Health detective: Beware!

So this morning I take my supplements, and have my morning green drink, and I'm good to go. I get to school, and my neighbor and I have a lively philosophical chat. The bell rings and I take my post outside the door. Seconds later I feel like I'm going to faint. Literally like I will pass out if I don't sit down IMMEDIATELY. I never feel dizzy, so this is scary.  So I tell my other neighbor. She follows me with concern as I hold onto the wall and make my way to a seat!!!!! I'm afraid to stand up!

Things go through my mind! Am I having a STROKE! Is my blood pressure HIGH? Am I having a HEART ATTACK????!!!!  The students come in and I can't hover and traipse through the classroom as I usually do. I am dizzily confined to my DESK! I make it to the bathroom... holding on to make sure I don't collapse! I Google stroke and heart attack. I don't seem to be having either. I make an executive decision!To go home. The last thing I want is to pass out at school and be carted off to the hospital. So I go home an hour after arriving.

I drive home slowly and carefully (only 8 minutes away) and go to bed. I'm groggy and heavy-eyed, and I wonder how long I will be in this unfortunate state!

Fast forward! I am a supplement devotee. I can say with sincerity that vitamins and supplements have changed my life and kept me alive. My entire physiology has changed dramatically with the nourishment of vitamins and herbs.

So then I'm lying woozily, sleepily on the sofa, a little worried-- when I remember that I took the herb valerian this morning. Just because it happened to be on the counter, and who doesn't like to be calm? But there's also valerian in my new vitamin B complex. AHA! I had taken a strong dose of a supplement best taken in the evening! And I only take it at night if I'm really really busy and stress levels are high!

I was actually herbally over-sedated! Were I less "alternative" I would have rushed to the emergency room and submitted to a battery of tests. And had it been someone less alternative, I'd think they were crazy NOT to be in the emergency room submitting to a battery of tests.

So all is well now. Still a bit groggy, but I'm not dizzy, and I'm in no danger.

My advice....Be careful, because herbs and supplements are wonderfully powerful, so know the right dosage and cross-check what's in different formulas! And know yourself to the extent that you can be a health detective-- empowered to make decisions that are best for you.