Rachel's Website Page

Rachel is in Germany. She wishes to say "Hi!" to the other members. Because of the fact that she is in Europe, that made it difficult for her to join the USA chat session, because the usual meetings would be at 1:00 am her time. Since that time, we have the support board which is always open for any time zone.

When she first introduced herself to the group in January 1999, she had the following questions and concerns:

Hello. I feel that my doctor here is now convinced that something is wrong - not just stress or migraines - so maybe we will get some answers soon.

1. I understand that with these illnesses, a person can be symptom-free in between "attacks". Does that mean that if the urine test was done when I was feeling ok, the test could be inconclusive? (never feel totally normal anymore, but i did not have an 'attack' on the day of the test either.)

2. With these "attacks," in addition to many other symptoms, I feel increased pressure in my head and sometimes mild chest pain. I assume this is casued by changes in blood pressure and heart rate. These are the most trouble some symptoms to me - adding to my anxiety over this. How do I know if these are dangerous situations where i should seek medical help immediately?

3. Do you know if there is any medication to take to alleviate these attacks so that they are not severe, until we can address the underlying cause. (to control the blood presure and heart rate.) I will of course ask my doctor all ot these questions - but having another set of answers or information before hand will help me steer the discusion to get better information. This is a challenge here - the medical approach seems to be to take one step at a time (and each step can be a two week process), rather than doing a battery of tests all at once.

After more than 4 months of this, even though I know what to expect with an 'attack', I don't know what is really happening and therefore am concerned that it could be life-threatening. I appreciate your help with support.

The answers to Rachel's questions can be found at:

Pheochromocytoma and MENS Support Board


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