I taught this phrase to some of the foreign staff :)
I had chest pain for a couple days which isn't a new thing. I spent two years in terrible pain every time I took a breath. I was on vicodin and Anti-inflammatory meds for a long time. I've been off of them but I have three incidents of severe chest pain since March. I took Advil for a few days to keep the edge off the pain but Friday the pain was much worse. I don't tell people unless I have to because they freak out when they hear "chest pain" but I had to say something because breathing was hard and I needed better meds. Of course people panicked and I had to get an EKG. In the US that means tons of money and hours in the ER but here it is a lot easier. Radika - the school nurse took me. I refused to use a wheel chair in the school because it upsets the kids, but I did use one in the hospital. They sent us upstairs to where they do the EKGs but said we had to pay first - downstairs. This is why you should never go to an Indian hospital by yourself! There is no way I could have gone downstairs!! It was 320 rupees - $4.87 :) My EKG was perfect but I was in so much pain and having trouble catching my breath - they wanted me to go to the ER. Thankfully Radika was with me and told them my symptoms were from a chronic illness we had a doctor coming to the school. Dr. Lankani is the doctor who comes to my house when I am sick. He was working at the US consulate which is a few blocks away from the school. I told him it was my lungs. That Lupus causes inflammation and in my heart and lung lining and causes extreme pain. When I push on my chest, it feels better because it pushes the fluid in different places. I told him I needed stronger anti-inflammatory meds than Advil and that I would need steroids to jump start fixing the pain. He listened to my lungs and they showed exhalation problems. Which is not new. I have the lungs of a 90 year old!! You know that test where you blow into the tube? I fail it every time!! Whenever I see a movie where someones car goes into a river and they hold their breath for two minutes while they get out?? I always think " I would die in 15 seconds!!" That is literally how long I can hold my breath.
He agreed with everything I said :) and I got my steroids and new anti-inflammatories and stomach meds to counter the anit-inflammatories. I know the drill :)
I'm totally fine. Not life-threatening at all. Just very painful. I went to the gym today and worked HARD. People always think I should rest when I don't feel well, but I would be resting all the time!! The fact that I do so much exercise is what keeps me from being disabled. I know not to push it too hard and I know when I need to rest. Planning on running the Mumbai half marathon :)
I had chest pain for a couple days which isn't a new thing. I spent two years in terrible pain every time I took a breath. I was on vicodin and Anti-inflammatory meds for a long time. I've been off of them but I have three incidents of severe chest pain since March. I took Advil for a few days to keep the edge off the pain but Friday the pain was much worse. I don't tell people unless I have to because they freak out when they hear "chest pain" but I had to say something because breathing was hard and I needed better meds. Of course people panicked and I had to get an EKG. In the US that means tons of money and hours in the ER but here it is a lot easier. Radika - the school nurse took me. I refused to use a wheel chair in the school because it upsets the kids, but I did use one in the hospital. They sent us upstairs to where they do the EKGs but said we had to pay first - downstairs. This is why you should never go to an Indian hospital by yourself! There is no way I could have gone downstairs!! It was 320 rupees - $4.87 :) My EKG was perfect but I was in so much pain and having trouble catching my breath - they wanted me to go to the ER. Thankfully Radika was with me and told them my symptoms were from a chronic illness we had a doctor coming to the school. Dr. Lankani is the doctor who comes to my house when I am sick. He was working at the US consulate which is a few blocks away from the school. I told him it was my lungs. That Lupus causes inflammation and in my heart and lung lining and causes extreme pain. When I push on my chest, it feels better because it pushes the fluid in different places. I told him I needed stronger anti-inflammatory meds than Advil and that I would need steroids to jump start fixing the pain. He listened to my lungs and they showed exhalation problems. Which is not new. I have the lungs of a 90 year old!! You know that test where you blow into the tube? I fail it every time!! Whenever I see a movie where someones car goes into a river and they hold their breath for two minutes while they get out?? I always think " I would die in 15 seconds!!" That is literally how long I can hold my breath.
He agreed with everything I said :) and I got my steroids and new anti-inflammatories and stomach meds to counter the anit-inflammatories. I know the drill :)
I'm totally fine. Not life-threatening at all. Just very painful. I went to the gym today and worked HARD. People always think I should rest when I don't feel well, but I would be resting all the time!! The fact that I do so much exercise is what keeps me from being disabled. I know not to push it too hard and I know when I need to rest. Planning on running the Mumbai half marathon :)
