Yesterday was a bit different.
A pain in the chest, became a pain in the ass.
A pain in the chest, became a pain in the ass.
In my bio I claim to be a septuagenarian. In fact, I am working on my seventy second year, so I am definitely over the hump.
At my age comes other benefits, like a stack of pills to keep the ticker ticking at a reasonably regular rate.
Yesterday, Liddy and I took a two mile walk along the Puyallup River in Orting. It’s a pleasant walk even on our grey damp February days. Well, I don’t think I mentioned that I had been experiencing a pain in my chest since Tuesday. It’s like a sharp stick poking under my right boob.
Well Yesterday, coming home from our walk, I decided it was annoying enough that I needed to get it checked out. My atrial fibrillation (afib) is known to cause blood clots which cause Pulmonary Embolisms (PE) or strokes, so I decided I needed to know.
I know — you are saying “You stupid ditz — why didn’t you get it looked at on Tuesday!”
Well — because — because I don’t want to be a bother. If it is a clot, then what are they going to do… double my Eliquis dose — give me some pill to dissolve the clot? I figured it was stuck where it was. I was breathing fine, I wasn’t coughing, I was just getting poked with a stick whenever I took a deep breath. Only one of from a basket of symptoms for PE.
Right — yesterday — getting home after the walk I asked June to take me to the local emergency clinic. I wanted some piece of mind (don’t need a piece of yours thank you, keep it 😊)
After about two hours, several blood tests, and x-rays later, I was informed that I probably had pleuritic chest pain or Pleurisy. This is a condition where the lining wrapping the lungs, and the lining coating the inner chest, well these linings are upset — inflamed is the technical term.
The doctor says the cause can be a virus like the flu. A cold with a lot of coughing will also work. He also said it can be a couple of weeks after the triggering event before the symptoms become evident.
This describes my situation to a tee. I picked up a rather nasty cold over Christmas while in Germany. It dogged me for pretty much the entire four weeks we were there. I got rid of it just as we got home.
Almost two weeks to the day of arriving home, I have this sharp stick poking me in the chest. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving.
OK. Treatment — ER doctor says have a good life — it’s one of those things for which there is no treatment except to monitor. It should clear up in a week or so. Argh — shallow breaths and don’t bump into things.
Outcomes like this are annoying to me. Using all of those ER resources only to be told your fine seems such a waste. On the other hand, now I know it isn’t something more serious. One of those things that I am at risk for which could put an abrupt end to this party.
Don’t want that.
Should have had it checked out sooner — that is my cautionary tale to you.