So things have been pretty crazy the last couple weeks. I spent another week in the hospital--October 26 to October 30. It all started the weekend before, on Friday Oct. 23rd. I wasn't feeling very well on Friday, Saturday it was getting worse, Sunday was really bad (by Sunday night I was just laying curled up in my bed in the dark, and I asked my mom to call our Home Teacher to see if he could come give me a blessing--which both he, Bro. Pippen, and Bro. Barney were so sweet to come over), and by Monday morning I felt HORRIBLE!!!
My mom called the endocrinologist's office first thing that, Monday, morning because we didn't know if this was all happening because of tapering off the medications. Anyways...my mom explained to the doctor what was going on, and he told her to take me to the emergency room to have them run tests and things--in case it was an adrenal problem. So my uncle came to pick me up and take me up to meet my mom at the emergency room (she was at work up at the hospital) and the testing and things began. I had a CT-scan on my brain, another spinal tap (to check the opening pressure--which was still elevated but not quite as high as it was previously), blood work (including a blood gas level which I had never had done before and I never want to have done again), and the monitoring of my blood pressure.
As the doctor monitored things he decided that he wanted to admit me to the hospital because of my blood pressure--which kept dropping. It would come back up to its regular level, and then would begin dropping again and just kept dropping (it got down to about 72/48). So, with everything else going on--still waiting on the adrenal testing and to get in to see a neurologist--the emergency room doctor wanted to transfer me from McKay-Dee Hospital to the new Intermountain Medical Center in Murray (where there would be more specialists).
I kinda figured 'okay, my mom's going to just take me down to that hospital and they'll admit me so that they can monitor me through the night and things'. That's not how it happened though! The doctor said I needed to be down and have my blood pressure continually monitored,so he called to have an ambulance transport me down there. So, I said 'bye' to my mom and told her that I'd see her in a little bit (she would leave to drive down too), and I left on my ambulance ride. That wasn't where the surprises all ended though...When we got to IMC (Intermountain Medical Center), I was admitted but not to a regular patient room--I was admitted to the ICU!
So, to make a long story short, I stayed in the ICU for the first night and then was transferred to a regular patient room and stayed there the rest of the time.
I saw a neurologist while I was there, and he had me try an IV treatment to see if it would help the continual headaches but I had an allergic reaction to it instead! We were able to switch to a different IV treatment and after a couple days of it I got to come home.
Before coming home though, the doctor's were able to figure one thing out...They said that I have postural tachycardia--meaning that when I go to stand up my heart rate shoots up. This, the doctor stated, is due to my ehlers danlos (collagen disorder) and the blood vessels not working right to control the blood flow when I stand. So, he said that I need to be careful when I get up, so as to not get too dizzy and pass out.
As for now, I'm home, I have follow-up appointment with a new neurologist tomorrow morning in Salt Lake, in a week from tomorrow I have my follow-up appointment with the endocrinologist to run all the lab work to check for the adrenal, pituitary, and/or thyroid insufficieny(s), and I'm just taking it easy and resting lots (especially this weekend--not having felt well at all and spending most of it in bed). I hope each of you are doing well! I will post again soon to update each of you on my doctor's appointments. Enjoy your week! :)
