May 07 2018
Mudders, meds, and electrolytes
Yesterday, I was supposed to run the Tough Mudder outside of Austin, Texas. John and I were going to fly in on Saturday, pick up the rental car, head to hotel in Bastrop, and eat a great dinner. Then do the mudder on Sunday, eat another awesome dinner that night, breakfast in Austin with friends on Monday, then fly home. We had the hotel, the tickets, the car, the pet sitter. We were ready to go.
My body had other plans.
I have high blood pressure, due in part to genetics and in part to just being fat. I take meds for this. The one that has been working is a diuretic. Previous meds caused coughing, feet swelling, and hives. This one seemed to work.
On Monday, I had to go into work early to help with an event. I was feeling kind of tired after work, so I came home and took a nap. I woke up, ate some dinner, then went back to bed because I had to go back to work early again. On Tuesday, after being at work for a longer time, I came home and just wasn’t feeling good. I had some pain in my back over my kidneys. I thought, I hoped, it would go away. It didn’t. I was feeling kind of nauseous, so I had John pick up some saltines and Gatorade, the ultimate sick food. I ate some, and then very quickly threw it up. Something was not right.
The pain over my kidneys was not going away. Due to recent events with John’s health, my first thought was kidney stones. As much as I hated to go, I knew I had to go to the hospital. Thankfully we have a great Medical Center 5 minutes from the house. John took me there and all during the wait in the emergency room I wanted to go home. John, being the wonderful husband that he is, wouldn’t let me. Got into a room and of course the first thing they do is stick me with needles.
So many needles. I was so dehydrated it took 2 tries to get the IV line in. Then they ran some blood work. It came back quickly and it turns out my electrolytes were very, very, low. So low I was in the severe range, looking at possibly heart issues and lung problems. Also, electrolytes cannot be given quickly, because if they are, one of the side effects could be death. So, looks like I was in the hospital for the immediate future.
And no tough mudder. And no idea what was going on with knee (still) because I missed that doctor’s appointment due to being in the hospital.
I was there for two days and had great care. I’m not so much a fan of getting woken up at 3 AM for blood work, but I did go back to sleep. The fluids were working, as the results were looking good.
But the Tough mudder in 2 days? Not gonna happen. Not even a chance now.
I got released late Thursday afternoon. I went home, took a shower, ate, and went to bed. Friday was more doctor’s appointments to follow up.
This weekend, I rested, saw some family and friends, and relaxed. But a small part of me was on that course in Texas.
I listened to my body and I knew something was wrong. I may not have known what was wrong, but I listened. And most importantly, I spoke up. I am glad I did.
It would not have been wise to do the race, but it doesn’t mean that I still didn’t want to do it. And I know the Mudder will be there next year. And so will I.