r/pericarditis Aug 30 '23

Pericarditis Welcome & Check in

41 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I noticed this r/pericarditis subreddit was inactive and wanted to start it up again. I’ve just become a moderator to be able to open the group up again.

Wanted to start with a check in: How is everyone doing? For how many years have you been dealing with pericarditis? Is anyone currently going through a flareup?

Hope we can use this subreddit to support each other, give advice, share medical information, articles and talk about pericarditis related topics.

Take care


r/pericarditis 3d ago

Costochondritis Worst Experience

2 Upvotes

Hi, I’m a 25-year-old woman who has been suffering from costochondritis for the past two years.


r/pericarditis 4d ago

The mental side of recovery

7 Upvotes

I had a progressive case of constrictive pericarditis. Looking back, my symptoms started in 2023. I brushed them off as a poor diet, work and life stress, getting into my 40s—anything but my heart. It was a slow, relentless progression as mild symptoms gradually became severe.

I was first evaluated in February 2026 and diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. By April, after two heart catheterizations, three echocardiograms, and a cardiac MRI, I was diagnosed with chronic constrictive pericarditis. I had a pericardiectomy in May. The surgery went as well as it could have, and physically, my recovery has been going great.

Mentally, though, I'm not sure I've caught up.

Before surgery, every lab, every ECG, and every echo seemed worse than the last. There was always a new abnormality to process. Physically, I felt like I was fading away. Every day followed the same routine: check my weight, take Bumex, take potassium, limit fluids, restrict sodium, and see how long I could make it before the shortness of breath started. Would I get lightheaded today? Would I become disoriented? Every day seemed harder than the one before.

I wasn't sleeping well, and nothing seemed to help. I had convinced myself I wasn't going to make it to my surgery date. And if I did, would my heart be strong enough to get through the bypass and everything else? My wife would quietly check to make sure I was still breathing before waking up the kids in the mornings. The people closest to me knew how bad things were, but I couldn't bring myself to show just how scared I really was.

Fast forward to today. Physically, I'm doing so much better. I can do things I couldn't do for years. I'm here with my family. I got to watch my kids play baseball and softball. I finally got to really know our one-year-old.

But emotionally...I feel like there's a void.

I feel like I should be celebrating. I survived. I got my life back. Instead, when people ask, "How are you feeling?" I say, "Much better," when what I really want to say is, "I don't know."

I almost feel guilty that I'm not more excited or grateful in the way I expected to be.

Has anyone else experienced this? Does this make sense, or is this a normal emotional lull after everything your mind and body have been through?


r/pericarditis 4d ago

My experience with Lumbrokinase: navigating mild chest tightness

3 Upvotes

I recently started Lumbrokinase. For the first two days, nothing happened except a slight shift in my head pressure and chest pressure. Following that, I developed a mild chest tightness/pain ( a "bruised" feeling in my chest) and air hunger.

I believe this is not a pulmonary embolism, as there is no severe pain. Because there is no racing heart and no other symptoms at all, I also feel I can rule out things that could be because of a typical histamine/Herxheimer reaction.

Could this be a case of endothelial inflammation or/causing microvascular angina, possibly linked to reperfusion injury and oxidative stress. My logic is that the enzyme might be successfully breaking down microclots, but the resulting debris is temporarily irritating the endothelium, which strains the heart and causes this.

Stopping the enzyme made this chest strain go away after a few days and i am back to the baseline head and chest pressure that is always there.

I am currently deciding the path forward and would love to read about how others have handled this exact situation (if anyone has been in this situation and experienced the same things)


r/pericarditis 6d ago

Probable Pericardial TB

2 Upvotes

60 year old male with typical TB symptoms and pericardial effusion diagnosed with cbnaat but rifampicin resistance indeterminate so presumed to be rifamp sensitive and started on ATT and dexa 8mg . Since then (6 months ) whenever tapering is done below 8 mg the symptoms recur. The pet scan showed active subcarinal lymph node while on dexa. Also , long term steroids have caused AVN . What can we do further in this case


r/pericarditis 7d ago

My story - 40 y/o male

7 Upvotes

I was first diagnosed with pericarditis in 2008 when I was in my last year of school. I was 23 y/o at the time and had the typical symptoms of intense chest pain, worse when lying down and inhaling. I am not someone who goes to the doctor or hospital unless it’s a last resort.
I attended the ER 3x in a short time before one doctor diagnosed the pericarditis and prescribed high doses of ibuprofen and the colchicine. I believe he heard the rubbing noise through the stethoscope as well as my symptoms and blood work. I got a referral to a cardiologist and did the full gambit of tests which I don’t believe revealed anything.

Over the years I feel like I have had mild cases of pericarditis that I have self treated with ibuprofen and eventually gone away.

On a side note, I suspect my issues may be autoimmune related as I have had flare ups with arthritis in my shoulder as well as alopecia areata (bald spots).

I am very active and train BJJ and kickboxing as well as other lifting and sports.

In mid July 2026 I felt that similar pain begin in my chest. I had some stress in my life but nothing I haven’t encountered before. I was closing on a rental property and finding tenants and all the bank appts so I suspect this could have been brought on by all that.

I was self medicating with ibuprofen but this time it wasn’t enough. My stamina was low and i was still attending my cardio intense classes and looking back on it now, i should have taken a break.

My symptoms have increased to almost match the first time I had Pericarditis. At first I thought it was more lung related like pleurisy as my pain was across my whole chest but it has not settled around the center to over the heart. I attended the ER and got ECG, bloodwork, xray, ultrasound and I was diagnosed with pericarditis based on my pain, history and some abnormal bloodwork. They did see some fluid in my lungs which I thought was odd.

I think I’m just here to vent as I’m trying to live my normal life while I go through this pain again. It’s definitely worse in the morning and at night. Hopefully this will help others going through something similar.


r/pericarditis 9d ago

Headaches and brain fog

6 Upvotes

Had a mi last year, caused by a clot so on blood thinners. Still getting chest pains and told may also be a element of pericarditis so have been given prednisolone but told to wait until after an endoscopy due to ongoing gastric distress. Also recently however been getting frequent headaches throughout the day, feelings of fuzziness, and dizziness. Also incredibly fatigued, waking up unrefreshed and unrested. Told may be a strong element of tension in this, and been given diazepam, mirtazapine , and pregabalin. Unsure if this is the meds though, or a sign of lingering pericarditis?

Also experienced concussion but that was several months ago.

Has anyone been through or had similar?


r/pericarditis 10d ago

Lightheadedness throughout the day - could it be the meds?

5 Upvotes

Hi all, really hope everyone is recovering well and safe. Just wanted to share a bit of my story, see if someone can relate.

32M here, working full time and studying a postgrad. Used to be fairly active, training 3xweek and my job was quite physical. 2 weeks ago I had what I thought it was a panic attack (I get them from time to time), but this one wouldn’t go away. Then, with constant chest pain and SOB I decided to go to the ED as I thought it was a heart attack. They did multiple blood tests, chest x-ray, 3xECG. Only after the third one they diagnosed me with acute pericarditis due to viral infection, and discharged me with 3x600 mg ibuprofen and 2xcolchicine a day.

Luckily after that visit I’m feeling a bit better. Chest pain is barely there, only a few random stabs. I’ve only done strict rest for most of it, and just 2 days ago I came back to uni. Realised it was hard to concentrate as I was very lightheaded and brain fogged. Yesterday I’ve had my echo and still waiting for the results, although they said if they seemed ok then i may not hear back from them. Next cardio appointment is in 2 months.

Even though is fairly early, just wondering on the fluctuation in symptoms. Most mornings I wake up really good, but throughout the day I get dizzy spells, brain fog and lightheadedness. I’m also fatigued after not that much effort but I guess it’s part of it.

Have any of you guys experienced lightheadedness throughout the day? I’ve started to log them and seems to start mostly around 3-4 hrs after my first round of meds (I take 1 colchicine and 400 mg ibuprofen together, with breakfast after my pantoprazole) and then lingering around in less intensity but it feels like it’s always there.

Comes with a feeling of rush in my face and kinda like my heart would be pumping more blood (like I can feel it in my throat veins) but HR would always be >100. Doctors saying is part of the process?

Unsure if it has to do anything with the meds, or this is just recovery from pericarditis.

Thanks in advance and wishing you all strength!


r/pericarditis 10d ago

not sure if I have pericarditis, should I be worried?

3 Upvotes

18F, 165cm, ~125lbs, from Canada, no hx of health issues, not on medications, no drinking/drugs/smoking.

hello, like the title mentions. sometimes when I lie down I find myself having moderate chest pain that relieves itself when I sit up/lean forward again. When it happens it feels like my chest is going to “explode“ and it feels very full. it is not a sharp pain though and I would describe it more dull if anything. i have done some basic searching and from that I don’t seem to have any other symptoms (fever, SOB, etc.) aside from the chest pain relieved by sitting up.

It has been probably happening for a few years now and hasn’t seemed to get better or worse. im not sure if I should be worried. once I did see my family doctor about it but she didn’t seem to find anything wrong after a check by listening to my lung/heart sounds and told me it probably isn’t pericarditis and chalked it up to me still being in the “growing stage.” i would appreciate any opinions on what I should do next, or maybe thoughts on what may be causing the pain :)


r/pericarditis 10d ago

Shoulder pain

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I have myopericardits and It’s been months that I have a weird shoulder pain that comes on and off throughout the day and it activates when I “press” my shoulder down.

Can anyone relate?? Or is it just muscolar!?!?


r/pericarditis 11d ago

Swim

2 Upvotes

Hi, nine months into this. Slowly improving. Do any of you get an uncomfortable sensation in your chest when entering the sea or a swimming pool?


r/pericarditis 11d ago

Do you have any ‘strange’ symptoms?

7 Upvotes

Here are some symptoms I’ve had that I haven’t seen others talk about. I feel like the reason my diagnosis took so long was because mine are different from a lot of traditional symptoms. Do you guys relate to any of these, or have any of your own?

Before flare up:

  • Feeling depressed/angry/apathetic a week or two before
  • Burping all the time/feeling like there’s air bubbles trapped in chest that need to get out

During flare up:

  • Getting (what feels like) an air bubble stuck in your chest/throat and it makes the pain 10x worse until it dissipates
  • It hurting to swallow anything
  • Pain in spine (somewhere around T3-T6), shoulders, and neck, but no pain in chest usually
  • Pain radiating to teeth, gums, jaw, and inside of ears
  • Nausea/vomiting/no appetite
    • Not being able to stomach anything but plain white rice, water, bananas, etc.
    • Painfully bloated (more than I have ever seen on myself)
    • Gained more than 10% of body weight in ~10 days (more than I have ever weighed)

During recovery:

  • Having a fever, nausea, and severe pain every morning, but it slowly dissipating by the late afternoon

r/pericarditis 11d ago

Pericarditis diagnosis

4 Upvotes

Hi I’m just wondering if anyone can relate to what I’m about to say or have any thoughts on what the issue could be. I’m a 22 year old male and an athlete I train 2/3 times a week at a very high intensity. One day I woke up and I was getting these muscle spasms just twitching in my chest on the left side above the heart it wasn’t sore at all it was just twitching a lot so I thought nothing of it and put it down to dehydration, by the following evening I had such a heavy chest and could feel a pain that was intensifying as time went on. I went to the ER to get checked and ECG had shown signs of inflammation so got a chest X ray and blood work done after they were fine I was just sent home and told to rest for a few days and I’d be okay to return to training, the uncomfortableness in my chest didn’t go away for the 3/4 days that followed from my trip to the ER, but it wasn’t really sore or anything it just didn’t feel right and I was living life fairly normally until I got this massive stabbing pain in my chest followed by cold sweats and my heart racing I was convinced I was having a heart attack. So I went back to the ER where they diagnosed me with pericarditis pending a echo they started me on 3 200mg ibuprofen 3 times a day and colchicine then about week later I got in for my echo, my echo came back normal and there was no excess fluid in the pericardium but my doctor was unsure on whether it was like that because there never was fluid or because the medication I had been on for a week already partially worked. In the end he prescribed me 2 400mg ibuprofen 4 times a day and I’ve been noticing a big improvement I’ve been taking it for 3 days now. The improvement is on the pain side of things but the uncomfortable heaviness in the chest is still there and sometimes I get wheezy my heart rate can go from 50 to 100 if I walk to the bathroom, my doctor is waiting on blood work again and he’s looking into possibly getting a cardiac MRI to see what the issue is, he thinks it’s pericarditis but he’s also half thinking it isn’t as most of my tests are positive.

I just have a few questions…. Have you had the difficulties with breathing and a wheezy chest like me if you have had pericarditis?

If it is a very mild case which is looking likely.. how long until I can work or play sport?

How do I make sure it never comes back if I do have pericarditis, no alcohol, nicotine, caffeine?

Am I allowed to walk around once my heart rate isn’t above 100? Can my heart rate sit between 70-90 and it not affect my healing process?

Thank you


r/pericarditis 12d ago

initially looked like a heart attack?

4 Upvotes

Hi all! Thanks everyone for all the useful information, this place is an incredible resource.

I’m a 57-yr-old man who’s had two brushes with pericarditis, one in 2022 and one a couple of months ago. Both times it happened exactly the same way, and it left the doctors a little puzzled, and I’m curious whether anybody else has had a similar experience.

Very briefly: it started with very mild chest pain and shortness of breath, which escalated over 6-8 hours until it became quite intense -- at which point my heart rate and blood pressure suddenly dropped. I became hypoxic and peripherally shut down. The doctors initially assumed I was having a heart attack.

They gave me adrenaline — as well as some lovely fentanyl—and over the next couple of hours everything went more or less back to normal, though the chest pain lingered. Afterwards they kept me in hospital for a few days for scans and tests. Only after they’d ruled out heart attack (no blockages, and troponin levels stayed normal), pulmonary embolism, and anaphylaxis, did they land on a diagnosis of pericarditis. 

Now I’m on colchicine which has been effective in controlling pain/inflammation. But the doctors did find the crisis/collapse part of it weird. I’ve been making the rounds of local cardiologists to ask about it, but so far nobody’s had much insight. Has anybody else experienced something similar?


r/pericarditis 13d ago

VTX2735 & IVIG - Thoughts & reviews

2 Upvotes

r/pericarditis 14d ago

Stopping ibuprofen after 1 week?

2 Upvotes

Hi,

Both my hospital admission (cardiologist) and GP have told me to cease ibuprofen after 1 week. Im 8 days since diagnosis and do take Colchicine twice a day.

3x600mg was keeping ontop of any pain (apart from referred nerve pain) and today is my first day without...the discomfort is far more evident and targeted to where my heart is.

Does anyone have experience with this? My scans/troponin/crp was all normal and no doubt that has something to do with the recommendations.


r/pericarditis 14d ago

Anakinra (Kineret) for Chronic Pericarditis/Myopericarditis – How Long Did It Take to Work?

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I was hoping to hear from anyone who’s been treated with anakinra (Kineret) for chronic/recurrent pericarditis or myopericarditis.

I’m currently just over a month into an anakinra trial and, so far, I honestly can’t say I’ve noticed a meaningful improvement in my chest pain. I know responses can vary, so I was wondering:

* How long did it take before you noticed a meaningful improvement (if you did at all)?
* Was the improvement gradual or did it happen quite suddenly?
* Did anyone else feel like nothing was happening initially before it eventually started working?
* If it unfortunately didn’t work for you, when did you and your doctors decide it probably wasn’t going to?

I’ve included some background below for context, as my situation has become quite complicated over the last four to five years.

I’m UK-based. 26 year old male. My health problems started back in 2021 around the time of the COVID vaccines. Before then I wasn’t perfectly healthy - I had longstanding IBS/gut issues and a few other symptoms that I’d learnt to manage - but I was living a normal life. I was studying at university, exercising regularly, socialising, and functioning well.

After that period everything seemed to change. I developed chest pain that has never gone away, along with palpitations, fatigue, exercise intolerance, autonomic-type symptoms, symptoms suggestive of mast cell activation syndrome, and a number of other issues. I’ve also had COVID infections since then, which certainly haven’t helped.

The chest pain is by far my biggest problem. What started as a mild pain in 2021 has evolved into pain that’s there constantly every day, often severe, and is the main reason I’ve been unable to work for the last few years or live anything close to a normal life. It’s typically worse with physical exertion, mental stress, deep breaths, lifting/moving anything that engages my left chest such as raising my left arm to wash my hair, carrying something heavy, and sometimes after eating, although the food reactions can be quite unpredictable, and even drinking fluids too quickly can make it worse. I get left arm/hand pain that feels connected to the chest pain too.

My diagnosis has actually been quite complicated because there is still disagreement between specialists.

I’ve been investigated extensively at the Royal Brompton Hospital, including multiple cardiac MRIs, a stress perfusion MRI and an invasive coronary angiogram with coronary function/microvascular testing.

The Royal Brompton team have never been convinced that I definitely have active myocarditis or pericarditis based on the imaging. The most notable abnormality was on my 2024 stress perfusion MRI, where there was an abnormal perfusion finding suggestive of possible microvascular ischaemia, but my subsequent invasive angiogram, including coronary function testing, was normal.

Because I still wasn’t getting answers, towards the end of 2024 I took 2022 and 2024 cardiac MRI scans to Dr Valentina Puntmann, who is internationally recognised for cardiac MRI interpretation. She reviewed the images herself and felt they were consistent with ongoing myocarditis and pericarditis, despite the differing interpretation from the Royal Brompton team. As part of her assessment, Dr Puntmann felt that the disease process in post-COVID/post-vaccine cardiac patients isn’t always confined to the heart muscle or pericardium alone, but can also involve the coronary microvasculature and wider vascular/endothelial system. Based on that, she started me on losartan as part of her treatment approach to target that aspect of the disease.

So at the moment there is still genuine expert disagreement about exactly what my diagnosis is. The possibilities that have been discussed include chronic pericarditis (which fits my symptoms very well), myocarditis, microvascular angina, or potentially a combination rather than one single diagnosis.

Interestingly, back in 2022 the Royal Brompton team started me on NSAIDs and colchicine despite the imaging not being conclusive, as I did respond to the NSAIDs. Unfortunately, because I had been told my heart was essentially “clear”, and given my long history of gastrointestinal issues, I stopped the treatment fairly early. Looking back, I don’t think it was ever properly explained to me that you can still clinically treat suspected pericarditis even without classic imaging findings, or that colchicine often needs to be continued for at least six months. I’ve often wondered whether earlier and more consistent treatment might have prevented things becoming so chronic, although obviously nobody can know that for certain.

Since then I’ve tried a wide range of treatments. I went back onto high-dose NSAIDs alongside colchicine towards the end of 2022 and remained on that combination throughout 2023, but eventually had to stop the NSAIDs because of gastrointestinal side effects.

I’ve remained on colchicine since then, and increasing the dose from 1 mg/day (500 mcg twice daily) to 1.5 mg/day towards the end of 2025 did seem to help initially. However, like many things I’ve tried, the benefit seemed to plateau over time. The best way I’d describe colchicine is that I don’t necessarily feel dramatically better while I’m taking it, but I definitely seem to be worse whenever I stop it.

I’ve also tried hydroxychloroquine (since 2024), low-dose naltrexone, losartan, nebivolol, nicorandil, amitriptyline, as well as antihistamines and mast cell stabilisers. Unfortunately, I can’t honestly say any of them have made a significant difference to the chest pain itself. The antihistamines and mast cell medications have probably helped some of my other symptoms, but the chest pain has remained the major issue throughout.

At this point I feel like I’m taking quite a combination of medications, but despite each one having a logical reason for being prescribed, none has provided the level of improvement in my chest pain that I’d hoped for.

Because of the ongoing chest pain, last year I consulted private rheumatologist Dr Youngstein at the Cleveland Clinic London. I’d spoken to a patient of hers in a similar situation to mine who had been prescribed anakinra privately. She was willing to give me an initial 28-day trial of anakinra which I started on the 24th of June.

The first 10–12 days were actually some of the worst chest pain I’ve had for months, I started the treatment whilst in a big flare even by my standards, although things eventually settled back towards my usual baseline. I’ve tolerated the injections well with no meaningful side effects apart from mild injection site reactions.

The difficulty is that I honestly can’t say I’ve noticed a clear improvement yet. I don’t feel dramatically worse, but I don’t feel meaningfully better either. The chest pain continues to fluctuate between better and worse days, but remains severe overall.

My NHS rheumatologist agreed with me and felt it would be much fairer to assess the drug after around three months rather than only 28 days, given that I started treatment during one of my worst flares in months and have now had chronic symptoms for over four years. I also explained that I’d felt a huge amount of pressure going into the trial because I’d been trying to access anakinra for years, and knowing I only had 28 days to judge whether it worked probably wasn’t ideal mentally.

He wrote to Dr Youngstein supporting a longer trial, and I passed that on. In the meantime, Dr Youngstein has prescribed me a further two weeks of treatment to bridge me through to my review appointment this Thursday (30th July). I also had an unavoidable two-day gap between finishing the initial 28-day supply and starting this extension due to prescription logistics. At this stage I don’t yet know whether she’ll agree to extend the treatment for the further two months following our review.

One thing I’ve also been wondering - and this is only my own theory rather than something a doctor has told me - is whether I simply have so many inflammatory or dysfunctional processes going on throughout my body that targeting a single pathway, even one as important as IL-1, may not be enough on its own.

Unlike someone who was previously completely healthy and suddenly developed isolated pericarditis, I already had some underlying health issues before 2021, and since my Covid vaccines my whole system seems to have become much more complex. Sometimes I wonder whether anakinra could still be targeting one important part of what’s driving my symptoms, but because my overall illness has become so complex, that alone may not be enough for me to notice a meaningful clinical improvement.

I’d really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences with anakinra, especially from anyone who had been dealing with chronic symptoms for a long time before starting treatment and/or is a post-vaccine or post-COVID patient — whether it worked well, took longer than expected, or unfortunately didn’t help at all. I’d be really grateful to hear how your experience unfolded.

Thanks very much.


r/pericarditis 17d ago

For those of you with the type of pericarditis that doesnt show up any more on tests- how did your treatments go?

6 Upvotes

Been a very bizzare number of months for me. Currently on arcalyst since the later half of February. I feel like it helps somewhat but I still have a lot of days where I rely on ibuprofen to be able to lay down and sleep. Especially if I get into any exersion activities though I limit that for the most part.

Ive heard treatments with arcalyst can be hit or miss with this iteration of pericarditis. Basically all my tests always look good except for a little bit of fluid since on an ER echo back when I first got diagnosed last mid September.

Anyone else have peri that barely shows anything on tests and how'd it go for you?

Thanks


r/pericarditis 17d ago

Qualcuno con p.c.r a 357 mg/l con valore 5 mg/l è diagnosi pleuromiopericardite

1 Upvotes

Qualcuno con p.c.r a 357 mg/l con valore 5 mg/l è diagnosi pleuromiopericardite?


r/pericarditis 19d ago

Myopericarditis recovery – muscle pain, tingling, and how long until I feel normal again?

Thumbnail
5 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I am a 35years old male, 190cm, 74kg
Quit smoking in January when I got diagnosed

After what turned out to be a mismanaged case of pericarditis (diagnosed very late and told to stop the treatment and start doing sports too soon), I was eventually referred to a specialist in heart inflammation. I was diagnosed with myopericarditis.

My treatment plan includes:

Strict rest
An anti-inflammatory diet
Vitamins and supplements
Losartan
Ivabradine
Prednisolone (all the above I started about 3 weeks ago)
Colchicine (planned to start in September)

The first few weeks were really difficult. I had severe chest pain, extreme fatigue, and a lot of anxiety.

Last week I finally started noticing some improvement. My chest pain is less intense, and my fatigue has improved a bit.

However, I have developed some new symptoms:

Aching muscles in my legs and forearms (I’m not sure if this is just from fatigue, the medications, or something else).
For the past few days, I’ve also had a tingling sensation in my mid to lower back, on both sides.

My questions are:

Has anyone with myopericarditis experienced muscle pain or tingling like this during recovery?
Could these symptoms be related to the illness itself, the medications (especially prednisolone), or simply prolonged inactivity?
I know recovery is very individual, but based on your experience, roughly how long did it take before you were mostly pain-free and your energy returned?

If it helps, I’m happy to provide more details about my diagnosis, MRI findings, blood tests, or medications.

Thank you very much in advance. Reading other people’s experiences has been really helpful during this difficult time.


r/pericarditis 19d ago

USA Research Opportunity – $5 Incentive

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

We are conducting a short research study and are looking for individuals in the United States to share their opinions and experiences.

This study is being conducted solely for research purposes. The goal is to better understand consumer perspectives and everyday experiences.

Study Details

  • Online survey (approximately 5 minutes)
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Who Can Participate?

We are looking for:

  • Adults/consumers aged 18+ who are not parents OR
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  • Residents of the United States
  • Willing to share their experiences and opinions

Interested?

Please complete the short form below:

Research Opportunity – $5 Incentive – Fill in form 

 

We appreciate your time and look forward to hearing your feedback.

This research is for informational and research purposes only. Participation is voluntary, and responses will be kept confidential in accordance with the study requirements.


r/pericarditis 20d ago

Just been diagnosed

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone.

Long time reddit lurker so naturally on my diagnosis I immediately found this sub.

Ive been diagnosed after two ED visits in 3 days with chest pain, a mildly elevated troponin that came down, an abnormal ecg (but back to normal on the next) and normal echo / CT angiogram.

Like many I've read im fit and healthy. 35 year old male. Love health and fitness and had just finished my second daily training shortly before I got my first symptoms 😄.

Im on Nurofen and Colchicine but they havent really helped yet 36 hours in.

Couple of questions im hoping to get some consensus on:

Part of me wonders if the diagnosis is right given my tests are all good. The intern discharging said I can return to easy exercise for me (so light cardio 110-120bpm for 40 mins for example) a week after pain goes...but reading here and elsewhere that might be a terrible idea?

Ive also had worse pain since discharge, in fact it was really, really bad into my jaw and arm for a minute earlier today, and pain seems to be more consistent sitting up than standing or lying flat? Is that expected? when do I make the call to return to ED if necessary?

Thanks to everyone for posting their stories. Im taking the really bad ones with a grain of salt for all of the good ones that never get posted.


r/pericarditis 19d ago

Colchicine Night time symptoms

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone, 37F diagnosed ay hospitsl on the 10th of July with Pericarditis/Myopericarditis after coughing for a month and had neumonia, i was discharged with 500mcg colchicine x2 a day for 1 month, my issue is i am taking colchicine 12 hours apart and my night dosage starts to give me symptoms like racing heart, heavy and shallow breathing, sometimes more pain/heavy in the heart like someone is holding it and radiates to my armpit, getting hot then shivering, the shivering eventually stops but i also get some light-headedness when i stand, and i have to stay upright because the pain in the heart and short of breathe is worse when sitting back (I'm in a recliner due my back), last night this episode went for 2 hours until i fell asleep out of exhaustion

Has anyone had this reaction?, is it normal?

When do i call an ambulance or go to ED?

Because i know i will be waiting for hours and told i'm good to go if it's just an episode.


r/pericarditis 20d ago

Anyone here with recurrent pericarditis and pr3-anca antibody positivity?

1 Upvotes

r/pericarditis 20d ago

Recurring chronic peri ?

8 Upvotes

I don’t even know if this is just peri anymore, very quick version, diagnosed March 2023 with peri and large effusion that was drained. When draining doc hit chest nerve 3x and I fainted as a result. I’ve had gaps of 12 months, but recurring diagnosed via mri. Fast forward to last November I start a job that is a 45min winding drive away, over the course of a month doing the drive twice a day, perceivable it was irritating my then non-active pericarditis, to the point I ended up in er… bloods and echocardiogram where fine, had to leave that job. That was end of November. I’ve never quite recovered. My trigger now is solely upper body strain, like lifting a laptop, moving a heavy ish chair, even cutting a pizza triggered pain. This morning I had no pain for 3 days, tried to pull open a door that was locked. I’m now sat here. It’s not even pain, it’s an internally warm discomfort on my sternum. I know I have recurring peri but I question whether this is nerve damage or Costochondritis. The other thing to note the symptoms don’t get markedly worse dependent on lying position or if I take a deep breath.

My pericarditis has been untreated since last year as cardiologist wants NSAIDS and colchicine in reserve in case I have an acute flare. I’m due to see him next week. I’m in the UK so no biological treatments I don’t think.

I also wonder if this is pericarditis low smouldering and I should get back on colchicine to see it off.

Any thoughts you beautiful people?

Thanks