I had been seeing a personal trainer because I had aspirations of being a fitness model. The last time I saw my trainer the exercise had worn me out so badly that my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I looked bad enough that he had me sit in his office until he felt that it was safe for me to drive. He didn't leave my side. That was in December. I have never been back. 😢
The week after Christmas I was at work one day and I didn't feel well. My coworkers said I was slurring my words like I was drunk. They said I didn't look well. I left work to go to an appointment with my therapist. She said that I didn't look well and told me to go to the Hospital. When I arrived at the hospital they asked me what was wrong. I didn't know how to express it. I told them I just really don't feel well. They didn't like that answer. They put me on a cot in a hallway and a couple hours later discharged me with Severe Depression.
Fast forward to January 17, 2017. I am going to copy and paste part of this from another blog.
On January 17th I was at lunch with my friend when suddenly I felt like my energy was just gone. Someone had pulled the plug. I am a type 2 diabetic so I thought it was a result of the macaroni and cheese that I had eaten. We went for a short walk. I didn't feel any better. I checked my blood sugar and it was 123 which is actually really good for me. I had recently gotten a series 2 apple watch so I decided to check my heart rate. It was 138! I thought "Ok, I just need to rest." After an hour of doing nothing, my heart rate was still elevated and I was still exhausted. My husband came to pick me up from work and took me to the Emergency Department at a local hospital. They said it was dehydration. They gave me IV fluids. My heart rate dropped to normal for me, I went home and planned to go to work in the morning.
When I woke up the next day I didn't feel better. I thought I probably just needed a day of rest. So, I stayed home and watched TV.
The next day was the same. That was unacceptable. I went to my primary doctor hoping to get a pill or something that would reduce my heart rate and give me some energy so I could return to work. She said that I could not return to work and that she wanted me to follow up with a cardiologist. I called the cardiologist that I was referred to by the hospital. They wanted me to wear a 30 day heart monitor and then follow up with a stress test and a visit to the cardiologist on February 27th. February 27th! That is a long time to be off work. My primary doctor put me on short term disability until February 17th. I hoped that would be enough time.
I got my heart monitor on January 23rd.
I ended up back in the Emergency Department on Saturday, January 28th. I was feeling really bad. They said I had Lactic Acidosis. They admitted me, took me off of my meds and gave me IV fluids and antibiotics. I had a migraine the whole time I was there but my heart rate went down so low I thought I was dying. They told me that a heart rate of 78 is actually normal. I said I wasn't normal and they disagreed. They put me back on my medications Monday morning and discharged me. I did feel better. I was still tired but better.
I saw my primary doctor the next day to talk to her about it. She still didn't have any answers but added a diabetes medication and did a bunch of blood tests.
On Wednesday the endocrinologists office the hospital had referred me to called to say they had a cancellation and asked if I would like to come in on Thursday, February 2nd.
I took the appointment and saw a nurse practitioner. After talking she took me off of Metformin and Jardiance because they can cause complications that I was already having. She kept my glyburide at 5 mg a day and asked me to check my glucose at least 3 times a day. I was so frustrated. I wanted to get better and go back to work. I was still so tired.
On Friday afternoon, February 3rd, I took my beautiful kitty, Cleo, to the vet so she could go to heaven. It was just too much for me. She was sick, I was sick. I couldn't take care of her. We were together a long time. I miss her.
While we were at the vet my doctor's office called and said that my lactic acid was still high so she wanted me to go to the Emergency Department again. We went to a different one that was closer to home. I had done some research and had learned that Metformin can cause Lactic Acidosis.
They gave me IV fluids and I thought that was the end of it. Maybe I would be able to go back to work on Monday. My heart rate was normal again. I was still tired but I probably just needed rest. I was so tired that night when I got home that I accidentally took my Metformin. I didn't realize it until the next morning. I was so frustrated!!!
I rested waiting to feel better for several days with little improvement. The exhaustion improved but not enough to return to work. I submitted my first partial weeks glucose results and they told me to increase my glyburide to 5mg twice a day.
The nurse that had discharged me from the hospital on January 30th had suggested acupuncture. I was ready to try it. On Friday, February 10th I went in for my initial consultation and my first treatment. Along with the acupuncture I was doing yoga, getting massages, cupping and taking herbs. I was doing everything I was told to get better. I continued to see my primary doctor as well.
I saw a dietician on Valentines day. She talked to me about counting carbs.
On February 16th I got frustrated and thought it was possible that all of the medications that I was taking were making me sick. So, I stopped all of them.
On Monday, February 27, 2017 I finally saw the cardiologist. First I had a stress test. They put me on a treadmill while monitoring me. They checked all of my vitals before and after and they did an ultrasound of my heart. While on the treadmill my heart rate went to 165 in just a few minutes. To give you a frame of reference.. I am 46 years old. For a 45 year old the target heart rate for exercise is between 105 and 122. The max heart rate is 175. The cardiologist told me that I have a healthy heart and that he has a lot of patients that wish he had a heart as healthy as mine. Then he told me that I have something called Dysautonomia. My brain wouldn't take the information. I said, "What?". He ended up repeating it 3 times, spelling it, and then writing it down. I didn't understand anything he said after that word. He told me to go look it up on the internet. He told me to eat a lot of salt and drink a lot of water. I don't remember anything else.
Dysautonomia definition: Dysautonomia refers to a disorder of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function that generally involves failure of the sympathetic or parasympathetic components of the ANS, but dysautonomia involving excessive or overactive ANS actions also can occur. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/dysautonomia
So, now I was searching for a neurologist and the magic pill for dysautonomia. I really just wanted to get back to work! I still do.
