If It's Not One Thing, It's Something Else

Just a week shy of the 3rd anniversary of the date I had an episode of what the doctors called transient global amnesia, I'm having bouts with what they call benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, for short.

And, once again, I learn that this condition, like the earlier, is one that most often affects people in middle or older age. (Oh boy! Let me hear three cheers for us ol' farts! I'd be doin' cartwheels, except for the fact I generally can't even walk straight at the moment. My wife jokingly likens it to a crab walking sideways.) There is one difference, though: Whereas patients with the earlier problem usually recover in only a few hours, this BPPV normally hangs around for a period between three and five days...and may even recur again later. (Another oh boy! if you please.) Today marks my third day with it, and I can't say I'm any better yet than I was on day one.

According to the folks at Mayo Clinic, BPPV is "the sudden sensation that you're spinning, or that the inside of your head is spinning (yeah, like about 100 mph!!!)." They warn that you should expect "brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness. This might occur when you tip your head up or down, when you lie down, or when you turn over to sit up in bed...and let me add stand up or sit down too fast. Although BPPV can be bothersome, it's rarely serious, except when it increases the chance of falls.

"Often, there's no known cause for BPPV," say the Mayo types. "However, it's often associated with a minor to severe blow to the head. Less common causes include disorders that damage your inner ear or, rarely, damage that occurs during ear surgery or long periods positioned on your back, such as in a dentist chair. BPPV also has been associated with migraines."

The only one of those causes I can relate to is the migraines. However, I didn't have a headache when this mess started.

As described by the Mayo doctors, "Inside your ear is a tiny organ called the vestibular labyrinth. It includes three loop-shaped structures (semicircular canals) that contain fluid and fine, hairlike sensors that monitor your head's rotation.

"Other structures (otolith organs) in your ear monitor your head's movements--up and down, right and left, back and forth--and your head's position related to gravity. These otolith organs contain crystals that make you sensitive to gravity.

"For many reasons, these crystals can become dislodged, and when they do, they can move into one of the semicircular canals, especially when you're lying down. This causes the semicircular canal to become sensitive to head-position changes it normally would not respond to, which is what makes you feel dizzy."

So, in a nutshell, that's where I find myself today...fearful of doing much of anything, unless I don't mind perhaps going on my face or butt, falling down the stairs, or, as happened last evening, nearly taking out my wife while just trying to sit down beside her. Just know I'm taking the pills the doctor gave me yesterday, in hopes that my world will stop this incessant spinning real soon.