Trip to Whistler sidetracked by a trip the the ER...

[Pierre.Suave]

yes, you read that right.

yesterday, instead of flying to Whistler, I went to the ER.

I went to the ER, and was admitted for a possible heart attack...

at 31...

Luckily, I was not having a heart attack, although my heart was racing, I was short of breath, light-headed, dizzy, and weak.

I spent all afternoon and evening attached to every single machine known to modern medicine, having x-rays, cat scans, ultra sounds, EKGs, etc..

All the time with a very worried GF by my side.

The kicker is this, after doing every test they could conceive of, they STILL don't know what happened, or why.

I have further follow ups and appointments with the internal medicine docs today and tomorrow.

Wish me luck.



now I need to re-plan "THE QUESTION"

[Bossy Monkey]

1. Sorry to hear it; hope they get to the bottom of it soon

Speaking as a totally untutored layman (so not to be construed as medical advice), sounds like a panic attack. With the combination of looming airplane flight and imminent marriage proposal, anybody could be forgiven a spot of panic. Regardless, get some rest, and best of luck with everything.

[evlbstrd]

2. Sounds like a panic attack to me, too.

My kids have them.

But I majored in art.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear jasonc...

One thing at a time, sweetie...

Glad it wasn't a heart attack!

The Question will happen down the road aways...

Good vibes to you...:hug:

[DS1]

4. It's 'the question'

that's giving you panic attacks. ;-)

shame about the trip though, funny how those things work out

[Pierre.Suave]

5. I dont think it was a panic attack

I am not the kind to panic. Sure I am a bit nervous, but not to the point of going to the ER with heart-attack like symptoms.

[skygazer]

6. Panic attacks don't only hit "the kind to panic"

There is no particular "kind." Because a panic attack has less to do with actual fear than it does with emotional overload, which we're all succeptible to.

At any rate, whatever it is, I hope they find out soon and that its nothing serious. Be good to yourself. :hug:

[Pierre.Suave]

11. I hope they figure it out too

But I still don't think it was a panic attack. I was not panicking about anything, nor was I anxious or emotional.

[fizzgig]

16. it has nothing to do with being the 'kind to panic' or not

it's a chemical reaction in the brain, the symptoms of which can mimic a heart attack.

[Nickster]

7. You have asthma? Could have been pleurisy. I had almost the same thing happen to me awhile back.

I thought for sure I was having a heart attack. Did you have any stabbing pains when you took a breath?

[Pierre.Suave]

10. I do not have asthma

As far as they could tell, I am healthy as can be.

I had no stabbing pains while breathing.

[Parche]

8. Hey

Thank Gawd it wasnt a heart attack
we need you here to keep flying!!
Get better quick :hug: :hi:

[Pierre.Suave]

12. No doubt

thanks.

[BarenakedLady]

9. Yikes

I wouldn't rule out a panic attack though.

Glad you are ok.

:hug:

[Pierre.Suave]

13. Thanks.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Oh, yikes!

Glad you're OK. Did you go to HCMC (one of the best ERs in the business, BTW)? Dude, if they couldn't find anything wrong with you, you're probably not sick, probably was some kind of anxiety reaction like others suggested. (Had similar symptoms myself about a year ago, went to HCMC, they couldn't find anything wrong; then went to Mayo and they couldn't find anything wrong either. Never did figure out what it was.)

The important thing is that it wasn't a heart problem, which they would have been able to to diagnose pretty quickly. I'm sure you'll be fine and will be able to carry out the rest of your plan.

[Pierre.Suave]

15. yes, I went to

HCMC, they sure were prepared to get me in and looked at quick too.

When I stumbled in there, they took my BP and instantly got me on my way in back to be looked at.

They wasted absolutely no time verifying whether or not I was having a heart attack.

Then they spent HOURS trying to figure out just what was going on, and they found nothing wrong.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. They get right on it, don't they?

They're all over you, then you lie around for what seems like ages hooked up to an EKG and with one of those oxygen tubes in your nose. A bit unsettling, I'd say. But they are very thorough.

[Pierre.Suave]

18. yeah

thats exactly what happened too, with interruptions for the cat scan, ultrasound, x-rays, etc...to check for any blockages.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Oh, man! I hope they can figure something out. And good luck with

the new plan. *thumbs up*

[ThomCat]

20. Damn!

x(

I'm very sorry. Medical mysteries are no fun.

And delayed engagements aren't fun either. :(

I hope you get answers, and a wonderfully memorable engagement soon.

[Pierre.Suave]

21. Thank you

I hope so too, on both counts.

[RebelOne]

22. Definitely sounds like an anxiety attack to me.

Especially if you were going to ask "the question," I think it subconsciously triggered an anxiety attack.

[Pierre.Suave]

25. Maybe I just need to accept it

that I may have had some anxiety about it all.

LOL...

[Dangerously Amused]

23. Relieved to know you are well.

Yeah tho, I agree with the others that it sounds like a panic attack. Believe me, they can come out of freaking nowhere, and you think you're gonna die. And yes, it happens to otherwise perfectly healthy people, because it has nothing to do with your physical health causing anything, it's your brain that for whatever reason suddenly tells your body that it's in terrible peril, and the body reacts as though that is true: adrenaline overload, heart pounding, muscles seizing, difficulty breathing... much like a heart attack.

See if this sounds like what you experienced:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_attack


Anyway. Best of luck to you getting everything back on track.


:hi:

[Pierre.Suave]

24. Thanks

[grasswire]

26. blood sugar ok?

Hypoglycemic, perhaps?

[Pierre.Suave]

27. everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was fine

the ONLY thing they could find was my potassium was a bit low, but not low enough to cause this. They made me drink two glasses of OJ with potassium in it for that.

Thats it.

Not a thing wrong with me otherwise.

Other than the alarms on the heart monitor beeping incessantly at my elevated heart rate of course...

[grasswire]

28. how long between the onset of symptoms...

...and the time they drew the lab work? And did the symptoms alleviate on their own, or did they give you some med to calm things down?

I'm not giving medical advice. I just love this kind of a puzzle.

Oh, and do you know what your blood pressure was on arrival at the ER? You said that's the first thing they did and then whisked you back for testing. Low blood pressure is a possible symptom of hypokalemia.

[Pierre.Suave]

29. They gave me 2 meds to calm me down, and one to counter the effects

of one of those meds.

They drew labs immediately. They wasted no time at all.

[Pierre.Suave]

30. My blood pressure was HIGH

ridiculously high.

If I remember it was close to 180/120 or something redonkulous like that.

edit: I would say that about 2 hours elapsed between onset of symptoms and me arriving at the hospital, at which time things went FAST.