Just wanted to update everyone (and myself, I'm horrible at keeping track of things). My mom says it was gas (I have to laugh at this). Even if it was gas, it was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.
I hadn't eaten anything but a piece of kraft cheese the whole day, until about 5:30-6PM, when I (stupidly) ate 4 pieces of pizza. I didn't scarf them down, though I had them over the course of the evening. I may have had one more, I don't remember. Around 10, my upper stomach started to hurt sort of. It felt like someone had dropped a bowling ball in the middle of my stomach (like RIGHT under the breast area, so not really in the chest, but really high up in the stomach). It wasn't in my lower stomach at all, which I thought was weird, as I'm on my period right now and first chalked it up to cramps. I felt the urge to be sick, but there was no gagging or retching.
It got worse and worse, until I started to feel dizzy. At that point, I went to my parents room and told them something wasn't right. I made it to the bathroom where I quickly had to strip down, because it had suddenly gotten very hot.
My vision started to get really bright, I wouldn't really say it was blurry, because it wasn't, but it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. My hearing dropped considerably, and I heard a loud ringing. It felt like there was a ball of pressure around my head, like my mom was really far away. It's hard to explain. It wasn't muffled, but it just sounded like when you mess with the dials on the radio, and it comes through very quietly, but clearly. I don't remember if it was one ear or both. My arms started to feel sort of tingly, and my mom told me it was a panic attack. I've had anxiety my whole life, and NEVER have I had a panic attack like that.
Everyone insisted it was gas (my mom and sister both said they'd experienced the same symptoms before, my sister a year or two ago, and my mom when she was younger,) so naturally they talked me out of going to the ER saying it was gas.
The whole world was spinning, my neck was weak and slack, my arms wouldn't cooperate with my body. My esophaugs burned and my tongue felt like sandpaper and I was on fire. When I looked in the mirror I was paler than I've ever been. After it started to subside, I got in a cold cold shower, then laid down the rest of the night. I felt mildly dizzy the next day (probably not from eating, and from sleeping all day), and today I feel fine.
I have a physical coming up, and I'm bringing it up. I'd rather hear it was gas or something than go on thinking I had a minor heart attack, brain tumor or stroke at 21 (leaving me afraid I'll die in my sleep at night).
Anyway, I wrote this, like I said, to update you guys and myself, and because I wanted to know if anyone else had these symptoms. The stomach ache seemed strange to me, maybe it was unrelated. Oddly enough, I have been belching a LOT lately, so maybe it WAS gas/gas was one contributing factor. But the hearing dropping out just didn't seem to fit in.
So a lot of things are fitting in with Meniere's, the tinnitus, the hearing drop, the dizziness, the nausea; but some things aren't: the stomach ache, the paleness, the tingly arms, the belching.
So, yeah. I'll talk it over with my doctor. Thanks for the suggestions and advice, I'll bring it up when I go, and we'll see what happens.
interesting about the high-sodium diets. I don't eat heavily-processed fast food or add table salt to what I eat so for me I don't think it would be a factor.
