Fibro Feelings – Heat Exhaustion
Remember that house trim painting project from last week? Well, The Helpful Hubby and I decided to go ahead and do the trim that we had originally wanted to do, but had ran out of time to do. We spent time one night sanding and a little of the next morning. That next afternoon we decided to just use our primer and paint in one. It just so happened to be the hottest day of the year and I ended up with heat exhaustion (the lesser relative of heat stroke) from water depletion! So, I want to take this chance to remind everyone how important staying hydrated is! I had taken breaks and drank water, but I just hadn’t done it enough.
My face was bright red when we came inside and I knew that couldn’t be right. I had been heavily sweating, felt a little dizzy (which I’d thought was just my fibromyalgia), out of it and very worn out. After taking a cold shower most of the redness had calmed down. Although, I’d planned on doing a second coat of paint that evening, while The Helpful Hubby was gone, I ended up laying down in agony all night. I had considered going to get IV fluids, but I was not in any condition to be driving. Instead I drank lots of water, some Gatorade and Propel water. After five hours my headache went from horrid to just bad and is stayed weak through the next morning. I wasn’t able to sleep more than a few hours that night.
The next day the Helpful Hubby and I had plans to spend all day out on a boat with some friends. I was nervous about how my body would handle it, but it did pretty well. Of course, I had brought plenty of water and Propel water with me. It was odd, hours after we’d gotten home, when I went to bed, I felt like I was still out on the water. My body felt like it was slightly swaying one way and then the other. Although seven hours is the longest I’ve ever been out on a boat, I’m wondering if the heat exhaustion heightened this effect.
Have you ever had a scare with heat exhaustion or stroke?
I could really feel those sun rays*
*Image Credit: from www.flickr.com by xoque
Posted: August 25th, 2011 under Fibro Feelings.
Tags: Dizziness, Headache, Heat Exhaustion
Comments
Comment from GinaRClark
Time August 25, 2011 at 11:55 am
I’m glad you’re okay, Felicia! My son is a lifeguard coordinator at one of Disney’s water parks and he sees heat exhaustion daily. The trick is to eat & drink enough prior to the sun exposure in addition to while you’re outside.
That boat on land feeling is also familiar. Even experienced sailors get that way sometimes.
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Comment from Tired Mom
Time August 25, 2011 at 9:10 pm
I am so sorry you went through that! With my fibromyalgia, I learned very quickly that I am more susceptible to heat stroke than before. If I’m outside for longer than an hour in weather over 85 degrees, I start getting lightheaded and feeling very flushed. My blood pressure also has a tendency to get high faster than normal, so it’s not a good mix.
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Felicia Fibro Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
I think the way I was feeling due to the heat (while outside) was masked with how I wasn’t feeling well due to all the physical labor. I too don’t feel well being out in hot weather usually.
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Felicia Fibro Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Thanks! Ah, well that would make sense. I had drank some water before working, but I hadn’t been up THAT long, so I hadn’t drank that much.
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