Two years ago, I had some vague upper-left chest pain that came and went for weeks. I did my best to ignore it, but heard enough “silent heart attack” and “she thought it was just heartburn/gas/muscle pull/anxiety and then she died” stories that I decided to take myself to the ER, figuring that I’d rather feel silly and like a hypochrodriac than dead. Also smoked for years, have a couple of relatives who died of heart attacks.
Same story. Blood tests, EKG, chest x-rays, treadmill, more blood tests, blah blah…I was there for almost 24 hours before they decided that it was probably just a muscle pull, nothing at all wrong with my heart or my arteries or anything like that.
So I did feel a little silly, but also very, very relieved!
I also heard all the stories about chest pain, women and the vague lack of symptoms, the usual. A number of years ago [um, 1994 IIRC] I had a serious bout of pneumonia that was mostly resolved after several months of hanging around. I was flaked out on the couch for a nap. I woke up with chest pain, a light thready pulse, a bit light headed. Our roomie of the time did not drive, and we live in the ass end of nowhere - it takes on average 45 minutes to an hour for any volunteer to get to the firehouse to fire up the ambulance, or about the same to get any sort of response from either of the reasonably close hospitals. So, off we headed down to the Sub Base hospital [my medical records are there, and I know that I can get seen there for free, and if I need to get hauled to a civilian hospital they will do it for free. There is a charge if I go from the house.] where I do the required fetch my medical records from the records office and head to the ER. I go in, explain that I am having chest pains and get told to sit down, they will get to me whenever. SO I protest and tell them I am having chest pains and get told to sit down. I point out to them that I am a civilian dependent and my parents can and will sue the crap out of anybody and everybody if I die and I have a witness that can testify that they were refusing to triage me. That finally gets me in, hooked up to assorted machinery and triage started. There was nobody in any of the beds being seen, and 3 doctors lurking around, and a full compliment of nursing staff.
[Luckily for me it was pleurisy and nothing serious. They did chew me out for driving to the base, until I pointed out that on one single enlisted income, the $800 Ambulance fee would essentially break us for the month]
I love being ignored for something that could be terminal if not checked out immediately.
No, you’re absolutely right. I’ve been working hard at quitting smoking since I got back here in Denver, and I’ll continue. (I make it about half of the time; I don’t smoke at all for two days, then I smoke for two, then I don’t for six days, then I do for five, then I don’t for one, do for two, don’t for . . . Well, you get the idea.)
