Medical Update: I Have a Good Heart!

Quick update, because as my friend said yesterday, "your body is kind of like one big science experiment right now," and it is both fascinating and totally annoying. Sometimes a little scary too.

As you know,  Monday, we (Dana and I) landed in the ER for intense chest pains that radiated up to my ears, jaw, and head. Dr. Google says those symptoms are generally cardiac related.  I had never felt such pain before and breathed through it (in a fetal position) for 40 minutes before it subsided. Once at the hospital, other than dull pain and nausea (also a sign of heart trouble), I was ok. They ran all the tests and my heart was healthy! They said, we do not know what it was, but we know what it wasn't. So off I went thinking that was a "one and done" incident and we may never know what it was. Remy, my chemo nurse said, let's have the doctor see you before round 4 of chemo. Both the ER  doc and Remy said, if the pain returns, go back to the ER.

The week went on as you read in the previous post and yesterday, I woke up feeling a little better. I dragged myself to work (because that is what I do the minute I have any energy - I know, I know). About 2 hours in, just sitting at my desk, the chest pain returned (seriously??). It returned and felt exactly like it did on Monday. Intense, sharp, from the front of my chest to my back and radiating to my ears, jaw, and head. At first, I just put my head down at my desk thinking it would pass quickly. Nope. So with my colleagues there, I got up and walked over to our office couch (yes, we have a couch in our office - it is our "collaborative space"). I laid down and curled up and asked what time it was. I figured if it was like Monday, I had about 40 minutes of intense pain and it would pass. So from that position, I asked them to check with Dr. Google - (do not judge) - I was not going to the ER again. I breathed in and out - it did not make it worse. I coughed, it did not make it worse. I called my sister (also a doctor) and we decided to wait it out. Of course, I did not call Remy, my chemo nurse. He would tell me to go to the ER again. Sure enough, about 40 minutes in, the pain started to become less intense. My colleagues would not let me drive home - so I did not argue and home we went. Once home, I called the doctor's office and asked to have him call me. He was out of the office but they said, Catherine, the nurse practitioner would call me. Meanwhile, I was back to Dr. Google (I am an excellent googler). Everything I read pointed to cardiac issues, except one article about Neulasta - the white blood cell booster they had given me. This article stated, that pain in the sternum could be a side effect of Neulasta, as this area is an area in the body that builds a lot of white blood cells.  Catherine called. We discussed all my symptoms, what meds I was on, what I had eaten, and any other details relevant to this. She said it all seemed to point to cardiac. I mentioned the idea of it being a Neulasta side effect. She said she had never heard of that being a side effect. Since she was not sure what direction to go, she said she was going to call the doctor and get his input as it could be a referred pain. I waited, of course, freaking out a little, now thinking could it be my heart? She called back. She had spoken with the doctor, they reviewed my charts, my medical history, the report from Hoag ER and concurred that this was, in fact, a side effect of Neulasta (THANK YOU DR. GOOGLE). I had been on prednisone until Sunday, which actually also helps with the bone pain and side effects of Neulasta, and having had my first reaction on Monday made sense. They were going to put me back on a low dose of prednisone (goodbye sleep) along with tramadol for the pain for 5 days. Neulasta lasts in your system for 14 days - so I just have to get through until next Wednesday. If my white blood counts are up on Monday, the Neulasta worked. If I can manage the pain, we will continue each round with Neulasta because it is doing its job. If I can't (of course I can - if it is not my heart - I can handle pain), we would go back to the Zarxio - less pain, less white blood cell boost. So my options are, be confined to the house because my white blood cells are so low, I am at severe risk of infection - or intense bone pain (it comes and goes) and good white blood cell counts. Duh! and again....My heart is healthy!!