in this case, it took only one.
finally, last thursday, i couldn’t put it off any longer and i had to go into the hospital. so *h and i packed up and off we went to the local ER where they were able to pick up the pieces of this shattered blogger and restore me to some semblance of functioning.
but i guess i should back up, huh?
since this is now the second time i have had this baffling medical event happen, i will tell you about it- more so that you can be wise to it so than you can be voyeuristic. supposedly this never happens in adults, and supposedly the last time this happened it was a one-time mystery…
i can’t remember if i wrote about this too in-depth or not, but i had about a 12-week period in detroit when i couldn’t keep down any food. like really not any food. so i kept going to the ER dehydrating, and they would give me fluids and tell me i had a virus and send me home. finally i had to be hospitalized for about 2 weeks and i needed nutrition by IV (not so fun) and after lots of meds we finally figured out, quite by accident, that i had an atypical migraine (an abdominal migraine, which is a migraine variant). apparently, this presentation is normally seen only in children which is why they didn’t even think of it in an adult.
ok, fast forward to now.
about september i lost my appetite. at first i went down to about 1 meal a day, then a bit of food a day, then eating once every few days with some powerade or gatorade in between. i spoke to my neurologist and i started ensures to keep up my nutrition but a few weeks ago i went off of food altogether and i was on 2 ensures a day and nothing else. when *h and the kids started falling apart i went up to 3 ensures a day, but i was getting weaker and sicker every day and was basically bedridden.
when it got to the point where i was afraid to drive (we weren’t sure if i would faint or not), and i couldn’t be upright for more than a few minutes at a time, and i was waking up at night with my heart racing, and it was clear that the ensures just weren’t cutting it, we went into the hospital to get some help.
and i mentioned to them about the atypical migraine thing in the past when i couldn’t tolerate food, and that maybe this was that same thing.
but the doctor was sceptical and didn’t think so.
so he did some other stuff and gave me fluids and ran some labs and treated some things and gave me some meds and was just plain perplexed. and he finally consulted with the neurologist on call and asked him what he thought they should do if it was an atypical migraine not that it was, mind you- but just in case…
and, lo and behold, it was…
so within 48 hours i was able to eat solid food for the first time in weeks.
go, hospitals.
go, doctor who was willing to humor me and treat what i was telling him was wrong even though he thought it was probably crazy and it was a total long-shot.
and go intuition and listening to your gut even when people tell you that you are crazy and that you probably have an eating disorder (which multiple people did) or that you are just depressed (which multiple did) or that you are making a big deal out of nothing (when you know for sure that you aren’t).
but most important, as always, is this message: don’t be afraid to be an advocate for yourself. you don’t need to be obnoxious or pushy or rude, but you do need to be firm and insistent. you do need to be respected and taken seriously. your life and your health are too important to end up in the gutter.
trust me; i’ve been there.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 18:17:23
This reminds me of my bouts of vomiting upon eating anything….along with diarrhea. Found out that it was the toxins ( especially high fructose corn syrup ) in the “foods” that I was consuming. They removed my gallbladder which sent me into Pancreatitis…or SOD III ( Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction).
I have even more difficulty now eating and have frequent intestinal infections even though I have gone on an organic ( natural foods ) diet. It is just the nature of this particular beast. Doctors said that I was imagining the pain. I was depressed. I was a drug seeker. I was everything but what they created……a chronic mess.
I am aware that nearly ALL illnesses today are linked to the chemical pollutants in our “food” supply. I highly recommend everyone watching ‘Genetic Roulette;The Gamble of Our Lives’. Might save a life.
Hope you get to feeling better.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 18:22:37
So…… does this mean you just forgot to grow up 🙂 Glad they got you cured.
viv in nz
Oct 21, 2012 @ 18:39:29
So glad you survived this! And still had the strength to stand up for yourself. Next time, go to the dr earlier! Apparently, you’re just destined to stay young!
Oct 21, 2012 @ 19:12:55
I have never, Ah say, NEVER heard of such a thing! But I am SO grateful you found the right diagnosis, experts and treatment. It could have gone on and on as you well know. Sending BUSHELS of love, Sweet.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 19:15:41
Good for you for advocating for yourself! But if this happens again, please don’t wait so long to get to the hospital!
Oct 21, 2012 @ 19:38:56
Wow, so glad that you finally got the help you needed. Hugs!
Oct 21, 2012 @ 20:41:14
Right on. Seriously. Good for standing up for yourself and as far as people telling you that you’re depressed…ugh…or that you have an eating disorder….double ugh. I’m glad that you are up and that something has been improved. There are a few people tucked close into my heart for safe keeping…you happen to be one of them. Feel better and better and better and better….
Oct 21, 2012 @ 23:56:26
O.U.C.H. I am so glad you got this sorted out and are on the mend!
Oct 22, 2012 @ 01:57:50
Exposure to bright or fluorescent lighting
is one of the potential causes.
This is somewhat related to … uh… remember how epileptics can be sent into a hypnotic state by flashing lights at a certain frequency? Household electricity runs at 60 cycles. Most of us don’t notice it because we have been using incandescent light bulbs which is just a hot wire which evens out all the strobe light factor(s).
But modern fluorescent lighting actually strobes at 60 times per second and while most brains ignore that, it does affect your nervous system and can cause problems.
Something to think about….
Oct 22, 2012 @ 10:54:42
So glad to hear you are okay and that you will be better!
I agree with other posters, if it happens again, go tot he doctor immediately!
If you know how to *fix* the problem without meds, then do this! Otherwise, the doc’s office pronto!
I am ALWAYS my own and my family’s advocate and will not just sit by idly and complacent and allow any procedures to be performed on me (or take meds I don’t know what they are/for/and why), have refused many ‘just in case’ meds and procedures, and continue to educate myself on home remedies for all things that I can heal myself from pleurisy, strep throat, earaches, poison ivy/oak, and more. I love the quote by Hippocrates~ “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’. Most problems are diet-related.
Hope you are on the road to good health! 🙂
Oct 22, 2012 @ 11:09:22
a) Julie, glad you got to the hospital, got them to treat what they didn’t think it could be and therefore now know that you know what you’re talking about.
b) don’t wait so long next time. You know what it is now, know when it’s coming back around and know that you’ll need treatment not just bedrest.
c) Grant, that’s fastinating. Especially worrisome since more and more we are moving toward CFL bulbs in our houses.
Oct 22, 2012 @ 16:22:49
Julie, sooo glad you are mending, what a nightmare !! Can’t imagine. Honestly, I find Dr.s ‘appreciate’ feisty, pro-active patients, over time we have learned a lot about our own selves, and some just need to learn how to trust & work with us. I like a 2 way conversation. The video Jamie cited, ‘Genetic Roulette;The Gamble of Our Lives’, is loaded, solid guidelines at the end. Thanks, hate it and love it, good info so we can deal with GMOs personally. And on the California ballot, we are about to make DOW, Monsanto, etc.,be more open about the existence & then the danger of their chemicals to health and life itself.
Re: CFL what a difference in energy cost I have had over the last 10 years, but without even realizing the potential health hazard of CFL’s I have been converting to LEDs and LOVING the light- steady, cool, bright and in 1, 3, 7watts (like 100+w!!) + . They are expensive (as CFLs were) so one by one I’ve retro fitted my house. They are coming out with new ‘models’,I’ve had to be creative with traditional lampshades and new lamp solutions. But worth it, love love love the light.
Julie, I hope you are ‘beyond’ these strange events, but I agree with everyone- heads up right away as you know some of the creepy signals now ! Best of luck, and all health to you!!
Oct 22, 2012 @ 17:04:22
I’m so sorry this happened. I’m really glad you’re on the mend, but still sad you were miserable. Hugs.
Oct 22, 2012 @ 20:46:26
Please tell me how to treat pleurisy!
Oct 23, 2012 @ 21:10:01
julie – i’m passing your info/diagnosis on to my son {age:29} in minnesota …. he’s been dealing with difficulties eating for about a year now – doctors are at wit’s end. poor kid can barely swallow water some days due to pain and discomfort. he’s lost too much weight! pops some pills some days in order to manage a bit of food – but pills are NOT the answer! i’ll suggest that his doctor consider yet another possibility.
grant -thank you for your comments about the pulsating of the light bulbs …… i have a seizure disorder and have always found it difficult to function under standard fluorescent lights {the long tubular ones} …. when people started to change to these super-energy-saving CFLs … i started to get severe headaches, my eyes starting bothering me ….. and my head would get ‘buzzy’ … aha! precursors of some of the seizures i used to experience {they are under control with medication}. anyway – we do NOT use them in our home. my husband was excited about them for a time – until he realized how detrimental they are to MY health guess i’ll be stockpiling incandescents, huh?
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:36:52
hemmy- is he in a place where he can try medical marijuana?
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:49:44
thank you 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:50:00
thank you 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:50:17
🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:50:33
thank you 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:51:02
it’s so true- i know this, but it’s good to be reminded! thanks!
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:51:11
thanks! 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:51:31
i love you 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:51:46
hugs back! 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:52:02
are you and *h in cahoots? 😉
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:52:16
thank you! 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:52:32
hahahaha- ok that’s a new angle! 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:53:06
me too! thx 😉
Oct 24, 2012 @ 20:53:38
good suggestion- thanks! 🙂
Oct 24, 2012 @ 22:55:55
i honestly don’t know what the laws are re: medical marijuana in minnesota; he’s in the suburbs of the twin cities …. but his job requires that he travel extensively – and i KNOW some of the areas that he frequents almost weekly, most likely would create problems …. so if it is feasible, it would be limited at best.
another aspect is that it may not be allowed with his job. e’en medically approved. i think it would jeopardize his CDL.