This is not a batiatric surgery related post. It's more of a rant about my pain associated with this condition. Feel free to skip over this post... You've been warned.
It's 5:21A.M. right now and I've been awake for hours. I can't go back to sleep. My pain is worse at night or really anytime that I'm still. This is pobably because my mind is not distracted. It feels like I've consistently been having a heart attack for the passed 4 months. My chest hurts. There's a pinching, burning sensation in my neck and breastbone. My back under my shoulder blade hurts and my wrist and pinky hurts. It's only on my left side. It's like I'm Two-face from Batman. Regular on the right side and jacked up on the left side.
I had an echocardiogram done 1.5-2 years ago when I was doing my RNY pre-op testing the first time. I never got the results but I'm guessing they were OK since no one called. An EKG was also done. That was fine. I've been to the emergency room to get my chest pains checked. They did blood work, an EKG, and an xray. Everything was fine. Honestly it does feel muscle related.
Because I'm laying in my bed right now barely able to breathe without pain or anxiety I'm not going to really define or link costchrondritis--just know that the symptoms I've described are basically what it is--Inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs and breastbone.
OK, my complaining is over. Let's look at this from a solution-focused approach. On a scale of 1-10 how bad is my discomfort? 7. What can i do to fix this? What would i like to see happen? Me= have peace of mind and not feel always on the brink of death (I promise I'm not usually this dramatic). It would be nice to have no pain in my neck, chest, elbow, or wrist.
I've decided I'm going to the e.r. this weekend. One more time, just to rule heart problems out. Maybe they'll find something to point me in the right direction. I'm going to go back to my primary doctor and ask for some medicine that will give me some relief. I think my Dr thinks that I'm a hypochondriac. Maybe we should look more into this anxiety thing. Honestly I think the pain is what's causing my anxiety. So I breathe and use guided imagery to destress. I wonder if it's my reflux causing or at least contributing to this discomfort? I'm walking more. That's about all the activity I can handle right now. I would say change my diet but I'm not really eating right now. I've been on shakes, salads lean meat, and fruits this whole week. It's just easier and I just don't want to eat.
Right now I'm sitting on a referral for a shoulder xray idk what that's going to do and referral to an orthopedist and a gastrointestinal doctor.
Geesh I was just talking about saving money now I'll have to pay the e.r. copay and for these tests. That's five hundred bucks easy.
I just closed my eyes and pictured my blog profile picture-- a woman, rising strong from the firey phoenix. Once I quadruple check that my heart is OK I will be fine. I gots this! Onward and upward.
Anyone else had to deal with this? What is working for you? Please share. Now, it's time for me to get up and get ready for work.
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