W00T, W00T! My mom's heart is okay! Turns out the stress test she took - well, stressed her out, which is why her blood pressure spiked. It also seems that anxiety, mostly work-related, has been causing her symptoms, but she's otherwise very healthy.
We suspected this might be the case, but I was still afraid. Thank goodness! Of course, I'd rather she not be having mini panic attacks, but I hope that now that she knows, she can figure out some ways to reduce the stress in her life and take better care of herself.
My mother has had anxiety problems a couple times in her life, but not for many years. By nurture or nature I've developed a few similar traits as her, and it was a little over six years ago that I had my first panic attack - the one where my friends thought I was having a heart attack, forced aspirin down my throat and called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Like my mother's depression after her second pregnancy, mine became somewhat debilitating, and it took me about a year of meds and therapy before I had mostly left the panic attacks behind.
The good news is, we both know what the symptoms are now, what to do about them, and that we have each other to talk with when we feel bad. I have every confidence that my mother will be able to move beyond this quickly. And hey, if she doesn't use any of that emergency Xanax perscription, as she plans, maybe she can bring it to me when she visits in a few weeks. Ahhhh...
2. Tea Time
On a less important, but still cheering note, autumn is coming! It's my favourite season, and already the cooler air has resulted in the treasured cats/comforter/lesbians jumble of snugglization in our bed. I've already started researching possibly taking a leaf-peeping cruise up the Hudson at the end of next month, but this morning it was cool enough that I experienced my first twinge of another fall tradition: the yearning for tea.
Fortunately, I had my little Ziplock full of Constant Comment and Cocoa Spice in a nearby drawer, along with sweetner and milk in the cafeteria, and I've been sipping in warm, relaxing bliss ever since. To me, there's nothing quite like a nice cuppa on a chilly day. To top it off, I got two major work projects done yesterday, so I can luxuriate a little as I drink it. It may not be Xanax, but I feel a whole lot mellower, nonetheless.
4 comments:
YAY for the mom!
YAY for fall!
YAY for Xanax!
lord, how i hate panic attacks. the first one i ever had my legs simply went out from under me-wham!
fat chicks bounce, but still...not fun.
oo. didja see this on the news:
' Sen. Clinton seeks $1.9B for sick ground zero workers'
Good to hear that Mom is well and sad to hear that it was the medical procedures that made her, or appeared to make her, ill.
The chiropractors have a wonderful term they use to explain/excuse the huge pain one feels after a series of treatments, they call it -- recovery symptoms. Actually after this recovery pain my back pain was actually entirely better and has remained so for nearly 20 years.
As for tea, down here in damp and hot Florida we are still drinking huge amounts of iced tea.
So, so glad to hear the good news about your mom! Here at our house (where it's always tea season dontcha know ;) ) the first sure sign of fall was C's sudden, overpowering yearning for pot roast. Lucky for him he has a very nice wife - I broke out the crock pot and made pot roast for dinner last night. Mmmmm! :)
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