I thought it was a heart attack. No.....just MENOPAUSE!

Tweet

I was having my usual cup of coffee, standing by the window with my morning cigarette and BAM! I thought I was having a heart attack! This very strange pain in my chest. I decided I'd lay down and let it pass. Never having encountered this before, I didn't want to just freak out. Laying down seemed to make it worse. The pain and pressure in my arms, my chest. Sweat started pouring out of every pore in my body, running down my legs and face. I was thinking, "This is it. I'm going to die." And then, just like that, it was over. All total...3 minutes and it felt like an eternity. Happy 40th birthday to me! lol. Being of rational mind, I knew it wasn't a heart attack. It couldn't be. I called my mom and asked her how old she was when she started her "change of life". She was 38. I consider myself lucky! My grandmother was 36 so I'm guessing my daughter's will be when she's 42. lol. My doctor didn't believe me. I described it all, told her my family history and she still didn't believe. She talked me into wearing a heart monitor to be on the safe side. A month later, the tests showed there was absolutely nothing going on with my heart. Come to find out, it's a fairly common misconception. Most women believe it's a heart attack the first time they have one. For me, it wasn't a hot flash. I prefer to call them "flash attacks". Starting with a slight sensation of blood pumping quickly, my arms feeling like someone put a blood pressure cup on them and squeezed too tight. Erratic emotions. I started keeping track on my calendar....time of day, duration, etc. I've been doing that for 4 years now. How long does it last? Will it ever end? What's your story? When did it start for you? Did you opt for hormone replacement? I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to the end of this particular cycle in life!!