Yesterday I rushed myself to the Emergency Room of St. Luke's Medical Center in BGC. I only meant to go home earlier than my official time-out from work but my boyfriend said to go to the hospital and so that's what I did. It was my first time to go to the Emergency Room of any hospital ever so you could just imagine how terrified I was.
Early this year, my heart started beating irregularly in that sometimes it would skip one or two beats and then go really fast that I am left out of breath. I had it checked and had ECG and Thyroid Function test done but the doctor didn't find anything unusual. She chalked it up to stress — which made sense as I was dealing with a major change then — and ordered me to stop drinking coffee and tea for a while. I did, and the palpitations stopped. It would return every now and then but not that frequently so I just ignored it.
Until it returned about two weeks ago, and it got to the point that it was too difficult to ignore. Yesterday was that point.
It started with a simple chest pain, and then as 4:00 rolled around I was full on having difficulty breathing; I was literally gasping for air. I was a total mess, panicking and tearing up and messaging my boyfriend while fixing my stuff preparing to go home and rest it off, and that was when he told me to go straight to the hospital and that he'd meet me there. Amidst helpful advice from my officemates on what I should do when I get to the hospital I booked an Uber and next scene, I was in the Emergency Room talking to the nurse while she was getting my details and checking my vital signs.
Apparently it was not a life-threatening situation as I waited for about 15 to 20 minutes more before another nurse attended to me for an ECG. I got scared again when the nurse couldn't get a proper reading even after two attempts. Was my heart condition that bad that it couldn't be read? This is modern facility with modern equipment, why wouldn't the machine work? Am I dying? We had to transfer to another room and use another machine, and finally it worked this time.
The results of the ECG were passed to the doctor and she told me neither the electrocardiogram nor the stethoscope didn't detect anything wrong with my heart.
I felt like panicking again because what could be wrong with me?
She asked some more questions which I answered as thoroughly as I can, and that was when she deduced that it has nothing to do with my heart, but my stomach.
The diagnosis was Costochondritis.
Until it returned about two weeks ago, and it got to the point that it was too difficult to ignore. Yesterday was that point.
It started with a simple chest pain, and then as 4:00 rolled around I was full on having difficulty breathing; I was literally gasping for air. I was a total mess, panicking and tearing up and messaging my boyfriend while fixing my stuff preparing to go home and rest it off, and that was when he told me to go straight to the hospital and that he'd meet me there. Amidst helpful advice from my officemates on what I should do when I get to the hospital I booked an Uber and next scene, I was in the Emergency Room talking to the nurse while she was getting my details and checking my vital signs.
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| First day back at work after the extra long weekend and now this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ |
The results of the ECG were passed to the doctor and she told me neither the electrocardiogram nor the stethoscope didn't detect anything wrong with my heart.
I felt like panicking again because what could be wrong with me?
She asked some more questions which I answered as thoroughly as I can, and that was when she deduced that it has nothing to do with my heart, but my stomach.
The diagnosis was Costochondritis.
I was administered an antacid and a painkiller intravenously. It was the first time I experienced something like it, and it's something I wouldn't want to go through again simply because it was weird and disconcerting having a needle inserted into my vein for that long.
Aside from medicines, I was prescribed to avoid skipping meals, cigarettes (not a problem because I don't smoke), alcohol (not a problem because I don't drink), coffee (huhu), tea (huhu), spicy food (huhu), sour food (huhu), NSAIDs medication, and activities I find stressful. It will be challenging but I can avoid caffeine and spicy and sour food, but how can I avoid stress when the nature of my job demands it? Exhibit A: I was on sick leave today but I constantly had to be on my phone to respond to messages.
Aside from medicines, I was prescribed to avoid skipping meals, cigarettes (not a problem because I don't smoke), alcohol (not a problem because I don't drink), coffee (huhu), tea (huhu), spicy food (huhu), sour food (huhu), NSAIDs medication, and activities I find stressful. It will be challenging but I can avoid caffeine and spicy and sour food, but how can I avoid stress when the nature of my job demands it? Exhibit A: I was on sick leave today but I constantly had to be on my phone to respond to messages.
So, yeah, I'm going back to work tomorrow. Thank you for your keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. Special mention to my boyfriend who (I was surprised and very touched to find out) packed an overnight bag with clothes and toiletries for me for if I get confined in the hospital, as well as my friends who asked how I was doing. It's the little things... ♥
Take care of yourself, kids.
Take care of yourself, kids.
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