Debra, This is a complicated issue and it's not clear if it's from MG or MG AND something else. A simple answer to your question of "How do you know if you're in trouble" is: If you can't take a breath in (or out), you're in trouble.
Simply because they can't figure it out does not mean you don't need "symptomatic" care, like oxygen. Did they give you any tips of what to do? The list of "differential" causes is long. Again, you should get your recent records so that any doctor can see them and try to figure out what is going on. I have no idea. I hope you can find a doctor who can help you figure it out. Did they do a D-Dimer? Check your thyroid? Have you seen an endocrinologist? How do they know this isn't metabolic acidosis that has brought on respiratory alkalosis?!
You need to be checked out when you are "normal" too so that they can see a trend.
You had an echo last fall but it's been a year since then. Things can change in that amount of time, especially post-surgery. I still think seeing cardiology would be sensible.
Don't get overwhelmed by this info. Think of it as a reference only. These articles don't contain everything possible and it might drive you nuts just thinking about it all. Just get a good doctor or two right away to help you! I hope you'll have an uneventful weekend, aside from some fun.
Annie
http://emedicine.medscape.com/articl...overview#a0104
Quote:
Clinical manifestations of respiratory alkalosis depend on its duration, its severity, and the underlying disease process. Note the following:
• The hyperventilation syndrome can mimic many conditions that are more serious. Symptoms may include paresthesias, circumoral numbness, chest pain or tightness, dyspnea, and tetany.[4]
• Acute onset of hypocapnia can cause cerebral vasoconstriction. Therefore, an acute decrease in PCO2 reduces cerebral blood flow and can cause neurologic symptoms, including dizziness, mental confusion, syncope, and seizures; hypoxemia need not be present.[3]
• The first cases of spontaneous hyperventilation with dizziness and tingling leading to tetany were described in 1922 by Goldman in patients with cholecystitis, abdominal distention, and hysteria.[5]
• Haldane and Poulton described painful tingling in the hands and feet, numbness and sweating of the hands, and cerebral symptoms following voluntary hyperventilation.[6]
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Causes
The differential diagnosis of respiratory alkalosis is broad; therefore, a thorough history, physical examination, and laboratory evaluation are helpful in limiting the differential and arriving at the diagnosis.
Central nervous system causes are as follows:
Pain
Hyperventilation syndrome
Anxiety
Psychosis
Fever
Cerebrovascular accident
Meningitis
Encephalitis
Tumor
Trauma
Hypoxia-related causes are as follows:
High altitude
Severe anemia
Right-to-left shunts
Drug-related causes are as follows:
Progesterone
Methylxanthines
Salicylates
Catecholamines
Nicotine
Endocrine-related causes are as follows:
Pregnancy
Hyperthyroidism
Pulmonary causes are as follows:
Pneumothorax/hemothorax
Pneumonia
Pulmonary edema
Pulmonary embolism
Aspiration
Interstitial lung disease
Asthma
Emphysema
Chronic bronchitis
Miscellaneous causes are as follows:
Sepsis
Hepatic failure
Mechanical ventilation
Heat exhaustion
Recovery phase of metabolic acidosis
Congestive heart failure