I hate that I haven't been around over the last couple of days. But, I've been so sick that I've been cooped up in my bedroom, under the covers, sleeping, and just generally shutting the world out. I didn't know what was wrong and no one believed me (my roommate didn't and my mother didn't -- they told me it was in my head). But, last night, my friend drove me to the ER because I called her in hysterics over the fact that I couldn't breathe and that I was terrified something horrible was going to happen to me. I'm still scared...
In retrospect, I guess I started feeling unwell earlier in the week. My roommate had a sinus infection and cold and so I thought I was just coming down with that, but other than a slight sore throat, I never got "sick." But, I still felt tired, worn out, and just not right. On Friday morning I noticed some slight wheezing, but it went away as quickly as it came on. I even called my doctor thinking it was possibly the start of pneumonia, but she wrote it off as just allergies (which I don't have usually). But, by Friday night I was having trouble breathing. I couldn't walk from one room to the next without getting winded and I was not even able to get up the steps. But, nonetheless, my roommate said I was creating it out of my head and my mom said I was anxious and the doctor still insisted allergies. Even once I went to the ER, the doctor's wrote it off. The triage nurse thought it was high blood pressure (which was high when I was there, but only because they took it on my wrist rather than on my upper arm) and the doctor told me I had acid reflux. His answer was a GI cocktail that numbed my lips all the way to my stomach, but did not help me feel better. But, since my heart rate was high and erratic, they did do other testing (after telling me I was just having an anxiety attack). And, as it turned out, it was a good thing they did run those tests.
My blood tests all came back okay, but my EKG was slightly off (I can't remember what they said about it) and, as I said, my heart rate was high and somewhat erratic. My oxygen levels were lower than they should have been and my respiration rate was a bit high. The doctor was sure it was anxiety, but the nurse believed me and pushed him to do a CT scan of my lungs and heart to ensure that there were no blood clots. And, there were no clots, but they did find a pericardial effusion which prompted them to do an echocardiogram which proved that I do have pericarditis.
Here is a website with info about pericarditis: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/...icarditis.aspx.
At any rate, this is something I suffered with early last year. After blood tests, the general concensus was that it was due to the coxsackie virus. But, the fact that I have an auto-immune disorder (we're in the process of determining what disorder I'm dealing with) could also be the cause. I barely had symptoms last year, but I'm having a lot of them now. My heart occasionally feels like it's pounding out of my chest and I have a lot of shortness of breath. I'm uncomfortable, but not in pain. I'm also feeling weak and tired, but that could also be because I didn't sleep well last night. I just don't feel good and to top it off, I think I have a wisdom tooth coming in as my mouth and jaw is all inflamed on one side. I'm just cranky, tired, and very scared...
I will have to call my cardiologist tomorrow to schedule another echocardiogram and figure out what to do to help the situation, but, for now, I'm just dealing with it like I did last year -- by resting and taking NSAID pain relievers (Ibuprofin). I'm afraid, though. As most know, I have OCD and therefore tend to overreact. I know they released me and said I was okay to go home (but to come back and they'd keep me if I were to get worse), but I'm still scared that I may die or become seriously ill. I'm afraid that they misdiagnosed me and that I'll have a heart attack (as I do have a strong family history of heart disease). I know, intellectually, that everything aside from the effusion and pericarditis was normal, but it doesn't translate emotionally. It's hard to be young and have a lot of health issues, but it's my life. I usually handle it rather gracefully, but I'm not able to just yet. I'm angry, upset, and afraid right now. In time it will get better, but it's hard to be positive when all you feel is overwhelmed.
So, do you think it would be possible to spare some vibes for me? I could really use them...
In retrospect, I guess I started feeling unwell earlier in the week. My roommate had a sinus infection and cold and so I thought I was just coming down with that, but other than a slight sore throat, I never got "sick." But, I still felt tired, worn out, and just not right. On Friday morning I noticed some slight wheezing, but it went away as quickly as it came on. I even called my doctor thinking it was possibly the start of pneumonia, but she wrote it off as just allergies (which I don't have usually). But, by Friday night I was having trouble breathing. I couldn't walk from one room to the next without getting winded and I was not even able to get up the steps. But, nonetheless, my roommate said I was creating it out of my head and my mom said I was anxious and the doctor still insisted allergies. Even once I went to the ER, the doctor's wrote it off. The triage nurse thought it was high blood pressure (which was high when I was there, but only because they took it on my wrist rather than on my upper arm) and the doctor told me I had acid reflux. His answer was a GI cocktail that numbed my lips all the way to my stomach, but did not help me feel better. But, since my heart rate was high and erratic, they did do other testing (after telling me I was just having an anxiety attack). And, as it turned out, it was a good thing they did run those tests.
My blood tests all came back okay, but my EKG was slightly off (I can't remember what they said about it) and, as I said, my heart rate was high and somewhat erratic. My oxygen levels were lower than they should have been and my respiration rate was a bit high. The doctor was sure it was anxiety, but the nurse believed me and pushed him to do a CT scan of my lungs and heart to ensure that there were no blood clots. And, there were no clots, but they did find a pericardial effusion which prompted them to do an echocardiogram which proved that I do have pericarditis.
Here is a website with info about pericarditis: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/...icarditis.aspx.
At any rate, this is something I suffered with early last year. After blood tests, the general concensus was that it was due to the coxsackie virus. But, the fact that I have an auto-immune disorder (we're in the process of determining what disorder I'm dealing with) could also be the cause. I barely had symptoms last year, but I'm having a lot of them now. My heart occasionally feels like it's pounding out of my chest and I have a lot of shortness of breath. I'm uncomfortable, but not in pain. I'm also feeling weak and tired, but that could also be because I didn't sleep well last night. I just don't feel good and to top it off, I think I have a wisdom tooth coming in as my mouth and jaw is all inflamed on one side. I'm just cranky, tired, and very scared...
I will have to call my cardiologist tomorrow to schedule another echocardiogram and figure out what to do to help the situation, but, for now, I'm just dealing with it like I did last year -- by resting and taking NSAID pain relievers (Ibuprofin). I'm afraid, though. As most know, I have OCD and therefore tend to overreact. I know they released me and said I was okay to go home (but to come back and they'd keep me if I were to get worse), but I'm still scared that I may die or become seriously ill. I'm afraid that they misdiagnosed me and that I'll have a heart attack (as I do have a strong family history of heart disease). I know, intellectually, that everything aside from the effusion and pericarditis was normal, but it doesn't translate emotionally. It's hard to be young and have a lot of health issues, but it's my life. I usually handle it rather gracefully, but I'm not able to just yet. I'm angry, upset, and afraid right now. In time it will get better, but it's hard to be positive when all you feel is overwhelmed.
So, do you think it would be possible to spare some vibes for me? I could really use them...
