My trip to the Emergency Room
A little back story to explain, then the questions...
I haven't been to the gym in almost a month. My wife and I went to Hawaii for 18 days, and as such hadn't been to the gym for a few days before we left and a week after. So, Thursday I finally got back to the gym and did 20 mins on the eliptical. (Just to start warming up) I did that with no problems. Came home feeling great. I ate grilled chicken salad for dinner around 7:30. Went to bed around 10pm. Fell asleep around 10:30 after reading for a little while.
I awoke at 1am shivering. I was sleeping with just a sheet and light blanket. (I throw the comforter off of me as soon as I get in bed every night. The wife uses it, I don't) I put the comforter back on and went back to sleep. I awoke again at 3am shivering even more and my knees were very achy. I got up to take some ibuprofen for the knees when I realized that the sivering was more than just being cold. So I checked my temperature and it was 100.5. I woke my wife (a Registered Nurse) and asked her what I should do. She said to take Tylenol instead. I took two and went back to bed, adding another blanket. (Against my wifes best wishes, she says remove a blanket, not add another) So I just went back to bed. I awoke at 4:40 am, sweating. I checked my temp again and it was 97.7. So I went back to my sheet and light blanket and tried to go back to sleep. I couldn't. I just laid awake until my alarm went off at 7am. I stood up and went to take my allergy pill. (As I always do) and got a little light headed. That happens from time to time since surgery, but never lasts more than 3-4 seconds. It passed quickly, but I also felt a little quesy in the stomach. I at 3 popped chips (didn't have any crackers) to try to quell the nausea. I then went back toward the bedroom and still felt pretty nauseous and started getting dizzy again. I grabbed the blood pressure cuff and laid down in the bed for a few minutes and checked my BP. It was 105/65 with a pulse of 91.
I started feeling better, so I went ahead and brushed my teeth and headed for the shower. I was feeling fine at this point. About halfway through my shower, I started getting REALLY dizzy. I remember leaning against the side of the shower wall to steady myself. Next thing I remember, my wife is standing over me and I am sitting on the shower floor. She was in the bathroom putting on her makeup for work while I was in the shower, and said she heard me "bump" against the shower wall, and came to check on me. She said I was slumped over and my pupils were dialated. She then "lowered" me to the shower floor. ( I describe it to friends and family as she "pushed me down in the shower")
She then said she was calling 9-1-1, which I refused. I then called my PCP and they told me to go to the E.R. so I told her to drive me to E.R., as I didn't want to pay an ambulance bill. Plus, I felt fine at that point. The only complaint I had is my knee was hurting from her pushing me down in the shower! (It is still sore today) So we went to the E.R. Here is that run down:
Temperature - 98.4
Blood Pressure - 105/66
EKG - Normal (tech told me I would live another 100 years)
CT Scan - Normal
Chest X-Ray - Normal
Blood Glucose - 130
They did a buch of blood work and everything came back normal. My electrolites were good, all that stuff. The Dr said, basically, that the could find nothing wrong with me. He gave me a prescription for Clindamicin and told me to take it just in case it was an infection that was beginning but wasn't showing up on the blood work yet. He said the fever may have cause some Blood Pressure issues and that caused me to pass out. He told me to follow up with my PCP the next day.
I went home feeling fine, other than the knee pain. I went to my PCP the next day, and she ordered a bunch more blood work, and said she expects that it is related to my blood pressure and my body trying to adjust to the rapid/massive weight loss. My BP at that visit was 103/62. Again, not finding anything wrong with me (other than she said my ears looked a little pink like I might be getting an ear infection, which she gave me a different antibiotic for and told me to stop taking the Clindamicin from the other Dr the day before). She said to do the blood work and we would see what that showed. She also told me to keep a BP log to see if the theory of it being too low is the cause.
I haven't had any issues since then. I feel fine, except for the knee from where my wife SHOVED ME DOWN. I don't think that 105/65 and 103/62 is too low. I certainly don't think it is so low that I would pass out...
Any ideas??? Thoughts??? I am going to ask my WL Surgeon at the end of the month, but want to see what you think...
Thanks!
I haven't been to the gym in almost a month. My wife and I went to Hawaii for 18 days, and as such hadn't been to the gym for a few days before we left and a week after. So, Thursday I finally got back to the gym and did 20 mins on the eliptical. (Just to start warming up) I did that with no problems. Came home feeling great. I ate grilled chicken salad for dinner around 7:30. Went to bed around 10pm. Fell asleep around 10:30 after reading for a little while.
I awoke at 1am shivering. I was sleeping with just a sheet and light blanket. (I throw the comforter off of me as soon as I get in bed every night. The wife uses it, I don't) I put the comforter back on and went back to sleep. I awoke again at 3am shivering even more and my knees were very achy. I got up to take some ibuprofen for the knees when I realized that the sivering was more than just being cold. So I checked my temperature and it was 100.5. I woke my wife (a Registered Nurse) and asked her what I should do. She said to take Tylenol instead. I took two and went back to bed, adding another blanket. (Against my wifes best wishes, she says remove a blanket, not add another) So I just went back to bed. I awoke at 4:40 am, sweating. I checked my temp again and it was 97.7. So I went back to my sheet and light blanket and tried to go back to sleep. I couldn't. I just laid awake until my alarm went off at 7am. I stood up and went to take my allergy pill. (As I always do) and got a little light headed. That happens from time to time since surgery, but never lasts more than 3-4 seconds. It passed quickly, but I also felt a little quesy in the stomach. I at 3 popped chips (didn't have any crackers) to try to quell the nausea. I then went back toward the bedroom and still felt pretty nauseous and started getting dizzy again. I grabbed the blood pressure cuff and laid down in the bed for a few minutes and checked my BP. It was 105/65 with a pulse of 91.
I started feeling better, so I went ahead and brushed my teeth and headed for the shower. I was feeling fine at this point. About halfway through my shower, I started getting REALLY dizzy. I remember leaning against the side of the shower wall to steady myself. Next thing I remember, my wife is standing over me and I am sitting on the shower floor. She was in the bathroom putting on her makeup for work while I was in the shower, and said she heard me "bump" against the shower wall, and came to check on me. She said I was slumped over and my pupils were dialated. She then "lowered" me to the shower floor. ( I describe it to friends and family as she "pushed me down in the shower")
She then said she was calling 9-1-1, which I refused. I then called my PCP and they told me to go to the E.R. so I told her to drive me to E.R., as I didn't want to pay an ambulance bill. Plus, I felt fine at that point. The only complaint I had is my knee was hurting from her pushing me down in the shower! (It is still sore today) So we went to the E.R. Here is that run down:
Temperature - 98.4
Blood Pressure - 105/66
EKG - Normal (tech told me I would live another 100 years)
CT Scan - Normal
Chest X-Ray - Normal
Blood Glucose - 130
They did a buch of blood work and everything came back normal. My electrolites were good, all that stuff. The Dr said, basically, that the could find nothing wrong with me. He gave me a prescription for Clindamicin and told me to take it just in case it was an infection that was beginning but wasn't showing up on the blood work yet. He said the fever may have cause some Blood Pressure issues and that caused me to pass out. He told me to follow up with my PCP the next day.
I went home feeling fine, other than the knee pain. I went to my PCP the next day, and she ordered a bunch more blood work, and said she expects that it is related to my blood pressure and my body trying to adjust to the rapid/massive weight loss. My BP at that visit was 103/62. Again, not finding anything wrong with me (other than she said my ears looked a little pink like I might be getting an ear infection, which she gave me a different antibiotic for and told me to stop taking the Clindamicin from the other Dr the day before). She said to do the blood work and we would see what that showed. She also told me to keep a BP log to see if the theory of it being too low is the cause.
I haven't had any issues since then. I feel fine, except for the knee from where my wife SHOVED ME DOWN. I don't think that 105/65 and 103/62 is too low. I certainly don't think it is so low that I would pass out...
Any ideas??? Thoughts??? I am going to ask my WL Surgeon at the end of the month, but want to see what you think...
Thanks!
HW: 429 SW: 380 Height: 5'08"
Vertigo? I've had awful bouts of it a couple times...
Hug your kids every day, let them know they are loved, keep them safe the best you can.
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Charlie,
Hope you're going better. I assume they checked your HGB level when they did blood. I had a bad bout last January that landed me in the hospital for a week getting transfusions.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/4488577/Just-spent-the-week-in-hospital/
One of the most common suggestions from the boards was hydration, but be sure they checked blood levels carefully including anemia. I still don't know what caused my issues and I'm seeing a hematologist, in fact I have a follow up at the end of August, to monitor my blood levels. Good luck and get better.
Ken
Hope you're going better. I assume they checked your HGB level when they did blood. I had a bad bout last January that landed me in the hospital for a week getting transfusions.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/4488577/Just-spent-the-week-in-hospital/
One of the most common suggestions from the boards was hydration, but be sure they checked blood levels carefully including anemia. I still don't know what caused my issues and I'm seeing a hematologist, in fact I have a follow up at the end of August, to monitor my blood levels. Good luck and get better.
Ken
KenHud
RNY 5/17/10 highest: 407 lb - maintaining a loss of 200+ pounds and enjoying life
RNY 5/17/10 highest: 407 lb - maintaining a loss of 200+ pounds and enjoying life
I assume they did on the HGB, but don't have a copy of the blood work they did. I know it is ordered with the labs I will get drawn tomorrow so I'll know for sure then.
I know it isn't hydration, as I drink all of my water every day. I also only drink water. I don't drink anything else like coffee. We'll see... (Hopefully I get an actual answer as to what it was, not what it wasn't)
I know it isn't hydration, as I drink all of my water every day. I also only drink water. I don't drink anything else like coffee. We'll see... (Hopefully I get an actual answer as to what it was, not what it wasn't)
Ditto on what has been said. A few ideas in no special order. Add a small amount of salt to your diet...just a small amount. Have some banana and or oranges or orange juice (potassium). The other day you said you were religious about not eating and drinking. Maybe some eating and drinking at the same time. You had a VSG...It is not a malabsorption surgery like the RNY or DS...You don't have to do it that way...It's good, but not necessary. Just thinking to get your liquids in. I too had low blood pressure post op...and was light headed. Know your limits...Rest when you need to. The energy will come back. Brian
Thanks for the thoughts. I probably eat too much salt already. Always have, always will. That is one thing I can't live without is salt. However, the potassium is a good suggestion. Could make some sense.
On the drinking and eating thing, I just do that because my surgeon said it helps keep from stretching out my stomach. His advice was that if you eat then drink after, the liquid sits on top and pushes down and can stretch out the stomach. That is why I don't drink when I eat.
However, I do make sure I get in my water every day. Plus, I only drink water, no coffee or anything that would be counter productive...
Again, I appreciate the thoughts!
On the drinking and eating thing, I just do that because my surgeon said it helps keep from stretching out my stomach. His advice was that if you eat then drink after, the liquid sits on top and pushes down and can stretch out the stomach. That is why I don't drink when I eat.
However, I do make sure I get in my water every day. Plus, I only drink water, no coffee or anything that would be counter productive...
Again, I appreciate the thoughts!
What was your diet before going to bed the night before? What I am wondering about is the glucose level...
It was 130 by the time you got to the hospital (after eating a few chips, maybe an hour by this point before they test for sugar?)
Just sounds like possibly a low sugar issue / like when my wifes sugars are really low and she has to eat. It takes a bit for the sugar to hit your bloodstream (crackers being slower than candy or oj, etc)
So, just a thought.. if you "low carb'd" the night before, could be a low ebb in sugar / combined with a bit of whatever caused the fever. They could be a coincidence but I would tend to think they are related.
If you have a tester for your blood sugars, might keep it handy, test your numbers when you first get up in the mornings since you have had the dizzy spells repeatedly at that time. (Naturally low ebb of glucose anyway)
It was 130 by the time you got to the hospital (after eating a few chips, maybe an hour by this point before they test for sugar?)
Just sounds like possibly a low sugar issue / like when my wifes sugars are really low and she has to eat. It takes a bit for the sugar to hit your bloodstream (crackers being slower than candy or oj, etc)
So, just a thought.. if you "low carb'd" the night before, could be a low ebb in sugar / combined with a bit of whatever caused the fever. They could be a coincidence but I would tend to think they are related.
If you have a tester for your blood sugars, might keep it handy, test your numbers when you first get up in the mornings since you have had the dizzy spells repeatedly at that time. (Naturally low ebb of glucose anyway)
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