Know yourself...

     Good evening, Fam...  Hope all has been well with you!  Yes, I've fallen, but I DID get up...  I stopped blogging for awhile, not because I didn't have anything to talk about, but, as before, life just got in the way...  Since I left you, soooooooo much has happened.  So, let's talk about the must recent incident and the importance of knowing yourself.

     Recently, I was awakened in the middle of the night with a left chest pain that took my breath away.  I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, my neck was stiff and my left arm and hand were numb.  I was very concerned.  After about 20 minutes I was able to lay back down, but only for a short while.  My conscience and the fact that I just didn't "feel good" made me get up and start getting dressed.  Long story short, I went to work still feeling like crap, couldn't think, sweating like a bull in heat and still with that stiff neck feeling, and slightly nauseous--symptoms that could be indicative of a heart attack in 'women'.  I went to employee health where my blood pressure was taken and was found to be slightly elevated.  I was sent immediately to the Emergency Department, was admitted to the hospital and many tests were performed.

     I had 3 EKG's, a chest x-ray, 4 blood draws, my blood pressure taken more times than I can count, and a stress test.  At the end of two days, a cardiologist could not find anything out of the norm and I was discharged from the hospital.  So, here I am 5 days later and I still am having that stiff neck thing, the chest pain comes and goes, but only when I lay down, and I still feel a little sluggish.  All I can think is a combination of things happened at the same time creating 'the perfect storm'.  I'm thinking I may have pulled a muscle carrying this 25 pound back pack and my 5 pound pocketbook daily, along with the fact that I had such a BADDDDDD case of 'gas' that I needed to be alone, and I my life activities have me stressed to the max... 

     Although the doctor did not find anything, my family history of heart disease, my age, and my complaints dictated that my heart be checked out.  Am I happy that nothing within the "medical tests" was abnormal?  YES, and I thank God for that.  Am I embarrassed and sorry I complained what and how I was feeling?  NO, because what I was feeling was 'out of the "norm" 'for me.  If nothing else, I got 4 good days of semi-relaxation that I would not have had if I kept going with my daily activities.  Maybe that's what I needed!  In any case, I'm ready to get started back to my exercise regimen and work on my healthy diet and I am going to remember to take some time to have DOWN time every now and again just for ME...  REMEMBER, if you are NOT feeling like your everyday self, DO NOT be afraid to get checked out.  It may not be anything, but it could be something you did plan on.  KNOW yourself and your body.

Smooches