Lay Off the Web MD
Posted on September 17, 2007 by Ching under Family, Life.
I woke up at four o’clock this morning due to severe chest pain. I thought I was having a heart attack. I ended up waking Brian up, much to his dismay. He said it was only heartburn. I never get heartburn, though.
It felt like there was a brick in my chest. It was like I wanted to burp but couldn’t but somehow I knew that if I burped or vomitted it would make me feel better. I really thought about trying to make myself gag with my fingers but then decided against it because that would just be too gross and painful. Then I coughed. I coughed a few times and white, cloudy phlegm came out. That actually made me feel better.
I was thinking that maybe my lungs were inflamed or something. On the up side the phlegm was white and not a gross green or yellow color. On the downside, I felt like I did when I had bronchitis minus the wheezing.
Brian rubbed some Vicks VapoRub on my chest. He figured that would help me breathe. It helped a little bit but it took a couple of hours before I could finally get back to sleep. Just as I started to doze off, the morning alarm went. I decided to call in a day of vacation and stay home. Brian and I agreed I could use the rest.
I slept until Brian woke me up around ten. The volume on my phone was set to super loud. It startled me. Anyway, I was going to go back to bed but after being abruptly woken up I decided to just stay up. I needed to read my book, Steve Kaplan’s “Bag the Elephant,”
I told him that I was going to see if I could get an appointment with Dr. Thomas to find out exactly what’s wrong with me. “Good luck,” he said. We’ve never really been lucky with doctro’s appointments. Most of the time we have to preschedule several weeks in advance. I did have some luck on my side today, though. The woman at the doctor’s office said there was a cancellation and he could see me at 2:10 PM. This was already 1:20 when I was talking to her and Dr. Thomas’ office is in Derby so I really had to skiddadle.
I took a quick shower, which actually made me feel better, threw on some clothes and was out the door. Even with an unexpected detour (I got confused by the Rock Road contruction over there on 63rd and ended up taking a right so I ended up going through mom’s neighborhood), I got there by 2:06 PM. Man, I’m good!
Dr. Thomas said that he wouldn’t prescribe any antibiotics this time because he could only sense congestion and no inflammation. He thought it was allergy related so he prescribed a couple of allergy medicines, one over the counter (10 mg loratadine) and the other a regular prescription (pseudovent). I am to take both, the loratadine once a day and the psuedovent twice daily, for the next two weeks until I feel better. He said that it should make the tightness in my chest go away. I can stop once I feel better and start taking them again when the problem returns. He said to call him if I feel worse.
I went to mom and dad’s house after to hang out for a bit. I got to see Logan. He is so adorable. I asked him where his WII is and he said it’s a home but he could bring it tomorrow if I wanted to play. I told him I couldn’t because I had school. He said I could come after. I told him that I go to school at night. I said I have to work during the day and then when I’m done with work I can go to school so I don’t get home until late. He said, “That’s a lot of thinking.” LOL. No kidding.
When we were chatting I asked him how old he is. He said seven. “When is your birthday?” I asked. He told me July 13. I asked what year and he said 2000. I said, “Like 2-0-0-0?” He said, “Yes. So whatever the ending number of the year is that is how old I am. Now it is 2007 so I am seven. Next year when it is 2008 I will be eight.” I commented, “Wow! That makes it easy to remember.” “It is really easy to remember,” he said and then added “When it is 2029 I will be 29.” I told him, “That’s how old I am!” To which he replied, “And you’re still in school?” He’s too smart for his own good.
Next stop was Walgreens. I found that loratadine is the active ingredient in Claritin. When I checked out, my bill came to about $35. I was like, “What? How much was my prescription?” My pseudovent was only $5 but the Claritin was $25. I guess I misread the label. They are a dollar a piece and I got a 30-count box. The pharmacist recommended Alavert which is cheaper. When he rang it up my bill actually came out more expensive. Again I was like, “What?” It was because I got a 48-count box. I was going to have them take the Alavert back put the Claritin back on to save $3 but then I thought about it and for $3 more I got 18 more loratadine so I actually came out ahead. I decided against being a pain and just headed home.
When I took my first loratadine today I was actually glad I kept the Alavert. I had tried Claritin reditabs many years ago and found them disgusting. I only decided to get this time because the doctor said so. The Alavert is mint flavored so it almost tastes like candy. It’s like eating toothpaste actually. I’ve swallowed toothpaste many times before so this wasn’t hard to muster.
Brian and I read the info on the pseudovent bottle and decided not to follow doctor’s orders. Doc said twice a day but I’m not really sure when I can take it as it is supposed to cause drowsiness and dizziness. So much for that. Brian and I decided that I should just take one pill a day before bed. This should help me sleep at night and not have to wake up at four in the morning for fear of a heart attack. We are pretty good at improvising.
Anyway, I guess it’s just allergies. I was really worried. I’m not normally a hypochondriac but with my questionable eating habits it’s not so far fetched that I would have cardiac problems. I think this is a sign from above to change my exercise and eating habits. We are due for a lifestyle change.
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