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| If you are having severe pain, crushing, squeezing, or pressure in your chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or if the pain moves into your neck, left shoulder, arm, or jaw, go immediately to a hospital emergency department. Do not drive yourself. Call 911 for emergency transport. |
But all through it, I was calm and calculating. I summoned all the things I learned from medical-surgical nursing, and emergency nursing. I looked at the clock: 12:20AM. Tried to rest, do easy breathing, focused and located my the phone. Crap. The telephone wasn't on the nightstand and my cellphone was downstairs.
Took my BP. Crap, once again. 130/80 mmHg. I'm usually 90/60mmHg.
12:30AM. Still painful. Really painful. I had to alert my husband.
I was in the bedroom, the third level of the house, while my husband was in the tv room in the basement with the boxing documentary turned up loud. I called out to him. No reply, the voice of a referee boomed from downstairs.
Rest, rest. Heck, I was resting when this happened. 12:35AM. Not good. I began to feel light headed and dizzy. So gripping the hand rails, I wobbled to the basement. Off to the hospital, my son, my husband and I went.
After four hours of ECGs, cardiac enzyme analysis, coagulation & electrolyte studies and vital signs monitoring, I was discharged with a diagnosis of "Anxiety Attack" and "Chest Pain Unspecified".
I don't know how they came up with "Anxiety Attack" . First, the doctor who made the assessment was a doctor of Internal Medicine. Second, he did no psychological assessment to warrant such a diagnosis. The only abnormal things they saw was my BP shot up to 140/90mmHg, my potassium was low and my calcium was high. Anyway, he recommended I see my primary care physician and a cardiologist.
So I went to my PCP. I did not show them the ER discharge sheet at first. I wanted to see how they would react to a three decade old woman with reported chest pains.
A nurse took my vitals and said, "You know, it could be an anxiety attack. Are you under stress?" No I'm not. "Well, then maybe it was something from childhood. Sometimes anxiety or panic come up without warning during adulthood." I nodded politely.
What is this, some kind of go-to diagnosis???
I don't know if I'm right but I do not think that kind of response would be acceptable at the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses as Therapeutic Communication. To be fair to her, her tone was not dismissive. It was in fact, motherly. But perhaps that would make it worse for other people. (Are you trying to say my parents abused me?!?!)
Out goes the nurse, in comes the doctor. It was even worse. "What time did you eat and what time did your chest pain occur?", she asked. 7PM, I had cereal. 12:20PM, my chest was being crushed. "AH!", she exclaimed with a self-satisfied smile, "You probably had reflux". Then she pulled out her prescription pad, "20mg of Omeprazole for two weeks, and you'll fell better."
Are you kidding me??? I finished my light meal by 7:30PM. FIVE HOURS later, I'm supposed to have experienced reflux? You're telling me that after FIVE HOURS, there is still mashed, disintegrated SIMPLE CARBS in my stomach, refluxing to my esophagus??? It takes FIVE HOURS to digest CORN FLAKES? REALLY? REALLYYYY? REEEEEEEALLLLYYYY?
If I didn't have a panic attack before, this doctor might give me one down the road. I am so pulling out of this practice and find another health care provider.
I showed her the discharge sheet and lab work from the ER. "Oh, I'm gonna have to send you to a cardi-o-logist."
God, I hope I won't be as presumptuous as all these people when I get my nursing license...
