Call me a hypochondriac, but I may have a heart defect! Ok...most likely not, but I'm not going to lie...I'm a little worried about it. Don't laugh! My entire life (or at least as far back as I can remember) I've suffered from migraines. I've had this checked out multiple times [side story: In forth grade at one check-up, a doctor told me the MRI would check if weeds would start growing out of my ears and I seriously freaked out!], but nothing has ever come out of it and the cause is always chalked up to "it runs in the family." Up until yesterday I had pretty much accepted that "diagnosis" and religiously have Excedrin Migraine with me at all times. Not a big deal, right? Well...that has all changed and now hypochondriasis has set in. The night before last my father-in-law had watched a news story covering migraines and so naturally thought of me - glad others are now associating me with migraines...that's awesome (but the whole thing is really quite sweet as well!) Anyway, he had called Boon and asked him to find the story online to send to me, which he did and now I am partially convinced [read: kind-of-really convinced, but feel kind-of-stupid admitting it and don't actually want to sound like a hypochondriac. Is there a term for being scared of being a hypochondriac? I should look that up. But anyway...] that I have a heart defect!
The article is Migraines Could Signal Heart Defect. In summary, it basically states research shows a link between people who get migraines and a common congenital heart condition called Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), which in lamens terms is a small hole in the heart. It also states that "those patients have found to not only have a higher incidence of this hole, but actually in having the problems associated with this hole...whether it be a stroke, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmia, or shortness of breath." Great...just great!!!! Oh....but the good news is, once discovered, surgery to close the hole in the heart resolves this issue.
So, naturally, I woke up with a piercing headache this morning so my first thought was "OMG...I'm going to have a stroke!" Yeah, try falling back to sleep after that! Needless to say (since I'm typing this) I did not have a stroke (thank gosh!) and my headache is completely gone thanks to my trusty Excedrin Migraine! BUT...that doesn't change that now I'm wondering if I should make an appointment with the cardiologist. I mean, the article did say that "anyone who has migraines really should see their cardiologist and ask to see if they have any evidence of this hole." I guess the question is...if I actually make an appointment, am I being smart and proactive or am I a hypochondriac?
For a normal person (not me) the answer to that question would be simple, but since I've had a past history of being laughed at by doctors for my "concerns" I'm a little hesitant. But then again my track record for my "concerns" and being laughed at has been that I usually end up being right. Take for example: Last year when I went in for my physical, I had asked for a stress test and EKG because my heart rate skyrockets within 5 seconds of working out and my second cousin once removed died of a heart condition. (That's serious stuff, right!?) Well, when I went into get my results it turned out that I was just "out of shape" - yes, that was actually the diagnosis that the doctor repeated about 6 times, but anyway at that visit I also told the doctor that I think I have a thyroid problem to which he laughed at. Seriously, he laughed at me and hit his hand on his knee - no joke. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I just had a stress test and EKG for being out of shape. He told me to come back in six months if I was still having symptoms. RUDE! Well, it turned out that five months later a different doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. Hmmmm....told him!
So anyway, you can see my hesitation. What to do? What to do?
