u/CaptainMacAlfie

I've had had heart and and blood pressure for basically my whole life which I just assumed was just my normal as that's what every doctor had told me but the past 6 months I've had increasing fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and muscle pain which is making me think there is something more going on.

On top my that one of my uncles just recently had a sudden cardiac arrest and another of my uncles collapsed and needed a pacemaker put in. My dad also has a pretty significant history of heart trouble so that has me a bit extra worried about what could be going on. I got a new primary care doctor a few months ago and initially she seemed to fully understand my worries and did a 7 day holter monitor test which showed my average HR to be 109, highest got to 179, and I had a 68% tachycardia burden but when she reviewed the results she just sent me a message through the patient portal that everything looked fine. I was on metoprolol the whole week I took the test so I really don't think those results are normal but when I told her that she just upped me dose which now has given me tons of dizziness and constantly being cold while my HR still spikes up to over 100 when I'm not doing anything.

I've given up on getting anywhere with her because of how dismissive she was and I really just don't want to have to fight to be heard so I just gave up on everything medical for awhile. My dad is pretty worried about the results though and has kept pushing me to talk to a cardiologist so after some searching I found someone local who said they didn't require a referral to see but of course when I call I get told he does require a referral and every doc in that office already has 20+ patients on the waitlist so no chance of me seeing anyone any time soon.

I live in super rural northern NY so there's very few options near me and they all either aren't taking new patients or have months to years long wait times. I literally just want to figure out what's wrong with me and to find some way to make my body not feel like it's falling apart but every time I think I get somewhere with it something always happens that stops me. I know I probably could try asking my primary care doc again for a referral but I don't even know how to start that convo and it's not going to help the crazy wait times right now. It's ridiculous it's this hard to get basic medical care for what could be a very serious heart condition but I just can't find anyone who will take me seriously and actually look into it. Instead they all just say my body must run fast and that I just need to exercise and eat better but I'm doing just about as much as my body can handle for exercise and it's not made a difference.

I (F20) have had issues pretty much my whole life with tachycardia and hypertension. My heart rate is almost never under 100bpm unless I'm on meds and even then still is usually above 100. I live a pretty healthy lifestyle and try to get at least a little exercise in daily and eat a good diet as well as getting enough water. The past year I've had a pretty significant increase in symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and cold hands and feet which are impacting my life and making it hard for me to keep up in college.

I took propranolol for awhile but it really didn't make much difference so my PCP put me on metoprolol which worked for a week then my HR and BP went back up to normal so she upped my dose which now keeps it closer to normal but it's made my shortness of breath much worse. I've had basic blood work, an EKG, and a 7 day holter monitor test which all came back normal other than the tachycardia so my PCP dismissed it and said I'm fine.

My family has a pretty significant history of heart issues though like I have one uncle who just suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest and another who collapsed and needed a pacemaker and my dad had a heart attack at 34 and nearly had another last year so I'm a bit on edge about my health. I don't know if maybe it's just health anxiety and I really am fine or if it's warranted to try to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist. I don't want to waste anyone's time if this isn't something serious but with my family history I'm hesitant to just ignore it.

I got an IPad A16 and apple pen from the campus store at my college with the left over campus cash I had since I figured it would be nice to have a tablet style device just in general but also for taking notes during lectures and studying. I'm looking for an app or a way of having both a note taking area and to be able to see the PowerPoints for the class. I'm very new to this style of device and the sort of apps I'm looking at so I really don't know what would work best. I just need something that's pretty quick and convenient to use that can replace using paper notebooks for every class.

I've been loving playing games on this device so far since it's the perfect size for me to be bigger and easier to see than my phone but not as bulky or inconvenient as playing on my laptop or PS5. I prefer games I can quickly pick up and play a couple minutes of then move on but are interesting enough to play for longer as well.