Weekend (8/4-8/5)

I had a wonderful weekend!

Saturday:
We decided to go as a family (and dog) to the mall and pet store. But after the pet store I realized that I needed to rest still from the day before. I spent the rest of the day in bed just resting. With POTS/OH it is important to prepare for the future and not overdue, especially when you have plans for the next night.

Sunday:
Gage and I slept over at Matt's house. Since Matt lives fifty minutes away it is much healthier for me to just stay the night and go to bed on time. It is very important to take care of your body while having fun.

Packing for a sleep over takes a lot of prep with an illness. You have to make sure to have things for every situation. It is important to bring enough meds for the stay and a day longer. In my case I bring:

• PRN:
• Blood Pressure
• Nausea
• high strength (puts my to sleep)
•  medium strength (works for 2.5 to 3 hours)
• low strength (works for an hour)
• Pain
• high strength (same med but different doses)
• low strength
•  Muscle Relaxant
• Daily Meds

It is also important to bring food if you have dietary restrictions. Because of my Gastroperesis I need to bring yogurt and Ensure Enlive. Before going over to the friend's house it is nice to call ahead and talk to the person responsible for food. That way you can explain to them that you are not trying to be rude by bringing your own food and that it is medically necessary.

While on the phone with them it is a good idea to ask if they have any ice packs frozen and if they have heating pads available for use. If they don't have any frozen ice packs it is a good idea to invest in some instant ice packs or if you are going to be at that house a lot ask if it would be okay if you could leave some ice packs in their freezer. Some ice packs double as heating packs if you heat them up in the microwave, otherwise you could bring a cheap plug in one or one that heats up in the microwave made with rice.

If your illness causes you to have a lot of swelling it is a good idea to bring over some compression bandages, compression socks, or compression tape. I like to wear compression stockings for my POTS/OH and compression tape/bandages for my joints when they start to swell with my EDS.

Last but not least it is very important to tell the family what you are dealing with. They don't need to know everything, just what could affect them during your stay there. It is important to tell them if you are at risk for seizures or for passing out. Tell them if your doctor's contacts are in your phone or if you have them on a separate sheet of paper. I also tell people that I don't want an ambulance called if anything happens to me that has to do with my illness but that is just personal preference. Also, make sure that your family or loved ones know where you are and have a contact number of the place to reach you at.

With illness it is important to feel like you have been able to get away from it even if it was just from a day but it is important to do this safely.

Forever Flexible,
Hallie Rose