrible headache last night and a bit of one today and my eyes have hurt when moving them side to side,  So went to the doctor and he said could be Migraine, tension or sinuses!

Also another thing for us ladies is our hormones I can guarantee my anxiety will flare up more when my period is due, which then causes muscle tension, nervous indigestion adding to the excess wind I get anyway, missed beats, racing heart, feeling really odd, pains in my stomach, and this is also true for those of you going through your menopause.  One doctor said to me it's natural for women to feel more anxious nearer their periods, it's a natural response.

What we do not realise when we are anxious is that our bodies are only reacting how they should be, but too much and for the wrong situations.  It's survival instint, you would experience alot of your symptoms if faced with imminant danger, but our thought's fool our bodies and put us in this state, then we panic more about those symptoms.

I've probably rambled on and made absolutely no sense.

Kath x
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toto
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Re: Echo result
Reply #8 - Feb 6th, 2007, 2:25pm
 
I think what you write is a lot of sense Kathryn.

Its taken me years to accept that  its MY reaction to anxiety that is the problem. Everyone gets anxious sometimes..its natural but when I first went to see my doctor about ectopics he told me to think very hard about where the stresses in my life were and try and do something about them.
I ended up blaming things for them....like my job, or a work colleague giving me hassle.  But I suppose if I stopped over reacting to all of these things I wouldn't get as distressed in a negative way. So I've tried to change my attitude and stop thinking about the 'what ifs' and try and start some positive thinking. I have to say that I've done this through reading books and stuff on the internet about anxiety but also my husband is a great positive thinker and has endless patience and is very good at talking me through things!! Thank God! I also like these forums as talking to folk who KNOW what you're on about is wonderful.

I had a terrible time last year when I had to give a very formal presentation to about 150 colleagues about a work related issue. It was to be videoed and published for distribution to all colleagues. You can only imagine how that went. I have absolutely NO MEMORY whatsoever for the 20 minutes of me talking! Honestly...if I didn't have the video I could swear I hadn't done it.   And when it was over, I was told that they had booked another day as it had been so successful that it would have to be run again!!! It was PURE torture. And my bit of the presentation got the highest scores from delegates out of three others! but I still can't say I'll ever volunteer for something like this again because I didn't enjoy it one bit but thats more to do with my confidence levels. Now, 6 months on, I can laugh about it but never again!

I won't let anxiety rule my life. I won't but I think I'll let someone else do the presenting in future. I don't do it often enough to overcome the fear and practice and relax.

Sorry, now I'm burbling!
BTW, loved your other post about your anxiety management class and ALL those symptoms!!! I've had many of them!

Take care or take no care whatsoever!
Toni x
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