Mom Is Scared Need Imfo. Quick

GO to the ER immediately. I don't want to be an alarmist but in the ER they will/should do an EKG, and possibly an MRI and have a cardiologist on call to evaluate him. If it were me I would NOT wait until January. Good luck :)

Bianca, I think I would seek a doctor who can see him sooner. If all else fails when he complains take him to the emergency room. they would have to perform tests immediately. That might be the best solution. You don't have to wait for results.

Go to the emergency room next time this happens! If you are in the Austin area, go to Dell's Childrens Hospital. You'll get immediate attention and you'll get access to a specialist right away. This health issue cannot wait!

I would take him to emergency...heart pain is not something to fool around with. That is crazy that you have to wait that long with a heart problem. I hope all turns out well.

B.,

My only offering to you is the gift of prayer. I will be praying for you and your son. God will lay his healing hands on your sons heart. He will give you strength.
God Bless You and your family.

Until you know what’s going on make sure he does not get too worked up, it could be something as simple as heart burn and yet it could be something worse. Either way better safe than sorry, I do think you should go back to the doc and ask more questions, also (advice from my hubby's grandfather) sadly heart disease (enlarged hearts) runs in my FIL’s side of the family. I really don’t want or mean to scare you, but Grandpa lived to be 72 his 3 sons one died of an enlarged heart at 32 (my FIL) and the other died at 22, and the 3rd son is alive and has a pace maker; he has the same condition as his father and brothers and Grandpa’s advice to his son was:
1. If you get tired – REST!
2. Try to minimize stress
3. REST!
4. Eat well
5. Live happy

So, I think I went off on a tangent but what I wanted to tell you was let you 9 year old be a 9 year old until he sees the cardiologist but still if you see he is getting TOO worked up make him take a break, its going to be hard but try not to let his heart get too stressed until you know what is going on.

I would take him to the ER.
I'm sorry to hear of the loss of you parents, I'll be praying for you

You can always go to the ER. Tell them what the symptoms are and have him checked out. I had heart palpitations once and I went to the ER and they checked me out and kept me overnight to make sure that I didn't have any problem. I don't think I would wait until Jan. Hang in there!

B.,
Is this the cardio Dr. that you HAVE to see or can you call around and try to get in to another one sooner. If you have to see this one, maybe you can call back and explain that he is in realy pain and needs to be seen quickly. But for some reason if you can't get him in sooner then when he is having a bad episode, I would get him to the emergency room, I don't know where you are located, but I would get him to Texas Children's hospital during an episode. Then they would have no choice but do look at him quickly. And this is really what you want to happen.
God Bless.. I will be praying for this little one :)

Is it heartburn? I had it as a child and still do. When people ask how heartburn feels that do not have/get it, it is a hard feeling to explain. More so for a child.
Can you give him baby aspirin? I have heard that it helps older people... at least on the commercials. Look into it.
As for the sweating, this may sound weird but is it puberty? I don't know if he's too young or not??? Also, a friend of mine's daughter started sweating at age six. They even had to start using deterrent for her. After some testing she was diagnosed hyperthyroidism.
When I was a child I suffered for about a week with chest pain. My mom took me to the ER. Different symptoms as your son, I had chest pain, upper back pain, shortness of breathe, and it felt better if I lied down. My mom thought I had pleurisy. A lung issue where the lining of the lungs becomes "dry," even inflamed, the outer and inner layers rub together or swell causing chest pain. The ER did ex-rays. They have medication, often antibiotics or even aspirin. http://www.webmd.com/lung/tc/pleurisy-overview
I would start there... Keep looking for answers. Children have intuition about their health too. Just as we know when something isn't right with our bodies.. listen to him. Ask him to articulate the pain. Ask him where, when, is it stabbing, thumping, or burning sorts of pain? Write down what is going on when he feels the pain. Is he eating, before bed, after he's been outside, ect? The more info and informed you are the better for him.
As for the cardiologist I would check with you healthcare insurance ask for a list of approved cardiologists. If you have Kaiser, like we do, they send a book with all the names of their cardiologist within their local offices. If you have them, call each of them to see if you can get an earlier appointment. You may have to get a day off work and drive across town but if it will get you in sooner, call around. Ask to be called in the event of a cancellation. Leave them your number and let them know you can be there within an hour-or two notice.
Good Luck

You need to see if you can get him in any earlier. Put yourself on the cancel list if they have one. Or call another cardiologist and see if they can get you in sooner.

I would take him to the ER. If someone comes in with chest pain they have to find out what is wrong. They would more than likely have someone with cardic knowlege. The other option is to just keep ringing the office of the cardiologist and tell them he is having chest pain. Keep on at them. Ring around for more doctors to see if you can be seen sooner. Be quite demanding. I would be worried if my son was complaining of pain in his heart too. Call you doctors office and tell them that your son is still having frequent pain. Be very pushy as sometimes that is what it takes.
Good luck.
W., mother of two boys, retired nurse.

I would suggest you call your doctor and explain what the problem is and tell them January 12 is too long to wait for an appointment. Most dr's like this will fit a young patient into the schedule.

If your current dr will not help you I would seek a 2nd opinion and get into see a dr ASAP.

Your doctor has not explained what you can do while waiting for the cardiologist appointment. That is an oversight on his/her part. Don't hesitate to call and talk directly to the doctor or the nurse. Most of the time the doctor's nurse (RN) can look up information the doctor put on the chart that didn't make its way do you.

One thing that may save you money is to make a _follow up_ appointment with this doctor. Sometimes insurance allows the co-pay you paid for the first appointment to cover a "follow up" appointment. Get in writing what you can do to relieve your son's pains; what signs to look for that means it is time for a trip to the emergency room; and what signs / symptoms to look for that means you should make another appointment with the child's doctor. How much pain medication (motrin or whatever) and how often (find out what is too much so you don't overdose).

There are patient rights that you should stand up for. Like _understanding_ all that the doctor says. If you don't understand, ask again. Be assertive!

If your son can't get to sleep tonight, you may still have time to find an urgent care office. I'm not familiar with your location, but Bryan/College Station has several. I think calling 211 can get you someone to locate a place near you, but that may be just for the B/CS area.

Personally, I would hesitate going to an ER because of the risk of catching some virus, flu bug or whatever.

I will keep you both in my prayers.

D.

B.,

I haven't read anyone else's responses yet, but I did want to add my thoughts. I would definitely take him in right away to see someone - even if it's the emergency room. I'm not trying to worry you - I really don't have any idea what's wrong. I just know that you don't fool around with an organ like the heart. If it hurts you get it checked. They tell adults that if they are having chest pains, especially if they are frequent and/or last for more than 15 minutes at a time, then you need to go in ASAP. I would not wait for an appointment.
God bless you during this difficult time of losing your parents and may he give you peace of mind and a simple outcome with your son. Perhaps he's having acid reflux and he's just too young to know it.
My prayers are with you.
D.

I wouldn't wait. If it is alarming tell your doctor and cardiologist he needs to be seen ASAP and if they can't help go to the ER. I would rather be out a little money and have spent a few hours at the ER then upset and worried for over a month and worse yet, have something happen.

If he is in pain, take him to the emergency room. Call an ambulance. I've only experienced chest pain a couple of times, and I've had all the tests which show some problems. I was told to go to the emergency room. Your son deserves no less. Tell the school this is what you want to.

Speak to your doctor also, about giving him aspirin when he has chest pain. This thins the blood and reduces the pain. It might be something to do befor ethe ambulance gets there. I used the aspirin powders, because they disolve quicker, but there also are the aspirin therapy pill.

Seek another doctor. Or call back cardiologist and say it is urgent and I need to be fit in sooner. I would not mess around with this. Is there a history of heart disease in yours or the father's family? His body is trying to tell something is not right.

Hello B.,

It would have been great to hear more about your son. Activities, weight and much more.

i would recommend that you try reaching another Cardiologist to see if they have early appointment other than in January. I would be so paranoid that I would have to find another source. Have you contacted the Cardiologist at St. Luke Hospital in the Houston medical Center. Also, try Texas Children to see if they could recommend a Cardiologist.

Take care of your child. Good Luck!

Anita

I would take him to the emergency room! I wouldn't wait for Jan. 12th. That is too long to wait if he has these symptoms. They will give him a few quick tests to ease your mind.

Call your pediatrician and see if their office can make calls to get you in earlier.
Or can they give you a referral to someone different who can see your son sooner?
We just did that for bad, frequent nosebleeds. I mean squirting nosebleeds. The first ENT couldn't see us for a couple weeks (I thought the kid wouldn't have any blood left by then.) The pedi stepped in and helped us.

Once we needed a specialist for another kid and I called the office EVERY afternoon to see if they had any cancellations the next day!!! That also worked b/c it shows the office manager/ scheduler that you are really serious about getting in.

Thirdly, ask your pedi what you should give your son for his heart hurting. More importantly, ask what kind of exercise activities he should be doing until he sees the cardiologist. Stay calm----you getting really freaked out when his heart hurts might be getting him more worked up.

I knew of a kid who ran into a fence and hurt a couple ribs, and felt pain in "his heart" due to the rib injury. The boy needed to rest a couple weeks to heal the ribs, and then he still had a little pain from time to time. Rib and back injuries can create referred pain.

B., my heart goes out to you b/c if I was in this same situation, I would be panicking. Take him to the emergency room when he has chest pains, sometimes, the ER doctor can get you in to see a specialist faster than your own doctor. When we had problems with our son's breathing (9 mos. old), the ENT gave us one date for his appt. about 1 month in the future, and our pediatrician had a fit, called the ENT and they squeezed us in w/in a week. So, I say put some pressure on your referring doctor, or find another one.

Good luck to you.

Take him to the ER at Texas Childrens. If he is really in bad shape they have a cardiologist on call and they will call them in.

Hi B.,

I am sorry you are going through this. I agree with previous posters that suggest taking him to the ER. First though, you might call your pedi and let them know you can't get in until January. They might be able to pull some strings.
I would not give your child aspirin, unless your pedi recommends it. The recent guidelines say no one under 19 should have aspirin because it increases the risk of Reyes syndrome.
Best wishes and update us on how he is doing, if you can.

I agree with the other moms about taking him to the ER. I wouldn't be able to wait with something with such potential to be serious.

I would not except under the advice of a physician, start aspirin therapy. They're even backing off advising many adults to do this.

How scary for you. I would call the cardiologist ASAP (even if you need to page them) and let them know your son is in great pain and you are very concerned. Chances are they will tell you to go to the ER. Even if they don't, I would just go, however, at least by paging this dr who will eventually be his cardiologist, you will put him in the loop of what is going on. Best of Luck and you will be in our thoughts. Please update to let us know how it goes.
L.

B......

keep calling.....call the office DAILY to find out if they have had any cancellations. Request them to contact you immediately if they do have any cancellations. Even if you get an appointment one week closer, that is still better. Also, ask if the dr you are seeing has more than one office. My daughter needed to be seen by a urologist and he was affiliated with TX Children's. I couldn't get in to one of the offices that were closest to our home, but I got into the office that was the furthest within a week. I made the appointment at that office and they advised me that future visits could be made at the office closest to where we live. It was an hour and a half drive but it was worth every minute of it.

Good luck.....

You need to take him to the emergency room or his peditrician and get them to evaluate him ASAP. You have to be pushy. All the front desk knows is that you need an appointment. This could be an emergency. If you take him to the emergency room at least they may run a scan.
I'd call your peditrician first. See what they can accomplish

next time go to the ER. have them check him out in the mean time.

If you can't get him to the dr. in the next day or two I would take him to the ER. you can't take chances. It sounds serious. He needs to see a cardiologist.