Serious Business

I got heat stroke several to many years ago, the heat still bothers me. I had took a piss & stopped sweating but felt ok for a short while. I had kept hydrating with Gatorade & Waters but it was not enough. After I got home (some one else drove after I started feeling unwell), I spent the next two days inside, in bed, laying down, being hot and then cold in ten minutes time..I slept most of those two days, sipping on water when I woke up, probably should have went to the ER... Some days get to me more than others. Direct sun, I can't stand for more than a few minutes.. There's no way I could go out and throw hay or do tree work all day again. The direct sun is too much, even for short periods. I'm far better than I used to be after that happened but I would say that I'm sensitized to spending extended periods in the sun. Now, if I start to get hot, feel hot, or sweat much, I'll go sit down in front of a fan or in AC and take a break. Nothing worth getting sick/dying over in my book... Symptoms/sensitivity can last for at least a decade or more afterwards.
 
PK, I am glad you are on the mend. I too am a hard headed type. Several things have happened to me in my life that this thread brings to mind. I was once dehydrated and actually said to my ex, take me to the hospital. It wasn't because of heat though, I had been sick. Couldn't hold anything on my stomach, it all came right back up, even water. Cramping some, yes, but mainly it was my mind. I couldn't think straight. Things happened around me, and I wasn't aware. Went to the first hospital, and they wouldn't allow her to come back with me. They started with paper work, some of which I could not answer. Then he started telling me things, that I had no idea how he knew these things. When I asked, he said "your wife told us" I said but she isn't here! So he says yes, she answered these questions "out there" and the nurse just brought these papers in here. I said who brought them in? when? bottom line, I wasn't aware someone else came into the room. I told them I wanted her in there with me, I wanted someone who could speak for me. They declined my request, I got up and left. Still wearing the backless gown that at some point they had put me in(I didn't remember that! Went to hospital #2, same things happened, said she couldn't go back with me. She then spoke up and told them I had already walked out of one hospital and wouldn't go back unless she was there to answer for me. They allowed it. Several hours later, I left, after receiving 4 IV bags of fluid!

Then came the neck fusion.

Shortly there after, I had an infected Bursa in my left elbow. Surgery once again.

11 years ago at 45 I had a heart attack. But at the Murphy Hospital, they couldn't say for sure I had had one. Long story short, I ended up having 5 by passes.

Then came the knee injury. total of three surgeries, and the last being a replacement. To this day, it isn't right. The lower prosthetic, is loose. It causes a lot of pain.

Because of the constant limping because of my knee, it has my sciatic nerve screaming at me. Any time I am standing, walking, or even laying. I have to sleep curled up. Only time it isn't letting me know it's there, is when I sit. Hence, the reason I am on here or FB so often. Nothing hurts me while I am sitting.

Anything I do, I have to do in short periods of time on my feet. Which means I am sitting more than I am getting something done.

What I have had to do often is ask someone for help in getting things done. I hate to ask. In my mind I think I am perceived as lazy. But my body tells me, to ask, or it either shuts me down for a few days or, it doesn't get done.

Wheeling hurts me. Not the actual wheeling, out on the trails though! I am sitting for that. But the getting ready to go part. The cleaning, the packing, and so on. IT's freaking exhausting!

But I try to listen to my body and "try" not to do things that make it hurt worse.

Vicious cycle.

Listen to your body, don't be afraid to ask for help.
 
Sorry to hear about your episode PK. It sounds like you definitely should have gone to the hospital for fluids. You would have probably recovered within hours instead of days.

I have had to take my wife to the hospital twice for IV fluids due to stomach virus and getting dehydrated. Both times, we were there about 4-5 hrs while they gave her fluids and nausea medicine.

A couple of reasons it might be worse as a person ages
- Most people have a higher body fat % as they get older. Fat acts as an insulator making it harder for your body to reject heat and cool itself down.
- Heart and lung function decreases with age, requiring your heart to pump faster to accomplish the same amount of work, therefore creating more heat.
 
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