I recently experienced a multi-day episode of Vertigo. I woke up in the middle of the night, and found myself spinning out of control. It was almost like I was falling out of my body, and/or falling off the planet. So strange, weird, disorienting.
Yes. Spinning, feeling sick, a constant, persistent, motion-sickness. For a few days it was like I was riding in a fast car, or on a rickety train, or on a boat in choppy water.
I must admit I took this episode as some kind of symbol or prophetic sign:
"Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off balance. If you have these dizzy spells, you might feel like you are spinning or that the world around you is spinning."
And really, if I look at the world around me with clear-seeing eyes, everything does seem like it is spinning madly out of control. So in that way, I sort of felt at one with the world.
Madly spinning.
Luckily, a close friend of mine is an old hand at dealing with Vertigo. She knows all the symptoms and all the home remedies. She explained what was happening to me. Knowing does help, really, which also seems like an important idea that one can apply to every aspect of your life: Knowing does help!
Pretty sure the cause of my vertigo was BPPV. Which sounds weird and scary. It's actually kind of weird and funny...
BBPV: "These initials stand for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. BPPV occurs when tiny calcium particles (canaliths) clump up in canals of the inner ear. The inner ear sends signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity. It helps you keep your balance."
Yeah. Weird. We have these little calcium particles in our inner ears that get misplaced, out of whack, and when they get misplaced, they pretty much send you reeling. What to do? Well, there is this amazing little exercise called the Epley Maneuver.
You can go to YouTube and watch how it's done. It's a simple exercise you can do on your bed. So I got out an iPad and stepped thru the directions. It took a few times, but by the third try it worked.
"Dr. John Epley designed a series of movements to dislodge the crystals from the semicircular canals. These movements bring the crystals back to the utricle, where they belong. This treats the symptoms of vertigo."
Thank you Dr. John Epley! Amazing. No drugs, no doctors, no emergency visits.
The crystals drifted back to their rightful place and I suddenly felt fine. I mean, better than fine. It's almost like I went thru the mirror, visited a land of constant spinning, and then emerged with a new-found balance. Straight. True. One with gravity and balance.
The last couple weeks I've felt better than ever. So yeah, the world may be spinning madly out of control, but I'm steady, and true, waiting for the next shoe to drop!
