The update on Andrew is as follows. ( I may mix things up some...didnt write it all down!). Looking into the meds he is taking for affecting his anxiety level, increase in Blood pressure presumed due to the anxiety ( at one point it was 190/100!!!). Definitely entered into a panic attack after the onset of the pain and limitations in breathing began. BUT, the reason he began to panic was that he had chest pains, spasms in the esophagus and diaphragm, and restricted breathing. That is being contributed to by more than one thing. An ulcer seems to be irritating his diaphragm and related areas. He also has ribs which have moved from their proper place ( not sure what caused this...may have happened when they were broken and then healed improperly or may have been a recent injury), and the cartilage, tendons, etc. in his sternum and chest cavity are inflamed and swollen because of the strange angle of the ribcage on one side, so they are pressing into his lungs/heart. Lifting and use of the muscles in that area increase the swelling and cause him to go from feeling normal to feeling pain and that he cannot draw in breath properly. I forget the term she had for that particular condition. Checking for viral causes for that, but believe it was due to the ribs being out of place and/or injury alone. The low potassium WAS a concern to our Dr., though the ER staff was very blase about it. She believes it may be related to some of his other meds. sort of leeching it out of his system. He is to increase dietary potassium, and have labs done in a week to see if it is at normal levels. So it was low, but not life threateningly low at this time. The low level did increase dizziness, fatigue, and maybe also contribute to heart beat issues that made it look more like a heart attack. If this is confusing to you, just know we were SO confused, and the ER staff at Freeman not only did a terrible job finding anything ( they failed to notice his displaced...or misplaced??? ribs at ALL, didnt consider an ulcer, etc.), they also refused to take time to explain when we had questions. If it were not for the fact that our insurance ONLY allows us to use Freeman, we would not be back! Im glad Jackie took the time to explain things, and that she is investigating multiple issues that may have contributed to this event. He has new meds, two lab follow ups, and may also be seeing a chiropractor if this continues to have the ribs issue adjusted. *I may have mixed something up slightly, but I think I got it right. At the least, we know this is painful and scary for him, but it is NOT life threatening!
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 23:18:15 +0000
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