NEW DEVELOPMENTS...

I go to a nursery in Grant Park on Thursday, May 3^rd, & as I am in one of the greenhouses – hot, humid, & sun coming through the opaque plastic – I am bending down to look at the various markers on the flats of plants. Up & down, bending down & up…pretty soon I was feeling pretty whoozy. I went out into the cooler hallway & stood leaning on my cart looking for my daughter. I tried calling her on her cell phone, but she has it turned off. Finally I turn & look for somewhere to sit down. Then I see my daughter. I sit there trying to feel better as she goes off to finish her shopping, but by this time my head is swimming, I’m feeling nauseous & weak like I’m going to faint. About a half hour goes by & I’m no better. We decide to leave. The ride home is awful & my eyes are closed for most of it. The bumps in the road make it worse. I get home, take my BS (blood sugar) & it’s not bad: 116. My BP (Blood Pressure) is 144/69 on the first reading, 140/70 about a half hour later. I try to think back about what I have taken that day. I went to the junior college with my daughter in the morning to talk to one of the counselors about my other daughter's classes, and I was a little breathless when walking. Then we went to my daughter's house & had some lunch. I took a whole Precose tablet (50mg) while I only ate a few small pieces of toasted Italian bread with my omelet. I probably didn’t need all that much. I think I also took some Ranitidine and maybe my fish oil, vitamin E & CoQ10. Then we went to the nursery. On a full stomach. Not such a good idea & much of my blood must go to my stomach for digestion after eating & physical activity is difficult.

Then, a few days ago on May 7^th, I was out in the backyard cleaning out pots & planting tomato plants in them. Again, bending & lifting & it was sunny out but not too hot. I started to feel sick again, but this time stopped immediately & went inside to sit in the cool & relax on my recliner. It took over a half hour for the symptoms to subside. Again, the dizziness, the weakness, & the sick feeling in my stomach. Never any chest pain, palpitations, SOB (shortness of breath) – nothing like that. Again I took my BP & BS thinking I’d see something, but again, nothing. I don’t remember what I had taken that day, but there’s a good chance that I took pretty much the same things: ranitidine & my morning supplements.

Today, May 9^th, I went up to the Univ. of C. & saw my gastroenterologist for the last time (she’s going to Mayo’s) & I told her about these symptoms. She said that ANYTHING we take into our bodies – medicine, vitamins or supplements – can interact & produce changes in the proteins & enzymes in our bodies. I come home & took my Ranitidine, fish oil, vitamin E & CoQ10, and started to feel dizzy again – and this time I was just sitting. I’m finally starting to see a pattern here. On reflection, I have only started taking this 400IU of vitamin E in the past month or so – it’s the newest addition to my supplement regimen. I thought by taking the vitamin E with the CoQ10 I would be recreating the CoQ10 that my vitamin supplier USED to sell but very recently discontinued. So I had tried the ToCo10, but felt sick. I have read that CoQ10 is absorbed by the body better when taking with some “fat” or oil – which is why much of it is combined with vitamin E, but usually only about 20-40IU in each tab. Maybe I’m getting too much vitamin E & my body can’t handle it – especially when combined with the fish oil (1,000mg). Hmm... I’m going to discontinue the vitamin E for a while & see if this stops. I especially want to feel well for my younger daughter's graduation on Saturday (which I’m dreading to go to, given how poorly I’ve been feeling lately). But I’m going with my own private nurse (a friend) so it should be alright. We’re also only going to the evening ceremony so it should be cooler too.