Indigestion or something else?

I have had two heart attacks and suffer from Chronic indigestion and acid reflux.
The symptoms are very similar and they are often confused, so you cannot take any chances. I had no other common symptoms.

The first time I had a heart attack, I was suffering from a severe allergic reaction to new medication and thought the indigestion was caused by that. DH faffed about, phoning NHS 24. The ambulance took hours to come and it was only when I was in A&E, and tests done, was the heart attack diagnosed. I was very lucky indeed! It turned out I had an undiagnosed heart condition, caused by my RA.

The second time it happened, I dialled 999 myself, was very precise with my symptoms and medical history and the ambulance was there in 15 minutes. I had indeed had another heart attack.

Take no chances if it happens to your DH.
You should have aspirin at home, because the first thing the ambulance call centre do, is tell you to take a specific dose of aspirin right away. As soon as you get to hospital, blood is taken, which shows what your Troponin levels are. It takes four hours for the result to come back. If they are traised, you need another blood test to check again.

I hope this helps.

Could be gallstones?

Important to get it checked out

My GP told me that any chest pain is always assumed to be a heart attack until tests prove otherwise. I was given the full Monty when I had chest pain. Ambulance on blue nights and immediate triage on arrival at hospital. Mine was caused by a common bile duct blockage.
I hope all goes well on Monday.

Not wishing to frighten you , but please make sure that he keeps the appointment on Monday regardless of how he is feeling.

At the age of 59 my dad was sent away from the surgery with a bottle of white mixture for his ‘indigestion’. He had no other medical issues .
A week later after collapsing he was diagnosed with having his second heart attack . His ‘indigestion’ had been the first one apparently . He went on to have another one , followed by a quadruple heart bypass 10 years later .

I hope your husband has a comfortable weekend and gets good advice and a thorough examination on Monday.

Please don’t hesitate in dialling 999 at the first sign of ANY pain or discomfort.

Thanks everyone. I understand a bit more having read your threads. Yes, he'll definitely be keeping the appointment on Monday! I suppose they might do an ECG as I suppose that could tell if there had been an episode of a stroke.

On another note, I know there are so many complaints about GPs surgeries etc but I have to say ours has always been very accommodating if they think there is a reason to be.

i was getting constant indigestion, then it turned to sickness, was being treated for ibs and then it turned out to be bowel cancer, please ask your husband to get it checked, better safe than sorry.

Ditto nexus.

I was thinking gallstones. I used to get a pain like indigestion that lasted for hours. It usually left me feeling tired.

As others have said, though, there are lots of things it could be. Just persist until you get an accurate diagnosis!

I would certainly say get this checked asap ... don't want to alarm you but symptoms of gastritis (for whatever reason) and heart attack are very similar.. better to know what's going on

SeriouslyOP - don’t you think consulting a doctor would be preferable to asking a group of total strangers who may or may not have any medical knowledge?
If it was a gastric episode or possibly even an ulcer , aspirin may be precisely the wrong thing to take although for a heart attack it would be exactly the opposite. That’s why you really can’t just guess.
An ECG will establish whether or not he has had a heart attack and he may be booked for a gastroscopy if it looks like an ulcer. If it was indeed reflux - and that can be terrifyingly like a heart attack - Gaviscon or Ranitidine can easy the symptoms. I swear by the latter along with drinking a pint of icy cold water and practising deep breathing.
But get it checked out first
You both seem to have been very relaxed about it and you may have been lucky. But if it had been a heart attack it could have been a very different situation.

PS a stroke would be entirely different.

My ECGS and scans showed no visible signs of heart attack. It took a very invasive angiogram, to eventually diagnose the condition, which was damage inside my heart.
Best consult a doctor and not speculate.

MawBe

SeriouslyOP - don’t you think consulting a doctor would be preferable to asking a group of total strangers who may or may not have any medical knowledge?
If it was a gastric episode or possibly even an ulcer , aspirin may be precisely the wrong thing to take although for a heart attack it would be exactly the opposite. That’s why you really can’t just guess.
An ECG will establish whether or not he has had a heart attack and he may be booked for a gastroscopy if it looks like an ulcer. If it was indeed reflux - and that can be terrifyingly like a heart attack - Gaviscon or Ranitidine can easy the symptoms. I swear by the latter along with drinking a pint of icy cold water and practising deep breathing.
But get it checked out first
You both seem to have been very relaxed about it and you may have been lucky. But if it had been a heart attack it could have been a very different situation.

But she’s not being relaxed about it. She said she was worrying about it. I think we’ve all posted from time to time for a bit of advice, reassurance.

OP has made an appointment with the doctor, so she has done the right thing. Perhaps calling an ambulance would have been advisable but that time has passed.

I understand the anxiety. I have posted here before about my indigestion problems and feeling anxious about it being something else.

Good luck OP. Hopefully it is just indigestion, but best to make sure.

But she’s not being relaxed about it. She said she was worrying about it. I think we’ve all posted from time to time for a bit of advice, reassurance

I did not intend any criticism but having made many (entirely justified ) “mercy dashes” to our local A&E or the Royal Free in London 50 miles away, to go out to lunch with a friend, forget ones mobile and so miss a text from the GP does not sound to me as if OP and her DH were too bothered! .A random packet of aspirin from the village chemist when OP’s DH had gone in for Gaviscon also strikes me as “relaxed”
From Thursday night to an appointment on Monday is a long time if anything had been amiss - believe me I speak from experience!

If his pain was just below his ribs on the right side, and radiating through to his back, its exactly the same pain I had a month ago.
I had a telephone conversation with my GP, who thought that gallstones was a distinct possibility.
I'm waiting for an appointment for a scan, but haven't heard anything yet.

I think the promptness of the appointment shows the GP is taking this seriously.

Any twinge or discomfort and straight to A&E. Please.

Good morning everyone. Just a quick update. Good news! Saw GP who asked DH the symptoms and where the pain started etc and said he was entirely happy it was a case of indigestion. He also told us that when someone sees a pharmacist for indigestion remedies and is over 55 they are always advised to seek a medical opinion. We had no idea about that. Final advice as we were going out the door was to keep a bottle of Gaviscon to hand which I'm going to do.
Thanks for all your support.

Good news ?

Glad to hear it was nothing serious Kiwiqueen

Good to hear. But still don’t understand why the pharmacist sent him home with aspirin .

MayBee70

Good to hear. But still don’t understand why the pharmacist sent him home with aspirin .

In case it was a heart attack. I called an ambulance for a friend not long ago and, when on the phone, was told to give my friend an asprin. I didn't have any in the house though. Now I do, 'just in case'.

But if the pharmacist thought it was a suspected heart attack surely they wouldn’t just send them off with with an aspirin. I’m sure that I read that in Sweden people always carry dispersible aspirin with them in case of a heart attack. Did the pharmacist explain to him that he needed to take the aspirin if he was having a heart attack? What if the indigestion was caused by a stomach ulcer? An aspirin would be the worst thing to take.