Doctor's Orders

Ok, so my body has moved on to another very strange problem. I've been very dizzy since Saturday. I've had vertigo problems in the past. My guess it is from calcium crystals in my inner ear coming loose and impinging on the nerves. This called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Now, I haven't had an official diagnosis, but my symptoms PERFECTLY match everything I have read about it. Also, my sister has the same problem and she has been diagnosed. I, personally, believe this gives me the right to diagnose myself! Ha ha! How's that for scientific thinking?!

Ok, so I've been having problems at night for a few weeks now (I've had this happen at least 5 or 6 other times in the past, so I wasn't really worrying about it). Come Saturday, I was feeling dizzy all day long as well as at night. Not very fun. Teaching classes has been a bit of a challenge this week as well. I've had people asking me if I'm OK every day. Today, while I was washing my hands in the bathroom at school, a girl I don't even know asked me if I was OK. Hmmmmm, I apparently look as great as I feel. I decided to call the doctor's office. When I talked to the doctor's assistant, I told her I would be terribly depressed if I came in only to be told it was a virus and to deal with it. She laughed, but said it would probably be best to come in and be seen, though she wouldn't promise that I wouldn't be told it was a virus and to deal with it. :)

So, the doctor asked me about my symptoms and all the usual stuff. He did some neurological tests to make sure I was ok in that area as well. I actually "failed" one, in my opinion. He asked me to put my left hand in my right hand and flip in over (alternating palm down and palm up). Well, first off, I couldn't figure out which hand was my left to put it in my right hand. Then when I went to turn it over, I put it under my right hand instead. I wasn't any good at that test! My doctor just chuckled at me (though I can't blame him). I felt pretty dumb.

Another test he did was to have me follow his fingers with my eyes, witout moving my head. Well, this process makes me dizzy (yes, a pain in the bum!). He was moving his finger around and when he got over to my right side he just held it there in the same place for quite a while. He watched as my eyes tracked back and forth, wiggling back and forth from the dizziness. He told me the name for it, but I don't remember what it is. He did the same test after having me lay down really fast. Laying down and turning my head to right made the eye movements much more pronounced.

Anyway, it's obviously an inner ear problem, though there really is no way to know if it is an infection (viral) or if the calcium crystals, or if there is just swelling within the utricle. He gave me a prescription for Meclizine (basically the type of meds a person takes for sea sickness). He then told me he was going to give me one more thing to do, which may (or may not) help. He said that he would NEVER "prescribe" this under normal circumstances and that this is the only situation when would suggest it...... He told me I need to go get potatoe chips and french fries and anything else that is nice and salty and EAT! He wants me to start retaining water. I guess sometimes the increased pressure due to water retention sometimes helps the problem. Now who can argue about trying something like that?! Ha! I don't know if it will work or not. We'll see.

As of now I still feel pretty dizzy. If I hold my head in a constant position and don't look around, then I'm fine! No problem, right?! I don't know why I am so good at getting such weird "illnesses" that have no solution to them. I have decided I should donate my body to science while I am still alive. I'm much more interesting now than I would be dead! :)