It happened again

I can't remember if I mentioned this on here before, or just on Ravelry. This is the second time I've had a weird little occurrence and I'm wondering what it is.

At the science fair, after lunch (so I'm sure it wasn't a blood-sugar issue), I started to feel very warm. The guy I was co-judging with had a coat and tie on so I figured it wasn't that the room was so warm*. And I started to perspire heavily, and feel a little bit sick and not-exactly disoriented, but like it was really hard to concentrate (And you need to concentrate, to fairly judge the projects).

(*Though later on, I found out it was - the director came to me and apologized and said, "Someone claimed last night it was too cold in here so they turned the A/C to a warmer temperature; that has been changed now")

I excused myself - I figured my having to go back and look at the project again would be less traumatizing for the student than having me pass out right there would be - and sat down out in the hall, where it was cooler. One of the "runners" went and got me a damp paper towel to put on the back of my neck. I divested myself of the little jacket I was wearing and left it with the person, and after a few minutes, went back in and judged some more.

But then I got to feeling even worse. Went back out, sat down, the runner got me a bottle of water, asked them if there was somewhere secure I could leave my (very heavy) purse. (Yes, there was).

I finally got to feeling better enough that I could go back in and finish judging, but I must have looked pale or woozy at the final poster because one of the students offered me the chair he had been given. (I will say not having the heavy purse pulling on my neck and shoulder helped a lot; it was like it was pinching a nerve)

(I was fine as long as I was sitting down; it was standing that was doing me in.)

I don't know, honestly, what it could have been. At the very start, I kind of panicked and thought "heart issue!" because I know heavy perspiration can be a symptom of heart attack. But my pulse seemed steady and normal, and I didn't get any other symptoms (no arm or chest pain). It wasn't a panic attack, because I didn't feel scared or like I had to get out of there and, as I said, my heart wasn't racing.

I think it could have been one of a couple of things:

a. dehydration. I drank a big glass of water with my lunch but that was probably not enough for how warm it was in the building. And I felt markedly better after drinking water. The previous time I had this issue it was warm in the room and it had been several hours since I had had any fluids. Which means I'll just have to be extra careful in the future to make sure I drink enough water. (And now I think of it: one time I nearly passed out after giving blood, the one thing that made me feel better was drinking water).

b. some kind of weird allergic reaction: I had been out in the field the previous two days, and had been having lots of weird hives and contact dermatitis. And also, the pasta I had at lunch had "crabmeat" in it, which could have been the pollock-fish "crab" meat (the faux crab), and that has sorbitol in it, which I'm kind of sensitive to. (And heck, I could have a bit of a fish allergy; a few times in the past I've felt unwell after eating certain fish).

c. hot flash, or something akin to it. I'm about the age (sigh) where my mother started with that whole business. The fact that the thing was time limited - I was better within a half hour of it starting - might suggest that. But I didn't flush, and while I felt warm, I didn't feel the Oh noes, I'm burning UP sensation other women have described.

d. Possible migraine that never developed? I did have a slight headache by the time I got home, and felt wiped out in the way I often feel after a migraine. And apparently a low pressure system (a common trigger for my migraines) was right over the place where I was that afternoon.

e. Ate too much at lunch? And then went into a warm room? That's possible - I had a large dish of pasta (the campus I was on, like many now, are doing the Let's Promote Healthful Eating thing and had signs up all over the lunchroom suggesting healthful choices, and there was a sign noting almost apologetically that pasta servings were 3 ounces but we were welcome to go back and get more - well, if what I was given was 3 ounces of pasta (plus the crabmeat, plus the mushrooms and other veggies I requested), 3 ounces is an ENORMOUS serving of pasta compared to what I normally eat. I actually think it was bigger than 3 ounces, but I don't know for sure.) It's possible that my body was in conflict mode - "do we send the blood to the muscles to keep her standing upright, or do we send it to the digestive system so she doesn't lose her lunch?" and things just kind of got deadlocked and my body freaked out a little. I don't know. Most of the time I actually eat pretty small meals so I guess that was a lot of food for me to be dealing with all at once. And I usually don't have to be on my feet for hours after a big meal, on the rare occasions I do eat them. (My pre-fieldwork lunch of the previous day was a hard-boiled egg, an orange, a spoon of peanut butter, and a small glass of milk.).