This is because something has given me a condition resembling a UTI but I'm pretty sure that its not a real one. I've been in and out of the bathroom to pee about 30 times this evening and I'm sure I'll be going again in a few minutes. I am prone to what is called bladder spasms. I'm pretty sure they are caused by my diet, and I manage to keep them under control for the most part. However, every now and then, I try something new in my diet and sometimes I have nights like tonight. This is why I really do try to eat the exact thing every single day, or pick from an imaginary list of things that I know are compatible with my bad self. I'm pretty sure I will not be sleeping at all tonight, which is going to suck royally tomorrow.
This episode I believe is caused by 3 factors:
Number 1-- I began taking a G.I. Health supplement powder (you mix it in a glass of water) that contains a rather large amount of Zinc (zinc-carnosine). A very kind person gave it to me because she knows that I have also had trouble with anxiety and IBS symptoms and this supplement has many things that would help someone like me. Until tonight I never knew...ANYTHING about Zinc except that it is a metal, it is shiny, and we need some to live. I did not know that if you take more than 40 or 50 mg a day that you can actually poison yourself! Now, I am sure that the levels in this supplement are within safe ranges for most people, but it does carry a warning for people with kidney issues. It doesn't say why it can hurt those people, just not to use it. Perhaps I have kidney issues that I was not aware of. Anyhow, Google Search "Zinc poisoning symptoms". It is mind blowing. There is a class-action lawsuit against denture cream companies because they contain so much Zinc that people are dying from being slowly poisoned over many years!
The symptoms I have been having in the 5 days of ingesting this supplement are:
- extreme fatigue (ask my husband/kids. Mommy is way droopier than usual).
- weakness
- I kept thinking something was wrong with our dishwasher because suddenly whenever a piece of silverware touched my tongue it tasted extremely metallic. This is apparently a good way to test to see if you have too much of any metal in your blood.
- headaches in the front of my head
- trouble speaking clearly (now this one is iffy, because I'm often a bumbling fool when speaking, but I was having trouble saying the words that I was thinking and that's a little odd)
I also noticed that I was very dehydrated by the end of the day and found myself doubling my water intake but still being thirsty. That leads me to my next factor.
Number 2--When I don't drink enough water I easily will fall into a bad bladder spasm episode. Usually I get a bad feeling when it first starts to happen and I can quickly chug a large glass of water and all will be well with the world. That only works when its the only thing that is causing the problem. I've been chugging water all night long and to no avail. That leads me to the final idiot factor:
Number 3--I drink too much caffeine in one day. I cannot and will not give up my morning coffee. And when its chilly out I don't even think about drinking a soda. But its been hot as hell here the past few days and I get that Diet Coke craving (yes, I know its poison, and probably not helping). Today I gave in to the craving way too late in the day, around 4pm. I was thinking it would be ok to have one since I was so incredibly tired that maybe it would help me stay awake so I could spend time with Kris after the kids went to bed instead of passing out snoring during Cheers. BAD IDEA. If I could go back and slap myself...
Wow the whole time I have been typing this blog I have not had to pee. That is a whole 15 minutes!
Now, what the heck can I do about it? I need to sleep!!
Everything I read says to drink Cranberry juice. I knew I had bought some the last time this happened, which turns out to be over a year ago! That means the juice is no good :( So I had to dump it. Really, I didn't want to drink it anyway because every time I do it makes me puke. To me, it tastes like licking a tire on a car that just ran over a skunk. And I am not a puker.
I scoured the medicine cabinet for unused antibiotics (YES sometimes we don't use them all I admit it!) any kind would do. Nothing. I was a good girl and threw out all the old stuff. I read that if you think you may have ingested too much Zinc you should drink milk. So I did, and had an Oikos yogurt for good measure. Then I decided because I am starting to get more and more pain that I would take 600mg of Ibuprofen. So far I think that is the only thing that has actually helped. If this is still going on in the morning I will of course see the doctor. But true to form it has to happen in the middle of the ever-loving night when there is NOTHING I can do short of going to the ER, which is the last thing I want to waste their time on. If I could hold it long enough I'd drive to the 24 hr grocery store three towns away and get some skunk juice.
Also see, Cystitis. I have 6 out of 8 of those symptoms, but again it can be caused by diet. Either way I see a trip to the Doctor's office tomorrow :(
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