That was fun. Not.
So this morning I had the distinct pleasure of waking up at 3AM with searing pain in the left side of my chest. It felt like my heart was caught in a vice and there was quite a bit of pain every time I tried to move. I've never had a heart attack before, so I had no idea if that's what this was or not. Even though I didn't think it was a heart attack (I had no shortness of breath and had no other secondary symptoms I could associate off the top of my head to a heart attack) I didn't feel like finding out the hard way, so I hurriedly downed two aspirin and drove myself to the hospital for a check out.
The good news is that it wasn't a heart attack. The best guess the doctor could come with is that it's a muscle pull or bruise, though I tell you it feels a hell of a lot worse than just a strain. Further conjecture is that this is manifesting as a result of a near-perfect combination of stress, too many cigarettes, too much caffeine and "just sleeping wrong" (apparently my sleep posture is sub-optimal, or something. I just know I've been tossing and turning too much). I also found that my blood pressure is running the ragged edge of hypertension again (137/90), something I'm none too pleased to see.
I got back from the ER well before I had to go to work but I decided staying home today was probably my best bet. I'm going to quietly spend my day in the recliner and try to do some thinking in between naps. I've been thinking for a long time now that I should take an honest, more-than-a-three-day-weekend vacation (I haven't had one in over 17 months, and it's starting to show) so I guess this was my body's way of reminding me not to forget. Frankly, I would have rather it just sent those appointment reminder cards like I get from my dentist -- then I could easily ignore them and throw them out with the rest of the trash.
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for?
The good news is that it wasn't a heart attack. The best guess the doctor could come with is that it's a muscle pull or bruise, though I tell you it feels a hell of a lot worse than just a strain. Further conjecture is that this is manifesting as a result of a near-perfect combination of stress, too many cigarettes, too much caffeine and "just sleeping wrong" (apparently my sleep posture is sub-optimal, or something. I just know I've been tossing and turning too much). I also found that my blood pressure is running the ragged edge of hypertension again (137/90), something I'm none too pleased to see.
I got back from the ER well before I had to go to work but I decided staying home today was probably my best bet. I'm going to quietly spend my day in the recliner and try to do some thinking in between naps. I've been thinking for a long time now that I should take an honest, more-than-a-three-day-weekend vacation (I haven't had one in over 17 months, and it's starting to show) so I guess this was my body's way of reminding me not to forget. Frankly, I would have rather it just sent those appointment reminder cards like I get from my dentist -- then I could easily ignore them and throw them out with the rest of the trash.
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for?