Even after yesterday, I woke up this morning, and I didn’t feel like myself.

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I actually spent the whole night tossing and turning with all sorts of weird aches and pains and sweats.

After a little bit of fighting with myself this AM, I actually sucked it up and asked the Expert to take me to the ER. He went to drop off the kids and hurried back and we were in the ER by 8:30.

On the way to the ER, I told the Expert that I just wanted to close my eyes and I was having a hard time staying awake. To which he responded, “Don’t go towards the light.”  Which got me laughing hysterically. And woke me up.

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I just didn’t feel well. There’s really no other way to describe it. There was no hard chest pain. Just some aches and soreness. But there was nausea and well… I just didn’t feel well.

In light of what happened yesterday, I thought I wouldn’t take any chances.

We went to Atlanta’s Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital, which is one of the top ranked cardiac hospitals in the state. I figured I would  be covered there.

The ER did the full blood workup, x-rays, EKG and topped off the fun with a stress test.

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I actually squealed a little bit when I got to put on my running shoes for the stress test. And then I was super happy when they couldn’t push my heart rate over 159. In my mind, I was actually competing with stress test. #winning

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So after about eight hours in the ER, I was discharged. And they ruled out all cardiac issues. With instructions to follow up with my primary care physician.

Who knows what the cause of yesterday’s episode was.

The Expert says I had a “spell” — which is a perfect Southern woman term for when you don’t know what the hell is happening and it scares you.

So that’s what we’ll call it: The Spell.

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Thanks to so many of you for the love and concern. I was able to stay busy in the ER with all the emails and texts coming in.

Which my athlete, Bree, frowns upon…. saying that hospital staff and doctors loathe people who text. I also hear  that  they loathe people who don’t wear their blood pressure cuff, too.  Guilty.

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And as my friend Katherine says, said fact has likely been noted in my chart forever: difficult patient.

I’m exhausted, it’s true.  Maybe that’s all.  I think maybe tired can equal feelings of going towards the light.  I am going to try and rest and take it easy.

I’m on the fence about Augusta 70.3 right now, missing so many key training days lately.  Will have to see how it plays out.

20 Responses

  1. Praying you feel better soon…..maybe it’s the ‘after effects’ of the ironman, all that training, all that work, plus being a lawyer; mother, etc. Sometimes our bodies are trying to TELL US something. Yours may be saying, just take a rest for awhile. Dont’ run, swim, bike for a few weeks….sleep more, get a massage, get a mani/pedi, take the kids to a movie, go hiking and pick flowers, etc. The mind too can get our bodies crazy and give us ‘spells’…..i’m glad you went and passed all the tests with flying colors (those kick colors are rockin too by the way)…..cheers to you, and i’m giving you permission as a mom, runner, and WORK for a lawyer: it’s OK to take a break 🙂

  2. Had a rough day myself. Serious left shoulder strain. Not activity until further notice. I have Half full in 19 days. Looks like i’ll be swimming with one arm and biking holding my breath. I’m so glad you got checked out and feeling better. Love those “spells” that can scare the crap out of us.

  3. Glad you went and got checked out and it’s not your ticker. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately with moving so much and winding up in the hell house. Perhaps your body has just said “enough!” Time to take it easy for a bit. Be well!

  4. Meredith, I’m glad you’re listening to your body. Having a definitive explanation for your symptoms would be lovely, but sometimes there isn’t one. I’m sending healthy and positive thoughts your way.

  5. Yikes! Get some rest, mama!! I hope that “the spell” was just a spell and that life gets back to normal soon!

  6. Meredith, get an Event Monitor from you cardiologist. I went through all this too. It drove me crazy. Actually, I thought I was crazy. My episodes included blurry vision, heart rate spikes, right side droopiness, stabbing right side headaches and nauseousness. They though I had a mini-stroke and admitted me into the ER. They diagnosed me with Hemicrainial Continua which I still thing is a lot of BULL! But, anyway when I was put on the Event Monitor they finally found that I had PVC’s. I think a lot of triathletes have PVC’s and it’s not life threatening but bothersome. Here is a FB page I belong to and I think you will like the articles and community of endurance athletes

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/enduranceathletesarizona/

  7. So sorry to hear that you haven’t been feeling well. You did the right thing by going to the ER. However, it would concern me that they didn’t find anything. Take time to rest and recover. You only have one You, so take care of yourself. Best wishes, Pam

  8. Glad you got checked out! Hey . . . here’s a thought . . . any chance you could do Augusta “just for fun” and not be all balls-out? Clearly you have the distance in you, just thinking that maybe this could be a “smell the roses” event for you this year.

  9. Lets see… You’ve done an ironman, a sprint tri, training, comete dietary overhaul, changed jobs, moved house, dealt with said hell house, managed family, managed yourself… Sometimes the subconscious stress (not just the hand-wringing, knot in your stomach kind) can make your body say “whoa!” And quite literally out the brakes on. I’ve had it happen before: cold sweats, unusual sharp pain, general uneasiness… Oddly enough caffeine intake and blood sugar management helped me greatly… Happy to hear it isn’t anything serious!

  10. I am really glad I responded to this blog yesterday!!!!! YAY! It’ s not your heart!!!! 🙂
    Yours in fitness,
    Karen xoxox

    Glad you are better. 🙂

  11. I am so so SO glad you were checked out! I’ve been a nurse for a very long time and I’ve seen lots of yuck. It’s better to be safe than sorry. And, I’m sure your nurses loved you and those running shoes! The drunk, swinging, pee all over themselves idiots at 2am? THOSE are the patients they can’t stand!! Take care and listen to your body. You’ve got a lot of awesome left in you!!!!

  12. I’m an RN and a runner. What happened to you sounds very similar to something that happened to me at work one night. I was drinking a Diet Coke and talking to a coworker when I suddenly had a sharp midsternal chest pain. I started seeing spots and attempted to tell my coworker something was wrong, but I never did because I passed out, fell out of the chair, and smacked my head on the floor. They hauled me to the ER and did the full work up. Turns out I had an esophageal spasm while swallowing my Diet Coke, which caused a vasovagal response, which caused me to pass out. Didn’t you say you were drinking water when this happened? Maybe it’s a GI problem and not cardiac. Best wishes!

  13. glad your ok kiddo!! and you did the right thing by getting examined…………allow yourself some down time!!

  14. Holter monitor is my recommendation – 48 hrs – a week – figure out if there is a pattern – and hormone check –

  15. After glancing at all the responses, I hope you can see how freaking important you are to so many people (the hubs and kiddos first, the rest of us in a close second). PLEASE continue to take good care of you! You are our sunshine… you make us happy when skies are grey… you’ll never know, dear, how much – and how many of us – love you… please don’t take our sunshine away! : )

  16. I respect your brave post and I empathise with what must have been great worry over your ‘spell’ (trust the expert, he’s got your number girl). Kate is right in my opinion, what a lot you have put yourself through this last few months. Hang cool for a bit Meredith – ready to hang tough (but not just yet x)

  17. First, I’m glad to hear there isn’t a serious cardiac issue, and hope that you feel 100% (or at least 85% or so) soon.

    Regarding Augusta – don’t worry about the missed workouts. Just go by whether you feel good, and if your doctors say it’s OK. If you have medical clearance and feel good, go for it. You have the base from IM training. I had some serious endocrine system issues ~4 weeks out from my spring 70.3 this year, missed a bunch of training, got better, and PR’d by 37 minutes.

    BUT ONLY IF YOUR DOCTORS SAY IT IS OK.

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