on the elevator

[Merrill]

Two days ago I wrote in a post that I was on a (pots) elevator ... well this is a little freaky, but I think an actual elevator ride today set off something that I can't snap out of! I had to go to a meeting for work and rode a pretty fast moving elevator from one to 40 ... (I normally work on 9, and I take a different elevator bank.) Anyway, I got off, walked to the conference room and took a seat, then started feeling bizarre and a bit dizzy. The dizziness passed fairly quickly, but within 15 minutes I started getting severe stabbing pains on the left side of my head--sort of behind my left eye and deep in my head. It felt like a migraine (I don't know if the headaches I more typically get are migraines or not; I get all kinds of headaches a couple times a week, but nothing like this.) I took 2 ibuprofen and 1/4 of a xanax since it was there in my ibuprofen bottle... but it didn't really help.

I came home early from work b/c I felt like I couldn't see straight, and I took a nap. I still feel like crap tho--and am about to go to bed for the night. I've had 800 more miligrams of ibuprofen, but it's not helping and it usually does. Just felt like venting a little I guess. Never thought an elevator ride could make me sick--I'd been feeling FINE before that. Grrr...

Please think good thoughts for a better tomorrow--you know I'm thinking the same for all of you.

[blackwolf]

merril.

elevators are one of my best friends and worst enemies. riding them can be terrible in setting off heart rate, blood pressure, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, visual trouble.... if it is really fast, lordy, clear the floor, i can be down for 20-30 minutes from it.

best of luck in your recovery, and if the headach doesn't get better, or you have other symptoms(fever, chills...) you might be getting a sinus infection. they are nasty here in south dakota.

blackwolf

[Gena]

Merrill,

I'm like you, I get various kinds of headaches several times a week. If it doesn't subside by tomorrow (Friday), then you may want to have it checked out as Blackwolf suggested. I get stabbing pains in my head and behind my eyes often, although they are normally fairly short lived. Have you tried an ice pack or heat pack on your neck to see if that helps?

I've had elevator rides that have thrown me for a loop as well. Hang in there and I hope you snap out of this soon and get back to your previous healthier you.

Hugs,

Gena

[MomtoGiuliana]

Merrill

Hope you are feeling better today!

Katherine

[geneva]

Merrill, just thinking about going 0 to 40 makes me dizzy! I hope you are doing better this morning.

[Merrill]

Thanks, you guys! I do feel a bit better, but not as good as I did yesterday before that elevator ride! I still have a headache and periodic stabbing pains deep in the left side of my head/behind my eye. And I feel deeply tired--like I could lie down and sleep for days. Good thing the weekend is almost here! I just took some more ibuprofen.

I didn't think to try ice or heat, Gena -- that's a good suggestion. I imagine ice will feel better, so I'll try it tonight. I've also got a 1/2 hour back/neck/head massage scheduled right after work (sort of a continuation of the PT I had on my neck, only insurance doesn't cover this!) ... that too may help. Or make it worse. Either way, my skin will enjoy a little oil and a gentle touch.

best to all,

m

[DancingLight]

m,

i told my mom about your elevator post first thing when i got up today and she said, did you reply yet????

here's why...

my college graduation gift was a trip to nyc. this is june 1998.

mom and i went to the empire state building one day. i have NEVER had a problem with heights or doing things like this. i had been to europe 3 times and done all that stuff where you climb a thousand stairs to the tops of all of these buildings and things like that.

we went up in the elevator to the 86th floor. we looked around and i felt fine. i said, i want to take the elevator that goes up to the 103rd floor.

so we did. as we were going up i started to feel weird and dizzy. i thought it was just the motion of the elevator. we got off and i couldn't stay up there as i was white as a sheet and gasping for air.

we hurried back in the elevator and tried to get down as fast as possible.

by the time we made it down, i was so sick, dizzy, weak, etc. that i could not stand up.

i put my head between my legs, etc.

mind you, i am sitting in the lobby of the empire state building and the security gaurds are having a fit!

we ended up taking a taxi to our apt/hotel and i was up sick all night with diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, chills, shakes, sweats, etc.

i felt like i was going to die.

the next day i was tired but we still did the stuff we had planned.

this was mid-june.

june 18th i started in with a horrible headache and flu-like symptoms and shortness of breath.

i am convinced that this elevator ride was my first true POTS episode.

i have asked so many doctors about this when they ask how my illness started and they have all dismissed this event...

until i met my latest pots doc who said, rather than it being the pressure or something like that...

it was the speed of the acceleration of the elevator that probably caused it! the elevator ride was just too much for the blood to stay in my head...

i was thrilled, 6 years later to figure out why this had happened!

anyway, that was a long-winded way to say that you are not alone in having a problem with elevators!

anyway, maybe given being exhausted and stressed, etc. made your body more susceptible to reacting to the ride up? who knows...

so that's my story...

later alligator!

em

[Merrill]

Oh m'gosh, Emily!!! That's an amazing story ... You had such an immediate and strong reaction... crazy, huh? I'm glad you found an answer, though. There HAD to be some reason; even when we suddenly get hit with the flu, there's still a bit of warning! The elevator to such a height--and the speed of it--surely was your trigger. I'll bet you did well in Europe because the going was slow, and your body had time to adjust to the changes.

I'd been to this conference room before, and the elevator ride was never a pleasant one... but this is the first time that I had such a physical response to it. The view is spectacular from there, but I couldn't even bear to look; I got out of there and went home as fast as I could.

Last weekend (traveling to Reno and Vegas) was extremely fun but extremely tiring, and I hadn't yet caught up on my sleep. Perhaps that did predispose me to having this kind of reaction. The end of the day cannot come soon enough! Weekend--and bed--here I come! (Nevermind the laundry, the groceries, the errands...ugh.)

Thanks for telling your story! I'd never asked you about how your dysautonomia started! And I'm sure it took a lot of your energy points for today.

Take good care, OK?

m

[DancingLight]

hey m,

i hope you get some rest and recup time this weekend. who cares what the flylady says about laundry, groceries and errands???

anyway, yes, that's me, an odd and extreme reaction to everything...

of course, it was probably just anxiety, right! HA!!! (that's what all the drs. told me!)

later alligator!

i'm already heading for my nap NOW...i'll warm up the bed for you and when you get home you can have my spot.

em

[corina]

Hi Merrill,

I always have trouble being in an elevator, it makes me feel real bad. I have my own elevator at home because I can't climb the stairs anymore. It doesn't go very fast ofcourse, but fast enough for me. My boys call it: mom's own rollercoaster at home .

Emily, what a story you told us! I would never have thought this could happen. Boy, must you have felt bad!

Where in Europe have you been climbing? The highest building in the States I was on, must have been Citrus Tower (I think that was the name), when we visited Florida (we were in Kissimee, Orange County). I really can't think of being in a 40 floors building, not to think about 103 floors!!!!!

Hope you're doing some better Merrill, well, I'm going to hit the hay as it is 10PM overhere!!! Have a nice weekend!

Corina

PS Emily, I need to learn some more of that stuff, are you up to teaching me?

[yogini]

Hey Merrill,

I work on the 45th floor of a building. It's funny, just this morning before I read your post I was thinking what trouble I used to have in the elevator every day. I would feel totally dizzy and tachy, as if I was going to pass out. I still get it from time to time, tho I think my body has learned to adjust a little. I generally feel OK after I have settled into my office.

Emily, I like your theory about the acceleration. It can't be just the elevation, because I am better in my office and sometimes have the same symptoms going down as I do coming up. And it's definitely worse when the elevator doesn't stop along the way....

Feel better, Merrill, and get some rest this weekend. I think I need a massage too!

-Rita

[Ernie]

Hi,

I cannot stand at all in elevators because as soon as the elevator bouces my BP crashes and I kiss the floor.

Ernie

[EarthMother]

I think we are on to something!!

Can't afford a trip to MAYO? Insurance won't pay for your Tilt Table Test at University Hospital?

No worry! Go to your nearest business district and take their express elevator to the top floor ... if you make it to the top and your still on your feet you have POTS! Just remember to get your parking ticket validated on the way down.

;-)

EM

[Ernie]

Hi EM,

That's a good suggestion. I will suggest that to my undiagnosed family members who have to wait a year to have their TTT. Much faster to have an answer!

P.S.: Once a did a TTT in Montreal and the technician laid me down before I fainted. (They don't let the patients faint because the neurologist does not stay in the room during the TTT and there is only a technician there so it is not safe). So I pack my stuff (I get dressed) and I get in the elevator. I fainted as soon as it started to move. They had a code blue. I woke up with about 10 doctors in the elevator. So I got my diagnosis at the ER.

Ernie

[DancingLight]

funny you brought that up EM...because months later, when i had my TTT, i had the exact same reaction afterwards. we called the doctors and they said it was not related to the test and i probably had some bug! oh my. i now know this is my standard reaction to everything! i.e. post-surgery...um, 6 weeks in this state, non-stop. no thanks, i'm not going back to that any time soon i hope!

corina, i'm up for the task: your first new one to learn is: 'i must have a hollow leg', any ideas???? let me know, and look carefully for the answer...!

okay, so i can't sleep and i am a bit loopy.

emily

[corina]

Em,

you have been keeping me busy all day! I was resting in the garden, enjoying the sun, and thinking about the hollow leg! I asked my husband and checked my dictionary and you know: I don't have a clue . I'm very curious to hear the answer!!!

Corina

Merrill, do feel any better yet?

[Merrill]

Hi, Corina; thanks for asking! I'm doing better in one way and worse in another... Thankfully, the shooting pains and migraine-ish headache are gone, and I'm much less exhausted. (So that funky episode is over.) But I fear I might be coming down with a cold! I have that feeling in my throat and sinuses ... I've been gargling salt water and I'm about to start gulping vitamins. Ugh! It's a beautiful day to enjoy my garden too, so I'll head out. By the way, you and Emily are cracking me up! This is an expression my grandmother used to use when talking to my brother ... at dinnertime ... when everyone had finished eating and he was still asking for more.

best,

merrill

[DancingLight]

corina,

you are so cute!

so...it means that i can't get full! I eat and eat and i'm never full! so, my mom says, i must have a hollow leg! or, another way to put it...i'm a bottomless pit! so, my appetite is insatiable. does that help??? i hope so...b/c you will wear yourself out trying to figure this out! go rest some more in your sunny garden and i will think up another phrase to teach you! i've got my mom helping me!

later alligator!

em

[corina]

Hi Emily,

when Merrill wrote about her grandmom, and knowing your appetite, I knew it had to do with food . But I was thinking about the food getting in your legs (meaning there would be enough place to put it?????) . We use the "bottomless pit" as well, so I understood what you mean. Thanks very much, I'm gonna practice this one and ask my dad (who lives in England and has often been to the US) about the hollow leg!!! He'll be surprised by my knowledge!!! I had to write it on a paper because I keep on forgetting it.

I'm gonna teach you some Dutch soon, have to think about something funny first!

Well, you guessed it: I'm gonna hit the hay!!!

Love, Corina

[DancingLight]

yeah corina! i love that you figured out merrill's clue and guessed it!

i can't wait to learn dutch! i'm so excited.

okay, do you think we can find any way to make this related to pots? or should we just let it be off-topic. merrill won't mind, you think?

your next phrase is:

"Slow as molasses in January"

thanks for taking my mind off of how lousy i feel! this is fun!

hey, that's IT...that's how this is forum related...you are helping me to cope with my POTS by distracting me, keeping my brain cells working, and making me smile!

do you think michelle and nina will go for that?

later alligator. hope you hit the hay. enjoy your PINK roses for me, k?

my turn to hit the hay or 'hit the sack' is another phrase.

emily

[corina]

Heyyyy Emily,

you're talking about ME . I'm slow as molasses in January. I think I've got it right, don't I???? I think it's the cold that makes the molasses even thicker and slower to get out of the pot????

You know I've been thinking, because I sooooo enjoy these little conversations. It makes me feel so connected to people because I'm home alone so often. Maybe we can start a new topic: Just for fun, and for keeping our brains at work, where everyone could place a riddle or a memory exercise or what so ever. Also the music and movies could be in there and everyone who wants could take part in reading or being active in it. It's just a thought, maybe Michelle or Nina can think about it?

Well, I'm off to help my son with his maths now (hope I'm still able to do that!).

Will you be able to get me the answer today Em? I'm making a list now!!! But please don't overdo. You know I'd understand that!!!

Merrill, hope you can enjoy you're weekend and be in the garden. How is your cold?

Corina

[Merrill]

Hey, Corina, here's another goofy expression for you: I'm sick as a dog.

(Actually, I don't understand that one myself; all the dogs I know are typically quite healthy! Can someone else explain? )

I'm suffering possibly the worst viral infection in memory ... and I'm kicking myself (there's another expression!) that I didn't remember to take Zicam at first symptom last Saturday. That's some serious brain fog for you; I've been touting its benefits for the past year or so, and I've warded off many many head colds. This time I forgot and WHAM!

I had my 1/2 hour neck and back massage Friday afternoon ... and I do frequently get sick after massage. These toxins I'm carrying around are mean! Does anyone else get colds or flu after a massage?

Anyway, I'm home from work for the second day in a row--I fear I'm still really contagious, not to mention uncomfortable! My sinuses are so painful and swollen that even my right eye is nearly shut. I put a call in to the doctor to see if antibiotics might be in order. I've got my fingers crossed...

Who's in the hole w/me?

Peace,

merrill

[corina]

Hi Merrill,

we call it Sick as a dog as well!!!! (although I don't know of any sick dogs as well!!!) Hope you will do better soon! I've never heard of Zicam, is it something to prevend or do you take it when you already are sick? Ahhhhh memory! I'm using my notebook: things to do today, in which I write everything that has to be done per day. Also what time the kids go to/come home from school, at what times they have to go to there sports, when my PT appointments are etc. It works well, because I take a look at it several times a day. For taking my meds I use my mobile phone!! The things we do to help us remember ey!

Corina

Ohh btw Merrill, you always make me laugh when you write peace at the end of your posts: it makes me think of the sixties, when people said: peace man, and smoked another joint!!!

[Merrill]

Corina, that REALLY made ME laugh!!

I love your lists idea... if only I could remember where I'd find some paper and a pen, I'd try it! Sounds like a good plan.

The doctor returned my call right on schedule and is calling in some augmentin to the pharmacy. I'm thankful; I really think I need antibiotics this time! It's been a while...

Zicam is an over-the-counter homeopathic remedy that's supposed to shorten the duration of a cold or help prevent it from developing if you catch it early enough. It has worked great for me in the past, but I do think you need to take it the first day of symptoms.

Peace, man. I've got two fingers up in the universal sign and wishing someone would pass me a joint,

merrill