Posted by notfred on December 1, 2006, at 23:56:53
Weds. night I got off work and started the movie "Dogma" about 6:30. I remember the whole movie and the end, which would make it 8:30. At that point things are not clear; very hazy. I got very scared and decided to leave the house and go stay in a hotel; I had some kind of fear about something or someone was going to happen/come to the house and I had to get away.
Leaving town in my car I kept on asking myself, what am I scared/running from ? We had heavy snow here the last few days and I had no business out on the road. I finally got hold of myself and realized there were many hotels in town, much closer. I turned around and finally I decided to return to my house. Slid off the road once.
Once home I was experiencing rapid heart beat (125 bpm) and I was sweaty and flushed (it was 10 degrees outside and 60 inside) and I had significant pain in my chest on the left side, over my heart. I still had no idea why I "ran away", let alone toward to next town, 30 miles away. I took 2 mg ativan. The pain over my heart got worse. I decided I should go the ER & make sure this was not a heart attack; my flatmates had returned and I asked C to take me to the ER. Both my flatmates commented that I was very pale. I am a WASP with a Welsh and Swedish family tree so I am always pale, this was very pronounced.
The ER takes you in quickly if you say heart attack. They hooked up the EKG, blood pressure cuff, pulseox, and O2. I was hypertensive, pulse 125, 97% O2 on room air, and no fever. The doc and nurse both said my presentation was common in heart attack. They drew blood and prepared me for a heparin drip. Gave me a lortab for the chest pain.
Neither the EKG nor bloodwork indicated any heart problems. They decided I was having a muscle spasm in my chest/chest wall on the left side. We discussed panic attack, but it did not seem likely, as the ativan should of stopped that cold. Discharged with a lortab script, told to take 3 mg/day ativan for a while, as it is a muscle relaxer, and ibuprofen. I did not go to work thurs, slept most of the day. Turned out it was a snow day at work so I did not even have to take sick hrs, I get paid for snow days when we cannot get to work.
That all is a reasonable explanation, except:
1) The mental confusion
2) Every muscle in my body hurts, I could not go to work today as my back locked up. Muscles in legs and arms really hurt as does my torso. My jaw muscles hurt. I have a big bruise on my left bicep/tricep, but no where else. Cannot account for it.I first started thinking about heart attack after
I came back to the house and that is when the confusion started to clear up. So I don't think I had a panic attack when I thought I might be having a heart attack. Also I never hyperventilated or had fast breathing.I think maybe I had a tonic-clonic seizure. That would explain the confusion, post seizure, and the muscle pain. I had one decades ago, every muscle in your body hurts after them and there is confusion.
What do y'all think ? I am booking some time with my primary. At least i want an EEG and neuro exam.
I do take Wellbrutrin, but this happened 12 hrs after I took 300 mgs XR & have taken it for ~2 yrs.
poster:notfred
thread:709580
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061129/msgs/709580.html