Spining, spinning, spinning.....

Last Wednesday I went to my bootcamp class feeling great! I started the workout and midway through the third station, something went wrong. I was on the floor doing flutter kicks and I turned my head to look at something. When I did that, the whole room started to spin. Really fast! It was time to rotate to the next station so I tried to get up to move. I quickly realized it was not going to happen. I was afraid I was going to pass out. I grabbed the person at the station next to me, who happened to be a nurse, and told her what was happening. She had me lay back down and relax. After about a minute I tried again to get up. I made it to my feet and thought life was good until I moved my head again. Then, WHAM! Room spinning full speed ahead. And the sounds started to get really distant. I had never felt that close to losing consciousness. I reached out for the hand of Chris the trainer as someone yelled at him to get me to the floor. He then brought over a chair for me to put my feet up on. At this point, I was a little bit freaked out, and whole lot embarrassed to be stuck on the gym floor while 50 people worked out around me.

I stayed on the floor for a while trying to get the spinning to stop but nothing seemed to work. I checked my heart rate and it was between 90 and 100 the whole time. I was cold from being in shock and being on the cold floor in the gym. I tried to get my coat on but doing so required moving and that didn't go so well. Chris brought me a Gatorade to drink thinking that I was just dehydrated and I was able to drink about half of it. Still, no change. Luckily Steve was there too and it was decided that he could take me to a doctor or they would be calling 911. So, he brought the van right to the gym door and I literally crawled over to the door. I figured it was a much smaller distance to fall than if I was standing. When I got to the door, Steve and one of the other trainers helped me up and out to the van.

I was now less embarrassed, but just as dizzy. Luckily Chris had put a bucket in the van for me as I quickly made use of it. So much for the Gatorade. After what felt like an hour, we arrived at Urgent Care. Steve got a wheelchair to move me in and phase 2 of this fun adventure began.

I really like the Eugene Urgent Care facilities. They keep a clean place and they do a good job. I was taken back pretty quickly and an assessment was done. I wasn't showing any neurological symptoms which was good news. Diagnosis was positional vertigo. It is caused by a lot of different things but happens when little crystals within the ear canal break free and wreak havoc on a persons balance. They decided to set me up with an IV for a little bit of fluid and some meds to help me out. Easier said than done.

I have to say that I have bad veins. Always have. That is on a good day. Add to it the fact that my body is freaking out just makes it worse. I was shivering like I was having seizures despite the fact that they were putting warm blankets on me. The person charged with setting up my IV had been a paramedic for 30 years. Had done more than a few IV's in his day. I was about to blow his average. He tried, then tried again, then called in for assistance, then tried a few more times before deciding that my veins were not going to cooperate and maybe I didn't need the fluids as bad as we thought. They decided to give me the meds orally and through injection. But, they still wanted to get blood for tests. That took 2 additional needle sticks to accomplish. It was a joy. The guys felt really bad about it all. After the blood draws, they bundled me up in the wheelchair so that I looked like ET (not kidding) and got me back to the van and I made it home and to my bed. Slowly, but I made it.

The next day I got a call from Urgent Care letting me know that my blood work showed my white blood cell count was elevated and so was my potassium level. They recommended that I go see my regular doctor. Luckily I was able to get in to see him pretty quickly. He agreed with the diagnosis and the medications they had me on and just added the caution to "avoid sudden movement". Since that makes things spin like crazy, it is easy to follow that one. He was not worried about the potassium levels since I had been vomiting, and the white cell count could be a virus that caused it all. I have to go back after a week to repeat the tests.

That brings me to now. I am tired of sitting around my house. TV is boring. Reading is a challenge. I am doing better but still have moments when the world tilts and takes me for a ride. I am ready for the ride to be over. A friend who is a PA suggested some therapy exercises and I think they are helping. But, for now, I am just hanging in there.