September 15, 2011

my health is turning on me

Ignoring what your body is trying to tell you is never a good idea but apparently I am an idiot. It all started with my right shoulder hurting on Friday night and by Saturday evening, if I laid on my right side, my shoulder and my chest would hurt so bad I couldn't breath. Sunday afternoon I put a heating pad on my shoulder and realized my chest was hurting now too. I briefly worried about a heart attack but I popped some aspirin and when it that seemed to help, I dismissed it. Monday night I had C put some icy hot type stuff on my shoulder (thinking I had pulled something in my shoulder) and noticed my heart was racing but being the genius I am, I ignored that too. Tuesday morning, I was sitting on my bed folding laundry and suddenly couldn't breath, it was like I had ran 5 miles, that kind of out of breath. I was scared but left that afternoon to run some errands anyway, I noticed I was also really hot and sweating. When I got back home, my chest was hurting so bad and I was having such a hard time breathing, I decided to take my blood pressure with the little cuff we have here. It was 154/96 so I texted my midwife friend and told her what had been happening, she immediately called and said she was on her way to take me to the emergency room.

In the 10 minutes it took her to get here, my arms started going numb. 20 minutes later in the ER, my blood pressure was 194/118 and my pulse was 140. They immediately whisked me back and started running all kinds of tests and pushing bp meds into me. I didn't get scared until C walked in, then I started to cry a little. After my bp started going down, the doctors started lecturing me about how if I hadn't come in when I did, I could have passed out and went into cardiac arrest. About how important it is to take care of yourself and listen to your body. I know they are right but they were annoying the hell out of me. They also gave me a pregnancy test, which I loudly complained about because I told them repeatedly we were IF and had less than a 1% chance of conceiving on our own. C griped at me for being so difficult about that but I hate that shit so much. Especially when my nurse told me, "Doctors are wrong all the time!!" STFU.

Anyway, I have bp meds now and an appt tomorrow with my doctor to followup on it. It's amazing how much better I feel now with the medicine in me. That makes me happy but it also makes me realize just how bad I was feeling before. I guess I had been feeling like crap for so long that I got used to it until it got really bad. I've been taking it easy the past couple of days and trying to eat better. I've also been thanking God that I have good friends who show up at the drop of a hat to take me to the hospital. I'm mad at myself for ignoring what my body was trying to tell me and I will never, ever do that again.

6 comments:

  1. I'm SO sorry that happened to you, so scary. Take care of yourself, I'm glad you are feeling better already!

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  2. So scary Amanda. Please thank your friend for reacting so fast and getting you the help that you needed. Do they know what happened? Some of what you describe sounded similar to a panic attack, but the high bp is quite scary.
    You've been under a whole lot of stress. I wish I lived close to you and could whisk you away for a spa day :) I know that always helps me feel better. xoxo

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  3. My goodness. How scary! I'm glad your friends helped you out. I hope you are feeling better.

    I'm here from Mel's round-up and was struck by a lot of similarities between us. My Dad is also dealing with Colon Cancer: he's had a very scary summer. He lives in Arkansas too, but I live in California and I feel very helpless being so far away.

    Sending you lots of hugs. I have pneumonia right now (I'm sure from stress). It's hard to take care of myself when I'm so stressed. I hope you feel better and get the care you need.

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  4. foxy- Apparently I have hypertension and hypothyroidism. My EKG was abnormal today so I have to see a cardiologist in a couple of weeks.

    jjirafe- welcome! Bummed that we both have such crap in common but glad to find someone who I can talk to! It is SO hard not being near my Dad as he undergoes chemo, breaks me heart. Also, what is Mel's round-up? lol...I'm behind on everything

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  5. Sorry: it's actually called Lost and Found, Connections Abound. Mel at www.stirrup-queens.com hosts it once a week :)

    I'm so sorry about the hypertension and hypothyroidism. Are the two related?

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  6. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened! Please take good care of yourself.

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