Am I right to think that MD's really won't pay attention to me until something big (like passing out) happens? (read on...)

No. I would advise NOT exaggerating your symptoms.
I would however look for another doctor.

Document, document, document. Write down symptoms-when they occur (at exertion/exercise or at rest, time of day) and how severe.

If it’s bothering you and impacting your day-to-day life..put it to them that way.

I don’t know. I had chest pains that synchronized with my heart beat for a few months. I got an echocardiogram, found out I’m a genetically inferior mutant with a heart valve defect (bicuspid something), and was told that it wasn’t what was causing the pain. So . . . I guess I just hope the pains meant nothing bad?

I don’t think medicine is applied very efficiently, not if actual health is the standard for measuring efficiency.

Also, your symptoms sound similar to ones I’ve had—and probably are just too “broad” (could be too many possible things!)..but if you’ve not had a CBC (Combined Blood Count) then your doctors are asleep at the wheel.

You could have a cardiac condition with those symptoms.
You could have anemia with those symptoms.
You could have asthma that’s just not well controlled with those symptoms.

Only several detailed diagnostic tests (flow-meter for asthma, blood tests) would get you a clearer answer. DEMAND those tests.

Have the 3 different doctors also been talking with each other? If not, that could be a lot of the problem since they aren’t sharing information. I’m sorry you are having a hard time getting a diagnosis and proper treatment for it. If you do have asthma, it could take a while to find the right medications to properly control it.

With medicine, you have to proactively manage your own care. Very rarely do you get a doctor who will do it all, unless you’re going to an internist or family practitioner and specifically ask them to do that. Someone has to manage the conversation between doctors.

That being said, have you been seen by an allergist? Have they asked you to rule out environmental allergies? You could be allergic to something in the building materials in your house, carpeting, etc. Something that’s not obvious, but profound.

Honey, that’s been the story of my life.

Keep on doing what you’re doing. Understand that it can take several days for you to develop a reaction to what you eat. Diagnosing yourself is difficult, but it has been done by people before. http://ezinearticles.com/?Testing-For-Food-Allergies---Self-Diagnosis&id=1915622

I know that pantothenic acid is often suggested for allergies. Perhaps taking it will help your body deal with your allergies-whatever the source.

Unfortunately getting angry isn’t going to help. Instead, use your anger to further your own knowledge of how your body works. Read everything. Keep an open mind, and talk to everyone.

@geeky_mama Anemia is one of the first things that my mom thought of, and we got my iron checked. I have very high iron, so it can’t be that.
And I would never exaggerate my symptoms.

This is really frustrating and confusing.

Thing about doctors is that there really isn’t all that much that they can do. Most of them are trying their best to help you. Exaggerating will only end up with them giving you more of what you don’t need.

@Nullo Amend that to say “Many” or “Most” doctors care, or are trying to help you. I’ve had more than my share of egotistical nut cases.

I think zophu may have a point about the cardiac condition. Have you had an ECG? If not, I strongly recommend that you do. Women often have atypical symptoms with heart disease. It can even masquerade as indigestion. I had symptoms similar to acid reflux. This went on for about a month before I had any chest pain. To make a long story short I ended up in the hospital with a 99% blockage in one of my main arteries. I was in shock! No history of heart disease, no shortness of breath, no known risk factors. So if I were you I would have an ECG just to rule it out. Blockages can happen quickly when the vessel wall ruptures and plaque baloons out of the rupture and blocks your artery. It doesn’t always happen as a gradual buildup. You can have a normal EKG one day and the next be in the Emergency room with cardiac distress. Sorry, I don’t mean to alarm you. It may not be that at all. I just think you would be wise to rule it out if you haven’t already. Good luck. Keep trying until you get answers.

@Earthgirl I’ve had this going on for about 2 years, so I would think that couldn’t be what it is, right?

Probably not. If it’s been going on that long. I’m no doctor so I don’t know.

@Earthgirl thank you so much for the suggestion, though.

Thank you to everyone, for that matter!

im sorry youve had that experience… i am a first year physician so by no means am i trying to sound as a seasoned expert in the field of medicine… just someone who has some medical knowledge and also someone who has dealt with patients who are diagnostic dilemmas…

when someone comes in to the hospital- based on symptoms, physical exam, and diagnostic lab or imaging studies, a diagnosis is made… common things being common, a diagnosis of asthma (for example) usually is the right diagnosis… when parts of the history dont fit a certain diagnosis or the response to a given treatment is not what is expected, it is reasonable to expand the differential diagnosis and start searching for more rare causes… the problem could be that if you go to different physicians, there is not an opportunity to analyze and re-analyze… unfortunately, in medicine, trial and error is part of the process..

besides documenting everything, as you already are doing, it could be helpful to find a physician you trust and stick with him/her in efforts to not duplicate the work up…

based on your symptoms, i can think of a lot of potential diagnosis, from cardiac to pulmonary to endocrine causes…

lastly, just wanted to clarify some things mentioned above…

chest pain in a patient with a bicuspid aortic valve is part of the natural history of bicuspid aortic valve… main symptoms to watch for is angina (chest pain), syncope, or symptoms of heart failure (shortness of breath with exertion, inability to lie flat, cough and shortness of breath that awakens you from sleep, increased leg swelling)- bicuspid valves are often replaced with valves due to these symptoms as these symptoms are associated with increased mortality…

as for anemia, the most common cause is iron deficiency (in women most commonly caused by menstrual bleeding and in older folks because of gastrointestinal bleeding)... but there are other nutritional deficiency causes including folate and b12 deficiency… also liver disease, thyroid disease, kidney disease can also cause anemia (to name a few causes)

i know this response is not the most helpful as you still dont have an answer to what is causing your symptoms- i hope you are able to find someone who can adequately and successfully diagnose/treat the cause of your symptoms…

i wish you the best…

ChocolateReigns I didn’t realize how young you are. Are you dealing with a lot of stress for some reason?

that is, besides this medical problem? :)

@Earthgirl Not really, no. My life is pretty easy compared to what some girls my age have to go through. School is confusing, but besides that my life is pretty good.

I thought you were home schooled? Aren’t you? I just read that in the Kate Middleton post you made

Yeah, I am. Schoolwork is just as confusing for us as it is for the rest of the world!

@ChocolateReigns; You are much too young (14?) to have this responsibility; your parents should be taking on the medical profession in order to get you the best diagnosis, care, treatment, etc.

@gailcalled Oh, they are. But I’m trying to do research and find some stuff on my own.

i didnt notice you were 14… i just wanted to echo what has been said… talk to a parent, youth pastor, or someone you trust… this is a lot to go through for anyone but especially hard while having to worry about school and all the joys of teenage life…

Perhaps you need to talk to your Mom about your concerns and confusion with school work. I hope that she can help you sort that out. If not maybe there’s another adult you trust that will help to make it less confusing for you. Good luck!

@Earthgirl Oh, it’s nothing that bad, just the general “ack!” that tends to get produced by algebra. Oh, joy. My dad is good with this, though so I should be able to get it worked out without much trouble.

Super!

This totally sucks. It is true that sometimes you are not sick enough for doctors to figure out what is going on. Sometimes you just have not been to the right doctor, or a doctor who is taking you seriously enough. I have had a few things like this in my life, and it is very annoying to know something is wrong, but a medical professional cannot figure it out. What helps me deal with it, is to think they are human, and may not understand how I feel, aybe I am not communicating my experience well, or maybe they would need to observe the problem while it is happening to figure it out?

Does this only happen when you first wake up? Have you checked your blood pressure when it is happening? Did they do a blood test to check your thyroid? Do you work out with weights? Or, do upper body exercise, like swimming?

Has he done a chest xray. You can have walking Pnemonia. I had a friend who use to get it all the time and her symtoms where like yours.
Of couse if you have a bad case of asthma it could be you need to be on predisone pills. Especially if this is the first time this is happening to you. The first time my daughter got asthma she had to be on predisone for a few day. Of course she was extremely bad. But as someone already mentioned it may take a few days. Did the doc give you a breathing treatment in the office that made you feel better at first?
The steroids in inhalers will take some time to work and even longer if you aren’t taking it the right way. If your lungs are really bad you may be simply having a hard time getting the medicine all the way in your lungs. Just go back to the doc and tell him the meds isn’t doing the trick any more. You may need a portable inhaler machine at home. It works like the breathing treatments in the doctors office. Or even a steroid shot. When my daughter would get really bad, a steroid shot usually did the work till the inhaler had time to do its thing.

@Pandora We just got a chest xray done today. It looked beautiful.
When I was little, I had asthma. It got bad enough that I had the albuterol inhaler machine and I had to use it about once or twice a week, and every day when I had a cold. It seemed to quiet down until about 2 years ago, when it came back in full force.

@JLeslie No, it usually happens in the afternoon or evening. It’s hard to catch it when it’s worst, so no doctors know what it’s like besides how I describe it. They didn’t do a blood test to check my thyroid. No, I don’t work out with weights or do upper body exercise.

The Dr. that I went to this morning did a chest xray and that came back perfect. I’m going to get a pulmonary function test in a couple of days, and if that comes back perfect, apparently it’s just a) I’m extremely out of shape or b) it’s all in my head. Except that nobody I’ve talked to really believes it’s in my head.

Thank you guys so much for all the advice! This is a perfect example of Fluther at work!

@ChocolateReigns When you are calm? Like when you are just sitting watching tv, or laying down before falling asleep?

@JLeslie yeah, usually both of those times. Why do you ask?

@ChocolateReigns Because when you are come sometimes rapid heart rates, low lood pressure, feeling spacey, and heart arythmias can be more apparent. I only notice my heart arythmia when I am at rest. I notice my heart is racing also only when I am calm. My heart rate goes up, and my blood pressure is very low when my thyroid is hyper. I always have the arythmia, but it is way more evident when my thyroid is whacky and my heart is either very slow or very fast.

The chest pain I don’t know? I used to get cheast pain on my left side when I was around your age, and we chalked it up to muscle pain, but not heart pain, but there is no way or me to know if hat is the case for you obviously. Our bodies change so much when we are growing up, that there are all sorts of growing pains, and weird suff going on.

Do you eat regularly? Did they check your sugar levels when you fast? If not, I think they should check that and your TSH. Is your skin very dry? Are your eyes very dry? Maybe feel sticky in he morning?

@JLeslie Well, the guy I saw today thought it might be something with my heart. That’s why we got a chest x-ray. He said it looked great. So I don’t think what you’re talking about is what it could be.

I eat regularly. My mom is a bit of a health freak, so everything I eat is extremely healthy. They didn’t check my sugar levels when I’m fasting. That sounds like it’d be a good idea. What’s TSH? I’m lucky about dry skin – I don’t really have a problem with it. Now that you mention it, my eyes do kind of feel a bit sticky in the morning, but I don’t feel like it’s a big deal…why did you mention that?

Thyroid usually makes skin and eyes dry. TSH is a thyroid blood test, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Chest xray would not show anything to do with an arythmia or murmur.

If your sugar is dropping below normal in between meals I think it could cause some of those symptoms maybe. Even if you eat very healthy you could have a problem with this. Are you restricting carbs and sugars? Do you eat regularly? 3–5 times a day?

Symptoms of low blood sugar are actually a bit different than the ones you are having. While it is nice to search the internet for answers, it can also lead to unnecessary stress and worry. Thyroid, heart, lung problems are all certainly possible but via internet it is impossible to really give you a fair assessment on what could potentially be causing your symptoms. If this doctor you saw today is one that you feel comfortable with, again I would encourage you to continue with him/her until you finally get this thing figured out. Good luck.

@mdintraining Why stick with a doctor who is coming up with nothing? Better to take a copy of her records, as to not repeat tests already done, and try someone else in my opinion. I had doctors ignore how I described my feeling that my heart stopped for years. My GP did an EKG in his office. Finally a new GYN I was seeing said, see a cardiologist. Low and behold my heart does miss beats when I am resting. My rate was going down to 48 beats a minute during the night, which probably explains why I woke up feeling like I was not getting enough oxygen. Pretty much all of my doctors heard my murmur when I was growing up (this is a separate heart problem) when listening with a stethascope. None of my doctors when I lived in FL heard it, but I know I have one my entire life. When I walked myself in asking for a thyroid test because of my symptoms and the huge lump in my neck, the doctor said my neck looked fine. My TSH was 94.6. I have so many stories.

@ChocolateReigns Buy one of those blood pressure cuffs at the drug store and check your pressure and heart rate when you are having an episode. That way you will know if it is not just a feeling, but actually something physioloical going on that might give a doctor another clue.

@jleslie i said if she felt comfortable with… it seems as this is an initial visit… i didnt suggest staying with one that ignored her symptoms- but if she felt comfortable at the approach taken, it could be worth continuing him/her… your experience is unfortunate and sadly also common, but that doesnt mean that she has a similar condition as you had…

also, i am all for patients taking control of their own health and being proactive… but chocolatereigns is a 14 year old kid (no offense) and throwing out jargon such as hypothyroidism, skipped heart beats, ecg, tsh along with suggesting checking blood pressure at home, etc seems like you are letting your experience with the medical profession cloud your judgement when giving advice to a young person… my intentions are not to offend either one of you two… just trying to offer some perspective… it would be nice to figure out your medical condition overnight with back and forth banter on this website but it is unfortunately not realistic nor should this replace discussion between you and your parents…

@mdintraining I agree with you in general actually. @ChocolateReigns has been around these parts for a while now. I feel confident she would bring the information to her mom, and not get very paranoid, or take it upon herself to do something unwise. She knows the internet is not a real place for medical advice. We are just throwing out ideas based on our own experience. She knows I am not a doctor, and she knows even a doctor cannot diagnose her over the interent. Not to worry.

@JLeslie thanks for the confidence :)

@ChocolateReigns :). Hey, I was thinking about you this morning. I cannot remember if someone above mentioned having your iron checked? That might be worthwhile. And, I wanted to clarify I don’t think you have an arythmia or valve problem as I do. Those were just my examples of what has happened to me that demonstrates my frustration with the medical community.

@JLeslie I’ve had my iron checked. I’m almost the exact opposite of anemic.

@ChocolateReigns If you mean yours is almost too high, but still normal, if you take vitamins make sure there isn’t any iron in them, or if there is maybe cut back a little in iron intake. Too much iron is bad also. Sounds like you are getting plenty of iron in your diet, which is great.