I was convinced that my end was near. Turning a blind eye to the caution signals had been a huge mistake. I never expected anything to crack my resolve, yet here I was, preparing myself for the inevitable. No, I’m not exaggerating. Have you ever gone to a new place, tried a whole new spread from the local cuisine and made a run to the loo after a while? It is a wild goose chase to decipher which dish in particular didn’t agree with your sensitive stomach, isn’t it? What I was facing that time was something on the same lines.
Thrice in a week and twice in the same day, I blacked out. Like, literally crashed on the floor. The first few times it happened around my workout so I simply held some overzealous cardio exercises responsible. Also, in a bid to put my new self-hosted blog on the blogging map I was spending an enormous amount of time on it every day every night. Sleep-deprivation, exhaustion and non-negotiable daily calorie-intake, the reasons were staring me in the face. I knew everything. What else could it be, right?
Wrong! An incensed A dragged me to a nearby clinic for consultation but it turned out to be a lost cause. The only available gynaecologist there asked me pressing questions about my last menstrual date and washed her hands off me. An ophthalmologist we visited after her, for my constant headache, checked my eyes and suggested that I visit a neurologist. None of them bothered or did anything about the hell me and my family were going through.
Meanwhile, people who disapproved of my weight-loss methods promptly, fervently and heartlessly used this opportunity to pounce on me. Thoroughly shaken, I called a friend of mine and asked him about any doctor he could refer me to. The expert he took me to turned out to be my saviour that day, God bless him. He spent a good half hour trying to get to the root of my problem and his diagnosis truly surprised me.
Improper sitting position while using the laptop and vertigo were the major culprits. Imagine! Other things contributed, sure, but diet and workout thankfully weren’t one of them. I breathed a sigh of relief and A, who was frightened and had admonished me for a lifetime that day, finally relaxed.
Self-doubt had managed to scare me that day but the crack hadn’t broken my will. Vigilance, precaution and choice of right postures were what I needed. That wasn’t so difficult. My valuable takeaways from this experience were:
Don’t put your family through a crisis for the sake of your ambition and determination.
Ignoring one thing for another is unwise especially when you have no help or backup.
Everything happens at its pace. I couldn’t blog for a month after this incident. All that earlier effort was gone.
Repeating, still, ‘kuch to log kahenge’. Move on and do your thing.
I must confess that my reckless approach towards self-care took a drastic turn for good that day. Wish it hadn’t happened so severely though. A crack, if not treated or filled in time, can bring down enormous structures.
Our will power and commitment to self is what our healthy body stands on. Can we afford to let them break?
This post has been written as a part of the #MyFriendAlexa activity by Blogchatter.
That sounds scary, Varsha.
My pet peeve is doctors who never reassure a worried patient. Glad you got the right diagnosis and are back on track now.
Doctors need to have interpersonal skills and should care more than the bill. Wish they understood their responsibility better. 🙁
Thank you so much, M. You’ve been with me through this. Hugs!
I know what you went through,Varsha….Hugs!
Yes, the strain we put in blogging is indeed wrecking a havoc in our health. I went through it last year and the physiotherapist too pointed it tonstress and sitting posture.
Hugs, Meens! We really don’t get the credit or the reward for the work we put in, you and I! 😀
On a serious note, I hope we aren’t going to let this happens to us again. Deal?
Hi Varsh,
I completely agree with your take that we should ignore one thing in order to pay full attention to something else. Work is important however, we work for our family. So it is important to be healthy and set aside time for everything in life. Days which are passing by are not going to come back. So we should try and enjoy every moment of life long with our work and passion.
Thanks for sharing, have a good day. 🙂
Sometimes we end up giving precedence to things which shouldn’t matter as much. Sigh! I learnt it the hard way and am trying to rectify it. Nothing is as important as our family and health.
Thanks for reading, Sajid. Have a good day!
Let me say “All’s well that ends well.” Two years back I had the jolt of my life when I couldn’t straighten my right leg after sitting. Something had snapped in my right knee. I went through a year of therapy to get my frozen locked knee to strengthen back. Crazy hours of standing in exhibitions, working for long hours, catching flights from city to city had all taken it’s toll.Ultimately, after 9 long years I gave up my bridal wear business and started taking life easy. Blogging gave me the respite.
Your experience reminded me back of those days. Nothing must take priority except health and family. I agree we don’t need to prove a point to anyone.
That must’ve been tough, Dipali! I can partially understand what you must’ve gone through. My condition thankfully didn’t take more than a month to get normal. But yes, we sometimes don’t give our health and body the respect they deserve. Better late than never.
On other note, you were in bridal wear business? Wow! That explains your impeccable taste in clothes. Your saris are absolutely gorgeous! Blogging is a love and respite that’s close to both our hearts then, I believe. 🙂
This seems to be every bloggers issue though not same. Your post should throw some light to other passionate bloggers.
True. These issues are common but not given due importance. Hope this post serves as an eyeopener. Thanks for dropping by.
That is scary ? Glad that you found your friend and doctor before it went out of hand. Take care! I will write ‘Take care of your health’ on a sticky note and stick it on my laptop.
Scary it was, yes. God bless both of them for doing the needful that time. The sticky note is a good idea. I should do that too.
Thanks for reading, Sanjota. 🙂
Take care of your health always.. Health is wealth.. I am happy to know you got the right diagnosis and are back on track now.
I can totally understand how you would have felt. Family support is very important in such cases.
When it comes to hralth, always give it the first priority.
That was scary, I could have never thought that improper position could have led to your condition. It’s an eye opener honestly and a lesson for me and most of us bloggers.
This is so scary and I am so happy to know that you both are safe and sound
You are right! One should never, never ignore his or her health and stability for work and ambition! Health and family always comes first! Glad you are healthy and happy now!
This is scary Varsh. I think this is the reason for my backache too. I have to change my sitting position and lifestyle too. Good to know you’re better.
i agree with you dear and its a lesson for me too. indulging in anything like mad sacrificing everything for it , its not right
This is so scary, happy to see all good now..stay healthy
A lot of people take health for granted, just loved the way you handled it with care and got the right diagnosis at the right time, plus the story was inspiring in it’s own way, thank you for sharing such a beautiful post
It has happened to me too. I generally take my health for granted. I didn’t get treated a lump on my wrist when it was very tiny and later had to go under knife. Glad that you are alright.
This is really scary. Improper position can create such dangerous issues, I never ever thought that. Glad you recovered . It’s a lesson for all I can say.