veritgo

Doesn't that sound like a great name for a roller coaster?

I have vertigo. This is the third time in my life it has happened. The first time was two years ago on Memorial Day weekend, and I woke up and got out of bed and ran into the wall because it "moved". I went to an after-hours clinic and was diagnosed with a UTI. Weird, but after a day or two the dizziness went away. I didn't dwell on it because we were in the process of moving and getting ready for the wedding. I had no idea that I was misdiagnosed.

The second time it happened (March 2007, I think) I woke up and I couldn't even pick my foot up to get in the shower. I told Chris that it was probably a UTI because I was dizzy like before. He sighed at my ignorance and told me that UTIs don't cause dizziness like that. My boss was not happy when I called in and told him I was too dizzy to come to work. I went to my PCP and she diagnosed me with vertigo. Vertigo can be caused from sinus drainage, but it is when those fluid sacs in the ear canal are off-balance. (That is such a good explanation, I know. Chris, leave a comment of what vertigo really is.) It just happens, and it can't be prevented. My doctor diagnosed me by making me lay down on the exam table, with my head hanging upside down, then she made me sit up fast. I thought I was going to vomit on her. My pupils did not adjust properly, and that is how she knew. What a terrible test for dizzy people. I asked if I could have surgery to make it go away (it really is that bad). Nope, it will get better, there is really nothing that will help. (WHAT?!?!) She prescribed some medication and suggested some exercises to help. Chris had to drive me to work for two weeks. My pupils stayed dilated for a while and I felt like I was going to fall out of my office chair.

I hoped that I would never have another vertigo experience, but here I am again. Saturday I felt like I had water in my left ear, but I had not been swimming. I was a little sick at my stomach, but I didn't really think anything about it. Yesterday we went to church and my ear was still bothering me, nothing serious. Yesterday afternoon Chris and I were sitting at the kitchen table studying and I said, "Chris, I think I am going to fall out of my chair!" I didn't fall. After whining about it for a while, he checked my pupils and said, "It's just your vertigo." I said, "What do you mean, it's just my vertigo??? I am too dizzy to walk!" He gave me some medicine and I went to bed. I am still dizzy this morning. I feel like I have way-too-tight earplugs in my ears and like I have been on a boat for a week and like I rode a bad carnival ride, all at the same time. I have to be careful when I sit or stand. Brooks looks at me like I am crazy as I shuffle through the house. I am going to make flash cards since I can't drive or do anything else productive around the house. Chris will have to wash clothes since I can't operate heavy machinery.