When Panic Attacks!
Well, heat and not taking the best care of myself conspired yesterday to send me to the Urgent Care early in the morning with chest pains and shortness of breath. The EKG was fine but my blood pressure and heart rate were elevated so they booked me an immediate room in the heartcare wing at a local hospital. I was there most of the day, a little anxious, laying in a bed, gowned, hooked up to all sorts of nefarious wires that measured my heart rate. They took blood of course and just when I thought my fear of needles couldn't get worse, the lovely nurse told me the doctor had ordered an IV to rehydrate me. It took three painful tries to find a decent vein. One nurse tried twice, once in each wrist before giving up. I drank water for two hours to swell those suckers up again, then another nurse tried my upper left hand which yielded good results. I didn't have a heart attack, which is good news. They think I was probably having a mix of dehydration, panic attack (brought on by the initial chest pains), and/or a bit of acid reflux. Needless to say, today it's all water and salad and vegetarian fare for me. My weight is at 212 (less than I thought), but I think I'm going to make a sustained effort to take at least one long walk somewhere per day. No more chicken wings, which for some perverse reason, I'd become infatuated with over the past few months, getting them whenever we went anywhere that had them. Going back Monday for a final stress test and cholesterol check, but I really think I just got dehydrated then panicked when I couldn't breathe as clearly then it all just spiraled from there. What an enjoyable summer this has turned out to be. I think I'd rather be grading.