Andrew
Senior Member
- Messages
- 2,521
- Location
- Los Angeles, USA
I've been trying to pay closer attention to my orthostatic intolerance so I can better describe it to doctors. Here's what I've observed.
1. With me, it starts out with extreme light-headedness. So much so that I used to worry that I might pass out.
2. If I remain vertical, I start to feel sick and the longer I stay vertical the sicker I become. It is similar to the body feelings I associate with having a very bad flu. Some of it is achy, but it it is mega-malaise, some of it simply feels yucky.
3. If I continue to be vertical, fatigue is added onto the symptoms above. And the longer I am vertical the worse it gets.
4. If I stay vertical too long I can feel so sick, weak, and unfocused for the rest of the day, or longer, even if I lie down.
When I'm in a waiting room I try to stretch my legs out and lean back so I'm closer to diagonal. This can help. But yesterday I got so sick feeling I swallowed my pride and lied down on the floor, and tried to use my bag as a pillow. One of the staff noticed me there and got a gurney for me to lie on. I got onto the gurney, and in less than two minutes I no longer felt horrible. Not great, but not so sick that I felt like I needed to take immediate action.
Anyway, I've been typing this sitting up and toward the end of the previous paragraph I started making typo after typo. And when trying to correct them I had to try two or three times to get it right. And there is much difficulty to push myself to keep typing this. So I'm done for now.
1. With me, it starts out with extreme light-headedness. So much so that I used to worry that I might pass out.
2. If I remain vertical, I start to feel sick and the longer I stay vertical the sicker I become. It is similar to the body feelings I associate with having a very bad flu. Some of it is achy, but it it is mega-malaise, some of it simply feels yucky.
3. If I continue to be vertical, fatigue is added onto the symptoms above. And the longer I am vertical the worse it gets.
4. If I stay vertical too long I can feel so sick, weak, and unfocused for the rest of the day, or longer, even if I lie down.
When I'm in a waiting room I try to stretch my legs out and lean back so I'm closer to diagonal. This can help. But yesterday I got so sick feeling I swallowed my pride and lied down on the floor, and tried to use my bag as a pillow. One of the staff noticed me there and got a gurney for me to lie on. I got onto the gurney, and in less than two minutes I no longer felt horrible. Not great, but not so sick that I felt like I needed to take immediate action.
Anyway, I've been typing this sitting up and toward the end of the previous paragraph I started making typo after typo. And when trying to correct them I had to try two or three times to get it right. And there is much difficulty to push myself to keep typing this. So I'm done for now.
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