Just FYI before I delve into this whole story ... I'm no longer not eating meat. I gave that up a few days ago when asked if I wanted grilled chicken on my salad. I'm still aiming to cut DOWN on meat ... but for right now, I don't think I can cut it completely OUT.
That being said ...
So, last night, I began to feel a little lightheaded. No biggie. Drink some water, eat a little something. Next thing I know ...
BAM!
I hit the floor. Totally blacked out for a few seconds. I sat there, stunned, seeing little birdies flying around my head.
A wave of nausea swept over me suddenly ... then heartburn. BAD heartburn. Painful heartburn. I began coughing, gripping onto the floor trying to make the room stop spinning.
After a couple of minutes, everything subsided, just a little bit of lightheadedness. I drove (bad idea #1) to the nearest emergency clinic.
"Anything like this, we send straight to the emergency room," I was told. I began to panic. I hate emergency rooms. Plus, I've had these types of "episodes" before. My blood pressure and pulse checked out fine, so I knew I should be OK. Instead, I drove back to my apartment and called my mother.
"See how you feel, if you get worse again go to the E.R., if you feel OK, go to bed, and if you still feel the same in the morning, call the doctor."
"Can I come home?" I said, pleadingly.
"Of course!"
So I threw the schnauzer in the car and drove 1.5 hours home. (Bad idea, again.) Luckily, I got home just fine, still lightheaded. It got worse once I went to bed, but I managed to fall asleep around midnight.
Long story short, I ended up going to the doctor this morning. They jabbed me with needles, listened to my heart. See, I had something very similar happen in March, and they did an EKG and ECG back then, so they pretty much knew my heart is OK. "Maybe your thyroid, maybe hypoglycemia," I was told today.
I have an appointment first thing next Friday for a two-hour blood test for hypoglycemia. "If this doesn't show anything, we'll make you wear a heart monitor," the nurse practitioner said.
I'm back at my apartment, feeling better but still a bit shaky.
Thank goodness for health insurance, huh?
Wipeout
August 14th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
August 14th, 2008 at 11:50 pm 1218757818
August 14th, 2008 at 11:51 pm 1218757915
August 15th, 2008 at 01:32 am 1218763973
August 15th, 2008 at 01:33 am 1218764035
It started happening more when I went to college, and I noticed the reason I felt so out of breath was because my heart would start beating kind of fast for a few moments, then go right back to normal.
When I started having some mild chest pains, I went to my usual medical clinic and they did an EKG. The nurse practicioner almost looked over it, but she said it did look like there was some irregularity in the beat, so she faxed it to a cardiologist, who suggested I wear a heart monitor (mine was a holter monitor) for 24 hours. After all that fun was over, I went to pick up the print-outs of every single beat my heart had made, and took them to another cardiologist.
I only tell you this because it sounds like you're going through alot of the same. Before I realized how dangerous it can be, I passed out as I got out of the shower. I woke up half dressed, with my legs hung over the side of the tub, and had completely ripped the faucet out of the wall with my BACK (ouch).
So make sure you're careful - and I'd suggest wearing the heart monitor if you can. It records so much more than an EKG!
August 15th, 2008 at 02:23 am 1218766994
August 15th, 2008 at 04:43 am 1218775394
Hope you feel better quickly
August 15th, 2008 at 02:38 pm 1218811115
August 15th, 2008 at 06:18 pm 1218824293