Last Night

Last night…last night was not a good night.

I’ve been having trouble with my legs for about two weeks…first the flare starting on the 25th, then the EMG, and finally the stress-induced flare after my family emergency.  I was hoping my legs were finally on the mend, even though they’ve gone downhill quickly every night this week. 

Last night, however, something was different.  And a quick caution before I continue: this post is going to be graphic.  Read on at your own risk.

Last night my legs were bothering me at work, the muscles twitching and jumping, the legs tense and achy.  I also started having what I politely call “intestinal distress:” in a word, diarrhea.  It started at work, but wasn’t terrible.  Diarrhea is one of the symptoms that is somehow linked to my leg issues—if my legs start acting up, it’s pretty much guaranteed my stomach will, too.  Anyway, I was pretty miserable by the time I got home, and sat down for a while before getting up to make dinner.

To be fair, the dinner I chose was a mistake, and probably exacerbated my intestinal issues.  I made veggie tacos with lots of hot sauce and an egg over easy in each.  As my friend likes to say, “destruction.” 

Usually such meals don’t really mess me up, but I should have known better, I guess, when I was already having trouble.  Anyway, I began to eat my meal, dealing with legs that were quickly going downhill, agonizing if cloth wrapped around them, muscles jumping and sore, painful if they were laid on top of each other (or when my cat sat down between them).  I was afraid to go lay in bed, so I fell asleep on the couch—my legs don’t tend to bother me as much on the couch.

I woke up around 1 or 2 so sick I could barely function.  I was incredibly nauseous and my legs were achingly tight.  I stumbled to the bathroom and alternated between dry heaves and, forgive my crassness, shitting my damn brains out.  This went on for maybe half an hour, with me trying to do other stuff in between bouts on the toilet.  I was so cold--I turned my heat up to 74 or 75, but even after that, and after curling up under blankets, I was still shaking.  My head was fuzzy, and I was in so much agony that I thought I might have to go to the ER.

I went to bed (in my bed this time), but was even worse off.  I tossed and turned, partly due to my stomach hurting, but partly due to tense, twitching leg muscles.  I kept having to reposition to try and keep both my stomach and my legs under control.  I got up and down to go to the bathroom several times (much to my poor cat’s distress).  Finally, after one particularly violent session, I managed to sleep.

I got up in the morning, stumbled through a shower, and made it in to work…and here we are.  Right now I’m sitting at my desk feeling somewhat nauseous, and with legs that are very tight and sensitive to pressure.  I’m going to try a bit of mint tea in a bit, which I hope will settle my stomach.  Maybe a bit of toast, too…not sure I could keep much more down.

As for what I took last night, I did my normal 3-pill dose of Pramipexole, 1 potassium vitamin, 1 vitamin B pill, and one vitamin D pill.  I’m out of magnesium, or I would have taken one of those, too.  This is all my normal nightly routine, except for the lack of magnesium.

I also drink one potassium drink (VitaminWater Revive Zero) each night, as the extra potassium helps my legs (and drinking it instead of taking pills is supposed to keep it from being toxic).  This has been approved by my doctor.  I actually drank one and a half last night, but most of that came after the trouble started.

Long (and graphic) story short, it looks like this whole incident was either food poisoning or a flare, but I cannot think what I ate that would have given me food poisoning, so I’m leaning towards a flare.  In the interest of full disclosure (and because I haven’t talked enough about bodily fluids), I am on my period, and last night was the first bad night.  I’m not sure if that contributed significantly, but I’m sure it didn’t help.

I know this entire entry is TMI, but I’m hoping I can use this blog to document symptoms and show my doctors how severe this disease is, and the toll it’s taking on my daily life.  If I can just make someone understand, maybe they’ll do more tests and pursue it more aggressively, and figure out what’s wrong.