Poor Health Late Last Night
Shortly after publishing my last post here last night, my health crashed.
I had been feeling 'uncomfortable' all night long. Actually, I had been feeling uncomfortable and a little bit 'off' for the past few days so I knew something was amiss and my health would be crashing before long. What I knew was coming hit me in the wee hours of the morning last night.
My stomach had been gurgling and making all sorts of noises all day long. This typically is an indication that gastro-intestinal problems are forecast. This held true last night.
For those of us struggling with Systemic Mastocytosis, our mast cells indiscriminately choose an organ to attack (for lack of a better medical term... clinically speaking, "attack" is an appropriate description though). Mast cells control many bodily functions and are very important defensive cells in immunology, allergy, and infection. The problem is that my mast cells will respond/attack anywhere in my body for no known reason. When these mast cells respond to something and feel the need to send an alarm to other fighting cells, they degranulate and release a wide variety of mediators which cause all sorts of problematic symptoms, some life-threatening. This happens in my body numerous times each week. Is it any wonder why I am so exhausted all the time?
As the night progressed last night, the gurgling turned to cramps... not long afterward, nausea was added into the mix and I felt as though I would vomit... by this time, I had been in the bathroom for a while and I knew I was in for an extended stay.
The cramps and nausea worsened as I was holding back vomit. I don't want to get into all the disgusting details but I spent a good chunk of my night sick in the bathroom... nausea, diarrhea, holding back vomit, feeling like my insides are tied in knots, etc. This type of scenario happens far too frequently each month, sometimes far too frequently in a week, and can get quite violent.
During all this nausea and feeling sick as a dog, my nose is runny like a waterfall. I often feel as though I will lose consciousness which is a sign of anaphylaxis gripping my body in a death grip. When the mast cell degranulation gets so extreme that anaphylaxis sets in, I experience a whole myriad of debilitating symptoms affecting life support functions and neurological functions.
With or without anaphylaxis accompanying these gastro-intestinal problems, I can be sick as a dog for hours at any given time. I need emergency medications including epinephrine, high doses of my usual daily medications, inhalers, and anti-nausea medications. Of course, if I don't remember to bring that bag of medications into the bathroom with me, I end up riding out the storm alone... and more vulnerable.
As my body recovers, I experience very violent chills which I feel in the deepest recesses of my bones. These chills cause a shaking, not shivers, which can only be described as 'violent'. I still feel nauseous during this stage but it is less nausea than the nausea which sent me running for the bathroom in the beginning.
So, while most people were sleeping last night, snuggled in their beds and dreaming sweet dreams, my intestines were being wrung through a wringer, twisted, knotted, and I struggled with all sorts of gut-wretching and sometimes violent effects due to inexplicable mast cell degranulation.
This little war between cells in my body really knocks the life out of me... far too often... far too effectively...
I had been feeling 'uncomfortable' all night long. Actually, I had been feeling uncomfortable and a little bit 'off' for the past few days so I knew something was amiss and my health would be crashing before long. What I knew was coming hit me in the wee hours of the morning last night.
My stomach had been gurgling and making all sorts of noises all day long. This typically is an indication that gastro-intestinal problems are forecast. This held true last night.
For those of us struggling with Systemic Mastocytosis, our mast cells indiscriminately choose an organ to attack (for lack of a better medical term... clinically speaking, "attack" is an appropriate description though). Mast cells control many bodily functions and are very important defensive cells in immunology, allergy, and infection. The problem is that my mast cells will respond/attack anywhere in my body for no known reason. When these mast cells respond to something and feel the need to send an alarm to other fighting cells, they degranulate and release a wide variety of mediators which cause all sorts of problematic symptoms, some life-threatening. This happens in my body numerous times each week. Is it any wonder why I am so exhausted all the time?
As the night progressed last night, the gurgling turned to cramps... not long afterward, nausea was added into the mix and I felt as though I would vomit... by this time, I had been in the bathroom for a while and I knew I was in for an extended stay.
The cramps and nausea worsened as I was holding back vomit. I don't want to get into all the disgusting details but I spent a good chunk of my night sick in the bathroom... nausea, diarrhea, holding back vomit, feeling like my insides are tied in knots, etc. This type of scenario happens far too frequently each month, sometimes far too frequently in a week, and can get quite violent.
During all this nausea and feeling sick as a dog, my nose is runny like a waterfall. I often feel as though I will lose consciousness which is a sign of anaphylaxis gripping my body in a death grip. When the mast cell degranulation gets so extreme that anaphylaxis sets in, I experience a whole myriad of debilitating symptoms affecting life support functions and neurological functions.
With or without anaphylaxis accompanying these gastro-intestinal problems, I can be sick as a dog for hours at any given time. I need emergency medications including epinephrine, high doses of my usual daily medications, inhalers, and anti-nausea medications. Of course, if I don't remember to bring that bag of medications into the bathroom with me, I end up riding out the storm alone... and more vulnerable.
As my body recovers, I experience very violent chills which I feel in the deepest recesses of my bones. These chills cause a shaking, not shivers, which can only be described as 'violent'. I still feel nauseous during this stage but it is less nausea than the nausea which sent me running for the bathroom in the beginning.
So, while most people were sleeping last night, snuggled in their beds and dreaming sweet dreams, my intestines were being wrung through a wringer, twisted, knotted, and I struggled with all sorts of gut-wretching and sometimes violent effects due to inexplicable mast cell degranulation.
This little war between cells in my body really knocks the life out of me... far too often... far too effectively...
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