Crushed My Buns

[WinterSown]

Two days ago I had a great workout in the afternoon at home, lots of core and legs, felt strong after, not tired or exhausted. Went to the supermarket afterwards, it was not crowded and I didn't have to wait on the checkout line. Yay! Grabbed the bags and drove home. Got out of the car, walked up the stairs and fainted on the deck in front of my front door without a warning. There was no sense of the energy suddenly draining out of me like last time, no hint, no half-moment of knowing, I just went right down and landed with my groceries underneath me. Lights out for just a moment or two and I was alert as Hubs helped me up and inside. A few minutes later I felt better and I chose not to go to the ER that night. The next morning, yesterday, I made my appointments. I see my cardiologist next week and my primary saw me in the afternoon.  

All my numbers and EKG were great, natch. I am now, at this time, forbidden to do strenuous exercise, use a ladder, or drive. I thought he was going to tell Hubs to not let me cross the street without holding my hand. We ate dinner, I took a nap and spent the night with one hand grasping the other wrist and squished up like a tight ball in my chair, I've gotten good at compressing my blood vessels without thinking about it.  Had to cancel PT, can't go anywhere and do anything except walk the dogs to the corner and back. Aaaarrrgghhh. I will be in my blanket fort coloring but I will draw the line drawings first; creative neurotherapy continues. Never give up, never surrender.

And, best doctor quote so far: 'Wonder Bread is a wonder." I only skinned my knee :-) Gotta say, I love my primary.

[angelloz]

So sorry to hear this. Did the doctor have any idea why you didn't get any sort of sensation to warn you?  At least your EKG was good etc...

[WinterSown]

No. And he was very specific about asking the sensations I had both times before fainting--what I thought the differences were. He said that usually people who faint from cardiac issues do faint all of sudden without warning but that they usually are also badly banged up from bashing into something as they fall. I went down on an empty deck, there was nothing to hit in front of me and my head missed the door by a couple of feet. I didn't have any jars or cans, just produce, bread and shaved ham. I got really lucky. 

I just got back from walking dog number three. I didn't make a real mistake on the walk, but she was very well behaved when a man walked by us on the sidewalk so I bent down to pet her and praise her for being good, and I should not have done that. I stood up slowly but fifteen, seventeen seconds later I had this new sensation of the 'energy' in the center of my chest vanishing, much like the wind dispels smoke. I immediately recognized it as something I experienced right before I fainted. As I walked home it happened a few more times, I didn't drop, I was able to walk through it and by the time I got home I felt much better. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and I looked at my face and saw a ginormous welt with a V on top, going from an inch above my eyebrow, down the side of my eye, down my cheek where it started to taper and it continued down until it disappeared into my collarbone. It lasted about a minute longer and I am sorry I did not take a video but if there's a next time I will. I don't feel emergent but I am pretty freaked. I'm gonna have soup and croutons for lunch, the day goes forwards.

 

 

 

[Debbie Rose]

So sorry to hear all that you went through, gosh !! The raised welt could have been vascular-DUH-but of a specific autonomic root, so is very strange...and the latent response to exercise-also unusual, but I know you know how odd our conditions are...keep us updated

Debbie

[WinterSown]

I have short term memory problems. I just remembered that the primary asked me if I had a loop recorder.  He's gonna talk to the cardiologist and I think this might be in my future. I want to scream at the ocean and if I could drive I would. So I'll just drink a coffee and eat tortilla chips instead. I'm going back to my blanket fort.

 

                                     

[ptalaura]

sorry to hear you had a bad faint.  hope you are doing better now.  stay safe.  

 

[WinterSown]

Thank you. I am having comfort food for breakfast. Hubs got me a cup of McOatmeal, I am having a bowl of kettle chips on the side. Crunch crunch crunch. I am doing well walking at night, there is less visual and sound triggers.  Yesterday afternoon I took a walk to the strip mall on the corner for some errands. We realized that Hubs will have to take another day off from work to take me to the cardiologist, I don't want to do a cab or take two buses by myself right yet and he agrees. His boss has been very good about that and we're crossing our fingers that he keeps his sense of humor and understanding--you never should take that for granted. He usually gets home around 330pm so from now on, until I can drive again, I will have to schedule "I'll take the last one" appointments from now on. I used to stop at the market on the way home from my doctor visits but I can't do that now. I am dreading having to set up an online supermarket account but it may be in my future. For walking I am good but for other exercises I am feeling kinda wiped out too soon. I'll try my balance board again later but after a few minutes I gotta go lay down. 

[edriscoll]

If your husband is driving you to the doctor, maybe you can still stop at the market on your way home.  Have you tried using the motorized carts?  I went through one winter where I couldn't drive for months and couldn't walk around the market - just too painful.  But I was really getting depressed feeling so dependent on my husband.  So I started doing my marketing after appointments or other days when he was home to drive me.  He would drive me to the market and I did the shopping using the motorized wheelchair cart.  Naturally, he still had to help me get things off of high and very low shelves but at least I was out!  And, I didn't have to live with the the things my husband would buy when he went by himself - packages of slim jims, sausage and Captain Crunch cereal.  So it was a much healthier solution all the way around.  Good luck.

[WinterSown]

Thank you Ellen, he did drive me, Hubs took the day. He's in construction so he leaves early and comes home early, our son goes to work later in the day and gets home well after dark. So, we talked our plans for future appointments and either of them can help me later or earlier--depending. Hubs is doing PT at the same center too, I just got an OK to go back to PT. We already spoke to the therapist and he will schedule us together--there is an awesome (just so AWESOME) little supermarket on the way home and we stop there. They did put a new Stu Leonards around the corner and I can go there when it's quiet, when it opened two weeks ago I got stuck under singing cows with a monkey that kept dropping out of the ceiling right above me; I thought I was going to explode next to the apple fritters. I know the markets here will be accommodating, I checked that out when I was first diagnosed, they will help me with a personal shopper--the carts are there if I need to use them but I don't think I'm there yet in my head. I can be willfully thick and pig-headed stubborn, it takes me more than once or twice to learn. I'm thinking of getting a walking stick to lean on, then go over to the local dojo and learn how to use it as a quarter-staff--I could do that. Yesterday I called the laser-printer shop as I needed a set of toner, I usually drive over and pick it up but I asked them to send it--which I expected to have UPS drop off but we came home today and all the cartridges were at the front door--they dropped them off in person. How sweet was that. I can set up PeaPod, which is a grocery delivery service, and/or start ordering a lot of it off of Amazon Prime--I am using Smile.Amazon which will always create a donation towards DINET. That was so easy to do, I just went to Smile.Amazon and selected to support Dysautonomia Information Network, I think there is a search engine to assist with that. Just hit select and that's it, they don't raise their prices, everything is otherwise the same.

I saw my cardiologist today, I like him, he asks me questions and lets me answer on and on and on, he's definitely one of the good guys. It may be two separate things. First, he scheduled me with the electrophysiologist who I see in a couple of weeks. It looks like I may indeed have a loop recorder in my future, it's not unreasonable. I've been doing an upswing in presyncope but my numbers are fine. I keep reminding myself that's a good thing. The recorder will hopefully pick up the cause. Next, because I have an increase in vertigo symptoms I need to schedule with an ENT and get checked for Labrynthitis, I've been walking the dogs at night because of less triggers but my perceptions have been getting weirder and I start to feel and walk drunk after a few blocks; I fell into bushes last night.  Dr D'Anca said that the new recorders are half the size of the older types and that they can leave it in for three years. For now, I get to go back to PT but I am pretty much grounded, no driving until they determine cause of the fainting; if they determine cause and it is correctable. I've been thinking about driving lately, I wonder if I precogged myself. 

I  remembered before I left to tell my doctor how happy I was with the epsom salts face scrub he told me about last visit, he wanted me to try it but had just heard and didn't know yet if it would help. It really is an awesome energy boost, and my skin is so smooth too. And I think I have some more clarity between presycope events. Magnesium rocks! He smiled when I told him to 'Tell EVERYONE!" My doctors are as human as everyone else and when they get it right they should know it, I do tell them. I took a long nap after I got home, I made french toast with instant bacon for dinner. Comfort food. But good. All in all it was a good day, I feel more positive knowing what lies ahead.

 

T