I contributed to Fibromyalgia research today! At least, that's how I'm going to look at it. Without sharing revealing information about an ongoing trial, I was (until 4pm yesterday) part of a study that was looking at how therapeutic doses of a hormone supplement could help with symptoms of fibromyalgia. I experience such weird symptoms on a regular basis that I didn't think much of my increased heart rate that would onset at odd times, as it usually resolved itself fairly quickly, but it got particularly bad on Friday as I was enjoying a bagel at my desk. And worse when I walked to the break room to call the doctor. By my calculation, I was at 150 bpm from walking 25 feet. While waiting for a callback, I started getting woozy, experiencing numbness in my feet, feeling nauseous, and generally about to pass out.
Albert decided to take me to the ER, where I had a very redeeming hospital experience (because believe-you-me, I have some pretty bad medical treatment stories!). I was admitted right away, and taken care of by this great nurse who was amused by how fascinated Albert and I were by everything. It was pretty dramatic - I had an EKG, was taken via gurney to the X-Ray lab, had lots of blood taken for a full workup, had a really hard time balancing well enough to pee in a cup but managed okay, and even had oxygen tubes up my nose. Albert snapped a picture.
On a side note, can anyone explain to me how oxygen bars are fun? I'm sure that it helps when the tubes aren't rubbing against your already allergy-irritated nostrils, and you're not in the ER, but still...
So three-and-a-half hours later (which is pretty fast for all the tests they did, and felt much faster to me since I was so out of it), I was released on the condition that I would get further testing from my regular doctor. I'm not allowed to drive or have caffeine for a while, but have pretty much been sleeping and staring anyway. I should mention that Albert is, as always, basically the best boyfriend in the world. He hung out with me in the ER, sitting on my feet to warm them (which, at his weight, is not a problem, except for the lack of cushion in the flat area between his back and legs), and bought me supplies to last through the weekend, as he had to go home.
It's kinda cool to know that I will be the asterisk in this study in a few months/years, and I truly hope that I am one of those rare cases with side effects. This study team is doing such great work to find out more about Fibromyalgia, and it's encouraging to know that in the coming years and decades, it won't be such a mystery disease anymore. They've been so affirming, too, of what I'm going through physically, and even said that my positive attitude was helpful to them. These are the things that keep you going.
