Hypochondriac?

Yesterday, I noticed a slight pain when I breathed in; it was right in the middle of my chest. At first, I thought nothing of it, but it seemed to get progressively more noticeable late in the day and overnight. This morning, I felt it with every breath and it seemed to be worse if I lay on my side. Having had open heart surgery a couple of years ago, my first thought was that something was going wrong again...despite the fact that I had a physical exam very recently.

I decided to sleep in, to see if it would disappear of its own accord. When I woke at 8:30 am, the second awakening, it was still there. Rather than call a doctor then, I drifted back to sleep and awoke about 9:30. I started trying to get to see my cardiologist and finally was able to make an appointment...for July 19. Then, I started working on my family medical clinic. I got an appointment at 1:00 pm.

At the appointed time, I arrived and was ushered in for a quick look and an EKG. The doctor (my regular doc wasn't there, so a very young doctor...she looked to be in her 20s saw me). She allowed as my EKG was just fine, my blood pressure was good, my heart sounds were good...but there were sounds that suggested heartburn. She had a chest X-ray done to be on the safe side and sent me home with a 10-day supply of Nexium.

As I was going through this, I began wondering whether I have become a hypochondriac. Something that would not have made me think for a minute about going to doctor a few years ago got me worried. Maybe I'm making more of it than I should. Or maybe today I needed a mental health day and the way I got it was to experience a physical symptom.

None of this has prevented me from moving forward with plans for tonight. My wife and I are goiong out with two friends who are in town on business. We'll pick them up at the Melrose Hotel and go someplace nice to eat. I hope my need for Nexium doesn't interfere.