Aging

 I broke my yoga every day streak last week. Lemme tell you about it.

On Thursday, March 5, I used my 15-pound dumbbells to do a chest fly in a glutes bridge (I usually use 8 or 12). At the time, during the second set (of three!), I was like oh shit that felt really pull-y. I need to remind myself when my chest hurts that I am NOT having a heart attack.

I felt OK that day and the next, but I did feel some muscle tightness and tenderness on Saturday. And Sunday. Worse on Monday. Really painful despite a couple ibuprofen around the clock on Tuesday. Ditto Wednesday, when the pain crept from the right side to the middle of my chest and woke me up in the middle of the night. On Thursday, it was more of a stabby pain any time I breathed too deeply, coughed, or laughed really hard (which I did when I volunteered in Minnie's class because those kids said some ridiculous things), plus when I straightened up after bending or leaning forward.

Did I stop doing weights or yoga, you ask? Well, no not really. I did yoga every day until Thursday, and I lifted weights (different workout but same weight range and upper body all of it) Monday and Tuesday.

I also ran every day, figuring if I could run and not feel worse, I was probably fine.

But! On Thursday, walking home from Minnie's school after volunteering, I called Ben to tell him the silly things the kids said and laughed again, and it really hurt to laugh. Sooooooooo, I thought about my dad's history of DVT and death from pulmonary embolism, my estrogen patch, the fact that the pain was weirdly worse for a second every time I stood up from bending over--- and I called my doctor.

Apparently when you are 47 years old with a family clot history and borderline high blood pressure from your estrogen patch, when you say chest pain, doctors do not fuck around. 

Within HOURS, I had a chest x-ray, a shit ton of labs, an EKG, and a thorough examination by a really smart urgent care doc who def did his homework and had read my chart so carefully and knew everything I talked about with the triage nurse on the phone, including my troubling family history that he was very sweet and sensitive about-- seriously A++++ beside manner.

(I should have made a note to self to also not worry about blood clots)

I was really sweating it because I always think there is something wrong with me, like as a baseline, and because my chest really hurt.

The x-ray results came to my phone while I waited, and they were fine-- but an x-ray would not show a blood clot. My CBC was fine. My metabolic panel was fine. But! The D-dimer test (used to rule out blood clots) and troponin test (used to detect heart muscle damage) were not released to me before I saw the doctor, and the nurse said nothing about my EKG, but I knew my pulse and BP were not ideal since I was actively losing my shit.

Plus! I missed picking up Dorothy and Cooper and Dorothy's friend that we drive to dance and had to text her mom to swoop in and save the day. Also! I had a meeting in the afternoon right before I darted into urgent care that was later than Minnie's pick up time, so Jack picked her up, but then he had to cancel his plans and hang with her until after my appointment. And I was REALLY WORRIED that I would actually have to go to the ED, not home.

Based on one million tests and my general presentation in the clinic including the fact that I ran three miles no prob every day the week of the chest pain, the doctor could confidently say... I am fine (better than fine, he offered kindly) and pulled a muscle in my chest.

I will likely experience chest pain for maybe weeks as my muscle heals and should take handfuls of ibuprofen at regular intervals. Which! When it is a knee or a hip or a shoulder that hurts, I totally know that the pain will linger and is NBD. But a chest??!! Not as easy (for me anyway) to be chill about. Except! My chest has definitely started to feel better, and I wonder if my worry was making me all stiff and weird-- like, my posture is even relaxed now.

 BUT MAN DID I FEEL DUMB for making all that fuss over a strained muscle my goodness. The doc was my same age, and he said we are old enough that stuff like this-- especially chest pain of any kind-- has to be checked out and peace of mind is the "price of admission." Which of course made me wonder how much all of these incredibly fast and efficient tests will cost me...

Speaking of being an old lady, you guys! I took a pic of this and texted it to Ben because it is genuinely something I want for my birthday