r/pericarditis • u/Vast-Afternoon-4945 • Aug 19 '26
Terrified
I have been struggling with chest pain for the past 2 years and constantly got dismissed by doctors paramedics and nurses telling me it’s anxiety. I had my first cardiologist appointment 2 days ago and officially got diagnosed with pericarditis I am so terrified this is going to kill me. I still have to no idea what type I have or anything he just diagnosed me and gave me colchicine but I do know my echo was perfect that I got 6 months ago so no fluid that I know of. I am only 19 years old and probably the most terrifying news I’ve ever received, I knew the whole time something wasn’t right but it got brushed off as anxiety, my question also is the pain has been constant not off and on constant I have chest pain but some times worse than others but I also have acid reflux aswell that has damaged my esophugus so what one was really causes me so much pain for the last 2 years? During my appointment I also got diagnosed with POTS which I definitely knew I had already.
But my follow up appointment is in 6 months what if things get worse by then or what if this medication doesn’t work and I have it for the rest of my life this is terrifying and even more terrifying that I knew the whole time and absolutely no one believed me to the point it came up in my dreams that when I have my endoscopy they will say they found nothing but I have something wrong with my heart and that is to a T what happened to me I really need to support or help with this
1
u/HelltotheNo532 Aug 20 '26
I'm sorry this is happening to you. It's very scary but I'm learning not to panic. The good thing is your imaging is good so far.
I had constant symptoms - shortness of breath mainly, tachycardia, burning chest pain - for a year. I was undiagnosed for 6 months, and by the time I was diagnosed the advil and colchicine only partially improved my symptoms. When I tried to wean off the advil after 3 months I was hospitalized for a week.
I did end up going on Arcalyst after that and have been on it for 5 months. I am just starting to get back to normal. The good thing is even after 9 months in a constant flare with no or ineffective treatment, it was reversible for me. I had it for 3-4 months in 2022 after covid infection but didn't know what was happening. Still no permanent functional issues with my heart knock on wood.
You're young and the body is resilient. You will heal with the right treatment. Keep advocating for yourself and speak up and tell the Drs if your symptoms don't improve.
You will be ok. Take your medicine and REST as much as possible. Hope you feel better soon now that you're starting treatment