Saturday, August 31, 2013

Not my first rodeo

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 :)  



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