Rare Scare
The hubs gave me quite the scare last Tuesday (2/8). When everything happened, I barely had time or sense to contact his family by the time I had gotten to the hospital. At that point, I really didn't know what was goin on, exactly and I was very anxious to see him. Once inside the hospital I could NOT make a phone call and my texts would barely get out.
Hubs got very hot/sweaty and woozy that morning at work. He went into his boss's office to sit down and soon after the right side of his face went numb and his left hand clenched into a fist on its own. He started having trouble breathing and his chest was hurting (not tight, just hurt).
I was on my way to get him and called to check on him and he couldn't talk. I spoke to one of his coworkers who said he was really starting to have trouble breathing and thought they should call an ambulance so I asked them to please do so and I would meet them at the hospital.
When I first got in the ER with him, he had been hyperventilating but I think that was because he was scared and nervous and didn't know what was happening to him. The Paramedics did tell me his EKG in the ambulance was fine, his BP was OK but his heart rate was 180 on the way to the hospital. They had an IV in and had him on oxygen. When they put him on the bed in the ER from the stretcher they removed the IV and oxygen.
The doctor mentioned the possibility of an anxiety attack but we were all baffled that anxiety would cause all the symptoms that Hubbs had experienced. It was about an hour after I got to the hospital that he could even speak clearly without slurred speech or not making complete sense. He had to really work to get his words out and couldn't make a complete sentence. He said the Paramedic had asked him to smile and he couldn't and felt like his bottom lip was swollen (which it wasn't) but he did not have any facial drooping or eye laziness that may indicate a stroke or Bell's Palsy.
The Paramedics took him to the closest hospital which happened to be one that is not preferred by our insurance. The doctor was going to admit him for further evaluation but when I asked about the insurance he said he was going to get with the case worker. He said the case worker would find out for sure if Hubbs could stay or if he needed to be transferred. The doctor went ahead and ordered the MRI of his head while we waited to see what the case worker found out. While we were down in MRI they had shift change. The nurse came in and told us the MRI was normal and he could go home.....we never saw the new doc that came on after shift change. I wasn't happy.
The Paramedics took him to the closest hospital which happened to be one that is not preferred by our insurance. The doctor was going to admit him for further evaluation but when I asked about the insurance he said he was going to get with the case worker. He said the case worker would find out for sure if Hubbs could stay or if he needed to be transferred. The doctor went ahead and ordered the MRI of his head while we waited to see what the case worker found out. While we were down in MRI they had shift change. The nurse came in and told us the MRI was normal and he could go home.....we never saw the new doc that came on after shift change. I wasn't happy.
He got to the hospital about 10:40 am and we left at 9:30 pm. All of the tests they did (EKG, MRI of head, blood gases, CT of chest) were normal and they said they ruled out the very "bad" stuff like heart attack, stroke, seizure but never really were able to say what WAS going on.
The ER doc initially treating him made mention of a TIA and said it wouldn't show up on an EKG or CT/MRI which is one of the reasons he wanted to keep him overnight.
The cardiologist is sending him for a calcium score and stress echo but said he expected they would come back fine and this could likely have been an anxiety attack. The first question out of the cardiologist's mouth was "How long have you been having panic attacks?". Obviously, his focus was not encompassing all of the possibilities that could cause the symptoms that Hubbs had. He has high cholesterol (triglycerides over 800 before he started taking medication) - hereditary. I don't understand why they kept wanting him to have had an ANXIETY ATTACK instead of pursuing the possibility of having blocked arteries causing complications as a result of his high cholesterol and triglycerides going untreated for YEARS! I have had anxiety attacks and NEVER had my hand clench up on its own, one side of my head go numb and tingly and not been able to talk for over an hour!
The cardiologist is sending him for a calcium score and stress echo but said he expected they would come back fine and this could likely have been an anxiety attack. The first question out of the cardiologist's mouth was "How long have you been having panic attacks?". Obviously, his focus was not encompassing all of the possibilities that could cause the symptoms that Hubbs had. He has high cholesterol (triglycerides over 800 before he started taking medication) - hereditary. I don't understand why they kept wanting him to have had an ANXIETY ATTACK instead of pursuing the possibility of having blocked arteries causing complications as a result of his high cholesterol and triglycerides going untreated for YEARS! I have had anxiety attacks and NEVER had my hand clench up on its own, one side of my head go numb and tingly and not been able to talk for over an hour!
I am just ready for someone to be able to give him a diagnosis!!!!! Maybe the neurologist can tell him something.
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