Thread: What the heck happened to me?

  1. #1
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    What the heck happened to me?

    Just last night I had an extremely strange experience. Came out of nowhere, and I spent about 10-15 minutes lying on a couch convinced that I was about to die.

    It started with a sudden bout of lightheadedness and nausea. This started abruptly while I was sitting in a chair. I went and lay down to avoid passing out and hitting my head on something. Then I started hyperventilating. The lightheadedness did not go away. I started to be extremely concerned that something fatal was happening and I was about to die. My surroundings took on a strange and surreal quality. I took a moment to ponder the question of whether I feared dying at that exact moment -- I decided that I didn't fear death, but I was afraid of what would happen to my family if I died.

    After a while these feelings subsided, and I was left with a strange tightness/bloated feeling and clamminess in my hands and feet. I spent about 10 minutes trying to control my breathing, then went to sleep.

    Has anything similar happened to anybody here?
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

  2. #2
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    it's possible you had a mild heart attack.

  3. #3
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    Or a panic attack?

    If you care about your health, I'd see a doc.

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    Definitely go and see a doctor immediately. The symptoms you've described can come from a variety of causes, some fairly benign, others potentially lethal if untreated. You'd need professional testing to determine what the root cause is and what your next steps are.

    These symptoms could be something as simple as a panic attack, or it could be a severe problem with getting oxygen to the brain - these symptoms are too severe for online advice from non-doctors.
    Last edited by Cat; 02-20-2013 at 11:29 PM.
    You ever try a pink golf ball, Wally? Why, the wind shear on a pink ball alone can take the head clean off a 90 pound midget at 300 yards.

  5. #5
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    The symptoms of panic attack match amazingly well with my experience. But I've learned that such attempts at self-diagnosis suffer from extreme bias, so I guess I should ask a psychologist.

    It could have been a heart-related thing, which was what I was thinking about as it was happening. But there was no chest pain, just a huge adrenaline buzz and the fear that something bad was happening. I also considered that it could be a stroke, so I tried a couple of basic checks like speaking sentences, counting, and moving my arms around.

    I should have a physical at any rate, so I guess I will see a doctor.
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

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    Make sure you see a doctor quickly - some of the labs they may want to do require blood to be drawn within two days of the episode. The sooner you get in, the more accurate they can diagnose the cause.

    And not all heart problems come with chest pain - there are plenty of potential cardiac issues that don't come with the stereotypical chest pain, including heart attacks. In fact, one out of four heart attacks has no detectable symptoms at all; not all heart attacks are the chest-grabbers you see on TV.
    You ever try a pink golf ball, Wally? Why, the wind shear on a pink ball alone can take the head clean off a 90 pound midget at 300 yards.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cat View Post
    And not all heart problems come with chest pain - there are plenty of potential cardiac issues that don't come with the stereotypical chest pain, including heart attacks. In fact, one out of four heart attacks has no detectable symptoms at all; not all heart attacks are the chest-grabbers you see on TV.
    heart attacks are often associated with nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, and numbness in the extremities - particularly the left arm.

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    Hope all turns out well, man. The fact that the episode didn't last too long hopefully means it's nothing serious.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    The fact that the episode didn't last too long hopefully means it's nothing serious.
    Or that your organism warns you that something does not going as it should be. You must go to see the doctor!
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    Two weeks ago I poisoned myself with peanut butter. Twice!

    I had nausea and it all felt as if I'm drunk. For two straight days. I was sure it was influenza or something. Didn't occur to me I had peanut butter only few hours before as I already did eat it last year and even before when I was a kid. So, three days later I'm fine again and I go to the fridge, have some more butter and one hour later I'm "drunk" again with a strange feeling in my stomach. I've spent the whole day googling strokes, heart attacks and everything. I was sure I needed to call the doctor and then just a minute before calling ambulance I googled "peanut butter allergy" and well, that explained it.

    So, did you eat something before it happened?

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by idelovski View Post
    So, did you eat something before it happened?
    I did, but it was food that I eat all the time anyway.

    I'm going to schedule a general checkup with a doctor.. But I need to figure out who to see, first. I haven't had a physical in at least 15 years. My family doctor has got to be 100 years old by now.

    If I went to the doc every time something didn't feel quite right, I would be going there all the time. But this time is a little different. I really, really hate medical facilities. Wish I didn't have to go.

    EDIT: I'm 33, 6'3" in height, 200 pounds. I have a slightly tubby stomach, but other than that I'm build like a stick. I find it hard to imagine I could be having heart attacks at this point, but who knows.
    Last edited by brewbuck; 02-21-2013 at 01:46 PM.
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

  12. #12
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    Let's hope that checkup happens today. Like Cat said, the window for a good diagnosis fades rapidly. I'd head straight to the walk-in if you can. You'll probably be seen pretty quickly given those symptoms.
    Quote Originally Posted by brewbuck View Post
    EDIT: I'm 33, 6'3" in height, 200 pounds. I have a slightly tubby stomach, but other than that I'm build like a stick. I find it hard to imagine I could be having heart attacks at this point, but who knows.
    Heart attacks for people in their 30s, while more rare than say in one's 60s, are still common enough. I can think of at least 3 people I know who have had heart attacks before the age of 40. And having a good set of statistics (age/height/weight) doesn't help a whole lot. Diet, exercise and genetics play into it significantly. If you don't have a good, balanced diet, and you don't get regular aerobic exercise, then your risk goes up. Add on a high salt intake from fast food, some asian foods, ramen, etc (common for programmers), and up goes your blood pressure, and heart attack risk along with it. If you have high cholesterol in your genes, that crap has been accumulating in your blood stream for years, narrowing down the arteries. Diet and exercise may not even help in this case. And a true, good-for-your-cholesterol-level diet is painful, essentially vegan -- whole grains, fruits and veggies only, no butter, milk, cheese, meat, etc.

    EDIT: And there is no way to detect high cholesterol levels, except through blood tests. Well, they can take a picture of the back of your eyeball, and see if the tiny blood vessels back there look like their walls are thick with plaque, but that's only done as part of an eye exam, and not so deterministic.

    Not trying to scare you, and not sure if any of that fits your situation, but it's worth considering.
    Last edited by anduril462; 02-21-2013 at 03:04 PM.

  13. #13
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    Just to be safe, I made an appointment for an immediate checkup in an hour from now. It's been about 36 hours since it happened.
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

  14. #14
    SAMARAS std10093's Avatar
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    Report back what the doctor said, just to let us know and learn from it.. Of course your health comes first!!
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    It’s 2014 and I still use printf() for debugging.


    "Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. " —Harold Abelson

  15. #15
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    Just got back. They ran an EKG. Computer analyzed it and it came back "cannot rule out lateral myocardial infarction." But the actual doctor looked at it and laughed and said it was completely normal. He thinks I had a panic attack.
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

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