Launch operation lab rat...again

So guys, as this title suggests I am about to launch into more tests. I know I am getting a make shift tilt table test tomorrow at my doctors.

The reason:

FAINTING

At school....

In public...

Scaring people...

And usually injuring myself

My parents, my friends and my teachers are all worried I am going to "die" somewhere. Ie, collapse down some stairs and spilt my head open. I have fainted at school twice this week, Wednesday and yesterday (which was Monday in Australia). The joys of being a teenpotsy.

I think I have a bruise on my bottom from where I fainted yesterday. Argh! Rah! Blah!

Wednesday when I fainted everyone was really nice. Two guys offered to carry me and my friends sat on the ground with me so I didn't look so awkward. The deputy came and asked how I was and my drama teacher came and saw how I was.

Yesterday, I was walking to class alone. I fainted and I got yelled at when I went to stand back up. I got told I needed to see the first aid person and stuff. I was like, ergh! This is normal. The teacher yelled at me and said fainting wasn't normal and blah blah blah. I just told her I am going to Maths, have a good day, and went to class.

So tomorrow I have a doctors appointment, cheers to being a lab rat.

So my question for this week is: do you sometimes feel better after a faint?

Yesterday when I fainted I felt sick but then afterwards I felt so much better.

Anyway, that is my potsy week for you. I hope yours was better then mine. The definate highlight (well besides giving three minutes of my english speech before getting dizzy) was skyping with Logan and my brother comming in and asking about the pots in her brain.

Now onto the questions.

Now sorry I need to finish this post up and do my homework so I am just answering the questions.

Do y'all know any boys like us? Yeah I met a boy with bad CFS and headaches when I was in the hospital. I also know a boy with POTS.

What is your favoUrite coloUr? Yes in Australia both words have a u in them and I felt the urge to correct that. I like blue and green to be honest.

Do any of you have narrow pulse pressures (the difference between your top number and bottom number... it should always be around 35-40) and does your diastolic (bottom number) ever get really high? I have no idea. I sometimes have high BP though.

Bye for now
-Rhianne

Long time...no post

Hey people, it's Rhianne here. You're lovely Australian blogger. :) Hehe anyway, I think I have been absent for like two weeks now so this is going to be a long post, so if I bore you guys to death, don't worry, I know CPR. ;)

As I think all our lovely readers know I have been in  hospital. It has been my 4th admission this year (and hopefully my last).

It went well. My day consisted of school in the morning, then lunch, physio, group where they do arty stuff (I pimped my walking stick actually) and then the rest of the day was mine.

So that's what happened.

Anyway the first Tuesday of my admission, I had my admission meeting where we talk about what we want to accomplish out of the admission and blah, blah, blah.

This meeting brought up the idea that convursions is the reason behind some of my symptoms.

For those who don't know what convursions is:

Convursions: turning mental harm into physical symptoms

And I absoulutely hate that word. Why? Because when I first got sick I went to a certain children's hospital. I saw the neurology fellow for hours but he didn't know what was wrong so he brought in his boss.


Who is probably one of the best paedrictiac neurologists in Australia!

And she saw me for 5 freaking minutes and gave me the convursion diagnosion. This landed me in fortnightly psych appointments for like three months where I got asked whether my Dad was raping me.

hence, I hate the word.

So when doctors I like brought up the c-word I may have overreacted. They left me to think about it for the first week though but I came to accept the diagnosis. Stress causes extra symptoms and I think its one of the primary causes of my jerking.

Anyway, I also have the geneticist appointment which went good, they decided I definately wasn't hypermobile or had any forms of hypermobility (I failed at the tests). They decided my deformed chromosome was probably of nil clinical signifance but they tested my parents to see if they have it to.

I also had neuropsych testing which was evil. It went for four freakin hours. It was memory, pattern solving stuff and it was annoying. Some parts were way hard and some were so easy they were dumb.

My neurologist (who I love) said that I seem to be improving and he wants to get following up with me.

Sports medicine (which I also love) redid strength testing on me. I have improved a bit, especially in the left leg and they told me what they wanted me to do in terms of exercise and stuff.

I am probably forgetting something but oh well.

I got discharged Thursday and I drove home on Friday and guess what? Friday was my brother's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Speaking of birthdays it was Tana's birthday in my absence so happy birthday Tana. I hope you enjoy being fifteen and you had a great day and you are feeling okay. <3

I went back to school today and it was hard but not as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't have a pots attack but I am so ridiciously fatigued. I feel like a zombie.

Now should I stop ramblin' and move on to the questions? I think so.

Michelle- Thanks so much for subbing for me, you did a great job (by the way those shoes were so cute).

Logei: Haha, I would like a bracelet but I am not comfortable about giving out my address so I will pass. I hope you are feeling okay missy, I need to send you an email. Is raw going well for you still? And I watched the video you made about the trip, and I feel for you. I know they say pots is an "invisible illness" but you looked terrible (not in a mean way or anything, I am digging myself into a hole arent I?) I am just hoping that things work out for you soon because you are such an amazing person. Love you Logei!

Cheyanne: I read on Facebook that you weren't feeling well. :'(

Miranda: Glad your upper GI went okay, except for the choking that sucks. And your swelling from your wisdom teeth extraction has gone down (no more chipmunk). Hope you feel better soon.

Question: do you have issues with blood sugar?

I don't take mine regularly but they take it at the doctor's and I never have an issue with it.

Hannah:

Question: What is one positive that has come from your illness?

Meeting you guys? I think the biggest positive is the strength I have gained from this and I believe I am a better person because of this.

Francessca:

Question: does anyone believe in haunted dolls or paranormal stuff?

Haunted dolls? I am not really sure. But I have a haunted house story which I think might fit in here.

Okay my best friend lives on a massive farm and there are heaps of abandoned houses. We went into one and it was a U shaped house right. In both the rooms on either side of the U there were birds that were just circling the rooms. We tried for ever to get the birds to stop flying in circles (we through bricks at them and everything). In the middle of the U shaped there was a tie hanging from the roof and my friend was like, "oh i a committing suicide" (joking of course). These birds stopped flying in circles and both went straight at us and swooped for us.

Then when we went back a year later, we got chased out by evil birds again.

You tell me.

Erin:

Do you have a small fiber neuropathy? (I think that was it)

I have nooo idea what that means. Can you explain it in your blog?

DARE:

I want you to write a positive paragraph about whoever posted before you on the blog. :) I'l do whoever posted before me when I post next Monday.

And I just did the longest post ever so bye guys.

Rhianne

Hold on, baby you're loosing it

This week has been crap.

There is no nicer way to phrase it then crap. 

So I am going to start with my week.

On Monday, I did schoolwork and then when over to a friend's place to get help in Maths. I was pushing myself but I wasn't going to admit that.

Tuesday I did schoolwork in the morning and then in the afternoon I crashed really hard. I went to watch Angus, thongs and perfect snogging but even that seemed too hard for me so I went to sleep and didn't eat anything for dinner.

Wednesday, ah the wonderful joys of Wednesday. Worst. Pots. Day. Ever. As you guys know I spent Wednesday night in the ER. I got to the point at home, where I couldn't speak, or even crawl. So Mum drove me in and they put me straight in via the ambulance entry in a wheelchair.

The doctor I saw was really good. He didn't know of Pots but he did some quick research and decided to give me an IV and also check my salt/potassium levels.

I got three litres overnight and managed to walk out of the hospital Thursday morning where I slept all day. 

The next bit I will be lazy and copy and paste from my blog...

We left at 3am Friday to drive to Sydney and we had some time to kill before we got there so we went for a drive around Sydney Habour and around the bridge and opera house. I don't have pictures sorry! The iPod was flat.

Then we went shopping and I'll post a seperate post about that experience.

It was pretty unproductive actually, I don't understand why they got me down there in my opinion.

Both my parents were in the room, as well as my professer, his registar and my social worker.

We talked about pacing and how I shouldn't overdo it. Haha, comes from the people who made me overdo it against my own will during my last admission.

I got posturals done, weight and height. My weight has gone up a bit after my recent weight loss and my height is 174cm I think. 

I blacked out a few times going to the next room where they did all that stuff. When I got back my breathing was all over the place and my heart was pounding. I was    dizzy as and everything was shaking.

The appointment ended and my
social worker and professer left. His registar was filling out some forms for us.

When we went to leave, I stood up and collasped into my chair, blacking out. Dad tried to help me up but I just crashed into him hard and fainted. Tried again, ditto. 

The registar came back to return the forms and the OT came and got me a chair.

They sent me home like that.

They sent me home unable to walk, stand or speak one sentence.

Anyway car ride home, bad earthquake vertigo had to crawl into my Aunty's house where we stayed. I threw up four times. Then went to sleep.

Then I came home Saturday. Yesterday, I can't remember what I did. And today is still shit as. I have fainted like everyday this week and my tremors and vertigo have been so bad. School goes back on Tuesday so I hope I can return. I go back to hospital for a two week admission on August 1st.

This post is turning out to be...long. Sorry guys.

Trixie is doing well and is getting along with my labrador. Just thought I'd mention that.

So now, finally! let's get on to the questions shall we? 

Logei asked: does nutrition have a big impact on your symptoms? 
Yes. It does. I find whenever I eat crap (chocolate, junk food, excetra) I feel so bad and tachy and everything. 
Erin asked: Any weight loss or gain since pots?
Since starting on my SSRI I have lost five kilos in a few short weeks.
Hannah: Any natural remedies for headaches? 
Water? Sorry I don't get headaches. True fact about me: I will only get a headache when I am about to throw up. :) it's useful when nausea is a symptom but if i have a headache its like pass me that bucket! 

My question is: are you a fainter/if so give me some advice! 

Yeah I haven't been a fainter since Wednesday. 

And haha I have a funny fainting story. Okay I was talking to my Dad in the hallway and I go to faint so I go to grab hold of him around the neck except I miss-punching him in the face! I regain consciencness to ah! you bitch! haha it was really funny. It was revenge for when he was zapping me in my wheelchair on Friday causing me to spill a bottle of water on myself.

Well I am going to go because this post is way too long and I am sorry for that.

Rhianne