V E R T I G O Or just because you are dizzzy, it doesn't mean that the floor is not slanted!
I have not placed an entry here for a while. Part of the reason is that since the storm, we comcast customers have had jittery internet access at best. The other is that I have joined a legion of persons whose inner ears are not functioning normally.
Wednesday evening, June 18th, I was taking my customary nap before leaving for a long night at church for choir practice. This night I had signed up for the final group dinner at six which included my favorite junk food. hot dogs! I planned my whole eating day to allow this on my diet.
The phone rang around 5 PM and after I took care of the call, I decided I still had time for a ten minute power nap, so I lay down on the couch. When I got up to go downstairs to get my clean jeans from the laundry room, I realized that all was not right in my world. The kitchen was out of kilter. Then I realized it was I, and not the kitchen that was unbalanced, and no way was I going to go downstairs let alone drive the six miles or even one mile to the church. I decided to skip the meal and see if further napping would right things.
It didn't. So I called the choir guys cell and left a message that I was not coming. I went upstairs. The carpeted stairs going up are easier navigated than the tiled basement stairs. Besides the bed is more comfy than the couch anyway. I took my BP with my questionable wrist meter. Normal. Took my blood sugar reading. Also normal. Ate something. Took one aspirin and went to bed and slept.
Woke up and didn't feel dizzy, at least not until I got up and tried to walk across the room to the bath. Holding on to dressers and walls I made it to the bathroom where nausea and the ultimate result of nausea occured. This, I thought would solve things. Went back to bed. Slept some more. Woke up not dizzy again, until it was time to get out of bed.
Took vital stats off and on through the night and all else was normal. I kept track of these records and was pleased to find when I went to the doctor that her blood pressure cuff and my wrist monitor showed very much the same results.
I did call my sister in Colorado to ask about her experience with Vertigo, and found out that hers was much more severe. Later on I found that my friend M. had had the same experience as my sister. Besides feeling like a wus, I waited another day and decided if things did not change in two days, I would get to the doc, which I did on Friday thanks to my friend V who, although caring for her mom, was able to get some time free to take me. V also took me for the CAT scan this past Tuesday, although by then, thanks to time and the doctors prescribed nice tasting chewable anivert, I was able to drive.
Since then, almost everyone I have talked to has had or knows someone who has had varying degrees of BPV, Benign positional vertigo. I am not sure what is so benign about it, but its a comforting thought to know it means no harm. I have also found other friends who will be willing to drive me places should I need it, including M and WB. Of course I knew that anyway. V just happened to be available when I was able to get the appointment.
By Sunday, I felt well enough to drive and discovered that my type of Vertigo seems to straighten out if my hands, or a cane, can make contact with a surface. So, sitting in the car where I could touch the steering wheel and doors I was fine. It seems that the only area that is out of alignment when I am dizzy now is the area three feet around me. I was in a little cocoon driving and was quite able to keep that cocoon on the straight and narrow, with normal awareness.
It was when I got out of the car in the great big parking lot with no walls that things seems weird. Also if I am in large rooms I feel the need to touch a wall to get my bearings. So I carry the cane with me when I know I will be walking in big places.
A side advantage is the sympathy you get from people who are more than courteous to the lady who otherwise seems OK but is using a cane. Of course I knew that about canes anyway. They are also good for picking up things from the floor, opening heavy doors, and reaching up high on supermarket shelves. I think I got this particular cane when I had shin splints from bowling too much in 2005. It is still my favorite.
It is more like a walking stick than a cane because I never shortened it and can rest my chin on my hands on top of it when I am sitting. I do have to be careful not to place it where it can trip someone or fall on them. Today, I went to church for my morning meeting and was pretty good without it. Perhaps as some of my friends have told me, I have been dizzy for a much longer time than just a week. I do think things are getting better.
Friday I go back to the Doctor and will ask her for a regular prescription of Anivert which seems to be working if I use it no more than three times a day with a little food as needed. My sister says she has a lot left in her bottle, but she did get a prescription as well. I think my friend M does the same thing.
According to the articles I have read, the little bones, hairs or rocks in your head will bounce around a bit once they get loose, and it is not all that uncommon. I am aware now of subtle feelings that can warn me of upcoming trouble, so I can take remedies before the benign becomes malicious. I understand there are exercises you can do that will make all these bones line up too, but my doctor has not brought that up, at least not yet.
I COULDN'T FIND A PHOTO OF A STORM IN A HURRY. I am drinking my coffee this AM very early having awakened with storm warnings... AGAIN! in the suburbs west of me. I had a bunch of bills to pay online, so I rushed down here to pay them, and decided this was quicker than writing e mails. I will be shutting down after this entry. 
