No BPPV for Me! Maybe….

July with a dizzy MS ditz

If you’re following what started as my medical post but has now turned into a journal, diary, book, tome, and an eventual encyclopedia series of issues, the past two months had me beyond dizzy.

Over the phone, my neurologist suggested benign positioning para—something vertigo, (BPPV for those who are in the know,) a diagnosis I can confirm I’m not able to spell now and not at all willing to learn.

Then my primary doctor kind of confirmed it both by a virtual visit and then by a “real, live, in her office, lying down on a table” appointment.

This vertigo started horrible, continued being horrible, got a little better, seemed to go away, exploded in the worse way during what was meant to be a fun weekend, calmed down and has mostly disappeared.

In the middle of all that, I tested positive for Covid.  Yes, my turn at bat with this scary virus came up, on my birthday no less.

(If I’m doing a virus, I’m doing it big!)

I’d been vaxxed to the max and so, fortunately, Covid for me just felt like a mild cold.  Except for the horrific spinning in my brain that was really spinning in my ear but seemed like it was spinning my brain and the whole world.

On the fun weekend, Peter was here and helped me try something called the Epley Maneuver to see if it might work.    We found a video on YouTube so we knew we could trust it.   But all it did was make me vomit more than I ever vomited before.  I lost not only my breakfast, but the late-night ice cream, dinner, lunch, and breakfast from the day before too.

Nothing says commitment like holding a bucket while your special person loses their guts.

I blame not only the vertigo, but also our breakfast of Greek yogurt, berries and Grapenuts. If we’d had the Lucky Charms and donuts I really wanted, the epic throwing up event probably wouldn’t have happened.

Afterwards, it was hard to know how best to proceed with our day medically. Do I retake the anti-throw up medication now that I’ve thrown it all up?

We got by and Peter is still around, so I guess I only grossed him out a little bit.

Gratefully, thankfully, blessedly, July has been a bit better dizziness wise. It’s still hanging around but only shows up here and there, like when I do a headstand or a back flip or ride a roller coaster or move my head too fast suddenly.

(In truth, I only do one of those activities.  Bet you can’t guess which one.)

Still, I kept the appointment with the ENT Specialist that was scheduled back when the vertigo was the worst.  Supposedly, ENT stands for Ear, Nose and Throat.  But I think it really stands for Every Nutty Thing.

This doctor, who also looks like she is still in high school, (when did ALL my doctors start looking like babies compared to me?) was very nice and never mentioned BPPV.  And even though I had written it down to mention and I read the notes I had written down carefully, I forgot to ask.

She thinks the vertigo is likely from the Covid virus attacking me at the same time as an MS flare wreaking some havoc on my inner ear and then causing my brain to get mad and decide to act out too.

Phew…..

She wants me to get my hearing checked which I think is silly cause I heard quite clearly when she suggested a hearing test, and is sending me to an outpatient rehabilitation place to do some exercises to get my brain and my ear to get along again.

Damn doctors keep trying to get me to exercise.  I’m supposed to do cardio exercises, strength training exercises, balance exercises, brain exercises, knee exercises and now ear exercises.  That is a lot of exercise.

(Personally, I think I cover all of them in the simple motion of lying down to rest which I do all the time and worked great until it started to make me dizzy.)

She also wants to see my next MRI that my neurologist orders which I hope he shares with her despite her telling me my vertigo could be MS related when he, my MS doctor, said he didn’t think so.  My neurologist is a nice guy and so he probably will share.  And he is quick to admit multiple sclerosis can be responsible for a whole host of problems.

To me, the lesson I learned from all of this it that the doctors don’t know.  And so, I don’t know either.   But I’m super happy it has calmed down.

I still have issues with the vertigo.  It likes to act up occasionally, just to remind me it can.   And my balance is still off but underlying vertigo and MS is the fact that I’m wicked clumsy.  For example, I took a special dog for a walk on a trail in the woods the other day and tripped over a tree root right in the path.

(Why do tree roots show up in walking paths?  Shouldn’t there be a law about that or something?)

My canine friend didn’t run away when I fell but sniffed around until she found me a present.  Since I speak her doggy dialect, I knew her barks translated to “sorry you fell Yvonne.  But here’s a great stick.  You’ll feel better if you throw it for me!”

And then there was the lack of balance when I chose the not very smart move of attempting to body surf in rough, wind driven water and those damn waves kept knocking me around the rocky shoreline as I tried to get up.

But the real test was when I had to walk the plank.

I got invited on a boat for a party.  My family tree is made up of seaweed and kelp rather than normal leaves.  We deSousa’s are from hearty seafarers. I do not get seasick and refuse to ever get seasick.

But the BPPV, MS, and klutz combination had me worried. I’m happy to report that I managed to scurry across the simple board connecting the vessel to the dock and didn’t fall into the water or get dizzy or anything!

And thus, I feel pretty much cured.

The dizziness may come back.  It may not.  But I will enjoy the time without it as much as is humanly possible.

Bring on August!

Though I should probably keep refraining from those headstands just to be safe…..