I just want to take a quick break from the norm and share my experience with you.  Two weeks ago I had a Saturday fun-day planned spending the day with my mom and aunt shopping, having lunch and just hanging out.  That Friday eve,  I felt kind of queasy and decided to eat a bit before bed (since I hadn’t eaten all night).  Saturday morning I woke, got out of bed, my head was spinning and I felt weird.  I laid back down for  bit to get a grip of things and about 45 mins later I decided to try it again.  Again, I got up and the room was spinning, my head was shaking and I felt sick.  All I can say was “oh God” help me.. I was home alone and didn’t know what was happening to me and trying to think what virus had invaded my body.  I remember my aunt Pookie telling me she had something called “Vertigo” and told me what it was and how it made her feel.  Long story short, I couldn’t get out of bed all weekend, but came Monday, I was feeling better.  I went to the doctor and sure enough was diagnosed with Vertigo.  I couldn’t understand what had I done to bring this on.  As she explained, given I didn’t have an ear infection and nothing was physically wrong with me, she just said it’s something that happens with your body and eventually it’ll work its way out my system.  That completely had me baffled as I’ve never experienced anything like that.  My head was feeling like I had been on a spinning ride, got off and it was spinning and I couldn’t walk straight.  At that point I knew what a real life bobble head felt like (I always hated those things)… what an awful feeling.

My husband was worried about me 1) because I’m not usually sick and 2) we were set to go on vacation.  It was absolutely the worst timing (like Murphy’s law).  The doctor gave me a prescription for Meclazine, but since I felt better I didn’t take it (I’m very skeptical about taking medications).  Last week, the dreadful “V” word came back again but this time in full force (stronger than before)..

My head felt like this picture..

This time I was bedridden 4 days –

I had to take the medicine.  After 2 days of taking Meclazine, it made me feel better but I wasn’t 100% – the spinning stopped but I had the queasy feeling for about 2 days.  Needless to say, I did feel better, just in time for our vacation (thank God) but I was truly worried about getting sick again on the ship.  We were all smiles the day we were leaving because I was feeling a lot better.  

To play it safe, I didn’t move around alot, didn’t do fast movements with my head and did not stare at the water.   I made it back without any bouts of getting sick and I thank God for healing me in time for our trip.  It was a glorious – much needed vacation for both of us.  Although the hubby wasn’t quite happy to be back, but I was truly joyful that I didn’t get sick.  I got all the rest and vitamin D  I so dearly needed.

Here’s what I learned about Vertigo and I thought I’d share my experience with you.  I just thank God for the love and care my family provided me during my time of illness…  their support was truly a blessing.

GET A DIAGNOSIS

Getting a proper diagnosis is essential, so you know exactly what is causing your vertigo. Treatment will depend on the kind of vertigo you have. It may be caused by an inner ear disorder, a head injury, migraines, strokes, or tumors. It may also be something totally benign. This is why it’s essential you find out what’s causing it.

SLEEP WITH YOUR HEAD PROPPED UP ON MORE PILLOWS

If you only sleep using one pillow, this could make your vertigo worse. By sleeping with your head propped up on two or more pillows, you stop your inner ear crystals from moving and becoming dislodged as much. You can also sleep on your back rather than your stomach or side to avoid unnecessary disruption of the ear crystals.

TRY NOT TO LOWER YOUR HEAD PAST YOUR SHOULDERS

Lowering your head past your shoulders can also cause your inner ear crystals to become dislodged and float around. If you must bend to pick something up, do it at the knees rather than at the waist. Don’t do any exercises that require you to bring your head past your shoulders either!

TRY NOT TO STRETCH YOUR NECK

Stretching your neck forwards, as if you’re reaching for something, can also affect your inner ear crystals. Try to be more aware of the movements you’re making and avoid doing this with your neck.

AVOID SUDDEN MOVEMENTS

Sudden movements can wreak havoc with your inner ear. Unfortunately, this means you should avoid riding roller coasters and taking part in high impact sports. You can still exercise and enjoy sport, but low impact is usually best. Try jogging, swimming, and walking.

DON’T SMOKE

Smoking is a very bad habit for so many reasons, but it can also affect vertigo treatment. If you do smoke, you are minimising the effectiveness of the treatment you’re receiving for vertigo. For the sake of your vertigo and other problems you could encounter due to smoking, get the help you need to quit now. There are many support groups and online forums that could help you. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be worth it.

ANTIBIOTICS

Antibiotics may cure the reason for your vertigo, and it’ll go away as a result. There are many medicines that treat vertigo, but your doctor will prescribe the best one to you.

To learn more about Vertigo, such as causes, cures and treatments,  you can visit this website.  I hope I never have to go through this ever again because it’s truly difficult to deal with. It’s not a good feeling when it’s all in your head and you can’t control it.  I hope by sharing my experience with you, I provided some helpful information and if it ever happens to you, at least you’ll have a some insight about what to do.  Have any of you ever had Vertigo, and if so, would you like to share your experience & treatment with me?  I’d love to hear about it.