** Due to the increasing severity of MY ILLNESS, it has become impossible for me to continue to post on a regular basis. Unfortunately, as much as I desperately long to, I am also unable to visit each of your blogs often or reciprocate all the loving, supportive comments many of you continue to leave - even though at times it may appear as though you've arrived at some long ago, forsaken blog! With that said, I really want you to know that I miss every single one of you and that I really am still here! I'm just too sick and too weak most days to be able to sit up long enough to create a brand new post...or even read one. However, I absolutely do receive AND read every new encouraging word you leave (and, often, the old ones, again and again!) and I cherish them now more than ever! I truly appreciate your love, support, and, most importantly, your precious time spent on your knees in prayer for my family and me. It ALL means the world to me and I am truly blessed to have friends like you!
~Hugs and Sister Love, Teresa

FYI: All comments come to my email, which I can easily read on my phone. I also enjoy Facebook on my phone because I can catch up on A LOT in a very short time there. Soooo, if you're on Facebook, come 'friend' me there! {{HUGS}} **

Sunday, August 2, 2009

I AM SPEECHLESS

No really, I am.  Oh, I have plenty to say.  I just can’t ‘speak’.  As if not being able to walk…or stand…or even sit up for an extended period of time wasn’t enough….now I can’t talk either!  HUMPH!

Let me just say, I mean…Let me just write….I never, ever ask this question anymore, “WHAT ELSE COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!?”  Trust me, I quit asking that question a VERY LONG time ago!  Because I ALWAYS get an answer to it!!  :0)  

I guess you’re probably wondering why I can’t speak.  Well, it all started Tuesday night when I went to bed early because I was feeling very, very yucky.  I was very dizzy, light-headed and nauseated.  That happens often after I eat.  It is just part of this thing called POTS.  Whenever I eat, especially if I eat anything close to a normal size meal, I often develop these type symptoms.  It is mostly because of something called ‘Postprandial Hypotension’.  Postprandial Hypotension is a sudden drop in blood pressure after eating.  Just as blood pools in my lower extremities and abdomen when I stand, a large amount of blood flows to my digestive system after I eat.  Ordinarily, our bodies would keep this from happening by increasing our heart rate and constricting certain blood vessels in order to help maintain a normal blood pressure, thus enough blood to the brain.  However, because of my illness, this mechanism doesn’t work properly in me.  Therefore, it leads to various symptoms like dizziness, light-headedness, nausea and/or vomiting and sometimes even syncope (fainting) because of such low blood pressure and lack of oxygen to the brain.

Tuesday night, because I was feeling so very nauseated, I decided to take some medication for it.  As I attempted to swallow the pill, it got stuck in the back of my throat.  I tried and tried to swallow it but it just wouldn’t go anywhere.  As I continued to try to swallow it, my throat began to burn like crazy!  It literally felt like I had a match lit inside my throat.  I drank more and more water trying to get it to go down but it just wouldn’t budge.  It just continued to burn!  By this time, I was in a state of panic and I was crying like a big baby.  After several minutes, I began to cough pretty violently and this caused the tablet to come flying out of my mouth!  Halleluiah!  Unfortunately, I quickly realized that the burning had not stopped!  I was still in so much pain and no matter what I did, the burning sensation would not stop.  I drank water, tea and milk, and even ate some bread, but it continued to burn.  Finally, I remembered my daughter’s ‘Magic Mouthwash’ that she got when she had Strep a few months ago.  When I worked at the doctors’ office, we used to prescribed this all the time.  It is some awesome stuff!  It generally has Benedryl, Maalox and Lidocaine in it.  It not only soothes and coats your mouth, throat and stomach as you gargle and swallow it, it also numbs everything because of the Lidocaine.  I gargled and gargled with that stuff and finally….some relief!  Praise God!  I was so thankful that some of the pain had finally subsided.

After all the commotion was over, I immediately noticed that I could not speak.  My voice was completely gone.  At that moment, though, I did not care!  All that mattered was that the pain had eased and I could finally rest.  I could go to sleep.  And so I did. 

Since Tuesday night, I have not been able to speak without squawking.  It is very hard to understand me unless you get really, really close and I whisper.  However, I have learned that whispering is really hard on the vocal cords so I’m trying not to do that either.  My doc says that the incident definitely injured my larynx – aka - ‘voice box’.  He called it a ‘pill ulceration’ on my larynx and said it will probably take anywhere from several days to a couple of weeks for everything to be back to normal.  So for now, I have to rest my voice.   I still find myself whispering a lot, which I’m trying to remember not to do, but it’s SO hard!  Like anything else, you don’t realize how much you use something until it’s gone! 

Thanks for checking in!  I would really appreciate your prayers – just like always.  See ya soon!

20 comments:

Amy Stancil said...

Hi Teresa. Hope you are doing better soon. Thinking about you and your family.
Amy

April Belle said...

Teresa, that must have been so frightening for you. Sending you healing thoughts... (and watch that whispering!). Hugs.

Peg said...

T, I too quit asking what else can go wrong. Of course continued prayers for you every day, I am also going to step it up a notch too!
xoxoxox
Peg

broberts136 said...

Teresa,
My thoughts and prayers go out to you. You are an amazaing woman with remarkable strength. I hope you get well soon.
Bettina

Tania @ Larger Family Life said...

Oh my goodness Teresa! Whatever next? You must have been absolutely terrified.

Tania (via SITS)

Anonymous said...

Teresa,

Hang in there. This may be a great opportunity to listen to Him, (although it is disguised as a sucky, weird thing that happened.) Love ya!

Layne

Anonymous said...

I think I have finally figured out how to leave a comment. Sorry you continue to have problems. I know it has to be very frustrating! I love you, sis!
Mel

Anonymous said...

Thinking of you T. Sorry to hear of your latest setback. Hugs and prayers being sent your way.

Amandasaurus said...

That sucks. My friend is a vocal performance major and she told me about whispering when you have a sore throat. She says if you're able to, speak in your upper register. But if you can't do that, then it might be time to enroll in that crash course in sign language you've always secretly wanted to take. ^_~

Sorry, I don't want to make light of your predicament.

But then, they do say laughter is the best medicine.

Anonymous said...

Hey T - sorry you went through something so frightening. I hope you get your voice back very soon! In the meantime, it's good to be able to "speak" here and on FB. Love ya!

Marcia Gray said...

Hey GF - sorry to hear about this episode. I know how frustrated you are with all the "stuff" - but always remember - it'll all be good one day - on the other side! Love ya - call me if I can do anything for you!

Memaw16 said...

Well, Little Lady, I pray by now you have your voice back!! That must be miserable. Glad you were able to find some relief from the burning. Teri had to have something similar that he would gargle with, then swallow before he could eat after his cancer was found. When I first read this, I thought, sign language would come in handy for you! Writing it out takes too much time.
Prayers, Love, & ((((HUGS))))

Lamonica said...

Hello Teresa,

I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you will get well soon. I will keep you in my prayers.

Crown of Beauty said...

Oh dear Teresa, that is just too bad, first the pain, and now not being able to speak.

One good thing with blogging is that you don't need to make sounds to express yourself.

we your blog friends can still "hear" you loud and clear.

And so can God, cause He can read your heart.

Praying for a speedy recovery for you.

Love
Lidj

Dee said...

Teresa that is scary.

As if you don't have enough on your plate.

Keep strong and keep blogging.

Liz Mays said...

Oh man, you meant that literally! I'm so sorry that happened. I'll add you to my prayers.

So glad you stopped by today. I'm following you now. I like it here. :)

Jeanne said...

Teresa,

I learned many years ago never to ask, "what else could possibly go wrong?" I hear you!

I am very sorry that happened to you. I have had pills get stuck in my throat for far less time than what you've described here and it was really scary.

As far as the after-effects from the pill getting stuck, did your doctor suggest seeing an ear, nose, and throat doctor for an acute care appointment? My concern is that with something like that I would think that prompt treatment might be key. I know the vocal cords can be quite sensitive.

It's true that whispering is tough on the vocal cords. You might want to keep pen and paper handy to write down so you're not tempted to whisper. I know that when I had 17 sinus infections in less than 2 years and lost my voice every time, it was very hard not to whisper and having the paper with me all the time reminded me not to do so.

While I certainly hope your voice returns soon and I don't mean to be alarmist in any way, I would not hesitate to get checked out by an ENT if you deem it necessary.

Whenever I hear about larynx issues, I think of Julie Andrews and how her doctors swore the surgery she had done would not impact her voice at all... Instead, she lost the ability to sing the way she once did.

It just sounds like with the health problems you already have, the last thing you need is to add inability to speak to the list.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! It was highly ironic to me that I read your blog comment a short time after publishing my post that starts a multi-part series on dysautonomia!

Take care,

Jeanne

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh I hope you get your voice back soon.

Unknown said...

Hope you are better soon and remember NO whispering at all!
You are in our prayers and I too learned to never ask what else can go wrong because then the Good Lord says "Let me show you."
hugs
sandi

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, that sounds so painful. I am so sorry you had to go through that. Praying that you feel better! You have so much strength and I really admire that about you! I am so thankful to have come across you and your blog or you to comment on my blog!

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