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Thought I was having a heart attack!

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Gilles27, Jan 17, 2006.

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  1. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #1 Gilles27, Jan 17, 2006
    Woke up last Wednesday around 4 am with heart pains and a really tight chest. I could hardly take in a breath! I laid in bed for a while to see if it would improve, but it didn't. Finally got up and went the the ER. Thought for sure it was a gapper. They hooked me up, gave me a CT scan and the works, and finally admitted me. It turns out I've got pleurisy! Spent 2 days in the hospital, and the last 5 laying in bed resting. Has anyone ever had this? They said I had inflamed lymph nodes and scarring, along with the fluid in my lung. Kind of freaked me out.
     
  2. Ike

    Ike F1 Rookie

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    #2 Ike, Jan 17, 2006
    That had to be scary. I'm glad it turned out not to be a heart attack but fluid in a lung sounds kind of serious. Did they tell you what caused that?

    I've never heard of pleurisy, I'm going to look it up.
     
  3. robert biscan

    robert biscan F1 Veteran
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    #3 robert biscan, Jan 17, 2006
    Hopefully the heart problems will wait another 40 years. I don't know your illness so read up on it and try to heal up.
     
  4. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #4 TexasF355F1, Jan 17, 2006
    My friend got it around 5 years ago during our freshman college year. She had started smoking and that's when it became noticeable. She immediately quit, so in a way it was a blessing in disguise.

    Glad you're okay man. I can only imagine how scared you were.
     
  5. jimwalking

    jimwalking Formula Junior

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    #5 jimwalking, Jan 17, 2006
    Next time dial 911 and let them do the driving. No need to hit a tree or someone else in the event of a real heart attack.
     
  6. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

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    #6 Miltonian, Jan 17, 2006
    Pleurisy, also known as a "spontaneous pneumothorax", I believe.

    About 35 years ago, I had one of these happen to me. I had been playing tennis with a friend, and we went for a root beer afterwards. I started feeling unwell, then a monstrous pain in my left chest. I went to the family physician, who took an X-ray of my chest, and he said "pleurisy"!

    In my case, it hurt for probably the better part of five years. Not kidding. I could feel the spot for years after that when I took a deep breath.
     
  7. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #7 Gilles27, Jan 18, 2006
    This is my second time having it in the last year, only this time it was stronger and near my heart. Definitely startling. It also reminded me what a joy it is to stay in the hospital. No kidding, a night assistant (not a nurse) banged into my room at 10:30 pm, lights out, loudly asking me if I needed anything! "Uh, yeah. Sleep."
     
  8. BigAl

    BigAl F1 Veteran

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    #8 BigAl, Jan 18, 2006
    damn man, sorry, hope it gets better. had to google to see what it is....
     
  9. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

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    #9 SrfCity, Jan 18, 2006
    For your own safety get another opinion on that. If your gut is telling you one thing(although you may want to believe something else) then it's well worth it. It could save your life!
     
  10. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #10 wax, Jan 18, 2006
  11. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #11 Gilles27, Jan 19, 2006
    Thanks guys. I developed the effusion, which got infected. Fortunately my doctor is a pretty well-respected internist, and I see him tomorrow. The pain is down about 75%, and I can generally move about OK. They gave me one of those inhalers to measure capacity. Basically it looks like a little bong, and I'm still only slightly above 50% of where I should be.
     
  12. FerrariFrank1

    FerrariFrank1 F1 Rookie

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    #12 FerrariFrank1, Jan 19, 2006
    Hey there,Jack. Hope that you are doing O.K. I had 2 sepearate Pleuresy attacks many years ago. Painful. And,no matter which way you try to move to get comfortable,you cant and it still hurts. I quit smoking 14 years ago,too. But,I had these attacks maybe 5 years ago or so. Never had one again since.
     
  13. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #13 Gilles27, Jan 19, 2006
    Thanks Frank. Slowly getting better. Got my fingers crossed that there's nothing more going on in there.
     
  14. Steve R

    Steve R F1 Rookie
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    #14 Steve R, Jan 19, 2006
    Day after day we tend to live our lives in a suspended disbelief that the inevitable will not occur...all of us figuring we'll eventually pass in our sleep at some ripe old age. I too have had a few scary instances where I believed I was bound to find out what happens after death. At times like this I often reflect on what am amazing thing life is and how fleeting it can be. I'm glad you're okay.

    On the philosophical side, did ya have any interesting perspectives or realizations while all this was going on?
     
  15. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #15 Gilles27, Jan 20, 2006
    Thanks, Steve. Actually, I kind of did. I've been burned out with my job for quite some time. Every year our margins are squeezed more and more, I don't enjoy it at all, and I'm sick of the people I work with. There's another business I've been wanting to start, ripe for the area where we live, but I've been dragging my feet moving on it. Pusssy-itis, I think it's called. Anyway, my wife's expecting our first in April, and I think I'm going to tell the guys at work "It's been a real slice" and make a go of it. In general, I've always tried to keep a good perspective on life. I'm not driven by money or status, and I do appreciate the things I have, like health, family and friends, a terrific wife. I think the work situation is the final piece of the puzzle for me, and I think this has finally given me the final nudge necessary to go for it.
     
  16. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #16 wax, Jan 20, 2006
    How'd the appointment go today?
     
  17. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #17 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, Jan 20, 2006
    Didn't they stick Enzo Ferrari in a hospice with this same thing thinking he was going to die back in the first World War?
     
  18. jungathart

    jungathart Guest

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    #18 jungathart, Jan 20, 2006
    Not the same things, btw.
    Pleurisy is an inflammation process affecting the lung sacs, whereas the latter is a collapse of the lungs themselves.
    Neither are pleasant.


    Gilles27, glad you came through OK:)
     
  19. Steve R

    Steve R F1 Rookie
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    #19 Steve R, Jan 20, 2006
    Sounds good, best of luck to you on your new venture!!! :) And in the eternal words of Bart Simpson.."way to cheat death!"
     
  20. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

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    #20 Gilles27, Jan 20, 2006
    LOL! Visit with the doc went OK. Took some more blood, basically need to let it run its course. I'll go back in a month just to make sure everything is settling down nicely and then get another CT in 6 months. Thanks again for all the good wishes. My wife is amazed at the lengths to which I'll go just to avoid painting the nursery!
     

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