First, let me say that this has happened before in the past so I'm not all that concerned.
Last Wednesday afternoon I was home alone (very, very rare for that to happen), when all of a sudden I started having chest pain. "Oh crap! Here we go again", I thought. It was a stabbing like pain, dead center of my chest. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was trying my hand at carb cycling. Because I was at day camp with my son all week, it was very easy to pack a protein shake to have on the go during the afternoon for a quick snack. Well, the last time I was using protein, I had chest pains. I got them so bad, I ended up in the ER.
Anyway, this time wasn't all that bad. Just a scary moment. I called my husband at work and told him to stay on the phone with me until it passed. Didn't take too long. We discussed the protein business and Googled the effects of whey protein. I also took to a weight loss group I belong to on Facebook. A few people said they had similar issues with whey, it was due to a lactose intolerance thing. I do have a slight intolerance to lactose. There are certain cheeses and if I have too much cream in my coffee, watch out!
A few days before the chest pain thing happened, my heart began to race. That, of course, got me all worked up. In fact, it even woke me up a few times. It was so bad that I gave a list of things for my husband to tell the kids for me should I not wake up. Depressing, I know.
The pain and the palpitations went away by Wednesday night and I didn't feel anything else until later in the afternoon on Thursday. I thought at that time it would be best to go ahead and call the doctor. Of course the wanted me to head straight into the ER. After much reassurance that I was fine, the nice man gave me an appointment for first thing Friday morning.
The nurse practitioner and I went over my history. Yes, this has happened before. Many times. Yes, I've had full work-ups done. Yes, I've worn holter monitors, no, nothing was ever found. In fact, the last time this happened, I was told I was at a very low cardiac risk. So why does this happen? Honestly, I don't think I will ever have a concrete answer but the tests have begun. First, EKG. Nothing. Then blood, all normal (even my darn thyroid was normal!! What?!?). Now I'm waiting for a barium test (because I'm having a hard time swallowing without nearly choking) as well as an event monitor which I need to wear for two whole weeks! Yikes!
The chest pains only happened that one day. The palpitations are still off the chart, but I'm OK. I've honestly thought the protein was the culprit but seeing as I've been off it for over a week now, there has to be another reason. Let the testing begin (mid-next week).
With all this going on, it is really reminding me the importance of eating right. One of the things Chris Powell talks about in his book is how we make and break promises to ourselves all the time. He encourages you to make small promises and keep them and then keep adding to the promise list as a way to get healthier and healthier. He also says you should tell someone your promise to hold yourself accountable. You are my someone:
I promise to drink all my water tomorrow (at least 8 glasses) and eat and/or juice 2 large servings of veggies.
The water shouldn't be a problem, I have been pushing it for days. The veggie thing? That could go either way. Kick my you-know-what if I don't eat or juice 2 large servings of veggies tomorrow.
Hi Jenn, When I was in my 30's I was very scared of my health situation. My solution was much like you describe above, to do daily actions that add up to health. Since then, my internal numbers vastly improved. What's going on the inside is more important than the outside. Hopefully, your tests come out well and you can take something positive away from all of this. :-)
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