I'm Not Dying...

A lot of people are texting and calling to ask if everything is okay - so I figured the best way to handle all these calls and texts is to just post it here.

On occasion, I get dizzy - most of the time it's when my blood sugar is low...eat a candy bar, and I'm good. I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia back in high school, and have learned to keep my blood sugar where it needs to be.  Sometimes I fail at remembering to eat if I'm busy, or if I just don't get a chance to eat when I normally do.  But, Friday night was a totally different story.  

I had been eating all day and had just finished a venti iced coffee around 6:00.  So, when I had the dizziness I got a little concerned.  It was a spell of dizziness that I had never felt.  The room was spinning around whatever I was focusing on, and standing up made it worse.  I layed down in bed around 9:30 and called Chelcie to basically figure out what the hell was going on and see if I needed to go to the ER.  We decided that I should try and close my eyes and sleep for a little bit to see if it went away.  Chelcie called me back an hour later and in my sleepiness I'm guessing I mumbled that I was fine and sleeping.  

The rest of the night I was completely restless.  I would sleep for an hour and wake up with the room spinning.  By the way, I had NOTHING to drink all day/night.  I tried everything to make it stop - nothing worked.  And now, it felt like someone was pulling my hair constantly - my scalp was tight feeling.  Not normal.  I watch WAY too many medical shows - and upon feeling this, I diagnosed myself with a brain aneurism...comforting, right?

I finally just got up at 7:30 the next morning with the same symptoms as the night before.  I texted Chelcie and asked if she thought I should go to the ER...she said "yes".  So, I called my mom - natural instinct when you're in pain - and told her what was going on.  She told me she was getting in the car and would be here as soon as she could and to get someone to take me to the ER - obviously I couldn't drive.  Thankfully, Brooke and Jamey responded super fast and the next thing I knew, Jamey was at my door ready to drive me to the ER.  I will never be able to thank them enough!  

So, I have been seeing the billboards all over town for Piedmont Medical Center that you can actually check ER wait times online and even check in online...so I did.  Once I got there, I sat for no more than 5 minutes before I was taken to triage and had my vitals checked.  Moved down to the next room where I probably signed my first born child away to PMC, and then I was taken back to my room.  This all happened within 30 minutes of arriving to the hospital...I was impressed.  I've sat in that same ER waiting room with a boyfriend 6 years ago with a dislocated shoulder for 3 hours with nothing offered to us other than "we can give him some asprin".  So, PMC has obviously stepped up their game.

Within 15 minutes, Dr. Rumsey came in to ask questions and let me know what they had planned on doing.  They were going to do an EKG, CT and blood work.  Ten minutes later, a nurse was drawing 8 vials of blood from my shaking arm (I REALLY hate needles) while another nurse was giving me Meclizine for the dizziness.  By the way, Meclizine is fan-freaking-tastic.

Next thing I know, a REALLY hot doctor was wheeling me back to the CT room - all I could think of was "dammit, I didn't even brush my hair this morning".  Anyway, after being scanned, I was wheeled back to my room where the EKG guy was waiting...seriously, I was never left alone for more than 10 minutes the entire time I was there.  

After the EKG, I called my mom and dad and let Jamey know that he could leave whenever he needed to since my mom was about an hour away.  Just knowing my mom was on her way was more comforting than anything...and the meds were kicking in full time now and I really didn't care much about anything.

Dr. Rumsey came in and let me know they were finishing up with my tests and that I could go sit in the observation room - which is basically a room full of really comfy chairs and a huge TV...oh, and a bunch of other sick people.

About 30 minutes later, Dr. Rumsey came in and told me that all my test came back negative and that everything on the CT looked fine.  He said that he thought I suffer from vertigo, and that some kind of virus (or the sinus infection I just "got over") may have triggered the big episode of dizziness.  He prescribed me the same meds he gave me while in the ER (Meclizine) and told me he wanted me to go see a neurologist as soon as possible.

I called my mom and dad to let them know I wasn't dying and then sat for the next hour with the crazies in the observation room while my mom hauled ass to Rock Hill.  Thankfully she got there before any more sick crazies filled up the room.

No matter how old you are, there's nothing like having your mother there with you to take care of you when you are sick, in pain, or scared...in which I was all of the above.

She took me home after getting my script filled and cooked me shrimp Alfredo and served me Powerade after Powerade.  After eating and drinking, I started feeling a little better - but still a little wobbly when I stood up.

Mom went to the grocery store and got us stuff for dinner and of course stocked up my pantry while she was at it.  After dinner, I fell asleep - given that I had not slept the night before, I was super tired.

When I woke up this morning and my mom was there, it was like walking in the living room on Christmas morning as a kid.  She may not have done anything but feed me and bring me drinks, but her presence alone made me feel so much better.

I'm going to try and get an appointment at the neurologist tomorrow, hoping they will take me in asap given my ER visit.  Hopefully I'll have answers soon as to why I have these bouts of dizziness and vertigo, and even more importantly, how to treat them.

My mom has left, and I only cried a little (lot) when she was driving away.  I'm ok and don't need anyone here with me, but that doesn't mean I don't want someone with me.

So that's my not so super Saturday.