Illness: This Year

 Hi there,

 

Last year, I was incredibly active. I used 2020 as the year to perfect my home workout and dog walking patterns. I walked around 3 miles every single day and did yoga, Pilates, Blogilates, or some other kind of strength or flexibility every day. Physically, I was great. I was eating terribly and working the on-call shifts, which meant that I worked all hours of day and night inconsistently, but I was physically active every day. 

In January, I got my dream job in an integrative medicine clinic. I worked normal weekday hours and had a normal sleep pattern. I no longer work on holidays and can count on spending important days with the ones I love. It was a dream come true. I kept on walking 3 miles a day and doing Blogilates or Nike Training Club at 5 in the morning.

But I also started experiencing bizarre symptoms, which meant I had to be tested for COVID all the time. Fatigue, headache, sore throat, and muscle aches all warranted these tests. But eventually, my PCP agreed that I did not need to take the tests anymore because whatever I had going on was clearly chronic. 

My symptoms started getting worse in March. I would faint, experience extreme dizziness, and fatigue so intense I did not feel like I could chew. Headaches, muscle aches, tremors, it just kept going. I was getting sicker and sicker and my doctor did not know what was happening. 

Finally, a different provider in the same clinic suggested I be tested for POTS. I had not heard of it until a few days earlier when my supervisor where I work sent me a link to an article about it. It seemed to describe what I have perfectly, but I wanted to test to be sure.

I just did the test. I'm waiting for the results. But during the test itself, it pushed me over the edge and made me extremely sick. The tech who did it said he could see my blood pressure and heart rate change when I was tilted. Sounds pretty solid, but I'm waiting to hear the results from my doctor before I tell anyone for sure that I have it. I'll post on here once I know. For now, I mourne a little bit for the active life I used to have. I miss hiking every single weekend in the summer. I miss taking off with my dog and finding hidden gems of history in the area. I miss my old life. This version of me where I drink tea and watch TV is not nearly as fun as the one I had. I want it back. 

Blessings,

Jessica