Ashoka
Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2015
- Messages
- 209
I never thought I would be writing about this today, but recently nothing seems impossible!
I've been dealing with what I believe is a hiatal hernia the past couple months, and the last few days have been quite strange for me. I came back home after a trip to Florida feeling somewhat better (relaxed, more calm, food wasn't aggravating me as much), but after a few days back home things went from pleasant to bizarre.
When I was talking to my friend on the phone last night, I looked down at my arm and noticed it was splotchy all over, red and covered with tiny bumps. I remembered scratching that area briefly, but after observing one arm I looked at my other arm and it was covered in splotches in the exact same area: the back of the forearm. Pretty soon I realized my chest was the same, and I stood in the bathroom observing myself in the mirror, just marveling at this. The way it worked in my head was that the hiatal hernia isn't allowing food to be digested properly, resulting in an widespread allergic reaction. Of course, I don't know for sure what it is, and a rash is terrifying precisely because it's an easily recognized symptom of auto-immune conditions, cancer, and nothing good. More upsetting is I've never experienced this, and at least fits in with the fact that whatever is going on with my digestion is very really negative. And what stunned me the most is that I anticipated this might happen if the hernia wasn't treated quickly, but I didn't think it could happen so soon. The reaction, which mixed with the already chronically stifling presence of the hernia, made me feel like I was choking, and I questioned whether I would need to visit the hospital.
There's been other weird things happening too. It's been said hiatal hernia's stimulate the vagus nerve, cause feelings of doom and anxiety. I also get skipped heartbeats, mostly which happen after eating, and guaranteed if I lay on the left side of my body. This feeling lately has been growing, the only thing strange about this was the feeling was mostly absent during my time in Florida (mostly). It seemed to return with a vengeance when I arrived home.
While I was in Florida, I enjoyed a cup of coffee without issue and felt like it boosted mood. The first and second day home from my trip were fine, and I felt like I was experiencing a new contentment with my surroundings. I had an intense cup of coffee from a great coffee shop in town, and felt the mood boosting properties and energy from it. My girlfriend has also had this coffee and agrees it's incredibly potent. Anyway, this coffee eventually started making me cold and feel unstable. It's funny, but I was reading a book on Yoga, and I've recently started believing that fear is more habituated than many imagine. With some concentration, I felt I was able to focus my energy away from fear and more to a pleasant dimension. Eventually, however, this caught up to me, because the coffee was so incredibly strong. Pretty soon I was home feeling shockwaves of stress through my whole body, an intensely aggravated hernia, and more skipped beats. The skipped beats bother me more than anything. A day later my body still felt shaken by what the coffee and hernia did, completely electrified by stress.
To be sure, I'm aware coffee and chocolate aggravate a hernia, but the symptoms had gone away for a while and I was feeling so many positive things with mood I thought I could try some without risk. I took the risk knowing what the consequences might be.
The feeling of stress I feel, now almost constantly, is like when our fight or flight mechanism is activated. For me, this feeling is constant and sometimes becomes worse with eating. I feel those slight "adrenaline rushes" every couple minutes, like something brewing in my stomach and abdomen. These affect my heart rate.
The final bizarre thing: For years, I've struggled with libido. Recently, due to general stress reduction, outlook, or other unknown causes, it appears to be functioning better. Reading this I don't want you to believe I'm a person who's fraught with stress due to outlook. I attribute those gains to stress reduction, time, sunlight, and changes of perspective. But I even wonder whether the hernia is altering my hormonal profile.
I've been dealing with what I believe is a hiatal hernia the past couple months, and the last few days have been quite strange for me. I came back home after a trip to Florida feeling somewhat better (relaxed, more calm, food wasn't aggravating me as much), but after a few days back home things went from pleasant to bizarre.
When I was talking to my friend on the phone last night, I looked down at my arm and noticed it was splotchy all over, red and covered with tiny bumps. I remembered scratching that area briefly, but after observing one arm I looked at my other arm and it was covered in splotches in the exact same area: the back of the forearm. Pretty soon I realized my chest was the same, and I stood in the bathroom observing myself in the mirror, just marveling at this. The way it worked in my head was that the hiatal hernia isn't allowing food to be digested properly, resulting in an widespread allergic reaction. Of course, I don't know for sure what it is, and a rash is terrifying precisely because it's an easily recognized symptom of auto-immune conditions, cancer, and nothing good. More upsetting is I've never experienced this, and at least fits in with the fact that whatever is going on with my digestion is very really negative. And what stunned me the most is that I anticipated this might happen if the hernia wasn't treated quickly, but I didn't think it could happen so soon. The reaction, which mixed with the already chronically stifling presence of the hernia, made me feel like I was choking, and I questioned whether I would need to visit the hospital.
There's been other weird things happening too. It's been said hiatal hernia's stimulate the vagus nerve, cause feelings of doom and anxiety. I also get skipped heartbeats, mostly which happen after eating, and guaranteed if I lay on the left side of my body. This feeling lately has been growing, the only thing strange about this was the feeling was mostly absent during my time in Florida (mostly). It seemed to return with a vengeance when I arrived home.
While I was in Florida, I enjoyed a cup of coffee without issue and felt like it boosted mood. The first and second day home from my trip were fine, and I felt like I was experiencing a new contentment with my surroundings. I had an intense cup of coffee from a great coffee shop in town, and felt the mood boosting properties and energy from it. My girlfriend has also had this coffee and agrees it's incredibly potent. Anyway, this coffee eventually started making me cold and feel unstable. It's funny, but I was reading a book on Yoga, and I've recently started believing that fear is more habituated than many imagine. With some concentration, I felt I was able to focus my energy away from fear and more to a pleasant dimension. Eventually, however, this caught up to me, because the coffee was so incredibly strong. Pretty soon I was home feeling shockwaves of stress through my whole body, an intensely aggravated hernia, and more skipped beats. The skipped beats bother me more than anything. A day later my body still felt shaken by what the coffee and hernia did, completely electrified by stress.
To be sure, I'm aware coffee and chocolate aggravate a hernia, but the symptoms had gone away for a while and I was feeling so many positive things with mood I thought I could try some without risk. I took the risk knowing what the consequences might be.
The feeling of stress I feel, now almost constantly, is like when our fight or flight mechanism is activated. For me, this feeling is constant and sometimes becomes worse with eating. I feel those slight "adrenaline rushes" every couple minutes, like something brewing in my stomach and abdomen. These affect my heart rate.
The final bizarre thing: For years, I've struggled with libido. Recently, due to general stress reduction, outlook, or other unknown causes, it appears to be functioning better. Reading this I don't want you to believe I'm a person who's fraught with stress due to outlook. I attribute those gains to stress reduction, time, sunlight, and changes of perspective. But I even wonder whether the hernia is altering my hormonal profile.