(no subject)
Over the past couple weeks I've been getting these pains on the left side of my chest, right where you put your "hand over your heart." They'd come and last a second and then go, maybe a few at a time and then that was it. I passed it off as heartburn or something. But, Saturday I jerked awake at about 4:00 in the morning with a very bad pain, and the thought "Oh no, I'm having a heart attack!" The pain faded in and out like it had before, it was just more intense. I went and looked up heart attack symptoms online and decided that it probably wasn't a heart attack, as the pain didn't seem to match what was described, and there were no other symptoms. I woke Conrad up to get a second opinion, and he figured it wasn't one either. I went and laid down again, had trouble getting back to sleep but eventually managed it.
The pains were still going when I woke up in the morning. Sometime midmorning I went onto WebMD's symptom checker. When I checked that I was having dull achy chest pains it popped up a warning that I should seek emergency medical attention. I continued on anyway, and the next step was to say it was left side only, at which it popped up again saying seek emergency medical attention. That kind of freaked me out, but I still figured it probably wasn't really a heart attack, so I compromised and called the medical center's advice nurse. She also didn't figure it was a heart attack, but did say she thought I should get checked out within the next three days, as she was worried about a possibility of blood clots, which meant either going in as a Saturday walk-in or waiting until normal Monday hours. I decided I'd go in on Monday. But, a few hours later, as the pains continued, I started getting worried again and decided I'd rather not sit and worry about it all weekend, so I went in.
They did an EKG, which came out normal, and then the doctor just listened with a stethascope for a bit. By then the pains had subsided, but I did get a last twinge of one, which corresponded with a PVC (aka heart palpatation) the doctor heard, so we figure that's probably what the pains were. The doctor says everyone has them sometimes, and some people do feel them as painful, and they were likely brought on by stress and lack of sleep, and possibly also by a potassium deficiency. So, I've been trying to get more sleep and relax a bit more, and have been eatting bananas. I've had a few pains still here and there, but not for several hours at a go like Saturday was.