the hot goddess

A Dizzying Midlife in Portugal ~ Being Prepared for Emergencies as a Solo Expat

Moving overseas alone to start a new life in a foreign country where you don’t know anyone and you don’t speak the language is challenging and exhilarating. It’s also scary, especially if there’s a health scare when you are home alone as a solo midlife expat.

This happened to me earlier this year, and while everything turned out fine, it was a frightening experience. Fortunately, my overthinking brain had already thought through similar scenarios, and I was prepared with phone numbers and an action plan. Whether you live in a foreign country or not, you need to have a plan for what you will do and who you will call if you are alone and experience a health emergency.

Expat Emergency Must-Do’s in Portugal

1. Get a list of emergency phone numbers for your city. In Europe, 112 is the equivalent of 911 in the U.S. But you also want to have the numbers for the local GNR or police department, Bombeiros (fire department), and Centro de Saúde (health center) in your town. Know the location and phone number of your native country’s embassy here.

Source: https://pt.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/

2. Start collecting personal cell phone numbers of neighbors and friendly people on day one. I was a smiling phone-number-asking-fool from the moment I landed in Portugal. I prefer cell phone numbers (they begin with a 9 here; landlines begin with a 2) so I can send a text or share my exact location if needed. Before my second day here, I had the personal phone numbers of both next-door neighbors, another neighbor in the development, and a taxi driver. By my fourth day, I had the number of an English-speaking Portuguese woman who lived nearby. We would become friends, and she is in my phone as an ICE (in case of emergency) contact. My neighbors are in my phone with NEIGHBOR (VIZINHO) typed beside their names as an identifier.

3. Set up emergency contact lists on your cell phone, in your wallet, and with your native country’s State Department. For U.S. citizens, enroll in STEP, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. I did this before I left the United States. STEP is for Americans living abroad as well as travelers.

4. As soon as you can, find a doctor and familiarize yourself with the nearest hospital.

5. Do you know what to do if you’re alone in case of stroke, heart attack, choking, or a serious burn or cut? It’s important to know what to do regardless of where you are living.

A Scary Non-Emergency

In January, I briefly fainted while doing my morning yoga practice alone in my lounge. I was doing a floor pose, so I didn’t fall from standing and was not hurt. I was out for less than a minute, according to my yoga timer. When I tried to get up into a sitting position on the floor, the room appeared to start violently spinning. Crazy spinning. Like bad special effects in those Ghoulardi show horror movies in the 60s. It was as if I were sitting in one of those snow globe things, and some maniac was swirling it around and around over and over again.

My first thought was I was having a stroke. I thought I felt some possible tingling in my arms and legs. Was my foot numb, too, maybe? The spinning slowed and then stopped, but I still felt dizzy and weird. I crawled over to a wall mirror — crawled because I didn’t want to risk falling — and smiled in the mirror. Both sides of my mouth went up. Good. Then I raised both arms over my head. Both went straight up. Again, good. No pain in my chest, shoulder, arm, or head. No eye pain. I was pretty sure at this point that I was not having a stroke or heart attack. Just to be safe, though, I crawled (still not wanting to risk a fall and injury) to the kitchen and, finally standing to lean against the counter, took aspirin as a precaution. Then I unlocked the front and back doors to my home, just in case something happened and emergency responders needed to enter.

I am happy to say there was no 112 call that day or since. That brief episode was just the beginning of harmless but annoying BPPV — benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Source:
https://www.webmd.com/brain/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo
Source:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo-bppv

I’d never heard of BPPV before and was surprised to learn that risk factors include:

  • Being over 60
  • Being a woman
  • Having a history of migraines
  • Having a history of motion sickness

I’m immensely grateful for my good health and happy that my little scare turned out to be a benign non-emergency. I still have recurring bouts of this shit BPPV, but they are not as severe as the first one, and now I know how to do a simple series of head movements at home to treat them. (Also not fun. Keep a bucket nearby for vomiting.) I’ve tweaked my yoga and walking routine a tiny bit, and I may still be somewhat hesitant on cliff paths down to the beach at times. But I’m confident that I am as prepared as I can be should I have to face a real health emergency here alone. I hope you are too.

I am dizzy with delight (ugh, sorry) to be included in the Season Two recap of top podcast episodes on Portugal the Simple Life. Check it out here if you wish.

Thank you for reading ❤️. I hope your weekend finds you on sure footing.

All images are my own, except as noted. Featured image from Pexel Free Photo Library.

The Hot Goddess

Instagram: retired_rewired_inspired

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38 comments

  1. Oh my, so glad you’re ok. I haven’t heard of this condition but will pass it on to someone who’s been having these fainting spells. Good tips. I’m going to work on actioning these them this weekend for myself and others in my orbit.

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  3. Hey Natalie, I am so glad you received a diagnosis from that 💩. Thanks for the emergency numbers and you look amazing in the cute pink sweater with matching sneakers.
    Go on Diva!

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    • Thank you, Jess! 💖 (I do love that sweater 😉. It’s a holdover from my 2nd-grade teaching days.) I feel fine now, and hope my little episode serves as a reminder to others to stay prepared — especially when living alone. Happy weekend!

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  4. Oh, wow, Natalie, I’m so glad your episode ended safely and you know how to handle these BENIGN episodes should they happen again. Thank you for sharing lots of important info and excellent advice. 😘

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  5. Natalie, this whole topic is something that I think about frequently, now that I am older. I wonder what I would do living alone in Europe. I thought about possibly starting a daily check-in with other expats as a extra safety measure. For now I will start compiling my emergency contacts.

    By the way I also have suffered with sporadic episodes of vertigo and know how disorienting it can be. I used to go to my chiropractor who would perform a maneuver. But the exercise in the link you provided seems easy enough for me to do on my own.

    I hope BPPV is a rare and brief occurrence in your life.

    Be Well!

    ✌🏾&🙏🏾  💜   

    Jametta

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    • Thank you so much for this, Jametta ❤️! Great idea about the daily expat check-in. I’m sorry you also experience vertigo episodes.There are different types; the Epley Maneuver works well for my BPPV, but not for other types of vertigo. I hope your episodes are rare and brief, too.

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  6. You are so courageous & not just for moving to a foreign place! I’m glad you’re feeling better and thanks for the heads up about BPPV. Since their not sure if I’m dealing with vertigo or Miniere’s disease, it’s definitely something worth looking into. Thanks for sharing “your hottness” ( yes, that what I call you in my head sometimes, lol).

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  9. Such good advice, Natalie! I am sorry you had to go through that and relieved to know that it can be managed. I tick all the boxes for having this type of episode but so far, so good. Thanks for the heads (oops, wrong choice of words) up! Aging is not for sissies yet it still beats the alternative…LOL!

    Deb

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  10. Invaluable advice Natalie! Things happen so quickly and preparation is key in so many aspects of our life journey. Glad to hear you’re ok and as always…thanks for posting! ✝️🙏🏽💜💕💕😇🤗

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  15. I found your blog while researching Portugal, Natalie. I was diagnosed with BPPV a little over a year and a half ago. The spinning is horrible! The ER thought I was having a stroke. I had been having short episodes for a few months but they always went away but this episode lasted for more than 8 hours.
    The Epley is pure magic. When the occupational therapist treated me the first time in the hospital, she said what was happening… it is because the crystals in my ear were “out of whack.” Supposedly, this is common but people don’t realize it because it passes most of the time after we change the position of our head. That’s why doing the Epley works. It resets the crystals. Since you were doing yoga at the time, this could be what happened to you.
    I am enjoying reading your experience! It looks like even if I wanted to move, and I do have enough monthly fixed income, I don’t have enough to put an additional $20k in a Portugal bank like you did, so it’s most likely not going to happen for me… but I am living vicariously through your adventure!

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  16.     I found your blog while researching Portugal, Natalie. I was diagnosed with BPPV a little over a year and a half ago. The spinning is horrible! The ER thought I was having a stroke. I had been having short episodes for a few months but they always went away but this episode lasted for more than 8 hours.
        The Epley is pure magic. When the occupational therapist treated me the first time in the hospital, she said what was happening… it is because the crystals in my ear were “out of whack.” Supposedly, this is common but people don’t realize it because it passes most of the time after we change the position of our head. That’s why doing the Epley works. It resets the crystals. Since you were doing yoga at the time, this could be what happened to you.
        I am enjoying reading your experience! It looks like even if I wanted to move, and I do have enough monthly fixed income, I don’t have enough to put an additional $20k in a Portugal bank like you did, so it’s most likely not going to happen for me… but I am living vicariously through your adventure!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thank you so much for reading and commenting! 💜 I’m sorry you had this experience. Yes, it is terrifying, especially the first time. Thank goodness for the Epley Maneuver.
      I’m happy you are enjoying reading THG blog. Not everyone puts in $20k, BTW. Overkill on my part.
      Thank you for the kind words and best wishes to you 😊

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  17. This is good info, Natalie, and something I probably would’ve never thought of. Glad to hear your faint wasn’t very serious, but reoccurring BBV does not sound like fun times.

    Also, your hot pink sweater is super cute 💟

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