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[str8outavannuys]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
I've had a few fake heart attacks. A lot of them were brought on from esophageal reflux, some by partying too much and some by a combination of the two.

The best way out of these (if you don't have xanax handy) is to take your pulse. If its drug induced, don't take your pulse - you'll just get more freaked out. If you're wired, drink three or four pulls of whatever hard booze is available quickly and then lots of water (you're probably dehydrated and need a fast downer). If you have reflux, take pepcid or zantac religiously before eating spicy food or drinking. And DON'T SMOKE. Cigarettes are hell on heartburn and you'll think they're calming you down but they'll only make things worse. If its reflux or pulled-muscle oriented pain, take your pulse. You'll see that its low and that will calm you down. Also, wherever you are, get to someplace nice and cool, preferably outside or in fron of an AC unit. The colder you are, the quicker you'll feel calm (don't know exactly why this works - maybe its the same principle behind the reason they ice live crabs at the market).

And those cheap erg machines are shit - they'll fucking kill your shoulders. I used to be able to do 20 min pieces on the ergs in college with no sweat, but the cheap ergs in my gym make my shoulders feel like they're being torn from the sockets. You really have to oil those things all the time to make sure they're safe.

What's a good personal-best to have for a 5K erg? I was never on a crew team, but I'm pretty proud of my 18:20 (accomplished as a summer associate at the downtown YMCA in LA). Any other hardcore ergers here?