lately i’ve been having problems with dizzy spells, balance, and focus. at first it was just an inconvenience, i couldn’t ride the uni for more than 10 minutes straight without a break, but when it started happening just when i would stand up after sitting down i figured i should get it checked out. i had a physical scheduled (needed for my drivers license and entry into 11th grade) and my doctor referred me to a cardiologist.
SOOOO, i drove the hour to hershey today to get checked out… full body electrodes, an ultrasound of my chest, and other fun activities. what they think i have (and you’ll have to forgive my spelling, it’s all i could do to remember how to say the damn thing) is a neuro cardiogenic pre syncope vaso-vagle syncope syndrome. basically, it’s not a major problem, but because of my body growing my heart can’t transport the blood from my feet to my brain after resting. ok, all well and good. the problem is that i shouldn’t be getting dizzy while exercising with said syndrome, so they want to run more tests. because of business, i can’t come back to get more tests done (involving running on a treadmill all electroded up and wearing a device that records my heartbeat for 24 hours) for another month. in that month, i’m not allowed to exert any physical exercise that does not need to be exerted. i was given specific instructions not to unicycle (i happened to be wearing my unicycle.com shirt and it came up when they asked about exercise. anyone else’s doctor give them funny looks when unicycling comes up?) until we find out the results from the other tests.
normally i would just say f*** the doctor, but i do believe his exact words were “now it’s very rare, but there is a chance you have something that would cause your next big reaction to be your last” i’ve often thought i couldn’t live without unicycling, but now there’s a chance i won’t live if i do (all be it very slim…)
and just to make things interesting they tell me my caffeine intake is making the problem worse, and that i should cut it out of my diet almost entirely. it was like a slap to the face, me who drinks at leset 2 cups of coffee a day, drinks more raspberry tea than anything else, and owns a bottle of caffeinated hot sauce…
grrrr… no caffeine, a girlfriend away all week on a church retreat, and my unicycle banned during the first weeks of summer vacation… i don’t know if i’m going to survive.
whew. now that i have sufficiently vented i feel better.
