Saturday, November 5, 2011

Dizzy

Dizzy,
I'm so Dizzy, my head is spinning
Like a whirlpool, it never ends
And it's you POTS, making it spin
you're making me dizzy

These are lyrics to one of my favorite oldies that seems to be the theme song for my daily life with POTS. I'm dizzy all day long. Every time I change positions my world appears to sway like I'm on a ship on rough seas. Those who are "normal" have no idea how often they change positions in a day. They just walk through life with no idea that their body is doing it's job of regulating their body to do such simple tasks. It's not just sitting down, standing up or laying down. It's leaning over a student, tying a shoe, tilting my head to put a knife away, putting a pot or pan away or getting a roll of toilet paper from the cupboard. Just normal stuff that most people never think about. Because this has become my "normal", I tend to ignore the swaying ship feeling and keep on going. Most people would sit down and wait until the swaying stopped. Ignoring the swaying ship feeling can be a bad thing, today while putting a knife away my world began to sway and I missed the drawer and the knife came tumbling down on my foot "ouch". Luckily I only ended up with a small cut. Usually the swaying stops within a few seconds and I can continue on with what I'm doing. Sometimes the swaying ship takes a mini vacation in my head and doesn't go away, then I know I can't ignore it any longer and I have to accept defeat for the day.

When I was first diagnosed with POTS the swaying ship took its toll with sea sickness all day, every day. I battled with nausea for about two years before my body finally became use to being on a ship on rough seas. While I'm on the subject of ships, my family wants to go on an Alaskan cruise! Hmmm, not sure how my body is going to like that one, and I'm not sure if I even want to spend a large sum of money to become intimate with a strange toilet off the shores of Alaska. I'll have to pray about that one.

Welcome to the SS Michele, be prepared for a goofy ride and occasional rough seas ahead.

Inspired,
Michele

Psalms 107 23-32
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet; So He guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him at the seat of the elders