Que Sara Sara

Medical gaslighting is something that many autistics encounter. My latest is around long covid.

It started the week I went back to work after being out from covid. My resting pulse was very high for me. I usually hang around 65-72. I was at workout level (90+) for over 30 minutes, of which I was alerted because of my watch. At one point I spent some time, at rest mind you, at 127. That’s very high for me.

I contacted my doctor because I was later sick, dizzy, and had a headache. I was also overheated. It was not cold or hot outside. I was sweating.

The next day I was a bit better. Not sick. A bit lower pulse. This is when a nurse from my doctor’s office called. I told her what happened and she said I was just dehydrated. I had more water and liquids the day before than I had the day she called. Gaslighting. She wouldn’t see anything else. In fact she told me I should drink half my weight in water. I asked her if she knew how much I weighed. I am not a small person. I am tall and overweight. That would literally kill me to drink, say, 175 lbs of water. Let me break this down for you folks. There is about .12 gallons per pound of water. So .12 x 175= 21 gallons of water. 21 GALLONS OF WATER!!!! OMG!! Thats 95.5 liters! A blue whale can drink that much water, but no human. I would have died of water poisoning by gallon 2.

So, beyond the water poisoning, I’m 5.5 weeks from getting Covid (that was a gaslighting all its own), and my resting pulse is between 80 and 90. I drink just as much fluids as I did pre-covid. I’m exhausted all the time. I get dizzy spells. I have long covid. I’m getting an echocardiogram on 7/5. I had one last year and I had a minor heart issue. We will see what it says now.

Bonus: How was getting covid gaslighting too? I need a cpap machine at night because of sleep apnea. I went to my respitory therapist to get set up with my first one in late May, a Thursday. The therapist used a reusable model to show me how the mask went on. Didn’t wipe it down. During a pandemic. And then handed it to me to try. I wore it with forced dry air for 20-30 minutes. 20+ minutes of her germs being forced into my lungs.

That night I had a bit of a cough, but I had forced DRY air for a while, so I might have been irritated. Well, by Sunday (3 days later) I was SICK. I knew exactly where I had it from. I tested positive for covid the next day. I called the respitory therapy business and they were all, it takes 6-10 days to catch covid… Thats absolute bs. It takes 3-5. They also said “she doesn’t even feel sick or have symptoms.” Umm…asymptomatic?! So they totally gaslighted me to cover their own ass. I can’t even use the damn machine because it causes so much anxiety and clostrophobia. I should just return it. I think I will tomorrow.