A freelance writer from Chatelaine contacted me a couple months ago after reading my blog. She was writing an article about POTS and wanted to interview me. A few weeks ago we did a phone interview, and the article was just posted online today.
I've been fighting a sinus infection and chest cold so I wont say much, but I figured I should share this. =)
A freelance writer from Chatelaine contacted me a couple months ago after reading my blog. She was writing an article about POTS and wanted to interview me. A few weeks ago we did a phone interview, and the article was just posted online today.
2 Comments
From Dysautonomia International:
Notably, the majority of patients who participated in the study voluntarily stopped IV saline within six months of starting it, because their symptoms were improved enough to not need it.
You can view the research abstract here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28185102
After struggling with constant dizziness for the past few years, seeing multiple specialists, and having many tests done, I was diagnosed last week with PPPD (Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness). Part of the treatment is Vestibular Rehab Physiotherapy, which involves doing exercises 5-6 times/day and seeing a vestibular therapist once a month. I had my first Vestibular Therapy session this week, which was an hour of tests and exercises. My therapist was really nice and went really slow. She stopped me half way through the tests because my dizziness baseline was supposed to stay below 2/5, and mine was 4/5 by the end. My friend came with me for moral support, and waited patiently with me as I recovered afterward in a dark, quiet room. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and say 2016 sucked (it was a good year in many ways too), however it was an emotionally and physically draining year.
*we're in the process of replacing all of our old poly b pipes now, because they really suck. The last two pipes burst in early November, and the stress involved with that really affected me. For a while I had realistic nightmares where I thought the house was flooding again, and would get out of bed and run downstairs, only to realize I was dreaming. I still experience panic any time I hear water running, though it's getting better. Any small amount of stress makes my symptoms flare up, and the combined stress of this year took a toll. As per Dr Raj's orders, I've been trying to exercise again daily. We've turned our basement into a bit of a workout area. You know, because our house wasn't enough of a frat house already without having a place for the boys to lift weights... (ICYMI, we have 2 male roommates). Exercising makes me feel terrible short term, but I know it will help in the long run. Dr Raj said not to expect an improvement in symptoms until after six weeks of regular exercise. His recommended exercise machine is the rowing machine, but said any exercise that I can do seated or lying down (or in the water) is beneficial. Sometimes it feels like my life revolves around exercising right now, because I'm often too exhausted to do anything else after working out. My routine is often to fall asleep for an hour or two after a workout, and then eventually work up the strength to shower. But I'm proud of myself for exercising and it gives me a small feeling of control over my life/body again. Taking the time to focus on getting back to "my normal" and exercising daily has made me fairly antisocial lately. I realized that I started having same conversation with people I love - where friends and family would ask if I was upset with them since I seem to be avoiding them. This made me sad, because that wasn't the case at all and I didn't realize that the people I love were starting to feel like that. It also made me realize how blessed I am by all the amazing people in my life, and I feel really loved when my presence, or lack there of, doesn't go unnoticed. I really want to emphasize that it's nothing personal, and that I just need to focus all of my energy right now on getting healthier again. My family spent Christmas Day on one of the Gulf Islands this year. While it was beautiful and fun, I had a terrible migraine that painkillers weren't touching. After we got home, I slept for 17 hours and was too sick to attend my husband's family Christmas dinner the following day. We were able to get a few beautiful family photos on the island though! This was one of my favourite photos from the day. I feel like it's also a classic example of #InvisibleIllness, because I don't think you'd be able to tell how wretched I was feeling when that photo was taken. I even hesitated posting photos on Facebook after the Holiday because I'd been telling friends that I couldn't get together because of how terrible I was feeling, and yet I look fine in the photos. Well, that's a brief summary of the life! I hope to be back to my usual self soon, but please be patient with me if I end up needing to hibernate for a bit longer. ;) Happy New Year!!
|
AuthorMy name is Lisa and this is my life with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) Categories
All
Archives
March 2017
UpdatesWant to receive e-mails when I post new blog entries? Subscribe to my blog by entering your e-mail below:
|