Good things Sat 9 Jan 09

GOOD THINGS: Travel sickness medication
The day didn't start so well ... I woke up with the room spinning and feeling nauseous. And, as if that wasn't bad enough ... I had no idea where my medication was and I felt too sick to find it.

But the good news ... I could see the doctor in five minutes as long as I went there straight away, and within seconds Horace and I were on our way and less than 30 minutes we were home again, prescription filled.


My medication ... definitely a feel good moment when I took one.

Definitely a good thing ... and better yet it was only a mild dose of vertigo and I was up and (almost) ready to run a marathon before the end of the day.

Project 365 Mon 1 Jun 09

SPECIALIST AGAIN
Off to the specialist again this morning, and I had my ears syringed out again after only a month! How does that happen?

And to try and keep that side of things under control I've been given a prescription for Elocon to put in my ears every day for a week before settling down to once per week.


I sure hope this stuff helps!

And another appointment in 6 weeks time.

I've had two dizzy spells this month ... one I've already referred to and another over the weekend just past. Neither was anywhere near as bad as a few months ago, and the specialist still can't give me a definitive reason for why they happen or recur, except to say things will slowly return to 'normal'. And so far the pattern at least fits the bill.

My challenge now is not to have any spells between now and when I go back in six weeks, and for my ears not to need syringing.

It's also been a harder month for watching everything I eat ... and, of course, things didn't quite turn out as I'd planned.

Not drinking coffee is hardly a drama, because I never drink coffee and I've managed to cut right back on the tea to only every couple of days. The worst thing is chocolate, which I ate 3 times over the last month. It's a pain not to be able to eat chocolate.

As for salt ... my diet is lower in salt than I realised and it's been pretty easy to stay under the 2400 mgs per day. I think I routinely come in at around 2000, and that includes eating bacon and baked beans each week. Obviously that healthier, low processed foot diet comes in handy for something.

Project 365 Thu 20 May 09

I'M OFF CHOCOLATE FOREVER!
After the ENT specialist told me not to eat chocolate (well, caffeine really) I had to eat some. And I thought all would be well because I eat so little chocolate generally, and what could a little hurt ... I know, I'm rationalising.

So last night on the way home I bought one of those little packets of Lindor balls on the way home (3 gorgeous little balls of chocolatey goodness) and I finished them before I got home!


The culprit!

And then never thought any more about them until I woke up about 2.30am this morning with the world spinning and feeling nauseous! I got out of bed pretty quickly and went rushing for my medication, and went straight back to sleep.

Work today was a little rough and I had to take 2 more tablets ... but I made it through a very hectic day with nothing more than a little sleepiness and a deal more crankiness.

Chocolate is definitely off the menu for me.

Project 365 Sat 16 May 09

TAKING THE CURE
Apparently these three things are part of managing my vertigo:


Salt, caffeine and olive oil.

Salt and caffeine. The specialist has put me on a reduced salt and caffeine free diet to manage the fluid build up in my inner ear. The low salt diet I can cope with although it's astonishing salt is added to everything, even sweets! What I'll miss most of all though is cheese, bacon and crisps! And I can't add salt to hot chips or eggs. But the caffeine free ... I'm not allowed to eat chocolate at all! Talk about torture.

Olive oil. This is a little more intriguing because it's not to be taken orally; I'm to add one drop to each ear once a week to manage ear wax. This last bout was caused by yet another build up of wax (the last time I had them syringed was 6 weeks previously!), and if I can keep the wax under control shouldn't happen again.

Having said that, though, I have an appointment with the doctor in six weeks time to keep it all under control.

Fingers crossed I can stick to the diet.

Project 365 Sat 9 May 09

HUGGING THE RED BUCKET
I've been missing for an entire week. I never got to take cake to work because I've been sick. Yes, that damn vertigo thing I had a month or so ago came back and I've become reacquainted with the red bucket! LOL


The bucket, neatly placed beside the bed for easy access! LOL

Monday: I sat up and that familiar, and really ugly, vertigo and accompanying nausea swept over me. All I could do was grab the wastepaper basket before I emptied my stomach, and lay back down. Wini was really sweet and got me water and my anti-nausea (in reality motion sickness) medication. I stayed in bed the whole day and got out only three times for toilet breaks (and to brush my teeth!).

Tuesday: The nausea is still with me but I was lucky enough to only vomit a few times. I managed to eat a little too; mainly grapes. The strange thing is that, right from the start, I feel well until I move. This convinces me it's passing ... and then I move! I went to the doctor at 6.30pm and could hardly walk. She gave me a certificate for the week and recommended I go back to the specialist.

Wednesday: I'm only taking one pill for the day down from three on Monday. I can still hardly walk, but I'm not sure if that's because I've been lying down for 3 days or because of the vertigo. At least, the nausea is dissipating. I thought I'd be good to go to work by now, maybe tomororow. I made an appointment with the specialist for Monday next week.

Thursday: I got up at 7.30am to get ready for work, but I was forced back to bed because I felt light headed and dizzy. I started eating more and no pills for the whole day. PS I weighed myself and found I'd lost 5 kgs in four days! What a diet!

Friday: I got up at 7.30am to get ready for work and managed breakfast and a shower. I was feeling a lot better, but I went back to bed feeling (and repeat this with me) light headed and dizzy! That night, I gave myself indigestion eating more than I was up to. Note to self: try not to have eyes bigger than your belly when you haven't eaten for most of the week!

Project 365 Mon 30 Mar 09

GOT A DIAGNOSIS
I finally know what's wrong with me ... I've got fluid on the brain, sorry, fluid in my inner ear.


Photo of fuid; I am seriously running out of ideas!

I started coming good on Thursday with the dizziness pretty well gone when I went to my test on Friday morning. But I was still curious enough to go although I was convinced nothing would be foundnd, and since it wasn't going to cost anything but time there was nothing much to stop me.

So when Horace and I went for the results on Monday morning I was really surprised to hear they'd found something.

Given the dizziness, nausea and cotton wool head have passed (8 days now without them with the exception of being woken up around 3 am on Wednesday morning), there's nothing much that can be done except some rather nasy surgery. Which I'm not going near!

And I've been assured that the remaining symptoms--the ringing, the pressure I sometimes feel in my ears and the occasional sound of my blood pumping--should also pass; although I should go back if they continue for more than a month.

So, it's all good and I'm loving feeling like a normal human being again.

Project 365 Mon 23 Mar 09

NOW LOUISE SEEMS TO HAVE IT!
Just when I think I've got to the bottom of why I'm dizzy, I arrive at work this morning and Louise tells me she's spent the whole weekend ill with the same symptoms!


Louise at Dave's send off; she's sitting immediately next to him.

So my theory moves away from diabetes (based on Mum and Nan being diabetics), and swings back to a virus again. What will the next instalment be?

I hope Louise feels better must quicker than I seem to be. There are hours some days when the dizziness leaves me and I feel 'normal' again, but then it just seems to come back again. But then at other times, like today, I'm dizzy all day.

It would be nice if the specialist on Friday has some answers for me but I'm not hopeful.

And how do you diagnose a viral condition?

Project 365 Thu 5 Mar 09

OF NARROW EAR CANALS AND TEMPORARY DEAFNESS
Routinely (at least once every couple of years) I'm reduced to almost deafness and I have to do something about it.

This is an hereditary thing. My mother has it, I've handed the baton to my youngest Clarissa; I'm talking about narrow ear canals. And if my aunt Mary is reading this she may know whether the rest of the family has this also.


The packaging in front of several of the books I'm planning to read this year.

It's a total nuisance, as anybody who experiences this will know, but this year my journey took a slightly different tack. It came with dizziness and nausea so bad all I could do was lie down and sleep until it passed; not once but twice!

And right now I'm almost completely deaf because of the ear drops; a real bonus at work during phone hookups and trying to get people to speak to me instead of over their shoulder etc. It certainly gives you a taste of what life must be like for profoundly or totally deaf people. I'm glad my hearing is usually so good.

EDITED SUN 8 MAR: I am no longer deaf and I will use this product again. It's worked better than anything else I've ever tried, and didn't cause the dizziness, which I had before I started using it.