Brain Highways: The Vestibular System

A great little video describing vestibular dysfunction. It is aimed towards parents whose child might be displaying such signs. However it is really accurate and a great video to show friends and family for better understanding.

Swimmyhead

It's a beautiful sunny morning

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in Wales which always lifts my spirits. A bright sunny day always reduces my symptoms a little compared to a dull and dark day. I don't know why? maybe it's because I am dependent on my vision to balance me rather than my wonky vestibular system and the brightness allows me to see more clearly and sharply. I don't know, I am probably talking a load of rubbish but a sunny day definitely helps me.

I feel a little better again these past few days after having a week or so of increased motion, imbalance and head fog etc. So today I woke up and decided a 25 min workout was in order. I have just finished my workout and am drenched in sweat. I have said it before but I really don't know how I manage to push myself to workout feeling the way I do. I get into a press up position and the floor bends and arcs in front of me, I do numerous burpees and I am sure you can imagine the push/pull/falling sensations I experience as well as the visual jerking and rotation of the room around me. It's disorientating. It's difficult but I get a real sense of accomplishment after each workout knowing that I beat my broken vestibular system into the ground. You would think that my brain or whatever is wrong would just get used to all the movement that I have punished it with and correct whatever needs correcting.

I have also been doing some yoga which involves holding body poses in inhuman ways. Balance is everything when it comes to yoga but my brain will not adapt. I can hold a pose with effort but once I stand up and finish my workout my head is still heavy and the world is still swaying. Doctors will tell anybody with a vestibular issue to move around as much as they can and retrain the brain. It's frustrating as I have always moved and tested myself from day one. I have put myself in every contorted position known to man and walked miles and miles over the years but here I am still battling daily.

I am eating strict except for the sneaky little bag of peanut M&Ms that keep showing up. I allow myself to have several a day and that is all. They are actually sitting by my side as I type calling my name but I won't give in as I don't treat myself till the evening. I worked out on an empty stomach so it's time for breakfast which will be a bowl of porridge made with oat water and I will add some fresh blueberries and strawberries.

Keep pushing on

Swimmyhead

7 years

Hi guys
I Thought I would check in. Well, my steadier two week streak is officially over. As of last Thursday afternoon and I am firmly back to my disorientating life that I still cannot get used too. It was actually 7 years last Sunday that I woke up with the vertigo that began this tough journey. Hopefully that's 7 years closer to the end of this thing. Maybe I have over done it with the chocolate cake deserts and bags of peanut M&Ms that I have consumed these last few weeks? Tut tut.

So no more treats for me. It's back to the bland migraine diet (although I may still have a handful of M&Ms every so often. I really wish I had never started eating those addictive little cretins). I will continue my workouts to further tax this brain and balance system of mine and I pray another more manageable two weeks are just around the corner.

Swimmyhead

A sense of balance

It's been a week since my last post and I am pleased to say that my head is still maintaining some sense of balance. It really has been a very rare week indeed.. I think the only other time I have felt this steady for this long was sometime last year when I felt a significant improvement for a full 2 weeks. I am hoping and praying that this time something will stick. If my condition stayed at this level of dizziness then getting better seems possible. Keeping my fingers crossed.

In last post I mentioned a sudden whistling that has appeared in my right ear. It has been pretty annoying so I did a little research and found that wax in the ear could cause temporary tinnitus. I did not think I had wax in my ear as it did not feel blocked or muffled but all the other symptoms are present such as itchiness,tinnitus and slight earache. I also read that headphone use can cause wax to build up (I wear headphones everyday to make music or listen to music and watch tv etc) and that wearing ear plugs can cause the same problem (I insert ear plugs every night to go to sleep). So, I decide to buy some olive oil yesterday and see if anything improved. I am glad to say it did. The whistling stopped for a solid five hours. It came back a little less prominent last night but today has been great thus far. I will continue using the olive oil drops this week and hopefully the damn tinnitus will be gone.

Oh, I nearly forgot to say tat this past two weeks have been a little experiment of sorts regarding my food. Not only have I reintroduced eggs into my diet but I also scoffed 2 small chocolate cakes last week and am through my second bag of peanut M&Ms. As you know chocolate, eggs and peanuts are part of the avoid list on the migraine diet but so far so good.  Headaches have been few and far between recently. I guess that is why I feel somewhat better. I just hope the M&Ms and chocolate cakes don't come back to haunt me. I do feel a little guilty eating all this chocolate but I still workout everyday and burn it off.

I hope you guys are having better days, if not just keep pushing on and believe that better days will come. I still cling on to that hope every time I go tumbling back down into the disorientating hell that is vestibular dysfunction.

Swimmyhead

Eyes

I have had a few decent days this week. More stable and easier to move about without having to be aware of every turn or step I make. Once again I do not know why the dizziness and motion intolerance has calmed somewhat. There is no rhyme or reason but it's a pleasant change as you can imagine. However I have been having an issue with tinnitus in my right ear this past week. It is not something I have had to deal with before and it's rather annoying when in a quiet room or when going to sleep. It's not a ringing as such more like a faint broken whistle. Now it could be down to the fact that I have been mixing music via headphones lately (I hope I have not done any permanent damage due to the noise exposure) or more hopefully something is changing for the better as I am more steady (wishful thinking maybe). Anyway It ain't too bad but I do hope it goes away.

In my last post I talked about the eye condition vertical heterophoria (misaligned eyes) and how it's symptoms appear to mimic vestibular dysfunction symptoms. It is something I will be looking further into as I feel and always have that my eyes are causing the vertigo/disorientation I live with. Ever since my vertigo attack that started this nightmare, my eyes have never felt the same. It has always felt like I have to strain and battle with my eyes to keep focus or my gaze stable. It feels like my eyes work independently and not together. For instance talking to somebody can wear me out and increase all the balance and visual issues within minutes and I swear it is because I have to fight to keep a stable gaze and focus. I really feel that the vertigo and the years dealing with it has effected my eye muscles and maybe that is why I am stuck with this issue. I have never had to wear glasses fortunately but maybe prism glasses might just help. I know I have nystagmus (involuntary movement of the eyes) thanks to the vertigo but I think it would be wise to get tested for exophoria and in particular vertical heterophoria since I have double and blurred vision frequently. Exhaust every avenue I say.

One other thing to mention is that I thought I would begin (once again) doing basic vestibular rehab exercises 2x a day. Simple moves such as holding my finger out at arms length and moving my head left and right whilst maintaining focus on my finger etc. Basically I am doing a number of eye strengthening exercises. I have done this many times before for months on end without success but now that more time has past maybe they will help (again wishful thinking). It just feels right to try.

Here is a link to some Cawthorne Cooksey Exercises (eye and body exercises)

Swimmyhead

Vertical Heterophoria Syndrome

Vertical heterophoria is an eye condition whereby one eye is higher than the other. The difference is not observable when looking at oneself in the mirror. I have learned that it can cause a vast number of physiological problems extremely similar to the many causes of vestibular dysfunction. The numerous symptoms can also be present ALL of the time.

I had stumbled across this particular problem years ago whilst researching anything vestibular related but swiftly brushed it aside thinking it was some stupid new medical term. Unfortunately I did not look at the vast symptom list. I have been told by a number of doctors that I have visual vertigo and I have to say my problem certainly feels visual. I cannot track motion, read without skipping words, I have a hard time maintaining focus and gaze on one spot.It's like I have to fight and strain my eyes to keep them on point. Busy visual stimuli (shops,traffic,moving visuals on screens etc) all are difficult daily as is walking around shops,holding conversation and walking without rearing off. My vision always feels stiff/slow and out of focus. I experience double vision/shadowing in one eye one day and in the next eye the next day on a weekly basis. Blurred vision usually in one eye at a time is frequent since this all began. Other times in between there is no blurriness or double vision.

Anyway, If this is the problem like it has been for many then treatment is fantastic and just requires the person to wear prism lenses for a while to correct the problem. In fact significant improvement in all areas can occur within days or weeks. I really feel this is something I need to be tested for since I have exhausted nearly every avenue I can think of without success. I just hope they test for this and treat this eye disorder in opticians around the UK.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms caused by vertical heterophoria. The list was taken from verticalheterophoria.com

Dizziness Headache Anxiety Lightheadedness Nausea Unsteady Walk Poor Coordination Poor Depth Perception Motion Sickness Covering an eye easier  Hard to maintain a stable gaze

Eye Pain Neck Ache Crowd Anxiety Sensitivity to Light Sensitivity to Glare Double Vision OverlappingVision Difficulty Reading Difficult Reading  Comprehension Skipping words/Lines

Tilting Your Head Pain when moving eyes Upper Back Pain Shoulder Pain Shadowed Vision Losing your Place when Reading Fatigue when Your Reading Blurred Vision

Dana White (UFC president) and Menieres Disease

I am a big fan of the UFC and only just found out that ultimate fighting championship president Dana White suffers from vertigo attacks caused by Menieres disease.There are more interviews on youtube where Dana White discusses his experience and life with vertigo.

Swimmyhead