My Success Story
CVS (cyclic vomiting syndrome) is a condition that makes someone puke non-stop until they blood comes out with the vomit because they have nothing else to puke. At this point, they are rushed to the ER. There, the doctors put an IV in their veins so you can have fluid. Imagine not being able to eat or drink anything for almost a full day. The doctors will also put medicine in the IV to help the victims recover faster by transferring medicines in through the tubs. Sometimes this is an overnight process for recovery, but it can last longer. The cause of these attacks is unknown and it is triggered by various actions depending on the person.
I have had CVS since 1998 when I was about ten years old. I can remember going to the ER for the first time and just wishing the puking stopped. I even remember a time I had to take a urine sample and my dad joked it was apple juice. That did not help because I wanted something to drink but could not open my mouth without the fear of puking. These attacks just continued twice a year. I had some tests taken for the doctors to understand my problem. When I had an MRI done, they found out I even had a stroke during one of my attacks. With a stroke, you are unable to move and cannot talk correctly, so it is possible for it to happen during my attacks because I cannot talk and I barely have any energy to move a muscle. Luckily, I survived the stroke and rid of the CVS. I feel like Carson McCullers sometimes with surviving an illness at a young age.
My last CVS attack happened to me randomly in 2009 when I was visiting my grandmother in Connecticut. I remember was in my bed playing Pokémon, I then got thirsty, went down stairs and had a glass of orange juice, climbed back to bed, and then I started puking. I was puking all night and did not get any sleep. The next day my parents took me to the ER while my brother and grandmother just prayed for me. At first, my dad wanted to wait it out since we were not at home. It was understandable, but he had to act quickly. They finally took me to a clinic who then decided to take me by ambulance to the ER. I had to say their overnight by myself and just prayed to get well again. Thankfully, the next morning I was fully better and went home. This attack scared me so much, because it happened so randomly and almost thought I had another stroke; however it made me realize I had to change my life.
After that attack, I started working out at my college’s gym and forced myself to improve my eating habits. This happened sometime in September of 2010 during my senior year of college. At first, I just asked around for help from people at the gym and even made some pretty cool friends, but then has I got use to it I started to do things my own. Slowly progressing and becoming better at my workouts. My starting weight was about 115-125 because of all the medical drama had had gone through, but I then started to gain the weight with the correct foods. I forced myself to stopped eating junk food and drinking soda. Thinking these might have triggered my CVS at times. Overtime I have changed my routine numerous times and what I do in the gym just to stay motivated. I have struggled with some stuff since working out, but I manage to get back up like a solider and carry on with my life. Since I started working out, I have noticed my puking has stopped and I am looking better as a plus too. This even pushed me to get off the amitriptyline I was taking to help me cope with the CVS. That pill was only making things worse since I have been working out. The medication made me feel depressed as if I still had CVS. I had to get off all my medications in 2012 in order to full say I killed my CVS.
If you read this, I hope you take in consideration that even with health issues; you can work out as well and try to improve your lifestyle. You do not have to pick up a weight or start running; just do something healthy to change your life. Forget about the past. Do relive it and move on. That helped me forget about CVS and helped me realized I won my battle. I strongly believe that you can improve life with just a simple healthy change. We all want to achieve so kind of goal. We were not born to stay the same, we were born to mold into something satisfying.
