Where Have I Been

Hello, there.

Yes, I have been quiet. Things have been a little rough lately with the vertigo. If you remember, I fainted a couple of weeks ago. They lined up a ENT appointment and then inner ear testing. Stuff I have never heard of. Always makes you think that there are people in the world busy doing something you have NEVER heard of and making pretty good money at it.

Anyway, I had to stop my meds before this test. Well, that wasn't easy, but I complied.

Only for the worst two weeks of my life to ensue!

Simple car trips became unbearable. In fact, driving with my husband at all became unbearable. My own driving (what little I still do!) suffered. In the middle of driving, the whole world would just shake back and forth; real fast like. Okay, not something you want to have happen on a major thru-way. Then, once I came home, I was out. I mean, asleep.

Yesterday, it was for three and a half hours.

On top of that, it has affected my brain in other ways. I couldn;t concentrate, couldn't read well(my eyes going back and forth over the page produced blurriness and I felt like I kept looking at the same sentence), couldn't seem to comprehend what I read (out of four chapter, I got down 2-don't ask me what it means, though). Even though my grades are still good, it was the worst time I have had so far, and I lost points just because I couldn't finish an assignment or spend the time researching my answers. Technology wasn't the problem here. The operator (me) was just out of it.

Well, the other thing I wanted to tell you is sometimes, it is good to flunk something. I flunked those ear tests so bad, it wasn't even funny. By the time I left, they were treating me so tenderly because they didn't think I could walk down a hallway safely.

The worst one was something called a caloric stimulation test. No, it has nothing to do with eating. They put cold and warm air in your ear, which is supposed to make you dizzy and feel like you are floating. It's like testing to see if the system works. Well, the left side did, but the right side? Can I tell you that I felt nothing. Not only did I feel nothing, but to me, the room got clearer, settled down and I could think straight.

Now, I don't need a degree in Otolaryngology to know, whoops, there is a problem here. How can I have one side working and the other side mute? I mean, I didn't even feel the temperature deep in my ear. I know I couldn't hear in my right ear, but no feeling?

In a short phrase, the answer I have found on the internet is nerve damage.

How severe? I have to wait until December 4th to find that out. Also, I guess they will tell me what I have to do about it. The tech mentioned physical therapy (I walked into another room, supposedly marching in place with my eyes closed!), but I am skeptical. I know I shouldn't be, but I have been off-balance for years (if I ever got pulled over, I am going to jail. There is no way I can walk heel-toe at all!), but now it is worse. And does this tie into my three faints this year or not?

What a wonderful web this is turning out to be! I will update when I get more answers.

Take care,

Judi