I'm A Better Nurse Than I Am A Patient...

You've probably heard it said before, and I'm afraid the saying is oh so true...

"Nurses make the worst patients." Naturally, I would quickly deny this claim, however, my husband loves to point out the many reasons why he believes this to be true, especially when it comes to yours truly.

Friday night began like any other night, although, I had noticed that I had been having a bit of difficulty keeping my blood sugar up, my perimenopausal hot flashes seemed to be in full swing, my legs felt weak and shakey and my heart rate was in overdrive....other than that, everything was great!! So off to work I charged, ready to put in quick 12 hour shift. Once at work, I noticed these annoying symptoms seemed to persist despite my futile attempts to hydrate myself with about 20 of those cute little hospital juices...now I just felt bloated and my heart continued to race as if I drank too many expressos....and those of you who know me well, know I don't drink coffee. As the night went on, I must have made 10 trips to the paper towel dispenser to quickly wipe down my perspiration soaked face, neck and chest and I even took a few seconds to take my own pulse...125??? Now, common sense would dictate that any reasonable person would call it quits at this point and surrender to the fact that something wasn't quite right...but not me...my motto?..."just keep pushing through, menopause really stinks" Fifteen minutes before my shift was over, I reluctantly conceded, I was no longer the nurse...I had become the patient...ughhh! No need to take my pulse, I could hear it bounding in my ears, now a frightening 140 beats per minute. The nausea was overwhelming, I felt short of breath,my blood pressure was through the roof and my chest ached. I had bought myself a first class ticket to the ER, wheelchair and everything. The ER physician was wonderful, but I could see it in his eyes..."Oh no, she's a nurse..." Hours later, after much effort and finally the administration of an IV beta blocker, my heart rate had come down to 80-90 bpm. For the first time in the last 15 hours, I felt 90% better...my next question to the doctor..."Can I go home now?" Looking back now, I suppose this was a ridiculous question. I was quickly admitted to the telemetry unit where my heart rate could be continuously monitored and a lengthy list of tests and labs would be performed. Not happy about this, I declared I would stay one day, but then I was out of there. My internist knew I meant it, and got busy trying to solve the mystery of my condition.

Twenty four hours later, mystery solved! It seems that darn thyroid mass we've been conservatively monitoring over the last year, had finally declared itself and had decided to hijack my thyroid. I'm continuing to take the beta blocker to control my heart rate, and will be following up with my endocrinologist. Lesson learned, don't ignore symptoms when they are staring you in the face...and oh yes, I am a lousy patient:)

As a side note...thank you everyone for your prayers. Janelle, your visit made me feel very loved and cared for...thank you!