It seemed like January when I noticed a twinge in the left side of my chest. Chest and pain never go good together. I started working out at the end of 2011, so I chalked it up to unused muscles. After a strenuous workout, I would head to the hot tub and sauna to loosen up the muscles and get a final relax before heading off to work. But the pain persisted. After a couple of months, I began to take notice of the persistent pain. But it wasn’t until I developed a chest cold and went to a doctor that I finally said something to a medical profession.
Although I was there for cold symptoms, I mentioned that I twisted my knee playing racquetball and I’m experiencing a pain in my chest. The doctor had already used the stethoscope and listened to my heart. He examined my mobility. Then he said, “If it doesn’t clear up in a few weeks, come back in.” Well a few weeks past and the pain became worse. I couldn’t sleep at night. The pain was so great, that I could roll over because the pain rendered me immobile. So I made another appointment.
This time a different doctor took a little closer look. Again, he checked my mobility. Then he sent me down for some blood work and x-rays. After the blood was drawn and the X-rays taken, the technician said that I could go home. I went home and never heard from the doctor. For three days I hadn’t heard from the doctor. This put me into the weekend with excruciating pain at night. Finally, I got back to my office on Monday and called the doctor. The receptionist on the other end of the call said, “We were wondering what happened to you.” “I was told to go home by the technician.” I explained. “O, the doctor wanted you to come back after the tests.” She responded. Well that was news to me.
Over the weekend on Sunday night, I filled a hot water bottle with very hot water. I put it on my chest shoulder area and went to sleep. This seemed to alleviate much of the pain. After talking to the doctor’s office, I began to realize that I just threw money out the window to seek medical help from the doctor. The receptionist said that the tests looked fine. I explained to her that I’m still in pain. She told me to make another appointment. I diagnosed myself and decided to live with the pain.
