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You are here: Home / The Best Part Of My Day / Laugh Rx

Laugh Rx

August 29, 2014 By Gail 4 Comments

I woke up feeling like I’d downed an entire bottle of bourbon. The room was spinning, my head hurt, and I’d thrown up everything interesting I’d eaten the night before. When I tried to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom I found I had a difficult time going in a straight line. It was an odd and scary feeling because I didn’t understand the cause. I hadn’t had a bottle of bourbon, nor had I ingested other forms of drugs. Had I picked up a virus? I didn’t know anything other than I felt awful. Being of good German/Bohemian/Norwegian/Lutheran stock, I decided my best course of action was to ignore the symptoms. “This too shall pass,” I said, although my husband was wearing his worried face.

Four days later I was still walking around as though my world was made of warped and weirdly shaped carnival mirrors. I had to brace myself against walls when a dizzy spell hit, and the cats were cautious if I was within tripping distance. Ingrates! (I had a spectacular near -fall as I carried their food down the stairs one day, and they decided distance was better than victimization.)

Reluctantly I caved in and visited our local clinic. After listening to my story the on call doctor said I had the classic symptoms of vertigo. Other than the famous Alfred Hitchcock film, vertigo meant nothing to me. Had it something to do with being afraid of heights? At least that seemed to be Jimmy Stewart’s issue in the movie. Well that and Kim Novak. As it turns out vertigo is not only common (although I don’t know one person who has it), but also somewhat elusive. In other words, there is no way of knowing when it will arrive, how long it will stay, or how often it will visit. “Gee, rather like certain relatives,” I thought. Vertigo’s trigger is an inner-ear malfunction of sorts. According to the Department of Otolaryngology, at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Medicine:

The inner ear balance organ is filled with fluid. Certain areas of the inner ear balance organ contains microscopic crystals that for some reason (sometimes from trauma) can become loose and float in the fluids of the inner ear. When the head is turned in a particular direction, the crystals float in the fluid and cause a rippling effect (like a rock thrown in water). This movement of fluids causes stimulation of the inner ear, which causes a sensation of motion and thus dizziness. The spinning stops as the movement of the crystals and the fluid through the inner ear stops.

I’m sure you popped some corn because you were riveted by that bit of information. Hey! My job is to inform, not just entertain. When you’re done yawning hear this, if you suffer from vertigo you have my complete empathy. It is invasive, persistent, and awful. I’m trying to do the Epley maneuver to calm my vertigo, but so far it’s not helping too much. As with so many things in life it has its up and downs.

Because I’m often nauseated from the whirling feeling, my eating has been hit and miss. I’m either starving when the spinning takes a break, or feel like vomiting when it’s at its worst. My husband, who just celebrated his birthday, decided ice cream was the medicine of choice for both of us.

We headed to our local Dairy Queen and indulged. I haven’t eaten more than a few spoonful’s of my husband’s chosen DQ treat in years, but this time I ordered a small hot fudge for myself and ate every delicious drop. My husband didn’t even tease me about it. We also ordered a doggy cone for Booker, and were amused to see it brought to our table with two small dog biscuits poised like cherries on top.

Is sugar good for us? No. Was that ice cream what I needed at that moment? Yes. Oh heck yes. In fact, it was the best part of my day.

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Filed Under: The Best Part Of My Day

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A Message From Gail

Through my blog and website, I hope to share beauty, laughter, inspiration, aging & midlife lessons and advice on dealing with menopause. I will also devote time to integrative health and healing tips and news. I want feedback and questions because, while we may be sharing the journey, every woman has her own experience and her own story.

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Comments

  1. Claudia Kittock says

    August 31, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    AH HA . . . you finally discovered what YOU taught me. Sugar does help with nausea!!! WHO KNEW??? Oh, yes, I DID because YOU taught me that.

    I’m just sayin’

    SO sorry you are having this ‘curse’ but so glad your wondrous Tad helped you find an antidote.

    Reply
    • Avatar photoGail says

      September 2, 2014 at 1:23 am

      Maybe sugar is misunderstood. Have you ever read “The True Power of Water”by Dr. Emoto? Some people, well a lot of people, scoff at his findings but I think there is truth in his research. In a nutshell he froze water under different vibrational and emotional situations, and then photographed the shape of the crystals that formed. When love was involved…either by thought or deed, the crystals were gorgeous. When I bake you cookies I’m thinking loving thoughts. The sugar is transformed into something healing instead of hurtful…I’m sure of it.

      Reply
      • Ankush says

        September 12, 2014 at 12:58 am

        i have had vertigo twice in my life i am 22 the first time it heepanpd to me was when i was 21 and that episode was the worst i honestly thought i had been drugged, i was at work at the time when it heepanpd and was out of work for a month and a half. Right now I am suffering AGAIN it’s not as severe with the vomitting but the whole world is spinning to me thats how i feel along with a headache that i’ve had for a week literally. i feel that my sleeping habbits are shot big time i do feel that i suffer from insomnia i wake up after 2-3 hours of sleep and don’t go to sleep until 4 or 5 in the morning. I am so happy to hear that sleeping could have soething to do with it and not a tumor. thank you

        Reply
        • Avatar photoGail says

          September 16, 2014 at 2:08 am

          Hello Ankush,
          It is horrible, isn’t it? Sometimes I’m doing the simplest thing…like picking tomatoes…and the world goes tipsy. I find I need to stop and be still for a while, or if I’m really nauseous, lie down. Hopefully the inner-ear crystals will realign soon. Thank you for sharing you experience. Have you tried any of the exercises for vertigo that can be found on YouTube?

          Reply

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