And round and round it goes....

[slipjig3]

I don't talk publicly about this all that much any more, but it's weighing on me right now, so here goes:

I have this weird history with dizzy spells. I haven't the foggiest idea of what's causing them. Well, okay, I do have some idea of what's causing some of them, but not all, and unfortunately not the ones that are worrying me. They basically come in two fruit flavors: one is closer to lightheadedness than anything else. Equilibrium goes just a touch loopy, the room starts tilting just a wee bit, and the world goes on a touch of time delay. Not bad enough to get in the way of my job or anything, but noticeable and fairly frequent. Those, I'm fairly sure, are stress-related, because they usually crop up when I'm fretting about money or upcoming responsibilities; I first got them when I was slogging through my separation from Kristi. 'Nuff said.

The others....are bad. Equilibrium completely upfucked, ability to stand upright or walk a straight line gone, available options reduced to lying flat on my back with my eyes clamped shut. As a kid, did you ever spin around really fast for several minutes, then suddenly stop and try to stand up straight? Imagine that feeling, intensified a bit, lasting for an hour or more. I had a few of those during that separation as well, and when they went away I was fairly sure that stress was causing them, too.

Then, after a two-year lapse, I got another one, at work, bad enough that I had to stop what I was doing and put my head on my desk for a while. That lasted for about 15 minutes. A few days ago, another one walloped me hard, this time at home, this time with nausea thrown in for good measure. This one was better than an hour; I had to spend the entire morning in bed, because sitting up was Just Not Happening. The kicker is that I was not stressing out prior to either spell.

So now I have no clue. For all I know, I won't see any more of these for another two years. (I'd had one or two very minor versions in preceding years, brief, sudden, random and years apart.) Or, I might have one as soon as I hit the "submit" button. Either way, I'm seeing Dr. B this Friday. His evaluation the last time I talked about this with him was that, yes, it's stress, but that was a while ago, and prior to the blood test he ordered that showed an elevated liver function (but only elevated in one factor out of four, "nothing to be concerned about, but we'll keep an eye on it").

So. That's my life. A carnival ride of my own creation. Wish me luck.

Comments

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*hug* Luck to you, honey.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Sounds like labrinthitis or Meniere's syndrome. I suffer from it, too. It's awful.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

Oh honey..... *hugs* I will add you to my barter list for the universe, k?

[thejunebug.livejournal.com]

Inner-ear infections?

[bitsyboo.livejournal.com]

Check into Meniere's syndrome as someone already suggested. I have an aunt with it and you're describing the same exact symptoms she has.

[engagefriction.livejournal.com]

Good luck!!! I get tiny ones like the first type you described if I lacked sleep or slept too much and used to get them with ear infections to the point where I thought I was going to hurl. Not as bad as you described later on though! Damn...I'm not much for comfort, am I? Haha! *hugs*

[sailorsgrrl.livejournal.com]

*big hugs* yes do as your friends say! Has your Doc considered a head CT?

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

Also possibly migraines?
Get that checked out!

[adamchristopher.livejournal.com]

Stress is the first thing that comes to mind as a causative factor. But it can't explain them all. Are they accompanied by any kind of head pain? Migraines come in all forms and sizes, and that's what occurred to me next. Ear infections too, but that again brings up the question of pain. And an infection would worsen and worsen, rather than just being sporadic. Look into the possibility of migraine headaches. But more importantly, whether or not you find the originating cause of these dizzy spells, look into preventing them. That part's easier. Two huge preventative medicine actions you can take that will solve many if not all of your ailments: exercise and meditation. That's a one-two punch (of the healing variety) that will set your mind and body at ease, in short order, with regular practice. Anyway, good vibes coming your way for cessation of suffering in general....

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Doesn't sound like fun.. migraine or Meneire's springs to mind, the latter is a bugger but can be treated by medication and retraining the inner ear, also sometimes caused by too much/too little water, my mum takes water tablets to control hers at times.... hope the doctor has some ideas for you, dizzy spells suck :(

[knotwork.livejournal.com]

Good that you're talking to your GP, but have you seen a chiropractor yet??? It's another thing that might help.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*hugbacks* Thanks, hon. The same.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Ai. I'd never heard of Meniere's before this, but the more I read about it, the more inclined I am to believe it's the culprit (although the tinnitis isn't there, knock wood). How do you deal with it?

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*hugs* No bartering your well-being for mine, kiddo. I won't have it.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, not inclined to think so; no pain, none of the other classic symptoms, and near as I can tell never had a propensity for them. Still, I might ask about them just to be safe.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's seeming ot be Number One Theory at the moment. We'll see how it flies.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*laugh* *hugs* S'okay; you're more help than you know. Besides, you're talking to the guy who, when his 5th grade class all made get well cards for a classmate with mono, sent one that read, "Though you have mono, / Though you're in bed, / Though you say, "Oh, no"... [card opens to a picture of a headstone] ...At least you're not dead."

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*big counterhugs* Haven't gotten that far. We'll see where this thing leads.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

No pain, though. Worth an ask, though, certainly.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

No pain involved at all, actually, so that rules out a lot. (I do get headaches sometimes, but they're not always concurrent with the dizzies, and I know where they come from. *scowls at his office*) But self-caretaking is never a bad idea. I just need reminding sometimes. *hug* Thank you.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*sigh* See, that's the problem with dizzy spells: too non-specific a symptom. But I'm definitely going to ask about Meniere's as a possibility, and try hard not to think about that off-chance of hearing loss that goes with it. *shudder* Thank you.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Benadryl and/or anti-vertigo medicine, and lots of sleep until it goes away. It sucks. I'm lucky, I haven't had an episode for a couple years. But when I do get them, sometimes they last 2 or 3 weeks.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Hm. Never occurred to me, actually. *ponders* (How've you been, by the by? Haven't talked to you in eons.)

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Migraines don't always come with pain. I get ocular migraines, too... which are just a lot of dizziness (different than the Meniere's though) and blinking flashing lights and zig zag lines and tunnel vision with blind spots, but no pain. Whee.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

.....I have a well-being? Where is it?

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Also check for Basilar migraine (a rarer type causing dizziness by constricting the blood vessels at the base of the brain), um, and food allergies. Because I had terrible dizzy spells as a teen, so bad I would almost throw up and had to lie holding onto a solid object for hours at a stretch riding my own personal "roller coaster" in my head, and they checked for the Basilar migraine but it turned out to be weird reactions to foodstuffs.

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

Don't usually get pain with mine, just aura.