My sister skipped her ill-fitting bottoms borrowed from dad and asked for a pair of my leggings instead. I wore a short sleeved shirt (mistake #1) under a thin cardigan (mistake #2) and a puffy sleeveless vest that I accurately call "my bullshit puffer vest." I did wear a thick scarf, earmuffs, a hat and my fleece lined wool mittens. I thought I wouldn't need any of it. I was wrong.
Before heading to the lake we stopped at the bait and tackle store which happened to have dozens of taxidermied animals. Bears, ducks, little horned deer, even a polar bear.
In all this, and especially before this, during Thanksgiving I gave as little thought to my health as possible. I might talk about my health constantly here, but that's so I can live the rest of my life in relative peace.
My stomach has been a known offender since childhood, often dictating when and how much I ate. I've become masterly at adjusting my diet, mealtimes and the size of my meals to avoid its wrath. Until now the amount of food I can eat is too little to sustain my life.
The first doctor admitted I was too complicated for him, so now I have to find someone else. I have to find someone else. I haven't wanted EDS to take a vacation from my life this badly since I was pressed up against the deadline for my masters thesis.
4 comments:
hey yvette, same here with the stomach problems, since i was nine. not fun.
im glad you were able to get out, remember next time to wrap up. i can imagine the cold that freezes through to your bones. the only way i am able to warm myself up is to have a hot bath, which then sets the tachy symptoms off, at least im warm. take care xxx
Hi Em, I'm so, so tired of fighting with my stomach. You're right, it's no fun.
I will never make the mistake of not putting on the proper clothes when going to the lake again! I used to live right on the lake, so I don't know how I forgot those winter winds that cut right through you.
I hate the being warm/tachy trade off. I can never quite figure out how to get warm enough so that I'm not cold, but not too warm.
The best solution I've found is to pack myself under a blanket that is the right thickness for the room temperature and 5-6 hot rice packs. (I make them by taking men's cotton socks and filling them with about 2lbs of rice each, and get them hot by microwaving them)
The rice packs start losing warmth immediately, so if I only get them a bit above what my body temperature should be, by the time I'm warm, they are no longer warmer than I am, so I don't tip over into overheating. It takes some trial and error to figure out just how warm to make them, and where to put the hottest ones. I put the hottest ones on my feet and hips, personally, and how hot I make them depends on just how cold I got and how long it'll take me to get back to an acceptable temperature. If I got them too hot, then when I'm getting close to warm enough, I throw them out of bed.
The other option that works is having my fiance the radiator wrap himself around me under a blanket and then move away once I'm at a good temperature. If you have someone you don't mind being close to like that, it can be a good balance as they're only at body temperature.
Kali, you're full of good advice. I don't have anyone to warm me up at night, but the rice packs sound like a good idea. Thanks!
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