I feel terrible

kara_leigh

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I started my new job this last week and for the most part it is going great, but I keep having confrontations with this twitty little coworker who thinks she knows everything but has worked in childcare for at most 2 years when I have worked in it for 15. It's a long story, but she bit my head off on my way out the door for break yesterday and I went to the directors about it and they were on my side. Thankfully they sent her home before I got back.

Anyway, all last night I felt sick to my stomach, but in a weird way, and my chest was a bit tight and hard to catch my breath on occasion. I just attributed it to the situation at work and thought it was just anxiety. I was completely exhausted, but normal for a first week of work after 10.5 months of unemployment. I occasionally have these spells where I stand up after sitting for a while and I get really dizzy, get tunnel vision, and everything goes black for a second and then it immediately goes away and I'm fine. Well, last night I started having that while sitting down, which has never happened before. Again, I thought I was just really tired and went to bed and my chest felt really funny when I would lay down. Tight and hard to breath right. I fell asleep though and slept from midnight until 2pm.

I got up this morning and my arms, legs, hands, feet and face were all swollen. More so on the right side of my body than the left. I could barely move my fingers on my right hand. I have pitting edema on my legs, but I get that occasionally. My hands and feet have never been swollen before, though. My husband said it was probably the way that I layed in bed, but I lay the same way every night and this has never happened before. I did notice the other day I had taken my rings off a few days before hand and forgot to put them on, when I went to put them on I had to push really hard which isn't normal. Now I can't get them off at all.

All day today I have felt terrible. Again, chest tight and short of breath. I have a cough that feels strange deep in my chest, down by my waist. Dizzy like crazy and I get those spells again when sitting. Twice in the past half an hour I felt like I was going to pass out from it. I'm a little nauseous and shaky.

I can't afford to get sick. I can't afford to miss work if something is wrong. We can't afford for me to go to the ER if it comes down to that. I don't understand what is going on with me right now. I've never experienced any of this before. It's a little freaky.
 

mbjerkness

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I am sorry you aren't feeling well. That would freak me out too. I hate to say this, but I think you should get checked out you feel better
 

lil maggie

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I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound good Kara! I agree, you should get it checked out. If nothing else, at least put a call into the doc's and ask him about it. Seriously.
that you feel better!
 

strange_wings

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Those little episodes you're describing are called orthostatic hypotension. When you stand your body has to fight against gravity to get adequate blood to your brain. In a healthy person they can usually adjust and will only occasionally get this if they get a little dehydrated or if they tend to have lower blood pressure to begin with.

But Addison's, as I'm sure you've probably read, is one of the diseases that can lead to secondary dysautonomia - which means that heart rate and blood pressure doesn't respond as it should during normal activities. While you'd probably know if you had that (tachycardia or even fainting) - so you probably don't, having a preexisting illness can make you a bit more sensitive than a normal person is. Since you're having edema, dehydration isn't as likely (though one can be hypovolemic and have edema if too much fluid has shifted into tissue).

The ER can't really do much that for you, but making an appointment to see your doctor very soon to try to figure out what's changed will.

Maybe it was just too much stress on your body too soon? Typical push-crash.
 

ut0pia

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I hope this is all just stress from the new job and nothing is really wrong!!! Sending you some good vibes
But I agree with everyone else, a visit to the doc's office will do you good, even if it's just to put your mind at ease!
 

carolpetunia

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Absolutely, you MUST see a doctor right away! These are all potentially very bad signs, honey. Please go first thing Monday!
 

kittybernard

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CarolPetunia is spot on. This could be a neon lit warning sign! I know how difficult it is to go to the doctor knowing full well you can't pay for it, but please don't ignore your symptoms or put off seeing a doctor because of money. I've known of too many people who set their health aside because of an inability to pay and later needlessly passed from a treatable/manageable condition or had a worsening of a condition that made treatment more costly than it would have been if they had sought medical help in the beginning. I apologize if that sounds morbid or overboard, but it's not a risk I'd want any of my loved ones to take. & your health is essential to your income.
Maybe there is a sliding scale clinic in your area?


I'm sorry to hear about the unneeded stress at your work too. Good for them setting things right and not allowing another to treat you that way! Was she fired or just sent home?

K everyone.. how about a group hug for kara_leigh!
 
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kara_leigh

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Well, at about 2:30 I was reading posts on here and flat out passed out in my chair. I woke up who knows how long afterward, probably right away, and I was leaned back slouching in my chair, with my arms spread out and I was jerking. It scared the cr*p out of me so I went to tell my husband and he proceeded to give me a lecture on how I'm not eating or sleeping well enough (I slept 14 hours last night b/c of not feeling well and 7 hours each night this past week) and I'm pushing myself too hard at work and that is what caused it, and it's my own fault. I decided to just go to bed. I couldn't sleep so I got up to get my book so I could take a bath and I realized that while I passed out (this is really embarrassing, and TMI, sorry) I defecated myself.
*cry*

I went in to take a shower and get new pajamas and my husband asked me what was wrong and I told him, and only then at that point did he tell me to call the doctor but in a pissed off, sarcastic way like I was faking it or something. Yeah, like I would purposefully sh*t in my pants just to p*ss him off. I still can't get that nasty smell to go away, even after washing 4 times.

I must say that I have felt fine since then, though. Afterward I was really tired and could barely stay awake, and I still feel weak, but have had no more fainting or near fainting yet. My blood pressure seems to be perfectly normal. With my husband's help I took it myself with my own cuff and stethoscope, and he took it once, and it is around 118/60 and we both got the same thing, though I did hear as low as 40 diastolic a couple times but wasn't sure if it was accurate or not b/c I've never been very good at manual BPs. My BP is always on the low side, though. I don't think I've ever had a systolic in the 120s before, maybe once. My pulse is extremely slow right now, but I don't know the exact count.
 

kittieshasme

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This is not normal. You need to see a doctor, ASAP. Your husband needs to man-up and take care of you instead of belittling you. (It could be he's scared, too, some men react badly to being scared for a loved one.) Is there an urgent care center near you? They are usually cheaper than an ER but expect you to pay at time of treatment. Do you have a primary care doctor you could go see tomorrow if you don't think this is an emergency? What about a county health clinic? They charge based on income.

Hospital ER's take anyone regardless of ability to pay. You can work out a payment plan with them later.

This does not sound like something you can just ignore and hope it goes away. Please, take care of yourself and let us know what happens.
 

catmom2wires

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It sounds as tho you may have had/are having seizures. You really need to be seen immediately. Seizures can kill. What good would the money saving on ER do if you die in your chair?????

Cally
 

mrblanche

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I would say, get thee to a doctor or ER ASAP. Everything you're saying sounds like a very serious problem. ANY loss of consciousness is a cause for concern.
 

wildflower79

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I'm shocked that after all that you haven't' already seen a doctor. I know money may be tight but this is your life and that's not something you want mess around with.


I'm sending some healing vibes your way and hopefully things will be ok.
 

pipersjo

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I don't want to scare you any more than you already are, but GET TO THE ER NOW! I am not a Dr but I do take care of cardiac patients and some of the symptoms that you are describing could be extremely dangerous. You said your heart rate is low with a fairly normal BP? Could be many things, however, many of the things that I can think of are extremely dangerous.

Even if you go and find out it is just exhaustion/nerves/stress/whatever, wouldn't you feel better knowing that?
 

strange_wings

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Ok, that last episode is a lot different than the first post and does warrant more immediate care. I wonder if you're high or low in something? iirc increase in sodium can cause lowered heart rate, and of course it would contribute to edema - it could also cause a seizure. Though your med dose would probably have to be too high for you to cause this...Calcium could be potentially off - just because that fits in with an addison's crisis.
You need to be hooked up to an EKG to see if anything major is going on. Have you ever had one before? If so - did it look fine? - no existing arrhythmias?
Due to bowel and bladder muscles being controlled by the autonomic nervous system - you could have still possibly had a bad faint and not necessarily a seizure. I jerked and shook on my TTT so it's not impossible for that to happen in a faint, too. I'm hoping that's the case for you, as that's a lot more preferable than a seizure.


I really suggest you consult with other people who have what you have, as they may be able to help you a little due to familiarity - hopefully you're a member of such a forum, and if not you should try to find one.


Originally Posted by mrblanche

ANY loss of consciousness is a cause for concern.
It depends on the person. In me for example, a doctor wouldn't bat an eye at it - I have NCS thus I can faint more easily than the average person and with nothing seriously (as in could kill me) wrong with me. Others are easily tripped by other things, such a shot and getting blood drawn. It's not a cause for concern when that happens - unless the person manages to hit their head hard.
 

ut0pia

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That sounds so scary!!! Wow...You really need to see a doctor. I was going to suggest the urgent care centers too, they are usually open weekends and charge just as much as regular doctors and they are open after hours until like 8-9 pm ... If you defacated on yourself that makes me think you must have been unconscious for quite some time not just a few minutes...
That is not normal at all..
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

If you defacated on yourself that makes me think you must have been unconscious for quite some time not just a few minutes...
Actually time unconscious has absolutely nothing to do with it. Just a disruption in signals to those muscles can cause it, a person doesn't even need to be unconscious for that to happen.
 

mbjerkness

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Sweetie. I think you need to talk to a Doctor. Your health is more important than Money. I am sure you can work out some kind of payment plan.
 

snake_lady

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Please please see a Dr. I know $ is tight, but is it worth risking your life? I am soooo sorry you are going through this, and I hope you can see someone and find out what is wrong.
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Actually time unconscious has absolutely nothing to do with it. Just a disruption in signals to those muscles can cause it, a person doesn't even need to be unconscious for that to happen.
Oh, I dunno it never happened to me when I've fainted, and I've been unconscious no more than like 2 minutes..
Wow I am worried about her. I want c an update ....
 
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