I woke early, around four Friday morning, with right-side chest pains. I got up, took 3 Tylenol, put a pain patch on, and took my Prednisone and Symbicort inhaler.

I was 75% sure I wasn’t having a heart attack, because the Pain was on the right side, but I am no doctor. I didn’t begin to worry until my left arm started acting up. And then my upper back by my shoulders began to burn. Was I okay, or was it something more I thought?

I returned to bed and called my rheumatologist’s office at 9:00 am. Her Physician’s Assistant referred me to my Primary Care for an EKG, and my Primary Care, through her assistant, told me to go to the emergency room.

I was almost sure it was my RA, pinched nerve, or something else, but again I am no doctor, and because women present differently, I couldn’t be 100%.

So, I called my cardiologist’s office; and spoke with his physician assistant. Despite my breathing being a little heavy, I still believed it was Costochondritis.

As I waited impatiently for a callback, an hour had passed, and still nothing from my cardiologist. I wanted to avoid bringing this issue into the weekend, where I might not have a choice about the ER.

I decided to go to a walk-in clinic. At the very least, I should get an EKG. I admit I was slightly in my feelings when I didn’t hear back from my cardiologist.

When I reached the Walk-in clinic, seeing a doctor didn’t take long. Luckily, the walk-in clinic is an affiliate of Yale; the doctor could see my medical history. She understood my cardiac concerns. She also understood my thoughts on Costochondritis. I explained what had been going on and what I had done to try and make myself feel better.

She examined me, and then the nurse attempted to give me an EKG. I say attempted because the nurse had difficulty with the EKG machine; she had to replace the leads repeatedly, and still, nothing. Malfunction!

I might have to go to the ER; that is what I thought as I quietly laid on the examining table. The doctor made several phone calls looking for the cause to the problem, but no one had an answer.

It was a blessing when the nurse walked by me, touching one of the leads on my leg; the EKG machine finally connected to the leads. The doctor and nurse hurried to record and print before they lost connection.

To say I was relieved would be an understatement. I was relieved that the EKG machine was functioning and thankful when the doctor told me the results of the EKG. Thank you! Of course, the EKG results were good; I knew it the whole time (lol). After she gave me the results, we had to deal with the possibility that I had Costochondritis. After we talked little more the doctor gave me a prescription for steroids and suggested I go to the ER if I felt worse. I guess the point of my story is that it is definitely better to be safe than sorry.