Pericarditis

[livingwith]

Woke up Monday at 1am in the morning with serious chest pains and pain between my shoulder blades. I felt like I couldn’t take a breath without pain in my chest. I never could go back to sleep. I went ahead and went to work, feeling really bad. Once again that night I couldn’t sleep. The pain was unbearable. All I could do was bend at the waist and lean forward to catch my breath.
I went to work on Tuesday for halfday until I started to feel really bad. When I went to doctor he star...Read the full article

[brennasmtih2000]

Hi there,

Pericarditis is not something a person gets over fast unfortunately. Be patient and do not push yourself too hard to do anything. It took my husband months to recover, and he still gets flares up regularly. My husband's energy level was low for months. He got fatigue very fast. My husband also took 6 weeks off of work per doctors orders.

As per my husband's flare ups; here is what we do to limit them. My Husband has to sleep with two pillows so he head is elevated. So his heart can drain properly any sitting fluid. All though uncomfortable at time; If my husband does not, two days later his shoulder will start hurting. Which is a sign for him a flare up is occurring. Recipe for recovery for him is more rest, taking it easy, lots of patience, medication if needed, light excerise, and two pillows. Oh and throw some love in there.

On a side note only some people have flares up, so if you do; watch for signs from your body for flares up. Flares ups are manageable, and have your Regular GP follow up regularly with ECG and other tests as required. If there is a flare up it will show on the ECG easily.

I hope some of these tips help you out. Just as a side note my Husband is 27yrs and in good shape. He suffered for many weeks with this condition before knowing what it is. As he was too stubborn to go the doctor. He ended up in Hospital for 2 weeks the first time and a week the second time. As this condition is some what overlook when seeking a answer with regular GP especially in young people. . It took my Husband more than a few years to be diagnose from a Heart Specialist in the Hospital. This is why he was so stubborn.