Last weekend I found that I was getting dizzy with spinning when I stood up or laid down and when I bent over to tie my shoes... Not just a small dizzy but to the point I fell over twice and had to stay on the bed or floor for a good amount of time before the spinning would stop. I questioned if I was experiencing vertigo! It continued into the beginning of the week too. Luckily my classes on Monday/Wed don't start until 2pm so I had time to make sure I was OK before I drove to campus - very slowly.
I researched my symptoms and looked into my antidepressant side effects as a possible cause due to the reaction I had to my (ex) heart medication 2 years ago. Sure enough, it can result in Orthostatic Hypotension: Low blood pressure, especially when moving from a sitting or lying position to a standing one. This can lead to feelings of lightheadedness, faintness, and dizziness. So I called the doctor and went in for a quick appointment and he said that combined with my weight loss (43 pounds so far and just 2 more to go) and being a bit dehydrated resulted in a perfect storm! I was to move slowly and drink LOTS of water and even salty foods and no sudden moves up/down until everything was under control. WHEW!
And why was I dehydrated.... I normally drink upwards of 2+ liters of water a day, one while at school and another and more when I get home in the evening. When I am not in school, I carry a liter bottle with me where ever I go - running errands or around the house. I can't drink or eat anything while in the metals studio at school and so by the time I get home from classes I have only drunk half the bottle and so I finish that before I go to bed. This means that over the course of the semester I have been slowly dehydrating myself because I was not drinking that missed water the other days.
This happening was on top of TWO big projects, one for each class, at school which of course stressed me out even more and I was not having fun working on one of them. As I said before I am taking these classes to learn and have a fun enjoyable time! The project for metals was the one I was not enjoying and I understood the project process was so the youngins would learn but it's not how I roll; added to the fact I was not thrilled with the topic idea we were supposed to use as a starting idea. Wednesday, while still not feeling well, things took a U-turn on what I was making and I was ready to not only get a big-fat zero on turning in a finished item but actually NOT going back to class for the rest of the semester. Well, after a good night's sleep I felt better and came up with an alternate idea I knew I could finish by the due date on Monday; I emailed the teach and got approval. The other decision I made was to take only a single class next semester - Intermediate Metals to give me more time for big projects and to allow me more time to play in my studio.
Yes, this picture represents the original project gone bad.
I researched my symptoms and looked into my antidepressant side effects as a possible cause due to the reaction I had to my (ex) heart medication 2 years ago. Sure enough, it can result in Orthostatic Hypotension: Low blood pressure, especially when moving from a sitting or lying position to a standing one. This can lead to feelings of lightheadedness, faintness, and dizziness. So I called the doctor and went in for a quick appointment and he said that combined with my weight loss (43 pounds so far and just 2 more to go) and being a bit dehydrated resulted in a perfect storm! I was to move slowly and drink LOTS of water and even salty foods and no sudden moves up/down until everything was under control. WHEW!
And why was I dehydrated.... I normally drink upwards of 2+ liters of water a day, one while at school and another and more when I get home in the evening. When I am not in school, I carry a liter bottle with me where ever I go - running errands or around the house. I can't drink or eat anything while in the metals studio at school and so by the time I get home from classes I have only drunk half the bottle and so I finish that before I go to bed. This means that over the course of the semester I have been slowly dehydrating myself because I was not drinking that missed water the other days.
This happening was on top of TWO big projects, one for each class, at school which of course stressed me out even more and I was not having fun working on one of them. As I said before I am taking these classes to learn and have a fun enjoyable time! The project for metals was the one I was not enjoying and I understood the project process was so the youngins would learn but it's not how I roll; added to the fact I was not thrilled with the topic idea we were supposed to use as a starting idea. Wednesday, while still not feeling well, things took a U-turn on what I was making and I was ready to not only get a big-fat zero on turning in a finished item but actually NOT going back to class for the rest of the semester. Well, after a good night's sleep I felt better and came up with an alternate idea I knew I could finish by the due date on Monday; I emailed the teach and got approval. The other decision I made was to take only a single class next semester - Intermediate Metals to give me more time for big projects and to allow me more time to play in my studio.
Yes, this picture represents the original project gone bad.
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