I made it through my first year back at school.
After two years on medical leave, I was nervous about returning to work in September, even part-time. It meant waking up at 5:50am, commuting over an hour, walking up and down five flights of stairs all day picking up and dropping off students, working with special needs kids who need a lot of attention, and then commuting an hour home.
So I was reminded how unpredictable chronic symptoms are this week, unfortunately while on vacation in Colombia.
I haven’t mentioned it much on here, but every month I deal with intense PMS symptoms (unbearable cramps, nausea, achiness, headaches, sweats, chills, and occasional vomiting and lightheadedness) for 2-5 days each month. I plan everything around this, including this trip, and I have always been able to do so with accuracy.
I couldn't breathe. I started a new medication in the evening and a few hours later my throat swelled up. It was after 10pm and no walk-in clinics were open, so I decided to go to the ER.
I had to wait over an hour to be seen while I felt as if I was gasping for air. I was finally taken in and I was given an IV with steroids, Benadryl and a few other medications. My whole body started immediately convulsing violently, my teeth were chattering intensely, I felt paralyzed and couldn’t move any part of my body, and I got very lightheaded, dizzy and nauseous.
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