Last Sunday, I was at a festival and had been walking around in the sun for several hours. We were headed back to my friend's house when I suddenly got incredibly dizzy, lost my orientation, and immediately fell to the ground (this was followed by hyperventilation, very likely a result of my panic at having no idea what the hell was going on). It definitely freaked me out, but we all chalked it up to too much sun exposure. I cooled down, drank plenty of water, and assumed that was the end of it.
On Monday and Tuesday, I continued to have bouts of dizziness and lightheadedness. It became difficult to move around too much, to walk up and down steps, to get in and out of the shower. On Tuesday evening, I pulled over on my drive home from work because I didn't feel confident that I could drive safely. On Wednesday, I felt even worse, made a doctor's appointment, and had Dan come pick me up from work because I was sure I couldn't drive home.
At the doctor's office, they couldn't find anything wrong with my blood pressure or my heart, but they ordered a barrage of blood work and told me they should have the results by Monday. I was feeling so continually lightheaded and off-balance that I didn't go to work on Thursday or Friday. By Friday evening, I had been feeling dizzy and/or lightheaded for a solid 24 hours, had gotten on my knees to take a shower, and had sat on the floor to brush my teeth because I was too dizzy to stand for even a few minutes. We contacted the doctor on-call, who suggested that it could be a virus that affects your inner ear, and thus, your balance.
The good news? This is, hopefully, just a virus that will pass. I'm still waiting on the test results, but the virus diagnosis makes sense to me because it came on so fast and because my lymph nodes have been swollen but I don't feel sick otherwise. The bad news? Apparently this virus can last for up to a month. The good news? The symptoms may be treated with a prescription. The bad news? Taking the prescription is like taking a huge Benadryl that makes me sleepy and groggy. So my choices are to feel dizzy or to feel like I'm coming out of anesthesia.
So, if I'm out of commission for a while, it's because I'm living on my couch. Please keep your fingers crossed that this is only a virus and that it will be over soon!
5 comments:
Jenn! I'm so sorry you're having this trouble. I hope Dan will get a chance to email your friends and family when you get results, if you don't feel up to it.
Oh my goodness! Get well soon, Jenn! (and uh, if you lived on a soap opera, you'd totally be pregnant :)
Thanks, ladies. I'll keep you posted.
And for the record, it has been confirmed by the doctor though I am NOT pregnant (though that has been most people's first reaction).
Yikes! I'm sorry. I admit, my first thought was: OMG, she's pregnant! Until I read further that it had been going on for a week and so continuously! wow. I can't imagine. Hope you get through it quickly!
I didn't even actually think about pregnancy. I think you have the good sense to rule out the obvious. But when I had two cravings for particular foods in the last week, people kept assuming I was pg, as well. Guess it's just a married-without-kids assumption at our age.
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