2.02.2012

My eventful day.

I need to do more of this journal writing "stuff."
I really feel like it can be calming and bring inspiration, but when I sit down to type, I'm not quite sure what to tell you, internet.

I will tell you that today was a little scary. 

I was making a sandwich for a little girl I nanny and realized I felt fairly dizzy.
Then my chest started to hurt and I felt short of breath.

All great signs, huh?

My chest or "heart" hurting isn't new to me... I've suffered from it off and on for two years now.  My doc diagnosed me with costochondritis, but I don't really think that's the issue.

Today was a totally different kind of mess.  I felt really scared and strangely disoriented.
Lincoln was at school, so luckily we have really awesome neighbors (and really great mother in laws to find neighbors) and she took me to the instacare.

I've always had really low blood pressure and really fast heart rate.  With the accompanying chest pains, this to me doesn't sound like a good combo.  I'm not a doctor, but ya know.

So they did an EKG and X-ray and seemed shocked to know that my primary care physician never did these tests with my symptoms.  (Can't wait for that medical bill...)

And the tests said all was well.  Which is comforting, but there are probably a billion other tests I can do to see if there is something wrong with my good ol' heart.  I just wish I could find some answers, because I'm sick of not feeling 100%.

Fatigue, headaches, chest pains quite frequently... not exactly fun.

After reading and researching online today, I kind of have a feeling I might be anemic.  I have all the symptoms and my lifestyle could explain that (I'm not the best eater... I get distracted easily).

So we will see...


Any of you out there in the interweb have an opinion on this?  I also think maybe it could be anxiety related??

Hopefully we will find some answers soon...

9 comments:

Brielle said...

this is awful! i am so sorry about the sickness! i am severely anemic & the dizziness sounds very familiar. doctors didn't test me for it for a very long time until i asked for it. other symptoms are exhaustion and headaches... i don't know if that helped but i thought i'd give it a shot! hopefully you can figure it out!

xo,
brielle

brielleandscott.blogspot.com

Kaylie said...

My mom and other realatives have anxiety and the way you described it sounds alot like that. They are all doing pretty good though and it doesn't hold them back. Good luck! Doctors are never fun.

Chelsea (THEYCALLMEBABY) Dahm said...

Hi Jalene!
Two years ago, something very similar happened to me! I am anemic and one day I was sitting at the computer and had all the symptoms you described and also my shoulders were in severe pain. My boyfriend called his friend who is a nurse and he told us to get to the ER right away. When I did, matters weren't helped much to be confronted with a hysterical nurse who wouldnt stop crying "this 25 year old (at the time) is having a heart attack!!" I was so distraught. The doctors ran all of the tests you described, and they came back saying I was fine. The doctor asked me to tell him about my day, my week, my month, and after hearing all that I was taking on, and the huge amount of stress that came with it, he said it was pretty much a "fake heart attack." My body had become so stressed, since my mind was so stressed, and it was mimicking the signs of a heart attack. They gave me some pain killers and sent me on my way with orders to slow down, and I was fine!! I hope that this is the same case for you!

Also, I called the ER after I got a $3,500 bill and asked about financial assistance. I had to send in my last three months of paychecks, and because I don't make much, they hospital took care of almost the entire bill. I know you just quit your 9-5, but when you get the bill, its definitely worth a call to instacare- they might have a fund set up!

Alina Smith said...

I hope you get better soon!
I'm not a doctor but taking a multi-vitamin or pre-natal vitamin does wonders, especially if you have a high metabolism and not eat frequently. Not enough iron from food intake makes you anemic/very fatigued so it helps to have a daily supplement.
Have the doctor run an anxiety test, they may Rx something for it. If you do need something for anxiety, treat it soon b/c the sooner it's treated, the less time you need to be on medication.

Gretchen said...

Oh no! So sorry to hear about this!

I had chest pains a few years ago that were happening off and on and were severe enough that I went to see my doctor about them. He did an EKG and didn't find anything. He told me that they were stress/anxiety related and wrote me a prescription for an anti-anxiety med that I took for a while. Eventually my chest pain went away. Hope that helps.

kellichristinecase said...

girl! we never realize how blessed we are with good health until it is gone. i would hate feeling less than 100% as well. i hope you get better soon!

kate said...

Jalene, that is no fun at all. I am sorry! I hope you get everything figured out...

(p.s. it could totally be something to do with anxiety... have you ever seen a psychologist? The only hang up I see is that the pains happened when you were doing something simple like making a sandwich, unless you have anxiety about making sandwiches :) it's definitely something to think about. Anxiety can mess with you.)

Krista & Tyler said...

Whats your HCT level from your blood work? Call me. Your hematocrit and RBC levels can indicate anemia. You should try more iron in the diet. Pills are great and all, but try and get them from the main source - foods, etc. And, since you're aware that you're an easily distracted eater (oh, hello! just like me!), then you have got to make an effort to not be...hahahahaha way easier said than done. Call me :) I'm off all week.

Unknown said...

sometimes i wish i didn't think about eating so much. just try to eat every two hours. that might help keep your blood sugar level