"In The KNOW" with Phil Hayes

Earlier this week, I had what I thought at the time was a serious health issue. Actually drove myself to the emergency room instead of going to the office, got admitted to the triage, and as the nurse attendants began to hook me up for an electro-cardiogram (EKG), I just began sweating profusely. My breathing began to get faster along with my heart rate, and I just felt something that, after 47 years, was totally not used to. I felt as though I was about to die.

I managed to use a technique to try to slow down my heart rate which, simple as it is…………….start counting to yourself in an audible voice. 1………..2………..3………..4………..and so on. I was able to be in control of my senses long enough for the nurses to get an IV into my arm, get some EKG readings, and then get me into another triage area with a bed where I was monitored for several hours. Like I said, I felt like I was gonna die. The good news is, I wasn’t.

When the doctors came back with all the tests, everything was normal: all my blood work, the EKG, no atrial distress to my heart………nothing. So if everything is so damn normal and I’m in perfect health, why the hell am I sweating like a man that’s about to get the chair? Didn’t know. Until I sat down and did some research and found what I think best fits what I went through that day: panic anxiety disorder.

Now granted, anybody that knows me will tell you I’ve always been a worry-wort. Plain and simple, I worry too much, even about simple, minute stuff. And the fact that, due to working long hours, stress and other factors, my blood pressure is a scant bit higher than normal. I will be going to see a specialist before the holiday to see if what I think is accurate.

Symptoms of panic anxiety disorder include (all the highlighted ones below are what I felt):

• • Abdominal cramping
  • Chest pain
  • Chills
  • Dizziness, light-headedness, or faintness
  • Fear of loss of control or death
  • Feeling of unreality or detachment
  • Headache
  • Hot flashes
  • Nausea
  • Numbness or tingling sensation
  • Rapid, pounding heart rate
  • Sense of impending doom or danger
  • Shortness of breath or tightness in your throat
  • Sweating
  • Trembling or shaking

One thing is that this whole episode has reinforced in me something I believe: 1) never take anyTHING for granted when it comes to your health. I’ve been posting Healthy Living Tip blogs every week for the last several years now about exercise, diets, motivational things to help advance positive lifestyles, because I want ALL of us to live the maximum of our health potential, and 2) never take anyONE for granted when it comes to your life. Believe it or not, one of the most poignant quotes I’ve ever heard in life, about life, comes from heavy metal band guitarist C.C. DeVille from ‘Poison’. In a ‘Behind The Music’ episode about the band, the subject got around to his one-time drug habit, as many successful rock stars endure. But DeVille’s problem got a little out of hand, to the point that he might’ve died for real. Obviously I don’t touch drugs, but that feeling of thinking that moment is your last will wake you up, whether you’re a famous guitarist or a guy pursuing his ambition of being a major news anchor.

The one thing C.C. DeVille said about his main motivation for quitting drugs was:

“I don’t want to NOT be a part of tomorrow.“

For me, I’m a person that always says to my family, friends, loved ones and the like, “I love you”, without shame, without hesitation. I never want ‘tomorrow’ to get here without everyone I love knowing how much I love them. So to my family, friends, loved ones & my extended “In The KNOW” family…………I love you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!