Posted November 24, 2015
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Leonard03
Prepare For Descent
Registered: Mar 2014
From Canada
![trentonlf](https://images.gog.com/3db5274bc7d72b08e6d338b0516da836b2b27b7294de686130b6b2c01a74c8a7_forum_avatar.jpg)
trentonlf
Easily amused
Registered: Apr 2014
From United States
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Leonard03
Prepare For Descent
Registered: Mar 2014
From Canada
![Bookwyrm627](https://images.gog.com/d1355e5f84031276937144dd0d53330f9b25822a2390be87bb5e993fcc472bcd_forum_avatar.jpg)
Bookwyrm627
ADD Jumping Bean
Registered: Nov 2013
From United States
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HypersomniacLive
The Reluctant Voter
Registered: Sep 2011
From Vatican City
![HijacK](https://images.gog.com/6032762e8e702a9bbf67543cd2fd61b2eeabd490739886c8292c9472021d6521_avm.jpg)
HijacK
Champion
Registered: Apr 2012
From Romania
Posted November 30, 2015
![avatar](http://images.gog.com/ab59589c0080a8bebd8682f1243493ff1b59c01b83c8df6accd6e749b400a35c_avm.jpg)
Last night, all done for the day, in bed and dropping slowly off to sleep, my wife suddenly turns to me and asks:
"Honey, have you ever headlamp sausage?"
I panicked. This is the type of question for which there is simply so suitable response. There is absolutely no set of experiences in my nearly forty years of life which have adequately prepared me to handle such a question. Is this a metaphor? A hypothetical? Is she talking about coal miners' breakfasts? Do I play it cool? Play it dumb? Just ignore it entirely and hope the questions just crawls off and dies quietly on its own? What does one do?
I finally settled on the "eloquent" response:
"What the fuck is a headlamp sausage?"
As it turns out, she was actually asking me if I had ever had lamb sausage, but truth be told, I really didn't think that question was any more sensible than the first version.
![bler144](https://images.gog.com/fa67c7a76bfba4473cb8c94252a15c350a5c2e368a203d08be7995f05288327d_forum_avatar.jpg)
bler144
μαϊμού
Registered: Dec 2013
From United States
Posted December 01, 2015
I'm alive, and I actually know what the issue is, more or less. Perhaps TMI (and better not in the game thread) but:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasovagal_response
Shortish version, your body has the "voluntary nervous system" which controls muscles like your biceps, and the autonomic nervous system which controls all the stuff that falls more or less under involuntary response - heartbeat, digestion, etc.
And the autonomic system has two general functions - ramping up ("sympathetic" adrenaline, etc.) and cooling down (parasympathetic). In certain conditions my brain just tells the arteries/veins in my lower body to dilate, and whoosh, all the blood goes down into that space. With insufficient blood in the heart to pump, the heart stops - the survival mechanism being that passing out brings all the blood level and it can flow back into the heart and to the brain.
When you pee you feel relaxed, right? That's parasympathetic. My brain just tells my system to relax too much sometimes in conjunction with certain secondary triggers.
Happened for the first time when I was 24 or so and I ended up in the hospital for 2-3 days. At the time some enterprising surgeon wanted to put me on a pacemaker, but I pointed out the real issue is the lack of blood in the heart. He really just wanted to do the surgery, I think, so he conceded but noted that, while my heart is young it can probably keep restarting on its own. Eventually, it won't. Or I'll fall and seriously hurt myself. Or get stuck collapsed in an upright position and seize over and over (that happened once the night I tore my ACL) because the heart/brain can't get enough blood back north to restart properly.
Before I had a child I never really worried about it. It freaks the shit out of my spouse. Haven't decided whether to tell her.
The combination of shock and urination is a double-whammy for me. Other people have slightly different triggers which the wiki goes into, but they all tend to involve some aspect of the parasympathetic system. The nyquil made me dizzy/nauseous (doesn't usually), and that was enough. What was scary last night was both how fast it happened, how hard that bleepin' floor is, and how I still couldn't sleep afterwards.
But at least in current medicine there's really nothing they can do for me, either as prevention or after the fact. If I'd gone in to the ER it would have been mostly for them to knock me out so I could sleep and perhaps give me stitches.
Pretty sure I didn't get a concussion - I've had them before from sports. Neck hurts, though, and have a pretty decent lump on my forehead - think that's where most of the blood came from. Think I chipped a tooth slightly. I think I'm going to rest a few more hours before trying to either go out to forage for food or make it to my conference.
Gonna have to give the maids a good tip, though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasovagal_response
Shortish version, your body has the "voluntary nervous system" which controls muscles like your biceps, and the autonomic nervous system which controls all the stuff that falls more or less under involuntary response - heartbeat, digestion, etc.
And the autonomic system has two general functions - ramping up ("sympathetic" adrenaline, etc.) and cooling down (parasympathetic). In certain conditions my brain just tells the arteries/veins in my lower body to dilate, and whoosh, all the blood goes down into that space. With insufficient blood in the heart to pump, the heart stops - the survival mechanism being that passing out brings all the blood level and it can flow back into the heart and to the brain.
When you pee you feel relaxed, right? That's parasympathetic. My brain just tells my system to relax too much sometimes in conjunction with certain secondary triggers.
Happened for the first time when I was 24 or so and I ended up in the hospital for 2-3 days. At the time some enterprising surgeon wanted to put me on a pacemaker, but I pointed out the real issue is the lack of blood in the heart. He really just wanted to do the surgery, I think, so he conceded but noted that, while my heart is young it can probably keep restarting on its own. Eventually, it won't. Or I'll fall and seriously hurt myself. Or get stuck collapsed in an upright position and seize over and over (that happened once the night I tore my ACL) because the heart/brain can't get enough blood back north to restart properly.
Before I had a child I never really worried about it. It freaks the shit out of my spouse. Haven't decided whether to tell her.
The combination of shock and urination is a double-whammy for me. Other people have slightly different triggers which the wiki goes into, but they all tend to involve some aspect of the parasympathetic system. The nyquil made me dizzy/nauseous (doesn't usually), and that was enough. What was scary last night was both how fast it happened, how hard that bleepin' floor is, and how I still couldn't sleep afterwards.
But at least in current medicine there's really nothing they can do for me, either as prevention or after the fact. If I'd gone in to the ER it would have been mostly for them to knock me out so I could sleep and perhaps give me stitches.
Pretty sure I didn't get a concussion - I've had them before from sports. Neck hurts, though, and have a pretty decent lump on my forehead - think that's where most of the blood came from. Think I chipped a tooth slightly. I think I'm going to rest a few more hours before trying to either go out to forage for food or make it to my conference.
Gonna have to give the maids a good tip, though.
![HypersomniacLive](https://images.gog.com/fc4a1abc37a5fe68e4e7fe666d87976d9900b9f928128c087fa9bbdf2e3e4bc4_forum_avatar.jpg)
HypersomniacLive
The Reluctant Voter
Registered: Sep 2011
From Vatican City
![adaliabooks](https://images.gog.com/c90963e355fe1295789b379c4a4da768cbe394dc8b4c54439a31b01bfa2febc8_forum_avatar.jpg)
adaliabooks
"Vell, Zaphod's just zis guy, you know?"
Registered: Jun 2013
From United Kingdom
![Leonard03](https://images.gog.com/d0e74cbb82f70c25f4734839173656bcc476585cb1a370f0865c5e9522807637_forum_avatar.jpg)
Leonard03
Prepare For Descent
Registered: Mar 2014
From Canada
![budejovice](https://images.gog.com/9d9bcc65d3fa11811ed12a81ea99db6ca8f586fb1fcfabecdc64fc5b956fe7c7_forum_avatar.jpg)
budejovice
3/23/17
Registered: Sep 2013
From Belize
![Lifthrasil](https://images.gog.com/e2259851c6e86609b166b01345176fdc7b1fed6147789a7fb8042dc24095c8da_forum_avatar.jpg)
Lifthrasil
Bring the GOG-Downloader back!
Registered: Apr 2011
From Germany
Posted December 01, 2015
I wish you speedy recovery too, bler! It sucks when you have something medicine is powerless against... but carry on and take care of yourself!
![agentcarr16](https://images.gog.com/24d40e8a3ed25c41c30011e5233f456c0886b1adc8d489db9c1babfec8fb729c_forum_avatar.jpg)
agentcarr16
Vagabond
Registered: Mar 2014
From Canada
Posted December 01, 2015
I too will chime in with best wishes for your speedy recovery.
![drealmer7](https://images.gog.com/0620ef089804fd2d3d36d66702e41cdd5f3925bc78e6b1d497e1626c7697a661_forum_avatar.jpg)
drealmer7
finding balance
Registered: Dec 2010
From United States
Posted December 01, 2015
Damn. My energy and thoughts are with you, bler.
![bler144](https://images.gog.com/fa67c7a76bfba4473cb8c94252a15c350a5c2e368a203d08be7995f05288327d_forum_avatar.jpg)
bler144
μαϊμού
Registered: Dec 2013
From United States