My nemesis, Verti, has got to go! I’m tired of her magical spell. She’s not nice. In fact, she’s downright cruel. She keeps things stirred up and puts her own twisted spin on everything. She’s really mixed up!!
It started with a headache for a couple of days, which in and of itself is unusual for me. But then it turned into light headedness. I guess it’s obvious I may be light in the head …. but this isn’t a ditz light-headed … it’s a someone is playing spin the bottle in my brain light-headed!
The Tilt-A-Whirl is the ride kids always seem to take right after eating a foot long corn dog, fried in hog fat, that was washed down with a quart of root beer. The results are almost always disgusting….a smelly, splattered puddle.
Anyway, everything started spinning round and round like an invisible merry-go-round. I staggered to a unit of lumber and braced myself with both hands. Sitting down didn’t help. I thought I was going to fall off!
I made it another fifty feet to a lunchroom table and sat down. I suspect other employees thought I should be drug tested because my feet and head felt like they were changing positions faster than a politician on the campaign trail.
A mental checklist started — Blood pressure? Nope. I took it earlier and it was perfect. Heart? Naw. I don’t take blood pressure meds. Aneurism? No pain or stabbing feeling. Stroke? I did a quick finger exercise with both hands at the same time. They were fine, but I looked in the mirror, smiled and raised both hands, just to make sure. No stroke.
Hot. Dizzy. Nauseous. Headache. Ear pressure. Ah, an idea! Vertigo!?
After walking three sheets to the wind back to the office, I looked up vertigo symptoms. Had 7 of 10 symptoms. Bingo! Vertigo, and that’s just what Verti needed to do, go!
At the doctor’s office a few minutes later, he kind of shrugged, prescribed over-the-counter medications for symptoms, and said to take it easy a few days. Psft! Not easy to do when you’re on a roller coaster with no tracks!!
Seven years ago on a cruise ship we were in choppy waters off the coast of Canada steaming north to Alaska. My son and I played a game to see who could walk up a hallway without wavering off the straight and narrow path. We couldn’t do it! The boat was rocking and moving so much, we would inadvertently bump into walls!
That, however, was sea legs. This was on solid ground 302 feet above sea level. That dizzy came from without, but Verti brought dizzy from within.
What did I ever do to you, Verti?! In words of the wise sage philosopher, Sweet Brown, “Aint nobody got time for that!”
Verti takes your sense of balance, puts a string around it and turns it like a top. Verti spins your sugar round and round till you feel like weightless cotton candy. She puts your brain in a centrifuge to make you feel like you’re being separated by fractionation!
You look whole in the mirror, but your brain feels like a shattered mirror held together by wet Elmer’s glue.
Maybe Verti, in some twisted way, just wants us to be in touch with creation? At the equator our globe spins at 1,037 miles per hour! Maybe the spinning, dizzy sensation is Verti’s little prod to let you know we are always moving, always twisting, always spinning round and round even though gravity makes us feel we are perfectly still.
Or maybe, just maybe Verti is angelic like and wants to spin out a reminder that our days are short, so number and use them wisely. Maybe Verti wants us to stop and close our eyes to the spinning day-to-day activities and set our eyes on the Creator rather than the creation.
Or maybe, according to the doctor, Verti is just an inner ear infection that will go away soon.
I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with vertigo. It’s miserable. I’ve had bouts of it, but they usually resolve within hours. So far, anyway. Here’s hoping you make it to stable ground soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First time it happened to me it was inner ear infection.
The rest of the times it was loose crystals in my balance part of my ear. There is a procedure that rolls the crystals out .
You can google it up .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, thank you! I will Google it! He did say something about crystals too!
LikeLike
Thank you, Dr. Rubin! It is a crazy thing, but over it now, just some residual effects now.
LikeLike
Glad to hear it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you feel better, Jeff. I’ve had my own struggles with vestibular migraine (lightheaded and dizziness exacerbated by stress) in the aftermath of a car accident several years ago. I have to be careful of what I do and where I go – plus no sudden movements!
I’ll pray that this bout with “Verti” will pass soon (I experienced vertigo once in my life after an episode of food poisoning, and it was terrible!).
Please take care.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the kind words. So sorry you deal with this on a regular basis! It’s one thing to have it and get over it, but a whole other world to deal with it regularly! Hope your situation improves!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jeff. Mine has gotten much better! (Thank the Lord) I’ve learned to identify my triggers and modify my behavior accordingly, so I’m now fine for the most part.
How are you feeling now?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh that truly sucks. Vertigo is no fun and I hope you feel better quick!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Julie. It’s just a spin in the park!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gotta love being on the merry go round even when you are at home in bed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! I’ve had inner ear infections before, and they can be miserable. I’m sure you connected with a lot of people with your vivid description of Vertigo.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are miserable, and I am very fortunate because it was a mild, short case.
LikeLike
If it doesn’t resolve don’t give up! Follow through with doc. Sometimes they take things a bit casually. Suzanne –Nurse Advocate
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes ma’am, Suzanne!! I will! But I think Verti has gone away, and hopefully for good!
LikeLike
great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wish I’d read this before I ate lunch. 🙂 Hate vertigo. Hope it resolves quickly. Oh, and thank you for reaffirming why I never want to go on a cruise. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL! I know, right? That didn’t bother me before, but we’re going again this summer to Alaska and now, I am just a tad bit worried!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck. I look forward to hearing it was fun and not miserable, for your sake. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Take some Meclazine with you, just in case. It’s over the counter, for nausea and motion sickness. I take it every time I go on a cruise (been on 5) and it works great!😛 I do not have sea legs, nor can I ride in the back of a car or on a merry-go-round because of motion sickness. Another option is a prescription patch that you stick behind your ear for motion sickness (looks like a spot bandaid). I used that for the first one and a half cruises, until I developed an adhesive allergy.😒
LikeLiked by 1 person
Five cruises! Love it, Mia! I’ve seen people wear the patches, but never used one. It’s not funny, but it is at the same time, to have developed allergy to the very thing that’s helping you! Isn’t that kind of life sometimes? And yes to Meclazine for this next trip!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I wasn’t happy about the allergy at all, because it meant I had to stop using the patch midway through our Caribbean cruise and I didn’t have anything else with me, except some sea-bands for my wrists. We had to get something from the ship’s store, but just the little gap in between meant my helmet diving excursion was no fun, and puking in the trash can when we got back to the cabin was the pits. But with the sea-bands and whatever we got from the store, we made it through. Apart from that, it was one of the best cruises so far!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh man! That sounds miserably fun! It has always fascinated me that some of the best times, like this cruise for y’all, are often when something else is at its worst, like the sea sickness! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for cruise # 6 for you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’ll be to the eastern Mediterranean in October 👍🏼😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love it! We went to Israel last year and love the Mediterranean!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Go, Verti go!! Love it!! But not that you have vertigo. It’s a strange sensation, for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sheila! I will always miss some things, like my hair, my mind, skinny jeans, but I will never miss Verti!
LikeLike
Verti has definitely gotta go! No fun. Hope you feel better soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person