In Immense Chest Pain...Hey ho! At Least it's Not a Heart Attack!

My dog woke me at 5:30 because he was to lazy to jump down off the bed and wanted my help. He was having a great morning. I woke up to horrible pain in my chest. Being myself I figured, "I will just lay here and hope it goes away."* After a few moments I understood it was not going away. I realized I was going to throw up (great way to begin the day!) because it hurt so bad. Instead of going to get something for it I opted to pop my prescription anti- nausea pill and hope for the best.

*This is my theory for all symptoms. Ironically, they only ever do the opposite. They get worse and I get another lecture on trying to ignore my health problems.

After about ten minutes of positive thinking I admitted defeat and dragged myself out of bed. My bathroom holds an array of painkillers ranging from prescription to your standard favorites. The only problem is I need to take Advil for the issue (more on that in a moment). Out of all the bottles the Advil was missing. So I crawled up the stairs and found my mom casually eating breakfast. She was surprised to see me. "I can't sleep because my chest hurts so bad. I need some Advil." Thank goodness the family medicine cabinet held the bottle. Why it was there I have no idea as I am the only one who uses it.

True for more than just Hermione! Thanks Ron!

My mother looked concerned and as usual, very awake at a horribly early hour. I felt she was owed an explanation. To all my readers, here is the quick version:

My junior year of college, when I was still healthy, I started my morning with a bit of chest pain. The pain got steadily worse and progressed until it hurt to breathe. My friends were worried when I could  hardly move without flinching. "You really really need to see the doctor!" As they say in Harry Potter, "She needs to sort out her priorites" because per usual mine were skewed. 

"I don't have time to go to the doctor. We have a Cell Biology exam tomorrow! I need to review the study guide etc." Yes, even back in the healthy days I was still a moron about my well-being. Not until I could barely move without hurting did I relent. My father drove down immediately to get me. In the meantime I had looked up my symptoms and found a diagnosis which fit. Not like I was going to mention it to my doctor. At the time I was a huge advocate for 'do not voice your opinion. The doctor knows all. Not the patient.'

Ironically, my suspicion was correct. He diagnosed me with 'costochondritis:' 

"Costochondritis (kos-toe-KHON-dri-tis) an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum) — a junction known as the costosternal joint. Pain caused by costochondritis may mimic that of a heart attack or other heart conditions."- mayoclinic.com

The treatment? Go out. Buy Advil. Start taking it. The pain should be gone in a week or two. Don't worry! The costochondritis won't occur again. 

Ha! Once again the doctor fell off the wagon on this one. My costochondritis felt much better after the Advil and seemed to go away like he said. Unfortunately it has yet to decide to disappear. I can go months without a problem and suddenly POOF! The costochondritis reappears without warning. I wish it would give me a heads up like 'hey! just wanted to let you know I will be back sometime in early October. So stock up on Advil and I will see you soon!"

Ah. Wishful thinking is called such because it is only the reality we hope for. Not the truth before us. Being a big believer in positive thinking (see positive thinking post) I pointed out, "Hey Mom at least it's not a heart attack or a new symptom!" I get the feeling she thinks I am a moron when it comes to health logic. Most people would moan about how horrible it is and I am smiling about the situation. I cannot help myself. If I complained about every bad health moment I would do nothing but complain all day long. I simply try to look on the bright side! Even if the bright side means still being in lots of pain and unable to get back to sleep because of it.

At the very least my dog is happy to simply be snoozing away next to me. I am happy because it's about time I made some gluten-free waffles to distract myself. Before I do commence with waffle time I will be taking more Advil. The pain-killer has an unfortunate habit of wearing off after six hours. Hence the return of the pain.

Positive thought of the day: The pain cuts through the fatigue making me feel it may be time to finally complete the watercolors I have sketched out.

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