DwayneEMTP

So than, if I drink grapefruit juice with Cialis, then I can take way less, and save a bunch of money?? Awesome! Any idea if this also works with weed and heroin?? Seriously though, that is a pretty important piece of information..thanks for sharing it.

The hardcore advice you need to hear before EMT is to relax. It's relatively simple, it can be really fun too... If you're in poor physical shape, then start to work on that, your bending and lifting. Otherwise, look around you Brother....see all of the chuckleheads that are EMTs? If they can do it, you can too, right? Good luck! I look forward to hearing your thoughts as you move forward on your new adventure!

Heheh....the Doc said, "slots"....Heheh... Sorry, that's my only Bevis and Butthead reference...

Is it bad that I only tend to focus on drugs for aggitated medics?

Would WPW be new onset at my age? Present at such a low rate? I was sleeping, flat, on a bed, the first two times, peeing the third...

You all or such dorks... Before posting I'd made an appt with my PCP. But because of the posts I went to the urgent care at the local hospital. They weren't overly concerned, ran a 12 lead only...picture perfect...Doc said he was unconcerned given my recent/current/family history. My job doesn't really have insurance, (Kind of, you pay up front and then they consider it for payment later) so I think that he chose not to do more than he felt prudent. Doc diagnoses anxiety issues...that doesn't feel right to me, but neither does MI...And I can't really afford to persue a long course of action if it's only for peace of mind and not based on logical, realistic concerns...know what I mean? The reason I didn't consider it emergent, right, wrong or indifferent, is that I'm completely asymptomatic at all other times, and no n/v, chest pain, headache, dizziness, sig diaphoresis during episodes. Zero family history of hypertension/stroke/cardiac issues, plus I workout 4 times per week minimum and maintain a HR of 140-160 for 60 to 90 mins without symptoms. Shouldn't a significant pathology show itself with exertion if they are going to present at rest? Vitals today BP 126/76, P 56, SPO2 97% r/a, 12 lead of an unusually fit, horny 18 year old... So, with those things being known, what might I be missing in the cardiac world that might cause such symptoms only three times (last time it started to ramp up, but then settled within 2-3 mins) in a couple of weeks and not at all during exertion? So, though it would be nice to have all of the other things done...If for no other reason so as to avoid having any fart stomping done, not going to happen on my budget. Though, I certainly will persue it more aggressively should things seem to change at all..

So, bless you both for your concern, (cincerly) but you all suck at scenarios... What is your treatment, advice, differential, diagnosis,? (I swear, if you claim that EMS doesn't diagnose I'll kick your balls/ovaries right up next to your tonsils)

Hey all, So, twice during the last week I've had single instances of transient episodes of tachycardia that have awaked me during the night. They were about 5 days apart or so. (Disclaimer. No opinions given here will be considered advice, nor will change the course I choose to follow regarding this issue. This is posted for educational and discussion purposes only.) I awoke to feel my heart pounding, was a bit flushed. Though not diaphoretic, I had that prickly feeling in my face and arms that seems to precede it. Slight dispnea, no chest pain or pressure, slight dizziness, but I'm unsure if that was from physiology or from anxiety over the episode. My pulse rate would run up to around 130, pulse bounding, I was very cardiac aware so unsure if there was anything unusual there or if my attention made it seem that my heart was beating harder than usual. The first episode lasted (not timed, my 'feeling' only) maybe 4-5 mins with me kind of freaking, (breathing slowly, trying to stay calm) out before it occured to me to try and v/v (vasovagal) it down, which I was able to do by holding my breath and bearing down. Rate quickly (15-20 secs) dropped to around 80 (baseline is 60ish), stayed there for "a couple of minutes" and then over approximately a minute and a half to two minutes crawled back up to the 130's. I was again able to v/v back down. I v/v four or five times over, what Babs tells, me was a half hour or so before things seemed to settle down and stay put. The second episode was more or less the same though the duration was approx. 15 minutes this time. Was able to mitigate several times with carotid massage. (It was interesting to try these techniques on myself. It finally occurred to me to have Babs get me a cold towel for my face to see how that compared, but the issue didn't repeat for me to try it. Though it will be on the top of my list for next time.) No other s/s that I'm aware of surrounding these episodes or in daily life. 49 years old, 6'/220lbs, asymptomatic during regular exercise, lifetime smoker, no significant previous medical history, no n/v, chest pain/pressure, has regular physicals/ECGs due to work, no illegal drug use, no prescription meds, Melatonin periodically for sleep, but not on these occasions, OTCs periodically for head/backache, baseline vitals P 60ish, BP 126/74, RR 12ish with no history of respiratory issues, no recent illness, no unusual stresses. It did kind of feel like times gone by when I'd have an anxiety attack, but there was no tachypnea and controlling my breathing didn't seem to mitigate the issues in any way. So what do you think? I've googled it and visited my favorite med pages and can see where this is sometimes caused by meds, which don't apply here, and other times by cardiac blocks, though that usually causes more regular and persistent symptoms if it causes any....It's curious... Dwayne

They should all be privatized in my opinion, yeah, even the police. I'm unaware of anything that the federal gov is involved in that isn't ill managed, over staffed, and financed with a ridiculously bloated budget and a near absence of working checks and balances... If everyone could be trusted to do the right thing, then in theory, this makes sense. Unfortunately history has well proved that the federal govt isn't staffed mostly by those that would do the right thing, but by almost no one focused on doing the right thing... This is liberal politics at it's most dangerous... (Not sniping at you Brother..I think it's an excellent question. Sharing my general opinion only.)

Hey Cliff! Welcome to the City! I spent about 7 years up in Mora MN....Welcome to the medic insanity... Jump in Brother!

If he's also buying the tequila then maybe I can push back my travel a few weeks...I mean, c'mon, a guys got to have his priorities...

Amen...

It's really hard to say, as you've mentioned, but the mental exercise is fun.. Though I'm sure you can't show it, seeing the exam would be necessary I think. As Kat explained so well, it would depend on the level of the exam not only from a level of how thorough and expansive the knowledge would need to be for one to pass it, but how abstract the concepts being tested were. Was the exam mostly common memorization, or were students forced to use their biological education to solve physiological problems, and if so, did that go beyond such things as interference(s) in blood/gas barriers as commonly taught to entry level healthcare providers? I know you love this question, and I actually spent several hours determined to come up with the bell wringing appropriate research to post...but man, I've got nothing. And that's come to seem really weird to me, as it seems like such an important question. But, perhaps there has been collegiate level research that showed that less college is equally valuable...I'm guessing that the sponsoring college would be less than motivated to push for the publication of such a study, yet who else would be motivated to sponsor it?

Hey man, welcome to the site. I've approved your post, but whether or not it is removed as spam will depend on whether or not you choose to participate in the forums or only have this single post, ok? I look forward to your thoughts... Dwayne

Feels amazing to be finished, right? Good job... Edit: Damn it...I didn't read the dates either Babe...

Crazy, and amazingly lucky...