by Tammy | Aug 28, 2024 | 4 - Episodes come back
Today was out last day at the lake. We were up at 7:00am to get out to the lake before 9:00am. Once we arrived, we spent most of our time cleaning up camp. We took down the tents, washed the moldy sleeping bags, folded up tarps, packed up air mattresses, and got all of the camp gear put away or packed in the boat. Then we picked salal berries. We had a brief stop at noon to eat a hotdog, then went straight back to work.
By 3:30pm, we finished our tasks and decided to play. We jumped off the tarzan swing and swam in the lake. It was a cold and windy day, but the water wasn’t too cold. After our swim, we relaxed in the hot tub. I decided to go on the tarzan swing one last time. I was feeling quite tired in the water. I had a hard time pulling myself up the ladder onto the dock. Once I got up, I quickly sat in a chair and waited for the tiredness to pass.
I was able to tap my fingers and toes when I first sat down. Then i couldn’t move my toes. After another 30 seconds, I couldn’t move my fingers. It didn’t even last a minute before I couls start to tap my fingers again. Once I could move my toes, I could feel the leaviness lift. I joined my Mom and sister in the hot tub and they didn’t even notice I had an episode.
by Tammy | Aug 24, 2024 | 4 - Episodes come back
Today was a busy day. In the morning, we took Shadow for a walk up by the air field while Simon fixed his plane. Then we went to a Corn Cook out at a person’s house on the lake that Jamie lives on. It was much larger than we thought and there were probably 100 people there. It was quite exciting. Next we dropped Jamie off at a wedding on a farm. We went home and made dinner.
After dinner I joined my sister at the wedding. We were standing at the front of the tent in front of the speakers. It was very loud and there were a lot of people. We were having a conversation with our friend and her parents. After a while I started to feel tired. I was trying to focus on the conversation but I was yawning and having a hard time staying awake. I could wiggle my toes so I figured I was fine. Everybody decided to move further from the speakers. When I tried to follow them, my legs didn’t work and I ended up falling to the ground.
I don’t know how I fell, but I don’t think I hit my head. I laid in the gravel for a bit. I remember after I fell my eyes opened wide and wouldn’t close. I don’t remember seeing much. It was less than a minute before I could blink my eyes. Shortly after I could feel the weight lifting. It was super embarrassing because there were a lot of people around and I didn’t really know many of them. I felt a bit dizzy for a about 10 minutes after which was not typical. Normally, I feel back to my normal self shortly after.
About 30 minutes later I was dancing, but I sat down a few times when I felt a bit unstable.
UPDATE: I received the following texts on Sep 17.
So…you were in Simon’s dreams last night! He woke up saying « your sisters pupils were dilated just like yours when you faint » He thinks your episodes are a form of fainting just like what I do! He is wondering if your Apple Watch monitors your heart rate and BP during your episodes. He thinks your HR might be super slow or your BP might be really low like mine causing the episode. Do your doctors know about our vasovagal episodes? I have it and it was determined to come from gramma Pighin!
For me, any stress (ie seeing something scary or after a big swim then going in the shower, or for awhile just walking down the street…or into a stuffy building I would just get a flush of warmth and collapse and wake up to a crowd. I saw lots of specialists including a neurologist in Vancouver and it got better when I added lots of salt to my diet on the suggestion of my neurologist. Now if I get that flush of warm I have to get to the ground or do something quick to increase my heart rate.
It came to Simon in a dream last night because of how dilated your pupils were at Brianne’s during your episode. He had his hand on your wrist and thinks your heart rate was slow during that time. Didn’t really think anything of it until last night.
by Tammy | Aug 7, 2024 | 4 - Episodes come back
We were on a cruise to Alaska with Tavis’ family.
It was our 4th evening and we were eating dinner in the dining room. I went to grab my glass of water and I realized I couldn’t lift my water glass. I knew an episode was coming but I didn’t feel the regular signs. The heaviness came after but I didn’t want to cause a scene. I was able to stay seated and didn’t fall over. My daughter noticed I had spaced out but it only lasted about 30 seconds. Once it lifted, I was able to lift my water glass no problem and took a long sip of water.
I was tired the rest of the night, which was also unusual. Usually the tiredness lifts right away.
Earlier today while we were walking I got dizzy and lost my balance. I have been feeling vertigo a lot this past month. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fall in the boat.
