(no subject)

[the_rck]

The vertigo has mostly gone away. Whatever caused it has passed for the time being. I still feel a bit unbalanced when I tilt my head back, but the room doesn't spin any more.

The sense of being unbalanced is making the small amount of yoga I do more difficult-- I now wobble doing warrior I. It's a pity because I like warrior I. It's the pose I can normally hold longest. (Every day, right before Sit and Be Fit, I do a series of six yoga poses. I can't hold any of them for very long, but I think I'm improving slowly. I don't know the names of most of the poses or I'd list them.)

Vertigo is an interesting feeling. It rather reminded me of carnival rides, something spinning and swooping but without changes in the direction of gravity. I can see vertigo being crippling-- While it's happening, one can't do anything else but try (and possibly fail) not to fall. I feel lucky that it didn't happen when I stooped to pick things up off the floor or to put dishes in the dishwasher. I'd certainly have fallen. My instinct while it was happening was always to get something firm under me, to lie down or sit down until it passed. Standing up was too difficult. I had to learn not to roll rapidly out of bed in the morning. I had to build pauses into the getting up process.

Comments

[untonuggan]

*massive sympath* I had dizziness for about 6 months last year and it was just awful.

I don't usually do internet diagnoses, but a really common form of vertigo is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and it has a really easy fix. It sounds like a really weird cause, because it involves ear crystals which I did not even know we had. But I swear it is real and an ENT can diagnose you.

From the mayo clinic that I linked above:

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you're spinning or that your head is spinning inside.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is characterized by brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness. Symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo are triggered by specific changes in the position of your head, such as tipping your head up or down, and by lying down, turning over or sitting up in bed. You may also feel out of balance when standing or walking.

Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be a bothersome problem, it's rarely serious except when it increases the chance of falls. You can receive effective treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo during a doctor's office visit.

Of course it could be *loads* of other things, but I just thought I"d mention this since it really is a quick fix if you have it.

[the_rck]

If the vertigo comes back, I'll certainly go to my doctor. Someone else suggested BPPV, so I looked at the Wikipedia entry on it. It sounds possible. The treatment sounds bizarre, not dreadfully difficult, just not anything that would have occurred to me.

[heavenscalyx]

Oog, I'm glad your vertigo has mostly cleared up. It's rough stuff. I get it sometimes if I let myself get congested in the spring (like by running out of Flonase and not refilling it soon enough). Usually I list to one side or the other -- the last time, I listed to the right, which meant that I had to be careful walking to our second-floor bathroom from our bedroom because just outside the bathroom is the steep, dark servants' stair... on the right. I had visions of tumbling down it in the night. Eee.

[the_rck]

Oh, goodness! That's scary.

I'm lucky-- When I head for the bathroom at night, there're a series of handholds I can use. Bedpost, door frame, bathroom door frame. I don't need to take more than a step or two without something solid to keep me oriented.

[grievesmen]

You know, I just got to thinking - do you have any ear problems? Romy's dad has Meniere's disease, and it sounds kind of similar.

[the_rck]

I'm not aware of having any ear problems. If the vertigo comes back, I will go to the doctor. I'm fortunate enough to have good insurance.