Really strange intuition...

[LoveEcho]

So I've been having chest pains for the last few days... getting steadily worse. Yesterday was pretty bad, but I was functioning. When I got home from work, Echo would NOT leave me alone...hopping up and down in front of me, yelping, pushing me with his paws...nothing would make him stop, and this is not something he ever does. Next thing I know, I'm in the worst pain imaginable and on the ground throwing up blood. A really pointless trip to our super ghetto ER ensued where they pumped me full of morphine and sent me home, but the point of this story is that the dog seemed to know something was really wrong before even I did...anyone else ever have something like this happen with their buddies?

Right now I'm in the fetal position on the sofa eating vicodin like candy, and he still will NOT get off of me.

[KSdogowner]

Originally Posted by LoveEcho

A really pointless trip to our super ghetto ER ensued where they pumped me full of morphine and sent me home, but the point of this story is that the dog seemed to know something was really wrong before even I did...anyone else ever have something like this happen with their buddies?

Right now I'm in the fetal position on the sofa eating vicodin like candy, and he still will NOT get off of me.

LoveEcho, what did the doctors at the ER say was the cause of your chest pains? Animals can sense when something isn't right and by the way Echo is acting I would consider going to a different hospital for evaluation immediately. Hoping for perfect health for you.

[LoveEcho]

They did blood work and an ultrasound of my gallbladder...when there was something in my blood work about elevated levels of something responsible for clotting (and this showed up multiple times, so they said a false positive was unlikely), they did a chest CT. None of those things showed anything, and no amount of prescription strength antacids, Maalox laced with lidocaine, etc does any good...it's in my sternum, where there's a whole gaggle of organs and stuff going on, so it seems like they could have been more thorough... blood pressure and heart rate were both through the roof, but no fever. They gave me a pretty hefty morphine drip over 4 hours, which made it a little better, but still horribly painful. I can't eat anything without it getting worse, and I can't lay down on my back. I was crying when the discharge nurse came and she was so rude about it, all "and now you're crying your eyes out, why are you so depressed, you should be grateful we didn't tell you you have cancer".... because apparently being in the worst pain you've ever experienced and getting no answers is fine and dandy. I don't have a GP up here, and they didn't give me any referrals...I called a GI specialist and the soonest they could get me in was in three weeks... I'm so frustrated.

[KSdogowner]

Originally Posted by LoveEcho

They did blood work and an ultrasound of my gallbladder...when there was something in my blood work about elevated levels of something responsible for clotting (and this showed up multiple times, so they said a false positive was unlikely), they did a chest CT.

Wow, I am confused why they gave you morphine with your blood pressure and heart rate elevated, plus the abnormal blood levels and the pain. I do not have medical knowledge though, so this may be normal?

How awful of the discharge nurse to make a comment like that. I am sorry you had to go through this. It is humiliating enough to submit to all these tests but then to also be treated rudely is something else.

I am seriously concerned for you and with Echo acting the way he is, I would definitely go to a different/better ER if you have that option. This way you can at the minimum get a second opinion and then decide on which specialist to set up an appointment with. For now I would think it would be important to identify the source of your pain instead of the obvious generic diagnosis you got from the ER you went to.

[ShenzisMom]

I'm with KSdogowner, go to a different ER. That sounds serious. I hope you feel better soon

[LoveEcho]

A friend of mine is a trauma surgeon in Philly...I'm almost tempted to drive down there and see someone she works with The cancer comment was particularly insensitive because I do have a cancer history, which is part of why all of this is alarming for me. My cardiologist just called and told me all kinds of stuff that was in the tests that they didn't tell me about, including nodules on my lungs... grrrr. Hubby keeps teasing that between the dog's feet/infections and my...whatever... he's going to take us both out back and shoot us. Granted, he's actually pampering me and showering me with affection and cleaning/cooking, but I think listening to both the dog and I whine must be hard I'm worried about Echo though, he's so obsessed with me right now that he won't even eat...

[RileyMay]

Originally Posted by LoveEcho

A friend of mine is a trauma surgeon in Philly...I'm almost tempted to drive down there and see someone she works with The cancer comment was particularly insensitive because I do have a cancer history, which is part of why all of this is alarming for me. My cardiologist just called and told me all kinds of stuff that was in the tests that they didn't tell me about, including nodules on my lungs... grrrr. Hubby keeps teasing that between the dog's feet/infections and my...whatever... he's going to take us both out back and shoot us. Granted, he's actually pampering me and showering me with affection and cleaning/cooking, but I think listening to both the dog and I whine must be hard I'm worried about Echo though, he's so obsessed with me right now that he won't even eat...

I would drive down to Philly. Anywhere you can go with a better ER. That nurse is just horrible. My Uncle John died before we got to go to Italy because of cancer.

[PupperLove]

I can't believe they treated you like that at the ER....that's shocking. If that's the kind of staff they are employing I would not trust their opinions! You need to go somewhere else right away! Of course with chest pain one automatically thinks 'heart', but throwing up blood? If the dog isn't leaving you alone, that's concerning...don't give up. Get another opinion. Someone should be able to get you in the same day you call...you shouldn't have to wait for openings with chest pain....

[PixieRN]

I hope you aren't serious about eating Vicodin like candy, you could go into liver failure if you overdose on acetaminophen.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by PixieRN

I hope you aren't serious about eating Vicodin like candy, you could go into liver failure if you overdose on acetaminophen.

No, just being dramatic following dosages strictly!