Rigors

This past week has been long and tough. I had been feeling not too bad prior but then last Monday night/Tuesday morning, things just went the opposite direction quickly.
I wanted to show how, with Crohn's, when I say one minute you may be fine and the next you could be in hospital.
Monday was the same as any other, nothing out of the ordinary, other than starting to feel worn down because my Remicade (mouse juice) was coming up on Wednesday. That was until the middle of Monday night. Around 2am I got up to go to the bathroom, again not unusual, and got back into bed and under the covers as I started to feel chilly. I wish I was just feeling cold.
I started to get the shakes and shivers, as one does when you get chilly, but after a good few minutes I knew it was the start of rigors. I don't get them that often but when I first got them, I had no idea what was happening and it scared the hell out of me. The first couple of times, I called the ambulance because it was so severe, my jaw was clenched to the point of becoming locked. The doctors at the hospital had no idea what was happening to me.
For those that don't know what rigors is, simply, its uncontrolled shaking and tensing of all your muscles. I try to calm them down by deep breathing, but it only helps for a few seconds. I even would cover myself with every single blanket in my house. Once I had my son take everything out of the dryer and dump it on me...no help.
It's the most helpless feeling. I want to stop, but can't.
This past attack lasted about 2 hours and, like always, after I threw up, the shaking started to slow and then eventually...just...stop. Then the aches, pains and headaches start. I also run a slight temperature and high heart rate. As you can imagine, after two hours of non stop shaking and clenching, one would ache all over. I feel it in my joints, especially my knees, and all my muscles. My head just pounds for hours and sometimes days. What lasts for hours, takes days to recover.
I was worried this time because my infusion was the next day and I was still running a slight temperature of 37.8C, but my IV nurse said it was still okay. She was more worried about my 115 heart rate. But by the time the infusion was done, it was down to 102, still high, but on its way down. Goes to show how long it takes to recover from a rigors attack.
For me, I no longer go to hospital and ride it out at home because I know that after a few hours, I'm going to throw up and it'll be over. Why it happens? Beats me. I know that Crohn's is a factor and I have an on going abscess, which also is a factor. I figure its another way my body of fighting off some sort of infection. This is my experience with rigors, yours might be different. I've had probably around 10 -20 attacks in 30 years. Always check with your doctor on what you should do.
Hey, if after all these years my body is still fighting... I'll take it.

You Might Be A Crohnie...

If you have become an expert on looking WELL
....you might be a Crohnie

Crohnie Quote of the Day

Being "tired" does not necessarily mean I didn't get enough sleep, it could mean that my body is "tired", which means I'm fatigued or worn out. As if I just ran a marathon.


...but it could mean I didn't get enough sleep as well.

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You Might Be A Crohnie...

If you can never go "commando" again....ever
...you might be a Crohnie