Bu in calling an ambulance?

[sailorcherries]

I posted a while ago about pains I had been having, occasionally during the day but mostly at night. It felt like my whole chest was being squeezed in a vice, with a weight on top, whilst my breathing is short and laboured and I feel dizzy and nauseous. It can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour but disappears as quickly as it starts, and it starts without any notice.

This happened about 6 or 7 times back in August time and, on two occassions, I ended up in A&E due to my partner and parents worrying. Both times the pain has subsided before I arrived and all of my vitals were within the normal range, if slightly low.

The pain completely disappeared and hadn't returned until last night. I woke and it was the worst one of the lot; I could barely breath and felt dizzy alongside all of the usual symptoms. I couldn't sit or bend as the pain was so crushing.
My partner panicked, phoned my dad and an ambulance (my dad came in case we needed to leave). The ambulance call operator took the details and one arrived within about 5 minutes. The two lovely men got to work quickly and there was apparently bugger all wrong with me - ecg trace showed nothing, blood pressure was slightly low but normal, blood sugars fine etc.

After about an hour the pain went just as it started and both paramedics agreed it sounded like a panic attack, as opposed to an anxiety attack (the key difference being anxiety attacks have certain stressors that can be identified and avoided/removed during the attack to help the victim whereas panic attacks have no stressor and can therefore occur whenever without warning, including at night). Not once did they seem annoyed at being called out over this but over the course of the day I've not added to my list of anxiety about whether calling them was unreasonable or not? I know they came as it was deemed an emergency but, given the past results, I can't help but feel I wasted their time and resources. Obviously I am incredibly thankful but feel so bloody stupid and wound up over, what I perceive, to be an irrational and unneeded call out on an understaffed and overworked service.

Everyone agreed I need to speak to a gp about my anxiety and stress (I'm apparently in so deep it's now affecting me subconsciously and I can't actually pinpoint anything definite as it's so overarching in my daily life).

So my question, were we(he) being unreasonable in phoning 999? Am I a tit?

OP sorry youre having a rough time. You were totally reasonable to call an ambulance.

I once had something very similar and went to a and e amd was finally diagnosed with severe heartburn . I went from feeling perfectly well to thinking I was about to die in a matter of seconds. Doctor said I was right to come in and reprimanded me for using a taxi instead of an ambulance. Its happened 3 more times now since that first time 15 years ago amd each time has been equally horrible

Strange reading this. I’ve had similar off and on for years, getting worse as the attacks happen. It is absolutely not stress or panic related, it usually hits when I am sitting still resting and suddenly my chest on the left/ arm and neck seize. It is excruciating. It hurts to inhale and exhale causing very shallow breathing and is terrifying for my dp. It can pass within 10-30mins. Usually by 15mins I am about ready to pass out through the shallow breathing. I mean it’s scary but I’m used to it, so I’m not panicking because I was always told chest cramps.
I’ve been to dr, they’ve said to call an ambulance next time. I don’t want to because I physically am incapable of moving when it occurs let alone place a call, specially if I’m alone. Dp on the other hand is ready next time it happens.

I hope you get to the bottom of it. I hope you’re ok. It’s scary isn’t it

Ellen it is terrifying. I don't seize up, it's more like a crushing weight/vice on my chest and I genuinely feel like I will die. And despite all of that I was worried about my lack of bra/couch cushions/the light waking the baby.

Never, when you feel like that, question calling an ambulance.

Hope you’re ok

Thank you, and you too

yes, that was an ambulance deserving emergency.
do you take medication? strong anti inflammatories (naproxen) can have an effect on heart rate which can have symptoms as you describe.

No medication whatsoever

How did they rule out gallstones? It sounds like a textbook attack to me. for you OP, it sounds horrible.

Oh sorry I see they did it at A&E.

or an asthma attack?

Never been diagnosed with asthma and my peak flow was fine, can asthma attacks occur during sleep?

Gallstones were ruled out after an ultrasound, an ultrasound no one would tell me the results for as no one knew who authorised it and my gp couldn't request results as it wasn't them who authorised. I'm to go in the assumption of no news being good news

I experienced the same during an extremely stressful shift, it felt like a heart attack, awful crushing pain down my neck and into my chest. It only lasted a few minutes, I sat down and my colleague looked at me, I was pale and clammy but breathing normally. Checked BP and was sky high. I went straight to A&E, ECG and bloods were fine. I realised it must have been a panic attack but it didn’t feel how I thought one would. Not had one before or since.

My DM woke one morning feeling a bit odd and both her arms felt heavy, DF phoned the GP and got her an appointment. DM thought he was fussing but after walking round to the surgery the GP asked her why they hadn’t called an ambulance and called one. ECG in A&E was fine and although staff were good with her they said she could go home straight after her blood results came back. Her bloods came back showing she had suffered a heart attack and she ended up with 2 stents before being discharged home a few days later.

It just goes to show that there isn’t a typical presentation of a heart attack so with those symptoms dial 999. Better to overreact than under react.

You did the right thing in calling an ambulance.

I would query asthma, and i'm only saying that because I've had this, and they kept shrugging their shoulders at me.

now I told them I have asthma, for all its well controlled, but they just said my oxygen/SATS were fine, so didn't look into it any further.

At the time I was taking naproxen, and had been for months for an issue with my spine, its an NSAID and known for upsetting asthma.

I ended up talking to my GP and he said it was most likely being caused by the medication irritating my asthma, even though my sats were fine, so I stopped taking them and had no more problems.

It might be nothing, but it also might be worth looking into.

Asthma can come on at night and is very similar. I have asthma and went to A & E for the nurse to be off hand and tell me it was a panic attack. I was wheezy at home and my inhaler ran out and I got in a panic because I couldn't speak and tell DH where to find another. I looked and found two but both out of date and I ended up going in. I found one in the car and used it on the way. Needless to say I make sure I have several in date ones now. I couldn't tell the difference is what I am trying to say. Short of breath, struggling to speak, feeling dizzy. I felt sure it was an asthma attack but the nurse reckoned differently though she didn't spend much time with me.
I have been in several times including ambulance recently and they haven't found anything conclusive except high and low blood pressure.However it doesn't mean there isn't something going on. I am seeing Consulant now as I have had a heart attack in the past.
I think you did the right thing. If you feel guilty about wasting time why not write a note and drop in some cake or nice biscuits. I took some during the floods, the crew were over the moon to know they are appreciated and I took some after an accident once.

Just seen your update re scan for gallstones, they had to MRI to find mine, as not clear on an ultrasound- sonalso worth following up!

A few days after I had my gall bladder removed I had one hell of a pain in the center of my chest. It came back just once the nest day and that was it. Never did discover what it was. It frightened me because it was so intense. That was in 1994 btw.

Gall stone pain is on the right hand side, under ribs.

Anxiety is a symptom which can lead to panic attacks. In over 30 years as a mental health nurse I have never known anyone differentiate between panic or anxiety attacks. If it is a panic attack then you need some help in managing this ask your GP about psychological therapies in your local area and get some help.
.

Not at all unreasonable. I had an asthma flare up a few months ago and I felt so breathless and coughing so hard I began to panic and ultimately hyperventilated and had a panic attack. I'd never had one before so had no idea this is what it was, I thought the tingling face & extremities and chest pain were that my airway was closing and I was going to die.
My housemate called 111 and they sent a paramedic. I wasn't wheezing at all, my saturations were normal, I just had a very high heartrate. That's when I realised what it was. Whilst I needed a course of steroids for my asthma flare up anyway, I felt so silly that an ambulance had come out to me for a panic attack but he never made out it was a waste of time at all, he was so kind.
When I had my second panic attack a few weeks ago, because I realised what it was I knew that it wasn't going to kill me and whilst it doesn't stop them happening or being over so quickly, they're less frightening because you know they're ultimately harmless. Get some support with the anxiety from your GP now you know what it is

Not unreasonable in the slightest. A very good friend of mine is very prone to panic attacks and had what she thought was one just a day after giving birth to her baby girl. Her DP just felt like something was different this time, despite her insisting she was fine. Thank goodness he trusted his instincts because moments after he called the ambulance she collapsed due to a blood clot in her lung
She was very lucky, but it just goes to show how you must always be on the safe side. X

Gastritis? Very painful. Only symptoms I had were crushing pain.

Thank youn for the reassurances everyone. Dotty I think that paramedic meant that both panic and anxiety attacks are caused by stress and anxiety but a panic attack seems to come out of nowhere and has no real trigger whereas an anxiety attack has something identifiable as the cause (so the poster who had an asthma attack and ran out of inhalers would be classed as an anxiety attack by the paramedic, as there was a root cause, whereas he classed me as a panic attack because there was no lead up that could be identified and it just happened). I've no idea whether he was right or not but, for me personally, there has never been a stressor beforehand.

I'm definitely going to the gp though, whether this is mental or physical causes this isn't exactly healthy.