Horrors Of Hypotension

We've all heard about the dangers of high blood pressure, or hypertension.  But one thing that may not be as well-known is low blood pressure, or hypo-tension.  Back in 2006, I experienced it first-hand.  Early in the day, I drank some expired milk (yeah, I know, that was stupid).  Later on in the evening, I picked up some take-out from a new food court.  By the time I was ready for bed, I wasn't feeling too good.  I was watching people arguing in a chat room when I started getting nauseated, and usually chat doesn't make me feel THAT sick.  Anyway, after a bout of the dry heaves, I started feeling like I needed to sit on the toilet.  At first, it was just a normal bowel movement, albeit a larger quantity than what I was used to.
But 15 minutes later, I needed to go again.  And again.  And again.  My stool went from the standard consistency to something resembling dark water.  My blood pressure dropped rapidly.  My mouth started feeling like sandpaper.  After the sun came up, I was still awake, laying in bed between bathroom visits.  I was staring at the ceiling and talking to people who weren't there.  I knew something was wrong, not just because I was having a conversation with invisible friends, but because I couldn't stop talking, even though I wanted to.
  I had a small machine for checking blood pressure, a spare that my mom gave me (she has several of them because she has hypertension).  I checked my BP, and it was 73 over 48.  I found out much later that level of pressure is not a good thing.  I actually should have gone to the ER.  However, I drank some electrolyte-replacement liquid from the drugstore, and decided to wait it out.  After a while, I was able to sip water without it flooding out of me, and I gradually returned to normal.