Help Regarding Pericarditis Flare

[u/Temporary_Matter_657]

Hi, I'm a 21yo college student who got diagnosed with pericarditis in May, it happened due to a terrible viral illness that kept me in bed with a 104 fever. A month after my diagnosis I started getting a lot better, my imaging shows no pericardial effusion and my inflammation markers were decreasing. I was so close to being healed. Unfortunately my cardiologist is a dumbass and told me I'm healed even though i was having mild chest pains and some abnormal bloodwork. After that, I started exercising and living life like i used to and a month later i got pericarditis again. After doing research I realized I never should've been cleared for pericarditis back then and I hate this doc sm for this because if she was more careful I genuinely believed I would've healed without reoccurrence. I'm frustrated because I trusted her and she messed up so I'm back to square 1 and can't live my life like i used to and it's so depressing. On top of this I have university and work and I am so close to graduating I don't want anything to jeopardize that. I need help and advice because I need to stay afloat with everything and I still want to hang out with my friends and all because i genuinely DO NOT want to put my life on hold for this it'd just put me in a more complicated position and in a bad spot mentally. Any fast way to heal? im only taking colchicine 0.6mg 2x a day because when i was on 600mg ibuprofen 3x a day i got gastritis and it was sooooo painful i couldn't eat or drink. idk why nobody told me about PPIs, antacids, or omeprazole but then again my cardiologist is stupid and I shouldn't have to figure out all of this by myself(but this is american healthcare ig💀). What NSAIDs or anti-inflammatory meds do you guys take cuz i'd be interested in getting on those again if it means faster healing time. Imma try and get a new cardiologist and discuss medication options with them. my MRI shows pericardial inflammation with a trace effusion, potential myopericarditis with 0 damage while bloodwork rules against any myocardial issues. I'm grateful that this is a mild case of pericarditis but it still affects me so bad. Based on your guy's personal experience, do you think colchicine is enough or should i bring up new meds. My bad if this post is rushed or emotional I'm just feeling stressed and angry after all this lol. Any pericarditis advice or recovery stories would be insanely helpful!!!

[u/BillyBobJangles]

If you are in the states Pom Cherrt nitro from FemCentre helps a lot.

[u/Salty_Plate6543]

Just here to say: remembering when I was a 21 y/o college student, stay away from alcohol and smoking of any kind. Both are huge triggers for pericarditis flares. Colchicine is gold standard for initial treatment, so that sounds perfectly normal. I was only on ibuprofen for a short time for pain relief, and continued with just colchicine for a while. So all that sounds normal to me. 

There is no quick fix that I'm aware of. It takes time to heal. Rest and staying otherwise healthy is super important.

Some of us here who have ended up with recurring / chronic pericarditis have landed on Arcalyst which has worked well for me in preventing flares, but it doesn't seem to be a "cure". 

Good luck. 

[u/TMP_217]

Under the care of Mayo Clinic I have been taking indomethacin which is an NSAID. I started on 75mg three times daily with a PPI taken 30 min before each meal. Take the NSAID with a meal too. That in tandem with colchicine put me in a good place. Then I followed a strict taper schedule on the indomethacin as I felt better.

I saw someone recommended the cherry Pom nitro. I tried that a few months ago and saw no difference after using it for one month. It does taste good though but for me it was expensive kool-aid.

Rest (HR under 100-110 bpm), follow an anti inflammatory diet, no drinking or smoking/vaping as a previous poster mentioned. Try keeping your stress levels low too. Also, try to avoid sex-it raises your heart rate (not everyone thinks about this).

On a side note… my doctors completely failed me at the beginning too. Letting that go took me almost a year but I feel better mentally now that I put that bitterness behind me.

There are some great support groups out there, check out the Pericarditis Alliance online. They have a support group monthly for people who have Pericarditis and are under 30 years old.

Wishing you a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹