Looking for someone to take the time with me

 

Wow, you really have a lot going on. I think your cardiologist is really suggesting the right thing with the CT scan. There is no way to really tell what is going on right now without some kind of diagnostic test. Anything is possible, but we won't know for sure until we can take a look at it and then determine how to best treat it.

 

I am sorry to hear that your cardiologist did not treat you very well. There are many other cardiologists out there who could treat you with a little more respect than that. Their goal should be to help you quit smoking and to do what ever they can to help you from an insurance/coverage standpoint. It is extremely important that you stop smoking. Smoking is the number one thing that you could do for yourself right now, that would make a significant impact on your life, your symptoms and ultimately your longevity. Please consider it, and start to mentally prepare yourself to do it. 1-800-QUIT-NOW is a great resource for you. they offer a coach over the phone to give you tips and help and also free medications and materials. Think about it.

 

I am going to send your message to one of the cardiologists that I work with also and see if he has any other insight to offer.  Thanks for your question, and you will hear from me again soon with another response from the cardiologist.

 

This response to your question if from Dr. Christopher Wolfram from Cardiology Associates of Green Bay, WI.

It would be extremely unusual for severe back pain caused by an aortic dissection to spontaneously resolve.  It is more likely that the cause of that episode of pain and possibley your recurrent pain is musculoskeletal.  That being said, I do not blame your cardiologist for wanting to get a CT scan to evaluate your aorta.  Certain medical conditions that can predispose people to having a coronary artery dissection, can also predispose people to having aneurysm or dissection of your aorta, which can be life threatening.

You, like many others in our society are unfortunate to not have heath insurance coverage.  This is a major problem that in many cases results in people avoiding preventative care and presenting for care only at the time of emergency, sometimes only after the damage is done.  An office visit with a different cardiologist or other physician may be a less expensive way to have some improved insight into your condition and help you to decide what expense you are willing to incur depending on how serious the problem may be.

 

Additional response from reader:

Dear Kelly, thank you so much for replying.

 

First, I have a prescription for a nicotine inhaler that I've had a long while. My husband refused to get it for me because we must commit to a case, and I cannot know if I'll be allergic or something. I think he will get it now though. Every so often the stress of my life gets overwhelming and I start having little chest pains, but they never last long. My first dissection was a case of extreme stress along with heavy bleeding from fibroid tumors. That pain hit me hard and lasted for several hours.

 

I first went to a clinic that insisted I pay in full before I was seen. I did and they gave me an EKG and told me I was fine. Around three hours later the pain had not gone so I went to the E.R. They thought it was not an attack also, right up until they gave me nitro and an aspirin. The pain stopped instantly, and they scurried then. Sometimes my hands turn blue and look dirty, but a warm washing usually fixes that. My toes turn white sometimes and tingle, not often though and usually when I get into a warm tub.

 

I am writing this out because I forget to tell the doctor, and I don't know what are issues and what are not. I have heart pain ever since my Spontaneous Dissection, but the cardiologists have simply said I'm not and refused to believe me. Well, until I finally remembered to tell him about what feels like electric worms in my heart from time to time. Now, I know that is somehow important. Before my first attack I couldn't lie on my side because there wasn't room in my chest and I couldn't breathe. This happened for a few months before that one. That happened to me again in the last few months, but after the big pain on August 23rd, it didn't happen again until last night. So, there you go.

 

Dear Kelly, I am SO sorry. I got entirely embarrassed after I saw your second email and I completely forgot to thank you. I am grateful for the good news, really! I had nothing to focus on until your kindness except the bad. Now, maybe I can get it out of my head and really see if my symptoms are real or imagined because of fear.

 

Thank you so, so much!