Getting on my last (vagus) nerve

Yesterday in the wee hours of the morning I woke up to roll over and felt very dizzy.  I thought it was very odd but didn't really want to continue thinking about it so I went back to sleep.  An hour or so later I had to get up to pee and was extremely dizzy, to the point that I had to brace myself on the way to the bathroom just to keep from falling over.  I sat down to pee and thought to myself "Oh no, PLEASE let this NOT be another flare up of my vagus nerve..."  But by the time I stumbled back to bed I could feel the tingling sensation beginning in my hands and forearms.

I gently woke Spouse up to tell him I was having a flare up.  He asked if I needed him to do anything and I said no, I just wanted him to know what was happening.  I managed to fall back asleep for a while despite the horrible dizziness and waves of nausea.  The only "treatment" for this condition is to lie as still as possible.

I woke up again when Spouse got up to get ready for work.  Fortunately it was my scheduled day off, since I had worked Sun.  Spouse asked if I was okay and I said no.  I asked him to bring me the plastic trashcan from across the room "just in case".  When he brought it over I made the mistake of turning my head slightly in his direction and saying 'thank you', and that was all it took.  I grabbed the trashcan and started vomiting.

Spouse asked me a couple times if I wanted him to stay home with me.  I told him no since there's nothing really that anyone can do to make it better.  It just takes time - usually somewhere between 12 and 24 hours - for the symptoms to subside.  So he left for work and I dozed on and off.

Around 11:30 I woke up and realized I had to pee again.  What a dreadful thought!  Just turning my head made me vomit earlier.  How was I going to get myself to the bathroom to pee without puking?  I wasn't.  So I slowly sat up and lowered my legs to the floor as the whole room spun like an out-of-control merry-go-round.  I grabbed the puke bucket and stumbled toward the bathroom, bumping into the walls and trying to stay upright.  I fell to my hands and knees in front of the toilet and puked right into the bowl.  Since I'd already brought up what little food was in my stomach the 1st time I puked, there was nothing left in my stomach but bile.  Each time I dry-heaved, I could feel a little bit of pee come out, so I got up onto the toilet and began to pee while I dry-heaved some more into the trashcan.

I had tears coming down my face, snot running out of my nose, sweat glistening from my body, and the taste of bile in my mouth.  Pretty!!!

After a very brief attempt to clean my face I returned to bed with the puke trashcan.  Feeling as though I might need it again soon, I didn't want to put it on the floor where I'd have to lean over really far to get it, so I set the can on the bed next to my leg.  Fortunately I was able to get a bit of relief by dozing off to sleep again.

A little while later I awoke feeling chilly.  Just after puking I'm hot and sweaty but later I would get chilly, so I pulled the sheet up to my neck.  Having forgotten about the puke bucket against my leg, when I pulled the sheet up the puke bucket toppled off the bed and spilled on the floor!

I gave up.  With my eyes still closed I reached for my phone on the nightstand and pressed the voice-activated dialing button on the side of it.  "Call Spouse - work" I said.  When he answered I briefly explained that I'd made a mess, was sorry, but wondered if he could come home and clean it up and help me get to the bathroom again.  He agreed and came home.

What a trooper!  Without a complaint he cleaned up the spilled puke in the bedroom and wiped up the pee sprinkles in the bathroom.  I can't imagine trying to recover from this horror only to then have to clean up my own vomit.  Plus I puked 2 more times after he got home so having him close by to bring me a damp towel was wonderful.

I spent the entire day in bed.  Around 7pm I felt like I might be able to get up so I did, only to relocate to the sofa in the TV room.  I sipped a little bit of water and was finally able to keep it down, then graduated to a couple bites of vanilla pudding.  I started feeling sick again so I laid down on the sofa and closed my eyes until the waves of nausea passed.  I went to bed at 9pm.

One of the things thought to be a trigger for this condition in some people is dehydration, so I am committed to drinking more water.  I know I should do it, but I often drink coffee in the morning and nothing else throughout the day.  No more!  My goal is 6-8 glasses of water per day in the hopes of avoiding this in the future.  

On a scale of 1-5, this was a 4.

Weekend highlights

I was really looking forward to this weekend because it was the 1st weekend since the end of Aug that we were not out of town, hosting weekend house guests, or otherwise committed. Yes, finally a 'free' weekend after 10 weeks.

On Sat Spouse went for his personal trainer appointment and I caught up on emails and ordered my holiday return address labels. As I've mentioned before, I love to send holiday cards - I have a routine for writing/addressing them - so I like to use special holiday return address labels. Similar to last year, I ordered two types. I ordered this beachy Christmas one again, since I liked it so much last year.
Its just a subtle reminder to folks that it sometimes snows at the beach. I also ordered this snowflake design for 'holiday' cards going out to my non-Christian friends.

Its 'wintry' instead of 'Christmasy'.

After Spouse returned we ran a few errands, had lunch, and did a little shopping. Spouse took a nap while I spoke with Ray, our yard guy, about moving some plants in preparation for the pouring of the replacement driveway, then checked out an antique/collectibles store. I found a great storage piece that I believe will be perfect for our new bathroom. Then Spouse & I met up with our friends for dinner followed by 'movie night' at George & Steve's house.

I had several more things on my to-do list for Sun including breakfast with Steven & Thad, but my body had a different idea of how it was going to spend Sun. I awoke to find myself with a recurrence of vagus nerve overstimulation, which forced me to lie vertical the entire day and night due to the extreme dizziness and nausea. Fortunately I didn't vomit this time. Down the drain went my plans for a fun and productive day. I laid in bed until 11am, then relocated to the sofa to watch TV for the rest of the day/evening. Spouse brought me toast and crackers, which I could eat lying down. Today I'm feeling much better, but not quite 100% back to normal just yet.

On the positive side, I finally watched the DVD of "Doubt" from Netflix yesterday afternoon, which we've had since May.

Crush du Jour: Adoni Maropis

Christmas highlights

We arrived at Spouse's mom's house Tues at 9pm, and as usual her house was like an oven. Rather than heeding my advice, given to him in the car on our way to her house, that Spouse not argue with her about the thermostat but simply lower it when she wasn't looking, he argued with her. Fortunately, they don't hold grudges so 10 minutes after the argument they'd both all but forgotten it. (FYI - Spouse's mom keeps the door to our bedroom closed so the heat doesn't go in, and we close the heat vent and cover it with a large telephone book. This keeps our bedroom at a comfortable temperature.)

Wed evening, Christmas eve, we went to Spouse's sister's house to celebrate their mom's 79th birthday. Spouse's brothers Frank, Paul, and Louis were also there with their families. We had a very nice time eating and talking. We gave Spouse's mom a ring and earrings set that she loved. I had brought all the left over cookies, pies, and dessert squares from our party, so they were placed on the dining table with pies and cookies brought or given by others. We also had a birthday cake.

Thurs, Christmas day, I picked up my aunt Mary and brought her to Spouse's mom's house and we exchanged gifts with her. A little later we all went to Spouse's sister's house for Christmas dinner, which consisted of stuffed shells, gnocchi, meatballs, hot and sweet sausages in tomato sauce, salad, garlic bread, and orange sherbet/jello mold. For dessert we had more of the left over desserts I'd brought. After dinner we played 'Rock Band' on their Wii, which was a lot of fun.

Fri was supposed to be the day Spouse & I would visit my friend Lisa, with whom we stayed in NYC, followed by a visit with my cousin and her husband. Unfortunately both had to be cancelled because I woke up with a vagus nerve flare up. For some people overstimulation of the vagus nerve results in fainting. For me it results in extreme dizziness and vomiting. There is no "cure", and the only treatment that works for me is to lie down until it goes away. This usually takes 8-10 hours for me, which is why we had to cancel our visits. Bummer. I was finally able to sit upright at around 6pm so Spouse, his mom and I ate dinner and watched TV the rest of the night. Spouse's sister, brother-in-law, and their kids came over for a while, which was nice.

Sat morning Spouse, his mom, and I met his sister for breakfast at Silver Diner, then packed up the car and came home. It was a nice holiday, but I was quite happy to get home. As usual, our dog Jordan was a pain in the neck at Spouse's mom's house, spitting up and peeing several times in the house, which she rarely does at home. I swear, that dog gives us a fit when we take her to Spouse's mom's.

It was so warm yesterday that I went for a walk around town with no jacket. Someone said it was 70 degrees. Spouse & I tried a new Italian restaurant for dinner but didn't like it, then I went to the Purple Parrot to sing karaoke. My friend Tony was there so we sat together. I also saw Danny and Dougie, Russ, and Mark.

Today was another very warm day. We went for a walk on the boardwalk and saw people in shorts and flip flops - on December 28th! We also saw people driving with their convertible tops down. This must be what its like to spend Christmas in the FL or southern CA.

Crush du Jour: Bernardo Melo Berneto

Doctor visit and Coco visit

As promised, I had my doctor visit today.

About a month ago when I had another one of those 'vertigo-like' spells I decided to find a new doctor here in DE and get a physical (its been nearly 2 years) and talk about these spells.

A friend recommended his doctor to me and I found the doctor participates in my insurance, so it seemed like a win/win situation. I liked the doctor a lot. Although straight he has a lot of gay male patients so he totally understands. The medical history form I filled out even had selections like single, married, divorced, partnered. I felt comfortable talking with him.

My blood pressure and vital signs were all normal and he commended me for my general healthful lifestyle (no smoking, no recreational drug use, occasional social drinking, etc.). I described to him the symptoms of the spells and, unlike the other 2 doctors I'd seen before, he knew what it was right away! He said my vagus nerve had been over-stimulated. Unfortunately its hard to tell what causes this to occur, but one of the more common reasons is dehydration. There's no cure or treatment for it, and its not life-threatening. Since the occurrences are quite infrequent, his best recommendation was to drink lots of water to remain well-hydrated at all times. At least I know I don't have a brain tumor or anything else serious.

I'm super excited because tonight I'm going to see Coco Peru, who is visiting the Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach! My first exposure to Coco Peru was in the movie "Trick". She plays a drag queen who locks a young man in the restroom at a night club in order to warn him about the 'trick' he's just picked up. She was also in the wonderfully campy "Girls Will Be Girls". Then Coco appeared in the Bravo reality show "Boy Meets Boy" where a handsome man named James had to pick a date from a group of hotties... only some of the hotties were straight. Coco was the entertainment at one of the group's outings. But my absolute favorite Coco performance is her 30-minute stand-up routine on comedy show "Wisecrack" on the Logo network. She's brilliant! She really cracks me up, so I am really looking forward to seeing her tonight. Check in tomorrow for an update.

Drag Queen name of the day: Ally Gator

Spells

Sat morning as I was talking to Mother-in-law and drinking coffee at the kitchen table I felt the onset of a 'vertigo-like' spell. I excused myself and went to the bedroom and laid on the bed. That's pretty much where I spent the rest of the day, with the exception of a few trips to the bathroom to puke.

The 'vertigo-like' spells don't happen very often (thank god) and over the years they've gotten less severe. The one this past Sat was not that bad. Its just a little worrisome because I never know when one is going to happen, nor do I have any idea what causes them.

The first one happened in 1984 (I think) while I was on a cruise with several friends. I happened to be alone at the time, when all of the sudden I felt flushed, dizzy, and nauseous. Thinking I might hurl at any minute, I went into the closest restroom, which happened to be near a lounge. With perspiration pouring off me, I sat on the bathroom floor with my head over the toilet and puked until my stomach was empty, and then I puked some more. I figured I must be sea sick. Then I noticed a tingling sensation in my hands and feet. Still hot, dizzy, and nauseous I continued to sit on the bathroom floor, waiting for it all to subside. Instead, the tingling sensation spread up my arms and legs. I realized I was unable to stand up. It was as if my legs and arms were paralyzed. The next time someone came into the bathroom I asked them (from my stall) to get some help. I was taken to the 'sick bay' where a doctor asked me 100 times if I'd been drinking. He placed a pill on my tongue and had me take a sip of water to wash it down. I repeated to him that I'd been throwing up, but he said the pill should help. Less than a minute later I threw up the pill and water. The tingling spread throughout my entire body and I had difficulty breathing so they put an oxygen mask on me to make breathing easier. Still, the sweating, dizziness, and nausea continued... for 30 hours. When my symptoms finally began to subside the oxygen was stopped and I was moved back to my room, and my friends took turns checking in on me every hour. Eventually all the symptoms were gone.

The next time I recall having a spell was in 1992. I was eating a late dinner with friends at Denny's when all the sudden I was struck by that heat flash, dizziness, and nausea. My balance was so bad off that I thought I was falling to the right, so I tried to compensate by leaning to the left, which resulted in me falling out of the banquet and onto the floor. I told my friends I was going to be sick and to help me to the bathroom. They did, and I puked like crazy until my stomach was empty, and then I had dry heaves for a while. Again, the tingling and numbness started to make my limbs useless to me. I got my friends to carry me to the car, drive me home, and put me to bed. One of my friends stayed overnight, just in case. The next day I was back to normal.

The third time was in 1994. The alarm had gone off and I was getting out of bed when all of the sudden I felt the flush, dizziness, and nausea. Again, I puked in the bathroom, but did not have much of the tingling sensation this time; I never lost the ability to walk or move my hands and arms. This was much less severe than the first 2 times. I stayed in bed all day and by dinner time I was able to eat and keep down a little soup and crackers. The next day it was if nothing had happened.

The fourth time was in 1995. I was on vacation at the Outer Banks of NC, lying on the sofa watching a movie one night when the symptoms started. This was much like the third time. After puking I went to bed, and the next day I was fine.

This last time was similar to the 3rd and 4th time. I'm basically wrecked for the day, but feel completely fine the next day.

After the 1994 spell I went to the doctor and described what had happened. The doctor didn't seem to match my symptoms to any known illness or condition but said he'd take a blood sample and see if any levels came up abnormal. He later reported that all levels were normal, and suggested I come back the next time a spell occurs so I could be checked then. This is rather impractical since there's not much chance I'd be anywhere near the doctor's office the next time it happened.

In 2005 I had my first routine physical in many years, and took the opportunity to tell my new doctor about the spells. I was really surprised that she didn't seem to think much of them. It seemed as if I were reporting some 'inconvenience' rather than a possible treatable medical condition. Every friend or family member I've told about the spells has been much more concerned than either of my doctors. One friend suggested vertigo so I'm going to research that. But I'm also going to make an appointment with a new doctor, here in DE, and discuss it with him/her.

Drag Queen name of the day: Phyllis Inn