Sparkling

Well, I have had quite a journey of late. 

I started to “sparkle” quite often. 

Sparkle? This is the term I use for the pins-and-needles sensation I get sometimes. It is not just a tingle...it is like thousands of ants under your skin. Anyway...I like to say that I am sparkling...it just sounds nicer!! 

I remembered having this sensation when I have been dehyrated. Once I had heat stroke (remember that, Tanya B), and I have experienced it other times when I was quite dehyrated and close to passing out. (Well, I actually have passed out...)

So, this was occurring quite often this summer. It was very hot here in southwestern Ontario and very humid, so I attributed it to dehydration. I stayed indoors in the AC whenever possible and drank extra fluids, including those with electrolytes. 

After some routine blood work my GP called and said that my potassium was low and I needed to take SLO-K, a potassium supplement. Of course...it fit in with my self-diagnosis of dehydration!! So I started taking the SLO-K. I was still sparkling often (multiple times a day). I started to check my blood pressure. It was sometimes high and sometimes low...and not really predicable or attributable to anything in particular. I thought maybe my blood sugar was low. I bought a blood glucose meter and started to check my sugar levels. Normal, normal, normal. <sigh>

When I went to my GP he thought perhaps my blood pressure meds were not working properly (it was quite high when I saw him), so he switched them to another type. I started to take it and again, and my BP seemed to stabilize, but the sparkles just kept coming!!

On our return trip home from Nashville last month, I ate a burger that was a little pink in the middle and got food poisoning. I was quite ill for several hours and became so dehyrated that my muscles started to go into spasm. My hands cramped up like chicken feet, muscles in my neck, back and face started to spasm. I had difficulty speaking since my tongue was in full spasm. I was very scared and when Al woke up to my cries for help, he immediately called 911. The 4 handsome paramedics/firemen that arrived certainly raised my spirits, and I had exceptional service in the ER at the Indianapolis hospital. After some IV fluids, Zophran for nausea, and direction to take extra potassium, I felt better. We were able to drive home the next day. 

4 days later, still in bed and still quite ill, I decided that I needed to go back to the ER (in St. Catharines, this time). I was again given IV fluids, a vile potassium drink, and a potassium phosphate IV. My potassium, phosphate and calcium levels were depleted. I was instructed to double my calcium and potassium supplements. The ER doctor did not know what to do about the calcium deficiency as she did not want to upset my digestive system further. I was referred to the Acute Internal Medicine Unit the following week for consultation. 

By the time I went to the AIM Unit I was feeling much better and my potassium, phosphate and calcium were all within normal range again. What was interesting was that I looked up hypocalcemia (low calcium). The symptoms were clearly what I had been experiencing for months. Tingling in face and extremities, spasms of small muscles, feeling faint, confused, tired, etc. The doctor who saw me said the same thing. Classic symptoms of hypocalcemia.
So how did this happen? I take calcium and vitamin D supplements. Well...it seems that two of the drugs I take can cause mal-absorption of calcium. The colestid that I take for my chemo-related diarreah can cause it...well I am not stopping that!! The intravenous bisphosphanate I get every 3 or 4 months can also cause it. I am not stopping that either since it is helping my body fill in those bone lesions in my spine. So.. I take more calcium (double) and we will see what happens.

Since I started the extra calcium I have had very few sparkling episodes. Holy crap...who would have thought!?! We don’t think of calcium as something we might be lacking to the extent that it will cause such significant effects. If the ER doc had not noticed it in my blood work, I might still be dealing with those strange episodes. I expect that my next blood work check will show that it is back to normal.

What an ordeal. I am glad I finally figured it out. Sometimes the sound of horse hooves is a zebra.