I'm kind of worried and need to talk

SRP

SRP

Cathlete
Well. I've mostly posted about exercise related stuff, and given some support to others, and enjoyed the laughs here. I never thought I'd be posting about something personal to me, because I'm hesitant about putting that sort of thing online. All you ladies are great, but you know that others read here too.

But right now there's no one else around, and it's gotten to that point. So here it goes.

Tuesday morning, after a three day weekend, I had chest pain on my drive into work. It lasted for maybe 10-15 min., on the right side, kind of in the breast area, in the "corner" were the arm joins in, and it went up into my neck a little. It wasn't bad, just uncomfortable, and I didn't have any shortness of breath or anything.

I've been under a lot of stress at work, but I usually handle that sort of thing okay, because I let it all out externally - I think I am not even capable of internalizing my emotions!

Of course, the last time this happened was when my brother was in the hospital after being paralyzed in a motocross accident. On top of that, which was bad enough, the whole thing put a lot of stress on the family, and that put me in knots more than anything else, oddly enough. Anyhow, I dismissed it then, assuming it was just anxiety, because I know it can manifest like that without actually being anything threatening.

This time, though, it's been bugging me more. I know you're all thinkng, if it's bugging you, go have it checked! But I figure a lot of you might behave the same way, brushing it off as no big deal and figuring it'll pass once things calm down at work.

You know, I'm healthy, I exercise a lot, I eat pretty well, and most of the time my life is fairly calm and organized. I'm only 37, and definitely do not fit the mold for any sort of heart problems.

Okay, there. It came out. Heart problems????? I'm worried about that after one tiny little occurrence? But then I see something on the local news about stress at work leading to just such a thing, and then I read an article about a female cardiologist who very nearly died of a heart attack. And you know how worry can eat at you once it gets started.

Okay, one last thing. I get home, planning to do a leg workout. I normally work out first, then eat. But tonight I was extra hungry and knew I'd better eat first. So what do I fix? Two scrambled eggs and two slices of peanut butter toast. It's quick and filling, and I'm too hungry to think of something decent. So much for being a healthy eater - and not exactly heart-friendly either. And have I worked out? No.

Holy cow. This is probably the longest post in the history of this forum. Thanks for letting me vent, even if nobody can make it all the way through this.
 
It's very easy to let your mind wander and put you in a frenzy when you think that you may not be well. I've done it a million times but you can certainly check it out, keep an eye on it and ensure that you are as healthy as you can be.

It probably isn't a heart issue and in all probability, you are just fine. You see other possible causes here too, which can lead to an alternate explanation. Plus, you are a person that is concerned with your health and well being.

That said, call your doctor and schedule an appointment. Keep an eye on your body in the interim and don't ignore or dismiss anything. You have the ability to put your mind at ease so make sure you do it.
 
Thanks, Christine. A nice, rational voice is what I need, and I know you're right. My mind does get carried away with things. Heck, just posting this here has my stomach doing nervous flip-flops.
 
Hey Shannon!
In my opinion,it's okay to be afraid, but it's how you act on it that is important. You can go through "what if" ideas from now until the cows come home (forgive my midwestern upbringing), and it will all just fester or you can go to the doctor and find out if there is a problem and then you can decide what to do next.

Good luck!

PS--eggs and peanut butter, that's gotta be a new one. Now that I think about it, those could be smoothie ingredients--if you are Rocky and the eggs are raw--yuck!
 
Ditto on the doctors appointment

The last week of September 2001 (remember the stress on the whole country then) I woke up on a Sunday morning with an arguement with my daughter (13 at the time). I felt a crushing blow to my chest and pain followed by tingling down my shoulders into my arms.

My wife got me over to the ER, she'd taken my pulse and it was over 160ppm, I was 42 the max heart rate is around 175 -180. The ER people hooked me up to EKGs, initial symptoms were a heart attack. They took blood samples, apparently an enzyme is created when you have an attack. When the samples were negative and my pulse was uncontrollably racing, nitroglycerin didn't even phase it, they pumped me full of muscle relaxers because if they didn't slow the heart down it would have fibrilated. I was released 4 hours later with no diagnosis.

A month later we did a stress EKG, I was at 70% max heartrate for about 20 minutes with no anomalies.

The final say was I had an anxiety attack. Do not ignore your condition. Talk to the MDs. The cardiologist told me that an anxiety attack could trigger a real heart attack. I manage stress a lot differently now.

Dave
 
Dave - wow! How scary. I'm glad you're okay now. How do you manage stress? What happens if you have tight deadlines or the equivalent at work that must be met?

My good friend is actually on medication to control repeated anxiety attacks. She landed in the ER, thinking she was having a heart attack, which was when her diagnosis was made. I guess I've been pretty anxious lately. I think I might need to do some talking at work.

Thanks for sharing your story.
 
Ditto again on the doctor's appointment!

You should see a doctor to find out exactly what it is...and isn't. Right now you are just speculating and causing yourself more stress and worry wondering what it is.

Take care and keep us posted!

:) Nicole
 
Keli400 -
Yeah, I know. I guess I've got to decide if seeing a doctor is the right thing to do. I mean, nothing has happened since then, so I should just stop worrying and get on with life.

Eggs and PB toast is pretty darned good. Try it. But no, don't mix them together - that sounds revolting! :p
 
Thanks, people, for hearing me out tonight. Verbalizing has always helped me with problems. I need to sign out, but will check back in the morning.
 
Shannon, don't worry. Join the crowd of hypochondriacs. A woman during her child-bearing years has natural protection from heart disease. And for someone who exercises and takes good care of herself, it is rare. So relax. Make an appointment with your doctor, but I'm sure they will not find anything.

Like Dave, I've had terrible anxiety attacks that felt like heart attacks. I've been sent home with a vial of xanax and been told to see a psychologist a few times in my day. That is not what you had. An anxiety attack is far more terrible, and I'm happy for you that you did not have one. But you should check with your doctor and not worry. Nature coddles a woman in her child-bearing years against heart disease. Heart disease is for us oldsters! You probably strained a muscle or something. Honest.

-Nancy
 
Hey Shannon.

I don't blame you for worrying. I would too.

Years ago I was home alone one night. I was about 19-20 years old I guess. My grandfather was terminally ill and had just taken a turn for the worse so my mom went to the hospital late at night to see him. I was going about my business and all of the sudden I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I called my best friend in a panic. She talked to me until I calmed down and felt better. I told my mom when she got home and she made an appointment for me at the doctor. It was partly a panick attack from the stress of my grandfather's illness but we also found out that I have something called MVP which is a deformity of a heart valve. It is not deadly by any means but can give one symptoms such as shortness of breath, rapid hear beat and other panick-attack style symptoms that really make you feel like some much more serious could be wrong!

Why did I tell you this? To show you that if you go to the doctor he/she will most likely diagnose you with something far less serious than what you are imagining is wrong with you.

I hope this makes you feel a bit better about your situation! :)
 
Nancy -
I know it's not a true panic attack - my good friend has those, and they're quite awful. I'm thinking of a more mild sign of anxiety. I guess I don't truly believe I have any sort of heart problem. But already being nervous and on edge, I let my worries get the best of me.

Fit Mom -
Thanks for sharing your story. I appreciate it.

Well, last night wasn't exactly pleasant. I've let stress get the best of me, it appears. I must have woken up half a dozen times, and each time, it was very sudden, with that nervous flip-flop stomach effect, as if I had to go on stage and perform or something. This is pretty darned ridiculous.

Last night I wrote my boss an email, which I hope he'll read Monday. Our workplace, like many others, tends to pile the work on those who prove they can do it, while the slackers take it easy. I know I can handle a large workload and have proven it, but up until this latest project, I have managed to keep my work hours under control. I told him that once this project ends, my day ends after eight hours. I told him some other stuff too - nicely, of ocurse. He's a reasonable person, so I think everything will be okay.

That said, I think I'll bypass the doctor unless it happens again. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on relaxation and maintaining control of my work environment. I used to practice yoga, and I think I'll reintroduce that for a while, at least.
 
People tell you all the time that you need to "take control of your life", great advice for building stress. There are things that you can control and things that you can't. The things you can't control you have to let go of and go with the flow. The things you can control, you control.

When faced with a number of "battles", choose the one that is worth fighting and is one that is worth winning.

Obviously the common individual isn't going to be able to do anything on an individual basis to solve problems about the weather, war, terrorism or other "global" concerns. You can't ignore them, but you can't let them take over your day to day existence.

A loved one's health is a major stressor. Once you're sure he/she is getting the health care he/she requires and is educated in the prognosis then it's that person's choice to follow "doctor's orders" or not. All you can do is "go with the flow".

Imagine falling into a fast moving river. If you try to swim back upstream to the point of entry, you will exhaust yourself and drown. Now even a novice swimmer doing the "doggie paddle" could ride the current and try to move to the shore somewhere downstream.

Sorry for the long philosophy, but it's how I manage stress and you did ask.
Dave
 
Shannon - I know I'm going to sound like a harpy here, but I do hope you reconsider your decision to not seek a medical evaluation, and instead "wait til next time". My husband had a heart attack in early May last year, after precisely zero warning signs. Two arteries completely blocked and a third close to, and he had to have stents put into two of them (the cardiac surgeon elected to treatthe partially blocked artery with medication, which seems to be working). He could have died had the situation been slightly different than it was.

Heart problems and cardiac episodes in women are routinely overlooked, misdiagnosed, and overly compared to heart problems and cardiac episodes in men. Physiologically, men and women are somewhat different in that area, and only now is the medical profession starting to key in to the warning signs in women. And stress, while an exacerbating factor, is but one of many factors that can create heart disease.

I'm sorry to sound so sepulchral, but again, out of concern I urge you to get a complete evaluation for your heart condition. The next time, you might not be so lucky. Better to rule things out than overlook a treatable problem.

A-Jock
 
Hi Shannon, it never ceases to amaze me how profoundly stress will manifest itself physically. I am a massage therapist and many of my clients come for stress management through classical massage and trigger point therapy. Trigger points are taut bands within a muscle that refer pain in a predicatable pattern. They are released through specific pressure followed by passive and active range of motion of the involved muscle and finally an application of deep moist heat. Why am I telling you this? Because the referred pain pattern for pectoralis major mimics the referred pain pattern for heart attack. I am not suggesting that this is exactly what's going on with you but wanted to share this information so that you know of other factors that could produce the pain you described.
I think you are bang on to focus on relaxation and reigning in the stress from work. That said I would respectfully suggest that you see your family doctor or a doctor of naturopathy and talk with them about this, your symptoms and circumstances are not trivial and your body is trying to tell you something. An objective opinion from a medical professional (alopathic or alternative) may just go a long way to putting your worries to rest.

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
Thanks, Dave. Makes sense to me. I like your imagery of the river. The situation at work, however, is one that I do need to control. Otherwise, everyone will try to control me, and that's a bad thing.
 
Aquajock -
Well, I don't think you sound too doomsday-ish, and I appreciate your honest opinion, as well as the warning story about your husband. I sure am glad things seem to be under control there!

Funny thing. I work in a teaching hospital (med school, research, as well as regular hospital stuff). I'm not directly in the medical field - I work for the communications department. Anyhow, one of the nurses there is doing research on how different the manefestations of heart attack are in women and men. I actually wrote a story on it. You'd think I'd remember that and sort of pick up on it, wouldn't you? But it took your post to remind me of it.
 
Laurie -
Can't argue with you about the fact that my body is trying to tell me something! That's really interesting about the trigger points and gives food for thought. Is there something specific I can do myself, if this is the case?
 
Great post, Dave! Thanks for sharing!

I've had ailments caused by stress for so many years, I should be in a Woody Allen movie. Unlike Shannon, however, I've found that most of my stresses are manufactured internally. For example, I'm told my work is great and I'm partner material and all I have to do to make partner is increase my billing hours. So I start to bill a lot of hours, then stress about whether I want to live my life this way and cut back my hours and then worry that I'm not billing enough, etc etc. It's the internal battles that drive me nuts, never anything simple. When a REAL emergency arises, I'm usually fine, rise to the occasion and don't stress out at all. It's just my weird neurotic personality. Ironically, if I had invested all the money I've spent on psychologists over the years, I'd be retired by now. LOL!

But Shannon, I agree that you need to talk to the powers that be about your work situation, and that it is something you can control.

Sorry for the digression, but I'm very stressed out this week! :+
-Nancy
 
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