Ok, so Tuesday had a really freaky day. I woke up with really bad heart palpatations. (Before you spaz, I'm fine.) It was weird. They just wouldn't stop. I went over in my head everything I ate and drank the past few dats and I had no caffiene at all and no weird allergy meds. I went to work and they just kept going. I mentioned to my boss and she said that she has them before a paniac attack.

So, I look up on-line and they talk about shortness of breath (no), tiredness (unusually tired yesterday which made me paniac a bit more), chest pain (no), but I could still feel that fluttering, bass in my chest.

I decided that I'd call my doctor. They couldn't get me in but another doctor in their practice could. Work was fine with me taking off. When I get to the office, I talk with a nice nurse who takes my blood pressure (a little high 116/90, pulse 80) and tells me that they're going to do an EKG. Holy poop! But it's not too bad. Lots of feeling my boobs to put the sticky electrodes on but she's cute, so it's not that bad! They run and EKG ("Just relax and pretend you're going to sleep. I know that's hard in a paper robe but try.") She runs out of the room when I'm done and tells me I can get dressed.

The doctor comes in (and she's a woman!) and she asks me what's going on. I tell her my morning and that I've not really had anything like this before (the occasional skipped beat or whatever but nothing this consistant). She says my EKG looks great and there is nothing abnormal so she's not too worried but she has me go to the lab to give some blood to check my thyroid. She assures me that it probably nothing and that if it I still have symptoms later in the week to call back.

The heart palpatations continued for another day and today, I feel fine.

Now heart palpations are not usually linked to obesity. Mostly they happen because of congenital defect, a viral infection, a thyroid problem or stress. I didn't think I was stressed out but a friend of mine pointed out with full-time school, full-time work, my step-mother leaving my father, and my sister having a miscarriage, what part of my life isn't stessed. Ok, good point.

However, I will tell you that NOTHING scared me more than thinking, "Okay, it's a heart palpatation this time but what happens if it was more serious? When it's heart disease or a clogged artery or a heart attack."

How long will I wait for a lethal wake-up call?

My family has heart disease. My good/bad cholestrol ratio puts me in the heart disease category. I'm obese. All these are good indicators that I have a fight for my heart later on. Why am I waiting to fight the good fight?

So I am sufficiently scared. I am ready to take action. My brush with a minor, benign heart problem was enough. I can't imagine something that would impact my oxygen levels, my energy, or my life as much as heart disease would. This was my wake-up call. I hope you don't need one.

Here's some stats on Heart Disease!

Cardiovascular Disease
•One in four females has some form of cardiovascular disease.
•Since 1984, the number of CVD deaths for females has exceeded those for males.
•In 2002 CVD caused the deaths of 493,623 females compared with 433,825 males. Females represent 53.2 percent of deaths from CVD.
•In the United States in 2002, all cardiovascular diseases combined claimed the lives of 493,623 females while all forms of cancer combined to kill 268,503 females. Breast cancer claimed the lives of 41,514 females; lung cancer claimed 67,542.
•The 2002 overall death rate from CVD was 320.5. Death rates were:
265.6 for white females
368.1 for black females.
•In 2002 cardiovascular disease was the first listed diagnosis of 3,164,000 females discharged from short-stay hospitals. Discharges include people both living and dead.

Wow! Glad to hear you are okay!

I have never had any bad results from tests but I decided that I too was not going to wait until the inevitable happened and started taking care of myself. I'm hoping that the weight will continue to come off as nicely as it has for the last 4 months until I'm out of the 'obese/overweight' status.

Good luck to you Jessica! Crossing my fingers for good results!!!

I am so glad that it looks like you are fine.

What you are feeling is EXACTLY what I was feeling 24 days ago, when I posted "I'M DONE!" It's a wake-up call that says "What the heck are you doing???"

I don't know why we put it off. I think it's just that life can be a crazy roller coaster anyway and food provides a pleasure point. And when you are using food to numb yourself, you don't think there is another way. You truly believe that you cannot do this. But it is a drug and once you get off the sugar high, the desire for it does start to go away and you start to see the light.

So, Jessica - what does this mean for you????? What's the plan???

Jessica,

I'm happy to hear that you are fine, but yeah I agree that sometimes we sit around and wait for the wake-up call. Good luck and continued well health vibes to you.

I'm glad to hear it was nothing major but still scary all the same.

First, I'm really glad to hear you're ok. I'm sure that wasn't fun. And hey, if it was stress, then how the heck do you calm down when you're having palpitations!

People don't realize how much damage stress can do. Actually, my boss just went into the hospital because he's been having problems breathing. He's had tons of tests and the doctors believe it's mostly stress (he's had other minor problems that are contributing to it too). The tests show his heart is fine (though he did have a by-pass about 10 years ago).

I just have to see or hear about heart stories and I feel weak. Thinking about the health aspect of my weight loss really has helped to keep me going. It's my major motivator. Good luck with everything, Jessica.

Jessica- I am glad to know that you are ok. Please keep a good eye on the situation-- as I am sure you plan to. You are doing the right thing by staying on track. Try to de-stress yourself! Get a massage done, put on some classical music, have a glass of wine and sit in a warm bath tub with lotsa bubbles. I know sometimes easier said than done. I've been terribly stressed lately, luckiy It hasn't affected by baby. I am trying to find ways to relax and "let go a little". Life is tough isn't it! I am so sorry to hear about your sister. I missed that earlier. She is in my prayers.

Keep your spirits up you goddess!! Take care

Whew....glad you're fine, chica! Something like that certainly brings it all home...how badly our health can be affected by our diet and lifestyle. Luckily its in our power to reverse things and that's exactly what you plan on doing, so its all good from here on in! My doctor is very fond of saying "stress kills" but its difficult to calm down when you have so much on the go. However, when faced with a scare like this I guess you just have to put some things on the backburner and concentrate on looking after yourself first! Yes, tell us your plan and let us urge you on, darlin'

P.S. - I, too, missed the sad news about your sister. I'm so sorry....

Whew! I'm so glad that you're fine. It often takes a scary wake-up call like that to push us in the direction of better health.

Whoa, chickie!

First of all, glad to hear you are ok--for the time being. I know how health concerns can really put the whole dieting & exercise thing into perspective for you, BELIEVE ME.

I can't say enough how glad I am that you are ok. Preventative measures are all we can do for certain diseases, so it *totally* pays to do them. I too, want to see what the next step is.

And remember, we are always here for you.

So glad you asked!

Well, the funniest part was that on May 1st, I had already recommitted myself to better eating. I've upped my fruits and veggies and have cut out the in between eating. It's really been working for me.

Exercise is always been there but I do cut back a lot during the school year. I think this has contributed to more stress. So I have to learn to make that part of my destressing routine.

Stress is the killer. I don't think of myself as type A. My works stays at work but school is also work and that goes with me everywhere - and there is where I am type A. I'm taking the summer off of school and not increasing my hours at work. I plan on not working Fridays. I also plan to get a pass to the local water park and spend some time lounging. For the next semester, I'm going to plan for no classes in the evening. This semester was three evenings at school until 10PM. With more evenings available, I'll get to see the Cute Boyfriend and do things like go dancing.

Thanks for all the support. I don't think I realized how long my e-mail was until I posted it.