Chronic illness 2

A young man describing chronic illness. He suffers from Lyme disease but the way he describes his experience living with an invisible condition just like ours is perfect. By the way Lyme disease symptoms can be very similar to symptoms of a vestibular disorder.

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Chronic illness

I Thought this lecture was very interesting. A video titled accepting your chronic illness by Dr Diane Lachapelle. She discusses chronic illness using chronic pain as the prime example. However if you simply substitute the term pain with the term dizziness it's totally relatable. I still have a problem accepting my current predicament.

Gluten Free Dizziness - Update

Hi guys

Just a quick update regarding the gluten free diet I have been sticking to these last few weeks. I have not experienced any reduction in dizziness and vertigo unfortunately nor have I felt an amazing sense of well being that many report once they go gluten free. That being said I HAVE stopped having those frequent stomach pains after eating. Only once have I felt stomach discomfort in the past 3 weeks or so. This is a huge success since I was experiencing stomach pain after eating certain foods up to 5 times a week. I guess it is safe to say I may have a slight gluten intolerance. So it may not have helped my dizziness but it certainly has helped my stomach. The main culprit seems to be bread so I now buy a gluten free loaf called Genius. It's smaller than your usual loaf and a touch expensive but I will stick to it from now on.

My vertigo has been much more intense these past 6-7 weeks. It's been rough. However yesterday and today it's settled a little, so physically I am steadier and the world appears a little more stable (the visual motion of back and forth, up and down has reduced). I do have a headache but it is not making the vertigo worse.

So there you have it a quick little update. Keep pushing on and take care.

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Disorientated

It has been a very unsteady 6 weeks or so. This past weekend was just awful.Completely overwhelmed by the sensation of motion etc. walking like a robot, turning and bending slowly, disorientated with the walls appearing to move back and forth. The house has become that obstacle course again. The head pressure has been immense.It has felt like my head would explode at times. Static like vision causing everything to appear in a thick foggy haze. I seem to have slipped back into the old routine of my symptoms progressively getting worse as the day moves on. Evenings have not been good. Family members just walking by me in the hall are causing me to be thrown off balance, the push and pull sensations are strong. The crunch from eating a cracker is shaking my vision and disorientating me. These things I have never gotten used to and never will. Living life with this vestibular condition is to merely exist. It's been way too long with so much effort taken to have to constantly keep going back to this overwhelmed state but what can I do?

Swimmyhead

It is Balance Awareness Week 2014 - 15th-21st September

A video by the Vestibular Disorders Association promoting balance awareness week 2014.

Swimmyhead

Dizziness Forum

Here is a link to a site/forum with many people discussing their own experience with vertigo and dizziness. There seems to be quite a few of us left suffering with this poorly understood and debilitating condition.www.patient.co.uk vertigo-and-dizziness

There is also useful links to various dizzy related websites and forums in my Useful websites for Swimmyhead's section found on the right of this dizziness and vertigo - swimmyhead blog.

Swimmyhead

Sick as a pig

Fuzz and pressure in my skull have been my predominant symptoms this past week in turn causing increased balance/motion sensitivity, visual motion and visual disturbances, well everything really. Yep, I have felt like I am back at square one at times. Simply watching television made me feel sick as a pig just the other night. Out of nowhere I suddenly became so nauseous, you know those waves of sick feeling? It's been roughly a month or so since I had those miraculous few weeks when I felt close to normal. What happened there?

This morning is not bad so far balance wise but I have had bloody toothache since yesterday afternoon. It seems like I cannot stay away from the dentist this year. I only went 2 weeks ago and had a filling which decided to pop out only 2 days later eating a rivita. So I need that looking at again along with this other tooth that has decided to ache and throb. Does it ever end?

I am currently sat here psyching myself up for a steady 30min home workout. Whilst my dizziness is less severe I might as well make the most of it.

UPDATE: Just finished a very mild workout but now my vision is not keeping up with my head movement at all. Disorientated.

Swimmyhead