Are the doctors fobbing us off????

[FlorenceB19]

My 20 yr old daughter has been experiencing symptoms. Low heart rate (30s-50), low blood pressure, (as low as 88/46 with 46 bpm) tingling feelings in arms & legs & at times numbness as if her limbs don't even exist , chest pains, followed with severe fatigue & quite spaced out, slurred words.

Yet all but one ecg shows nothing abnormal, although she gets these episodes intermittently, no rhyme or reason & as the years (4) has passed more frequent.

Typically whenever seen in A&E or GP these numbers change to reflect normal (her readings vary constantly throughout the day/night) & the dips or episodes as she calls them don't generally last long, yet they are dipping. Her symptoms will trigger us to check her readings to explain the symptoms if that makes sense!

Even When resting her HR can dip to 40's bpm to 170 bpm.

However, after years of waiting a neurologist rules out epilepsy & a cardiologist ruled out POTS & chronic fatigue. He listened to her heart & stated no abnormal signs.

He has asked GP to look into 'functional disorder' which I appear to think he appears to assume it's psychological 🤯😫🤷🏽‍♀️🤔 (aka all in her head!)

I fear they are fobbing her off due to age & putting it down to anxiety!! However, I'm concerned they are not treating her fairly due to her age!

I would much preferred & felt more reassured if they did a scan of her heart & included a heart/blood pressure monitor to definitely rule out physical concerns.

Surely if it was anxiety her heart rate would increase more than 40-53 bpm????

I'm confused.com she had had glandular & scarlet fever & 9 ear perforations as a child?? But no other injuries or infections

Any thoughts???

Functional disorder is when the brain doesn't send the right signals to the body so it is a recognised condition. I don't think they are fobbing you off.

When your daughter next sees the GP you can go with her and ask about the heart scan and BP monitor. There may be a reason why they thought these tests weren't necessary.

Does your DD have health anxiety? That may be what the medics mean when they say anxiety. It sounds like fainting episodes, which can be very common in young women. What contraceptive is she using? I had very similar symptoms for several years in my teens.

An FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) is not a fob-off, it's a real thing. Think 'software issue' rather than 'hardware issue'. Just because it's a brain problem and can involve psychological as well as other aspects of brain function, doesn't mean the neuologists think it's made-up, try not to worry. It is taken seriously and there are therapies and treatments which could help. Best of luck to you both.

*an FND diagnosis is not a fob-off

It could just be sinus bradycardia, my husband has this and has had all the tests and saw cardiologist, they basically said his heart is healthy and sinus bradycardia is not dangerous just uncomfortable to live with so think "IBS of the heart". They've said maybe in the future he might need a pace maker but for now just manage the symptoms. His symptoms are very occasional fainting, chest pains, low heart rate, pins and needles.

Thank you for all sharing your thoughts & suggestions. I have found them insightful & helpful. I will explore them with her GP, as I feel her symptoms need further exploration.

Although, I do still feel a heart scan, continuous heart rate & blood pressure readings will help show that her symptoms are real & not psychological & maybe then either a FND or sinus bradycardia can be explained or ruled out.

I'm obviously concerned that without proper monitoring something else could be underlying. What I do know is that it's not anxiety.

I'm aware her symptoms do cause her some degree of anxiety but that is secondary to the actual symptoms not necessarily the cause of them.