On Wednesday, after begging for weeks to get in, I finally got an appointment at my primary care doctor's office, but I had to see the nurse practitioner. He was nice and listened to me and my parents. We told him all about my swallowing and reflux problems and he said that I need to go to a gastoenterologist ASAP, because the acid might be damaging my esophagus. I don't think he knew much about dysautonomia, but I explained a little and I think he understood where I was coming from. I even explained about how I might have scleroderma and he even agreed that it could be a possible diagnoses. Before leaving I got some blood work (CBC w/diff, BMP, and H pylori blood test), which I'm so used to. A while after we got home, my mom asked me to grab a lid on the top shelf of our kitchen cabinets while she was cooking and right after I raised my arms, I knew it wasn't gonna end well. I managed to sort of blindly toss it (I had lost my vision by then) at my mom before I completely dropped on the floor. I really hate syncope!
Anywho, I got an appointment with a gastroenterologist (not one of the doctors that I'd prefer) on the 14th of this month, but whatever! As long as I can get some testing done, I don't have a problem. I have a cardiologist appointment today (as in July 1), then after that we're gonna go see my Pap (grandfather) in the hospital (I'll explain that later). Then on the 6th I think I have my consult for my wisdom teeth extraction!
Onto my day... I woke up today (around 2 PM) then my mom had to go to work then to the hospital to meet up with my Aunt and Pap. While she was gone it was just my little sister and I, and she was in her room listening to music while I was in the living room watching Pearl Harbor. I was actually a bit hungry, so I got some pretzels to eat. After a few bites they started getting stuck in my throat (that's normal for me), so I just tried swallowing some, which helped a bit. A bit later after I swallowed I started gagging because it had got stuck again, but this time it was like I couldn't swallow at all. I tried yelling for my sister, but she couldn't hear me, and I honestly thought that I was going to choke to death alone. But after relaxing myself, I managed to swallow it down. That was one of the scariest moments of my life.
And I digress...As you might have seen in Hannah's post, and here, my Pap is in the hospital. In the last few weeks he's been losing weight (25 pounds in the past week) and looked really bad. But last week I managed to persuade him into letting me take his blood sugar and pressure, which were both way too high. I told my mom, dad, aunt and pap that I knew he had diabetes and he needs to go to the doctors before he got diabetic ketoacidosis or went into a coma. He refused to go to the doctors until yesterday, when he was so weak that he couldn't walk. His blood sugar was 1200 (it should be around 100), so he was sent straight to the hospital. He almost coded there (that's when your heart stops beating and you stop breathing), but after some insulin his sugar has gone down to 975. I really wish he would have went when I told him to, because I was right. Thank you guys so much for your prayers, I really appreciate it.
Back to today... I've just been sipping a can ginger ale until now because I'm too scared to eat solids. I've been really shaky, tachy and have had so many palpitation episodes today! I decided to check my sugar a while ago and it was 140; that's too high for just drinking 1 can of ginger ale all day. And I can't recheck it because I'm out of testing strips, my mom is picking them up from the pharmacy in the morning.
Now onto the questions.
Francesca's question: If french fries are called chips, what are chips called?
They're called crisps, I think. At least that's what I picked up from watching so much Doctor Who. : )
Hannah's question: What are your POTSy essentials when traveling?
I usually bring lots of water (when I went on the choir trip I brought a lunch bag with 8 big bottles of water in it), salty snacks, my emergency card & paper explaining POTS, my med alert bracelet (that I always wear), glucose tablets, my blood pressure and glucose meter and wayy more stuff. As you can tell, I'm not a light packer. : P Why don't you just go to a previous post of yours and save your signature from there? Have a good time on vacation!
Logei: I really hope your GI doctor can help you! And I understand what it's like with your eating, minus the vomiting, so I'm always here for you if you need to talk. <3
Rhianne's question: What helps your tremors?
I usually just try to lay down on my right side and I tap out how many times it happens on my leg. It sounds crazy, but with OCD, it helps. I also do that with my palpitation episodes.
My question: Do you guys have vision problems?
I'm nearsighted (can't see distances well), so I've worn glasses for like the past 10 months and I'm extremely sensitive to light, but we just think thats because of dysautonomia and my light colored eyes-that used to be blue.
I really hope next week is better for everyone! <3
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