frightening wake up today
I woke up today and went to the bathroom. My stomach was in knots as I emptied my bowels. I started feeling weak, nauseous, and incredibly thirsty. My heart began pounding and pounding. I knew I was dehydrating--this has happened twice before in my life, the last time over twenty years ago. I leaned over into the bathtub because I thought I was going to vomit. The next thing I knew I was face flat in the tub, moaning from the pit of my stomach and my body covered in a profuse sweat. I think I passed out for a few seconds. The strange thing was I remember leaning over the tub then thinking about something completely trivial (work-related?) for a few seconds before I came to and realized I was face flat in the tub. I was parched--I turned on the bathtub faucet and gulped down a few drinks of water. Without getting too graphic, there was a mess on the bathroom floor from the other end. I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw a pale, anguished face staring back at me. It took me a few minutes to get my bearings, clean myself up, and venture out into the kitchen to get some water and anything to raise my sugar level. I had no orange juice or gatorade, so I had to settle for almonds, yogurt, and the homemade cookies my mom had sent me. I had to completely clean the bathroom floor and take off the sweats I had slept in. It took me a couple of hours to start to feel back to normal again. I sat listlessly in front of the TV for most of it. It was a frightening way to wake up, needless to say. I'm not sure what caused it. The sushi I ate a couple of nights before? Did I put too much stress on my heart running on the treadmill the day earlier? Too much wine? All the above? I'm a bit worried because I'm currently on Dostinex for a pituitary tumor, and it has been known to cause valvular heart disease in Parkinson's patients taking much higher dosages than I have been. It's supposed to be safe for my condition, but I wonder if it's having some kind of effect. It's frightening to have something like this happen when you live alone and may not be able to get to a phone to call for help if necessary. I'm scheduled to see an Endocrinologist on Wednesday, so I'll bring it up to him and see what he has to say. I don't think it has anything to do with the tumor, but perhaps the meds are making me more susceptible to certain types of afflictions. Tune in for an update later.
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