the perfect storm…

As I mentioned on the More About Dysautonomia page, POTS includes a wide variety of symptoms, many of which at first glance seem unrelated.  I’ve probably experienced all the symptoms at one time or another, but like most POTSies, I have a few symptoms that are most prominent that come and go throughout the day. However, every now and then, they all come together and create the perfect storm.

I had a headache for the majority of the day yesterday, and by evening, it had reached full blown migraine status. If you have never had a migraine, you are very, very lucky. I managed to fall asleep at my regular bed time, but woke up a few hours later. I have only broken fingers and toes and have never given birth, so perhaps my sense of pain is a little skewed, but that was the worst pain I have ever experienced. My head throbbed all over and I was extremely nauseous. I took my medication and went and laid on the couch to avoid disturbing the BF. I tried some of the meditation techniques I have been studying, but I’m still an amateur and have difficulty focusing through the pain.  After about half an hour, the nausea became too much and I went in the bathroom and vomited. A lot. For a while.

Once I finished and drank about a gallon of mouthwash, I tried to walk back to the bedroom. At this point, my face was tingling and I was very dizzy. After taking a few steps but stumbling into the walls like a drunkard, I was forced to get down on my hands and knees and crawl to the bed.

Because I became sick to my stomach shortly after taking pills, I likely vomited up the medication before my body had time to absorb it. One of the pills helps control my heart, and without it, my blood pressure began to plummet and my heart rate began to soar. With my my heart rate in the 150s, just laying down, I tend to get out of breath as if I were running. I felt feverish and was sweating, but my hands and feet were freezing. My muscles ached and I began to shiver uncontrollably. I had to cover my face with the pillow because even the small LED light coming off the cable box felt like it was piercing my skull and exacerbated my migraine. The perfect storm.

I lay that way for a hour or two, unable to fall asleep, but unable to get up and do anything. Eventually I dozed off and continued to wake up in pain periodically throughout the rest of the night.

Nights such as this are not an everyday occurrence, but they are an unfortunate part of my illness, one that occasionally complicates my life.  Fortunately, there are memories of other days to remind me that all pain is temporary.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
– Lance Armstrong