I'm having a hard time right now

I'm on vacation with my family this week in Lake Tahoe - a beautiful place. My favorite color is sky blue and I am getting my fill of it here. My wife wants to go hiking and my daughter wants to go horseback riding. I want to find a nice secluded spot with a view of the hills so I can (poorly) watercolor the sunsets. We don't go for the casinos, the restaurants, or the gift shops.

Right now, everything sucks. I have two mysterious health issues which are converging.

I have problems with my swallowing reflex. The blanket term for this is "dysphagia". The problem started after my sixth-grade bully socked me in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of me. Shortly after that, I choked on a piece of delicious ravioli while eating at a restaurant with my family. The problem has been with me ever since, varying in severity. Sometimes it's negligible and other times it flares up bad enough that I have to take every bite with lots of water, essentially making all my food puree. I've seen doctors and had swallow studies done. These haven't yielded results yet.

Yesterday and today is different and scary. For the first time ever, I can't swallow water. I can't even swallow my own saliva. I shouldn't say "can't". I can take sips. A teaspoon of water takes a studied, deliberate, ridiculous-looking effort, and makes me feel like I'm drowning for several minutes. This past week I've probably had a total of a regular days rations of both food and water. I'm getting tired, hungry, cranky, and now, dehydrated. This can't stand. I would almost rather eat my own # than go to the hospital but I can't even do that now!!! I think I'm going to have to choose to either go get tubed or die. I'm pissed about it and I'm also scared. It's scary not being able to feed yourself, an experience I never dreamed I'd have.

My other issue is exacerbated by the first. It is a psoriasis-like skin condition affecting my scalp, forehead, ears, eyelids, lips, neck, back and sides, genitals, perineum and umm, well it's all over. The skin is dry and tight in some areas, rashy in others, and on my face, the skin is dying faster than it can regenerate. So it is either large plaques of flaking skin, or, if I take the excruciating hour or so it takes to exfoliate myself into presentability, it is raw, cracked, red. Normal facial gestures and expressions like talking, smiling, eating, opening eyes wide (as if in surprise) all split my skin open, resulting in dozens and dozens of visible and invisible cuts. It stings terribly. Showering, brushing teeth, working out and working up a sweat? All excruciating. Other large areas itch terrible but to scratch stings and opens cuts. I normally wake up with dry, crusty blood on my mouth and eyelids. My wife and daughter are polite and supportive, but they can't conceal their recoiling during the worst of it. It is hideous. Again, I'm working with doctors and waiting to find out what's really going on in my system.

In spite of it, I keep my lips sealed. Pun intended. I don't complain to my family, and whenever anyone is socially daft enough to bring it up I dismiss them by saying "I happily suffer my condition" and change the subject. But right now I honestly don't suffer this condition gladly. I can take lots of pain and lots of discomfort but I can't take this.

My skin condition absolutely requires me to stay well-hydrated, but now not being able to drink water pretty much makes me one of the most miserable SOBs in the whole Sierra-Nevada. I'm two states away from home, I don't want to see an emergency doctor here, and I can't eat or drink and almost all normal movements are uncomfortable, painful, or actually drawing blood.

I don't want to ruin this for my family. We're not poor poor but we don't have lots of money. This was supposed to be a special trip and we were going to paint and ride horses and go hiking and I have to call it off.

Death by choking or collapsing due to dehydration is not gonna be fun for the family either.
Go to the Dr.

originally posted by: DAVID64
Death by choking or collapsing due to dehydration is not gonna be fun for the family either.
Go to the Dr.

I'm thinking like you're thinking. Not too much choice.

Is it irrational that ultimately, I'm worried that the hospital won't let me leave the state? Can the medical authorities deem me unfit to travel home?

originally posted by: DictionaryOfExcuses

originally posted by: DAVID64
Death by choking or collapsing due to dehydration is not gonna be fun for the family either.
Go to the Dr.

I'm thinking like you're thinking. Not too much choice.

Is it irrational that ultimately, I'm worried that the hospital won't let me leave the state? Can the medical authorities deem me unfit to travel home?

Not as far as I know. You can sign out AMA ( against medical advice ) but unless you are deemed psychologically unfit, they can't hold you. But if things are getting that bad, signing out would be very foolish.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses
I agree with the other posters; you should seek medical treatment.

I am curious though; Are you experiencing cold and/or blue fingers or toes?

originally posted by: Onlyyouknow
a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses
I agree with the other posters; you should seek medical treatment.

I am curious though; Are you experiencing cold and/or blue fingers or toes?

I am going to wait until morning before deciding what to do. In the meantime I am sipping water every five minutes and trying to get a sip of an ensure shake down every so often.

Just checked my fingers and toes and they appear normal. Whatchya sniffing for?

originally posted by: DictionaryOfExcuses

originally posted by: Onlyyouknow
a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses
I agree with the other posters; you should seek medical treatment.

I am curious though; Are you experiencing cold and/or blue fingers or toes?

I am going to wait until morning before deciding what to do. In the meantime I am sipping water every five minutes and trying to get a sip of an ensure shake down every so often.

Just checked my fingers and toes and they appear normal. Whatchya sniffing for?

That's good you are getting water down now. I am not a MD. However, I was a hospice nurse and the symptoms you were talking about sounds like scleroderma patients I have had. From your post there is little to go on, so it probably isn't. It won't hurt to mention the possibility when you consult with a Doctor.

a reply to: Onlyyouknow

Bless you for being a hospice nurse. I don't think I could do that but I think there are true angels in that occupation.

I've heard of scleroderma but haven't researched it much. Any legitimate effort to research my condition end in frustration because I seemingly have hallmarks of several distinct disorders/conditions. I've tried a lot of dietary changes and I been to a couple very nice doctors and I know they are trying to help, but my medical insurance doesn't cover dermatological services unless the situation is deemed to be "life threatening". I have sought such services and been brick walled. I'm not close enough to dying for it to matter.

A couple of years ago, my niece went into kidney failure and nearly died of aggressive, undiagnosed lupus. It has been said that leading up to her lifesaving medical intervention, she had four different types of rash, which is similar to my current experience. I have a hunch something autoimmune is the culprit but it still doesn't explain the swallowing difficulty.

Thanks for chatting me up. It's helping me keep my mind occupied and stave off panic.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses
Thank you, my chosen specialties were Hospice RN and Geriatrics's RN (nursing/elderly home). I have a very strong belief in the afterlife; it is the family's grief that would break my heart.

I am sending you and your family much love to conquer whatever is ailing you.

So to sum up your on vacation with the family and you have health problems. And your answer to these health problems is to ask the good folks at ATS to help you out...……..Your probably gonna die listening to the advice on here. Stop the vacation, alert the family and seek medical advice. Or just continue on with your drama laden post's of despair. I read that your on a boring vacation with family and you just want to muck it up for everybody else. Then again, I'm an a-hole and read between the lines a lot. School starts back when ??

Just let them know how you're suffering right now.
You sound like you have a lovely family, and while it might not be how any of you planned to spend this trip, I'm sure the kids especially, would love to have their father around for a lot longer. Don't accidentally go out due to pride or not wanting to be a bother to others. Bother them. Their duty as your family is to protect and care for you as well as you for them.

Also sorry I hope your bully chokes on a pretzel stick wherever he is today. (It really hurts, really bad)

-Alee

Does your thyroid seem to be swollen, you could be compounding the problem if you are experiencing goiter. Both the Wife and I had problems with goiter, at different times, and one symptom was a hard time swallowing for me. I took an Iodorol for like four days and the problem went away. The swallowing problem went away within the first day after the iodorol.

I am not going to say this is the case in your life, only that the thyroid can cause a problem with swallowing, nothing seemed to want to work right. I also had a problem like that with a medicine I was taking one time, but the doctor switched a couple of them because of reactions, I do not know which medicine actually caused it. It is strange when that part of our body does not work right, you can choke on water. You would think gravity would pull the food down. But that does not work that way.

I get in a lot of hot water with tomatoes. I am pretty much intolerant to them and it effects my skin and digestive system when I consume them. I like tomatoes though, I like lasagna and spaghetti. Why can't i be like other people, I do not need to be tolerant to battery acid on my hands. I would rather be able to eat tomatoes.

You can't drink water and your skin is cracking and falling off your body...hmmmm, what to do?

Gee, I dunno...maybe GO TO THE E.R.???? Ya think???

Ummmm, in case you weren't aware, dehydration can kill you in less than 24 hours, and if it doesn't kill you it can permanently damage your internal organs like your liver, kidneys and other trivial stuff like your brain.

So let's see: you're on vacation at Lake Tahoe with a base elevation of 6,225 ft. above sea level and everything around Tahoe is 'up' from there. The average daily temperature is 80F in early August, and unless you're "in" the lake the general humidity is about 20%. If you were just standing still and not moving you need to be drinking lots of water to prevent dehydration (like liters of the stuff, not just sips), but you're just taking sips. Hmmmm...what could go wrong here?

THEN, you have a skin condition which suddenly starts getting worse. I can't imagine why! Considering your skin is mostly water, but you don't have any...water...to hydrate your body OR your skin.

Don't be an IDIOT! Go to the doctor! ...or, would you rather wait and have your family face the drama of a much more serious crisis???

(This, coming from a former EMT)

Please at least get hydrated by visiting the ER. This will also give you comfort. I am sure your family is much more concerned than you know but trying to respect your wishes. It will give them comfort to see you feeling better and getting help. They have to be quite frightened for you and not enjoying themselves like you may think.

No medical advice here except, please, help yourself and be willing to let the experts help you. You need relief, possibly life saving relief, now-immediately-no waiting-no over-thinking it-go-now. thinking of you and wishing you the best.

OP, please excuse my sarcasm in my previous post. I just get frustrated when people do dumb things related to their health because they don't want to go see a Doc. Do yourself (and me) a favor. Here's a couple quick, painless and easy tests you can do to tell your hydration level...

1. Pinch a section of skin on the back of your hand up in between your thumb and forefinger of your other hand. Now let go of it. Does the skin quickly return back to it's normal position, or does it stay pinched up for a moment before slowly returning to normal. If it's the latter, you're dehydrated. The longer it stays, the more dehydrated you are.

2. Do you have any of the following conditions? Muscle cramps, headache, fatigue, dizzyness or heart skipping a beat now and then? I would also say 'confusion also', but clearly you are already confused so no sense looking for that condition. These are all symptoms of dehydration.

3. What color is your urine? (I don't want to know, but you do) If it's dark yellow to brownish in color...you're dehydrated.

If what you've written is even close to accurate in terms of quantities, I would think you are definitely dehydrated if not severely so. If you go to the doctor they will likely give you an IV with fluids, and you will start feeling better immediately. Remarkably so.

Don't fool around with dehydration. It truly is DEADLY. And it's quick too.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses

Is it irrational that ultimately, I'm worried that the hospital won't let me leave the state? Can the medical authorities deem me unfit to travel home?

My mother became ill when we were on vacation and had to be hospitalized. The hospital communicated with her primary doctor and she was released into his care once she was stable enough for the trip home.

When I was employed as a case manager I made arrangements on numerous occasions for medical transport of patients back home after falling ill while on vacation. The easiest transport I ever arranged was for a Canadian patient to be medically transported back to Canada from Florida.

I am presently a Forensic Nurse and we have, on occasion, assisted patients that were the victim of an assault with transport back to their areas of residence.

So the short answer to you question is no. The medical authorities cannot prevent you from leaving the hospital if you wish to leave, even if it is against medical advice, as long as you are not infectious, and a high risk of transmission of a contagion.

I strongly agree with the other posters. You need to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses

Maybe this could be a stress reaction?

Maybe do some breathing exercises in the evening and have a nice strong shot of alcohol, it could relax some muscle that has something to do with your condition.

Oh, and for the skin, if you are using lotions, stop it right away, get some olive oil or coconut oil.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses

Skin conditions like Psoriasis and eczema

I'm not a doctor nor giving medical advice but here is what has worked for my family.
Fish oil pills. I'm not sure if you are able to swallow them. If you can't, you can poke a hole and cut them
and put the oil in yogurt or other food to swallow. Sounds crazy but that has cured skin flare ups
overnight for my family. We are talking about bleeding peeling skin. After a few years of using that method nobody has any "flare ups" anymore. How did I come across this method? After years and years of traditional medicine not working we research and tried many crazy things.

Also I agree with what everyone else is saying, you need immediate help for your swallowing condition.

CBD oils are legal in tahoe. You should try to get some CBD skin cream and see if that helps.

Get some oral CBDs and some skin CBD's. Maybe the universe is guiding you to try something new?

a reply to: booyakasha

My doctor recommended CBD oil for my Chron's disease. I thought it was likely just a placebo and had zero faith that it would be of any benefit.

It took about two weeks before I had to admit that it was actually reducing my symptoms.

CBD oil isn't a bad thing to try, after you have been seen by a doctor.