I know nobody can give me medical advice but I don't even know where to start looking. My husband was very healthy till six years ago when he tore his rotator cuff. After surgery he started having BP issues -- wide swings drops in pulse -- I mean in one day his BP would go from 130/80 to 205/115. His pulse would race over 100 (resting) or dip as low as 54. He's been on megadoses of several meds but they can't stabilize him because he doesn't have high or low BP; he has both. He's seen a urologist to rule out kidney issues; had stress tests with cardiologist; on a cpap to sleep better to reduce bp; had several scans to rule out pheochromocytoma etc. This week it was 229/119; he finally got squeezed in to see a P.A. (doc couldn't see him for six weeks) and they gave him SIX doses of bp meds to get it down to 198/90. I don't know where to look. He's 57. Was always very healthy and very strong till this. Six years of this is taking its toll on his body. Any suggestions of where else to look?
2015-04-10 02:46:22
Hmmm that's a tough one. So you're saying that he had NONE of these problems no BP issues no racing pulse nothing until that rotator cuff surgery? I'm not a doctor and cannot give medical advice but I do have some thoughts on this...let me tell you true story: 4 years ago I agreed to a cortisone shot in my neck/shoulder to alleviate chronic pain caused by various things (different doctors tell me different reasons.) I had it done under guided fluoroscopy (xray) at a hospital. It was AWFUL...first off the meds they gave me to "numb" me up failed 100%. I felt the needle and it was excruciating. I was screaming for them to stop but the tech pushed my head down and they proceeded. I was sobbing hysterically through the whole procedure. When it was done and I asked and WAITED for a treatment report I was shocked to read "patient tolerated procedure well." Nothing could have been farther from the truth. I was sore angry and still in pain. They told me the shot might take a few days to kick in. Right. Read what happened to me: (I'm not making any of this up) I went home (the procedure was in the early afternoon) and rested a bit then got up and decided to make an apple pie. As I was cutting the apples I felt weird. Like I had a fever...so I decided to pop a thermometer in my mouth. I was surprised that I had a fever of 100. 15 minutes later I began to feel very hot and dizzy...took my temp again. 101 degrees. I got a little worried and called my husband to watch me. 15 minutes later I was at 102. Now I was really freaking out. My temp was going up one degree every fifteen minutes. At 103 I called am ambulance...which was a joke. We have a volunteer rescue squad in our rural town and the only person in the bus with me was a 17 year old kid who had no clue what to do. I asked him to ice me down...all he had were these little "break open" cold packs they kept on hand for kids soccer practice. I had him break them all open and told him where to put them (groin armpits etc.) As we got to the hospital my temp was 105.9. I was convinced at that point that I was going to probably die so I asked him to pray with me. The whole thing was pretty dramatic and scary...at 106.5 I was plunged into an ice bath and I screamed out for someone to give me some Tylenol. My temp went down to 103. A full body MRI was done...doctors suspected meningitis since I had gone thru that darned cortisone shot which had penetrated my dura (covering of the spinal cord.) Well....to make a very long story short guess what: MRI was negative. All tests were normal. Very very slowly my temperature came back down to normal. What on God's green earth happened to me? My doctor said this: He thinks that while I was having the cortisone shot the doctor nicked a nerve in my neck/shoulder that caused a "hyperthermia" reaction. In other words the physician screwed up and cut damaged or otherwise messed up some nerve somewhere near my spine that has to do with body temp control. Okay so what does this mean to you? It means that we never know what's going to happen with surgery...we say things like "common-place" and "routine procedure" but in truth any surgery is cutting into a body that wasn't meant to be cut into. Where do you live? If I were you I'd go to the Lahey Clinic and start from scratch. If you aren't near New England (where they are located) I'd go to a cardiologist...a new one with a list of your husband's symptoms his history and ask for a full work up. And if that doctor doesn't seem knowledgeable engaged interested I'd WALK OUT. Hon I was married to a doctor for 15 years...and I learned that not all physicians are good smart or even care about what they do. If you have to go to 20 different doctors do it until you find one that is truly compassionate and will help you find a way to stabilize your hubby and figure out what the heck is going on. Has he had his thyroid tested? I don't just mean TSH but T3 T4 and thyroid antibodies. I'm really sorry you're going through this but I think that with perseverance and patience you'll find the answers. Good luck...keep us posted.
2015-04-10 02:46:50
