Thursday, July 7, 2011

A day of no real plans, but still a change of plans happens

First off, the rumors about Grandma and Grandpa stopping in to kidnap the girls was true. They showed up around 11:30 AM. I had been downstairs all morning, tidying the sewing room; putting the machine back out; unpacking my boxes and bags of fabric.....all the while listening to my last 2 CD's of Sandra Brown's "Breath of Scandal."

I'm not about to make this a non-quilty-picture post, so...


despite ONLY getting my HST's organized because I was so intune to the CD book, sitting idle for almost 30 minutes at one stretch) I at least was able to group together 30 sets for the Quiltville HST swap for Bonnie's Smith Mountain Morning quilt before G&G showed up. AND I only had 20 minutes of my book left!!!!! Agh! It almost killed me to turn it off.....the finale was nearing! **sigh** oh well.

G&G stopped in ONLY for a short while; long enough to get a tour of all the gardens and for me to get the girls packed up. They were back on the road shortly after 1:00.

So, with a quiet house, I got myself dolled up (aka: put my contacts in and a bandana-headband in my hair) so that I could do a quick bank errand. Grabbing the Book/CD, I puttered into town at a measly 54 MPH ;0) No one was behind me, so I enjoyed the leisurely posted speed limit. Still with about 15 minutes left of the book once I reached town, I lolligagged around the 9 mile Lake Drive that runs along the perimeter of Shell Lake, the lake our town is named after. The CD/Book was due today at the library, so I needed to finish it and return it ;0)

While driving along......**sigh**.....my chest pain started up again.

**Rewind 2-3 months**
Off-n-on over the past few months, this piercing ANNOYING chest pain has been plaguing me. When it first happened, it was rather dull, but still enough for me to take some ibuprofin, hoping it would subside, whatever it was. It didn't. But, the next day, all was well again.....not much more thought was put into it.

The next time it happened was about 3-4 weeks later; and this time I tried some Aleeve (sp?) thinking it was muscular related, but again, no help. Mind you, Ibuprofin is my "drug" of choice; nothing else seems to work. BUT, I thought I'd give it a try. Again, it didn't seem to help, but the next morning, all was well again.

The last time (the next time) it happened was 3-4 weeks ago (again, 3-4 weeks after the last incident), and it slowly built all afternoon to the point where by 8:00 PM, I simply crawled into bed, hoping for sleep and hoping it would be gone again the following morning. THAT was the worst, and a lil' bit scary simply because it put me out of commission. I couldn't do much of anything except moan inwardly to myself as to not bother anyone. I couldn't take deep breaths in or out because it was painful. When I laid down, I couldn't lay on my back, stomach or side comfortably because it was painful. I was quite miserable. It crossed my mind that I should head in to the clinic to get it checked out that evening, but I let it go and 'sucked it up.' I really was thinking that it was all due to being out of shape. (??)

**Fast forward to today**
When the pain started up again today, it was dull, but I FEARED it would reach the level it was the last time, so after dropping the CD/Book off at the library once finished, I turned in to the clinic to see if I could be seen for chest pains.

Those who know me know that when attention is paid to me....undue attention....I get so blasted emotional. On a scale of 1 to 10, my pain was only at a 1.5, but when the nurse heard 'chest pain' and showed concern...and I thought of Paul's worrying last time....and my mom's stern concern......gah! I started tearing up...all the while saying, "I'm really okay...I really am...I just have a slight concern....and wonder if there was anyone who could check me out."

Psht

Over to the ER I was rolled, hooked up to an EKG within 5 minutes...given aspirin.....xrays taken....wires all over. I'm thankful to know that they take their job seriously....in the event I ever REALLY was in need of medical attention.

Well, after an hour of waiting on results of bloodwork and xrays, my heart looks exceptional. My heart beat was low, which had a couple of different nurses question if I was a runner. ;0) Glad that my heart didn't take TOO long to get back into shape from my last two weeks of running....however, I don't ever recall my resting HR quite that low ever.....a fairly constant 45-50 BPM. I don't think the Doc really knew what to prescribe, but it the end, suggested an ibuprofin regimin over the next handful of days and "see how it goes."

So now...I'm back home. Whether it was the aspirin or just the confirmation from trained medical professionals that it's nothing serious, my pain is quite dull....maybe a 0.5 on the pain scale. I can breathe.....and I'm starving! That's always a good sign, right?

The house is eerily quiet. Paul is still at work. The girls are gone with G&G. No TV or radio has been turned on (yet.) The only sound I really hear is the ticking of the clock and the AC air blowing through the vents. I have a pizza in the oven, smells teasing my growling stomach!

**shrug**
It's bizarre right now. I need to find something to do.
;0)



5:35 pm: DH to the rescue :0)
Paul just called to ask how I was; I txted him from the ER to inform him I was getting checked out.
He invited me to a boat ride (I'm assuming with the "new" boat). More on THAT whole ordeal some other time, but for now.....I'm game!

14 comments:

Jackie's Stitches said...

You poor thing! After the day you've had, the last thing you probably feel like is being alone. I'm sure it's very comforting to be all checked out and given a clean bill of health.

scraphappy said...

How scary. I'm glad they were able to rule out all the bad things, but still worrisome that they can't offer some sort of explanation. Happy you found your sewing room again, it does sound like you need something to keep you busy for a bit. Are you still clear to run?

Andee said...

I plan on getting those babies done this weekend too..I am enjoying getting ready for SMM and it is motivating me to move on RRCB. Thanks girl. And glad you went in and they found nothing serious...you never do know!

Nancy said...

I'm glad you got checked out and all is ok. Hope the boat ride was fun!!

Dee said...

It's always good to have things like that checked out. As I'm getting older, I notice strange things like that happening every so often. When we're young, almost nothing stops us in our tracks but I'm glad they didn't find anything. Did you ask them about your rash/poison ivy?

Calidore said...

I'm so glad you went to the Doctors and they checked you out - even though it was traumatic and emotional. Much better to be safe than to leave it and have something serious happening. Will keep you in my prayers.

Tracy said...

I'm glad that everything checked out. I had a similar thing happen to me when we were visiting DH's father in Kansas. We had been traveling for about two days till we finally got to his place. That night I was sure I was having a heart attack! I had to sit straight up in bed, couldn't take a deep breath, couldn't even move, very similar to what you've described. Of course I didn't wake anyone up...just sat there thinking "I don't want to DIE in Kansas!" You know how things that happen in the middle of the night are way worse! I think it was a combination of stiff muscles, poor eating on the road and just all around stress. It finally passed but very scary.
Enjoy the P & Q for the next few days!

Ellen said...

I am glad you got checked out and that everything appears to be okay. I would still want to know what was going on though!

Darling Jill Quilts said...

Glad to hear that things are OK!!! So how was the book? Did you finish it in time to return it?

skye said...

Hey there!! I am glad you now it's not your heart! That's the main thing!
Now: I've done soft tissue chronic pain/acute injury work for 23 years & I'd definitely recommend finding a NeuroMuscular Therapist in your area who has some Myofascial Release training!!
You can find an NMT by looking on Dr. Upledger's website at www.iahp.com Lookin the practicioner directory for someone who has NMT 1-4 after their name. Then, when you are phone shopping people, ask them if they have had some Myofascial training as well.
Good luck & good health to all!!

Kathy in GA said...

Amy - I'm sure you remember to really hydrate all the time, not just when you are running, right? I'm out of shape, but I sometimes have flutters and/or pain midline chest as I have a small hiatal hernia, and keeping hydrated helps. Lack of hydration and stress set me off, so drink more water with the stresses you have going on! I found out the hard way doing the ER trip in the middle of the night - hubby was out of town...so I got the ambulance ride.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Holy cow girl!! that is a little scary. Glad everything checked out okay and hope it NEVER happens again!

Amanda said...

It must have been pretty uncomfortable for you to decide to go to the clinic, but it's good to hear that your heart is in tip-top condition. Could it be something like a pulled intercostal muscle? They're little blighters, once you've torn them once they go again so easily.

Quilting with Jannette said...

I've experienced a very similar pain, including the panic in the ER with the announcement of chest pain. I've discovered that my pain is chest WALL pain, not CHEST pain. It's something called costochondritis, and it's an inflammation in the area where the ribs join the breastbone - you can quickly rule it out by pressing hard at each joint up both sides of the breastbone. It hurts to bend forward too, as well as trying to sleep laying down. The treatment is ibuprofen. I've found that if I do a lot of rotary cutting it flares up.... Hopefully, the docs can diagnose your pain soon, so you can learn how to avoid it, or treat it quickly!