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I went to visit my cousins over memorial day, and as I was flying home, I had a layover in Minneapolis. The flight there had gone well, and I had finished a book on the flight (yay!).
The plane started our descent into the airport, and immediately I started to feel really dizzy. Naturally I thought it was something related to POTS, so I pushed the flight attendant button so that I could get some water, and reached into my purse to pull out a salt packet. By the time I got the cup of water, I was shaking so badly I could hardly drink. I got the salt down with some water, but was so dizzy and spinning that I spilled the rest of my water (even with all of this, the guy in the seat next to me never said anything to me).
By the time we landed and he got up to stand in the aisle to wait to deplane, the world was whipping around me so quickly that I laid down and started crying. I’ve never seen the world spin by me in a blur, and I started to feel sick really quickly. I had no idea what was wrong, but I started to think that perhaps it wasn’t POTS. A flight attendant or two had to come down and basically carry me off the plane and set me into a wheelchair, as I couldn’t walk at all. They immediately called the paramedics in the airport, and laid me down at the gate until they arrived.
My blood pressure was good, so they immediately ruled out POTS, saying it was probably just motion sickness. AHEM. NOT motion sickness. I’ve been motion sick before, and it’s never been remotely close to what I experienced. They drove me through the airport in a cart to a little care area, but the dizziness kept getting worse until I started throwing up.
I should mention that I was completely alone while traveling, and was completely unable to care for myself. Really not ideal. There was no controlling this dizziness, and we realized that I was going to need to go to the ER.
SO, I got to (ahem. HAD TO?) take my first ambulance ride, and landed myself in the ER. The paramedics from the airport were so helpful, bringing my luggage around with me, buying me some candy to get some sugar in me, and just spoke in really kind ways.
Once in the ER I was told that I had inner ear damage due to the change in air pressure. I’ve flown multiple times a year for most of my life, and I’ve not even heard of this happening, so I certainly learned a good amount while in the hospital that day. Since that time, I’ve talked to two other friends who have had that happen to them. One was driving down the highway with the window open, and when he rolled it up, the spinning started immediately. So strange, right?
hospital food. the juice and crackers were good though…
I’ve learned that there is no controlling the dizziness. I was given four different medications to try to help with the nausea and dizziness, hoping that I could fly home that night. After several hours I took a taxi back to the airport, and was wheeled through the airport (another first for me).
I got home without problem (but felt really drugged up), and was picked up by a friend. I spent the next almost week just laying around waiting for the dizziness to go away.
So, my Memorial Day trip turned into something much more than I bargained for. I’m glad to be feeling back to normal. This also explains why I haven’t been biking in June- I didn’t feel like it was safe to be on the open road while feeling as badly as I did (since biking involves lots of head movement). Between the achilles tendinitis and this ear issue, I certainly had a weird start to my summer!
*Also- can anyone tell me why my pictures show up sideways? I’ve even gone in to rotate them and save them, and they still will often show up sideways 🙁
I am surprised the flight attendants didn’t think of this issue since it seems to be common with air pressure changes! And the guy sitting next to you?! What a jerk. I’ve passed out on flights before and it is not fun. I have postural hypotension and my BP plummets causing me to pass out. Nausea is a trigger and it happens on turbulent flights. I don’t fly alone just for this reason. It’s not a fun experience. I’m glad you figured out the cause and am also glad you’re feeling better now!
I don’t think they knew anything was up until they realized I hadn’t gotten off the plane, but the guy next to me sure did! It’s no fun to feel sick, but especially on an airplane where you can’t lay down or have your own space, it can be overwhelming.
So scary! I’m glad you’re feeling better.
Also,, my pics were turning up sideways a while back too- no idea but so frustrating!!
Scary, Caroline! Oh my gosh, you are a Rockstar for getting through that in one piece. I’d have lost my crap and made my dad come fix things. So scary and overwhelming. And everything about the situation made it worse: enclosed space, crowd, away from home, alone, separated from your stuff. The perfect storm. So glad you’re better now. Did they give you an idea how long you could feel the effects of this?
Oh my goodness, that is terrifying. I am so glad they figured out what it is.