Thursday, September 21, 2006

The stuff I don't tell you

A bit of an odd week after the last nice blog. Here's the stuff I don't tell you all. I guess I am just used to living with it and no one ever knows unless I live with them. It's dysautonomia, an imbalance of the nervous system that can interfere with activities, sometimes whenever it wants to, so it's disruptive, but not pervasive like ME or CFS. I'll tell you more some other time.

It's been a drag to get out of bed this week because I'm back to having tired achy bones and they feel so heavy when I get out of bed. They bothered me yesterday and I spent the afternoon fidgeting in my seat.

Wednesday, my alarm was going off for 10 minutes before I heard it. Then I hit the wrong button and slept for another half hour. Woops.
When that happens, I just eat breakfast later at the office.

Had a headache in the afternoon, but mostly mid-morning was feeling nauseous enough to get sweaty palms. It had passed by lunch, so I managed to eat my hot wrap, which wasn't that great anyway.
Then my boss told me to go out and take a walk and get some fresh air!
When I came back I felt normal and she asked if I felt better, and I said "Yes, much better thanks!" with so much sparkle that she thought I was being facetious. But I did have a spring back in my step.

At about 4, she told me I could leave half an hour early. Valuable time because I had errands to run. I had made an attempt Wednesday but the shops I wanted were closed by the time I got there.

So today at Butler & Wilson, I bought a wee handheld mirror with finely worked enamel flowers and foliage and two ladybirds on the back. And so nicely gift-wrapped. They do that without asking.

Who for?

A friend I have not seen in 18 years. When I was 10 or 11, we had an expat student from Japan at St Andrew's. She was so shy she did not speak.
This didn't work for the original girl she was assigned to, so she was reassigned to me. Our desks were in pairs, so we generally hung out in that configuration too, and Haruko and I were inseparable. We communicated by scribbling in our Rough Books, so we got through them pretty fast but the teachers were understanding as they knew H was too shy to speak.

The year I moved to America, Haruko cried a lot, and finally her parents sent her to a Japanese school.

A few years after discovering the Internet, I Yahoo!ed for her name, but there were too many directories full of people with that name. Then, last year she Googled my name and found me through my blog! :)

**********

Oh lookie, I forgot to give you the Sikh wedding links from last month. Here, and then it's off to bed for me.



[1.54 min]

Or if that doesn't work:
Bhangra Drummers





[1.21 min]

Or:
Sikh Dancers

eyes shutting

Olivia signing off

13 comments:

michelle said...

great vids liv

michelle said...

oh wait for monday- I will post vids of tomorrow friday night...hehehe

graphic designers take st john's

funny stuff

Anonymous said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE AND LOVE SOME MORE THOSE VIDEOS OF THE SIKH WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ayyyy...and they remind me of the hundreds of Indian movies I've watched! too awesome!!! and those drummers and dancers? wow...I wish I could have seen that live in person, but at least I had the pleasure of viewing it on your blog!!!

I hope you're feeling better now. You are so fragile, Oliv :). and you're so sweet to befriend such a shy girl...wow, she makes you and me look like extroverts! hehehe. I miss you, Liv...a lot. I must visit London to see you hehe.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well! I, too, hope you're feeling better.

Isn't the internet grand? It's lovely when you reconnect with a long-lost friend. I reconnected with my Belgian host sister that way a couple of years ago. Turned out she's in TX now. :)

Olivia said...

Memoria - ok ok ok ok I get it, you love them!

Oh Mem, no this morning was the worst. I slept through my alarm for nearly 3 hours, dragged myself to work, and when I got there I could hardly keep my arm on the desk. Felt fine by mid afternoon though.

***

Mers - thanks, but read the second part of my comment to Memoria :(

Where would we be without the internet then?

The Moody Minstrel said...

Thanks for posting those videos!

I did a bit of reading up on dysautonomia, since I knew basically nothing about it, and I have to say the fact you were even diagnosed with it is a credit to the doctor. (A lot of doctors, out of sheer pride or ignorance, would probably try to tell you it's all in your head, put you on antidepressants, and send you on your merry way.) Ironically, apparently the best treatment is regular physical activity.

In other words, keep taking walks...and taking pictures!

I hope this "episode" passes soon.

Olivia said...

Minstrel - I miss my doctor in Houston. He was very calm and soothing and used to listen to and deal with everything I mentioned with a 'no question is a stupid one' attitude.
He would bring his big medical book in and discuss his thoughts.

He was so good that when my mother got arthritis, he hesitated to prescribe anything because of immediate side effects and even potential long term effects. As a result, she practically became a herbalist and dietician and self treats - and has been free of symptoms for years now. Why? A daily preparation of fresh ginger juice and apple cider vinegar. She takes lots of other things too, and knows what can be combined or avoided, etc.

My doctor here, as with most National Health Service doctors, tends to brush off most things. She has probably never heard of dysautonomia. My landlady has ME and she goes to a holistic doctor. Maybe one day I can get a job that offers private healthcare.

Anyway, yes I felt great when I was in yoga. All I can do now is walk and stretch on my own time.

Um Naief said...

Have you thought about getting back into yoga? Walking sounds like it helps a lot though, which is good. It's good that your boss is nice and sounds like she respects you.

I'm glad you're feeling better. I've never heard of this either... and sorry to hear that the drs. there aren't so considerate and such.

I miss the drs. in the U.S. as well.

I can't view these videos at work so I'll have to wait until I get home. Can't wait! :)

Olivia said...

Tooners - I am starting to dread the idea I might get a job somewhere with a boss who thinks I am an automaton.

I am better now thanks, except having another headache, which has only partly gone after I took tablets.

Hope you enjoyed the vids!

Ooh! I just got chased around my room by a wasp! I was going, "Oh nooo! No! No! Gooo awayyy!" I hope no one outside thought I was being killed. I batted it with my swat and dropped it out the window. *Whew*
Head is throbbing now...

The Moody Minstrel said...

Have you ever seen the episode of Mr. Bean where he has a solo picnic lunch at a park and winds up dueling with a wasp? Forgive me, Olivia. When you told me your story, that image got fixed in my mind (with you instead of Rowan Atkinson) and stayed there.

I'm terrible, I know.

Olivia said...

Hahaha! Minstrel, I used to watch Mr Bean, but I must have missed that episode.
No, you're not terrible, you did make me laugh :)

Anonymous said...

There are sure some crappy doctors in the U.S., but I've met a few that really do care. Sadly, they're all in other cities.

Have you stopped doing yoga? I still haven't found a program/studio I want to join. Now I walk daily for at least an hour. It's great cardio.

Um Naief said...

i just got around to watching these. i really enjoy indian music and this is the first sikh weddings that i've seen. had to ask my hubby what sikh meant.. i forgot. we have a lot of them here. the wedding looks like it was a lot of fun and loud! i hope you had a good time :)