spin spin spin

Managed to squeeze in the time to see another doc in the next phase of my vertigo saga. This installment (I thought) was going to be a treatment and turned out to be more tests to determine more specifics about the vertigo that I have, specifically, what part of the vestibular (inner ear) is affected. Judging by the test the doc gave me, I clearly have trouble with my left side. She made me do a couple of quick moves like laying down really fast and turning my head. Turning to the right wasn't so bad but when she turned me to the left the exam room turned into a bad day at Bush Gardens after eating too much cotton candy. In the process of the test she looked into my eyes and I am sure they looked like those googly eyes that you find on cheap carnival stuffed animals. The apparent cause of my googly eyes is a tiny chunk of calcium that has become displaced in my inner ear that is floating around wreaking havoc with my balance center. A treatment simply replaces it.

Having verified that "yes" I do need treatment for this, she wrote a referral for another specialist. This one will actually do the treatment that is supposed to make the dizzies go away. The first pass at scheduling this procedure was going to be four days before we go back to the bahamas. I asked the receptionist if I could fly right after this treatment and she "thought so".

Hmmm...

Not quite satisfied with that answer and noticing the doc crossing the hall, I got her attention and asked the question again.

"Can I fly?"

"Yes, but you can't do any heavy lifting".

Ok that seems fair, but still not quite enough info...

"Can I scuba dive"?

She just looked at me.

I guess this treatment makes things really really bad for a week to ten days after and so the advice was not to do too much during that time. I am not sure how that correlated with "don't do any heavy lifting", but I am glad that I drilled down a little further for information or the next trip may have been a disaster. And if today's test is just a glimpse of what is in store I can see it might be bad, because the test made me sick. Now I feel like I did back when I first got this thing. What progress I may have made was apparently undone by the test.

So, to be on the safe side I scheduled the treatment for after we return, which means that I get to wait some more. The truly sucky thing is that there is no guarantee that the first treatment will work. I may need a second. While still with the doc I asked the question, "What happens if the second treatment doesn't work?"

We do an MRI.

Ok, I have to admit that freaked me out a little. At first. Then upon further reflection, if the test made me worse in one quick move, then wouldn't a similar treatment make it better?

So I guess I will spin until then.