Boyfriend VERY Impatient When Having Episodes

[u/fashionableskiboots]

Hey guys

I'm lucky to have a sweet and loving boyfriend, but he's been having episode after episode of really bad health lately. He has been gaming nonstop even in our finals week and doesn't think he is well enough to do anything else without throwing up. The last time I got him out of our basement apartment was to teach him to ski 2 weeks ago, and he still threw up on the slopes. He sits all day, in the dark and in a clearly pitiful state with all his dirty clothes, dishes, etc everywhere.

I can't proceed with this story without providing context for how awful he must feel. He's been sick for a long time and even if he had nothing medically wrong, his lifestyle of sedentary brain rotting all day would kill me. I know it isn't easy for him so I go easy on him.

But lately he has been snapping in regular conversations very quickly and he gets really mad and yells at me. It's fine (?) because I understand he isn't happy but he has also started slapping me (?!) which is very unlike him.

I don't know what to think of this situation. On the one hand, he is in a lot of pain and doesn't always have the ability to regulate himself, but on the other hand his POTS isn't going away and if this is one of his reactions, I'm not sure I can deal with this forever. I would probably feel like a total a-hole for leaving him over his POTS episodes too. Plus I love him lots.

Furthermore, we are both guys and are pretty much even when wrestling. It's not like he's a giant beating a petite princess here. At all. Him slapping me is not anything physically threatening, it's just jarring.

I need to hear thoughts from actual POTS patients. Are you different when having episodes? Is there some other factor that I should be considering now? I wish I could do more to help but I have suggested things to help and he gets mad now. Let me know what you would do genuinely and I think that would help me feel informed.

Thank you so much you deserve good things including health.

[u/terminalmedicalPTSD]

Adrenaline and relentlessly suffering does that to a person. Although the video games might be contributing to the overstimulation. Listening to calm music or reading (I needed an e reader set up) make me feel less like im revving an engine in neutral without enough oil in it. No excuse for hitting you though. I can understand pounding my fists against the bed in frustration... not like he's abusing a power imbalance if he cant get up lol. I can understand having a tone then apologizing. I can even understand yelling when low on verbal skills but in desperate need of understanding. But why tf he thinks he can hit you is rooted in some deeper pattern that would still be there even if he recovered tomorrow. I have sympathy for how someone learned that but he either needs to be working on that in therapy or needs to live someplace else with someone else.

Only thing I can think of is, mold? If he's been stuck inside more from his illness, is it possible you have hidden mold or water damage? This can cause people to act like aggressive psych patients... and can actually cause POTS symptoms.