Monday, July 30, 2012

illness.

I tweeted that this morning I had a CVS episode and a lot of my followers thought I meant I had an issue with CVS (the pharmacy).

Let me further explain. Who knows-you might have this too.

When I was 19, in college. I woke up in my dorm one morning with that "I've gotta vomit" feeling. I went to the bathroom...nothing. My mom worked on campus so I trucked over to her office and told her I felt sick. Her thought was I had stayed out too late partying the night before and off to tennis class she sent me.

While warming up for tennis the feeling was getting more and more intense. I ran to the bathroom-only to make it to a garbage can and wham....out the vomit came. (**this is all about vomiting so quit reading if you get queasy)

I left class, went back to the dorm-for the next 7 hours I threw up. My legs started to throb. I called my mom and begged her to meet me at the campus doctor. She agreed and I literally crawled out of the dorm, down the hill, into the campus doctors. When I arrived I was so dehydrated the nurse and doctor immediately started an IV. I was explaining to them what had happened.

They diagnosed me with a bad stomach bug and sent me on my way. 3 months later-I woke up with the same feeling and had the same day experiences (minus tennis, etc.) this time I ended up in the Emergency room. I told them how just 3 months ago I had this same thing, still....a stomach bug.

5 months went by and I was getting ready to leave for the weekend with friends. When all of a sudden I got a really bad headache and the vomit feeling. Within 5 hours I was in the Emergency Room again. This time, I had a new young doctor. He looked at my files and said, "you know...I think you are a rare one."

Not knowing what that meant, he proceeded to explain about Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome or (CVS)
how most older doctors believe its only found in children but new studies show adults can get it too.
He went on to educate me about this syndrome that I had never heard of.

He asked a series of questions about each episode. What was going on in my life before they started....did light make it worse...did bile come up...just lots of questions.

He said, "I am going to say this is what you have. BUT to be sure we have to wait to see if it happens again."

months went by (I believe around 5) and no sign of CVS. Then one day, in the middle of work...BAM. It hit. I rushed to the ER, they hooked me up to IVs...and called that same young doctor back in. He was very happy with himself. and I finally knew what was happening to me.

Since Todd and I have been married I have only had 4 prior episodes. 2 resulted in an ER visit. 3, 4, and today's were stopped early thanks to supply of zofran the doctor gave me to take when I feel them coming on.

I believe last nights episode was triggered with Exhaustion and stress. I am learning how to spot them sooner and I am managing them better.

The hardest parts of the whole thing is when the vomit is so excessive you get to bile and it burns. And being dehydrated. Worse pain in legs, EVER.

To learn more about CVS:

Here is the link to read more about CVS

3 comments:

  1. Sarah,

    I hope you feel much better soon!!! I know about the pain in the legs, except mine was from being out too late partying and I didn't know any better...

    So glad I've changed since then!

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  2. Yikes! I'm SO sorry - that sounds horrific!! I hope you don't have another!

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  3. Wow...I wonder if u get this stuff from Ur dad, cause my side of the fam has ur basic cancers and that's it? Sorry u get this...beside migraines I am never sick. It must suck. Hope ur better longer this time.

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